M. 1 Apr 1761 in Sudbury, Massachusetts2
Husband: Timothy Baker
D. after 7 Mar 1786 in (probably) Massachusetts3
Mary Dakin was touched by the wars of 18th-century America involving the men around her. She was born in Sudbury, Massachusetts on August 28, 1741, the second youngest child of Samuel Dakin and Mercy Minot.1 Mary’s father was a military man, appointed as ensign in the Sudbury militia in 1745.4 By the time she was in her teens, her father took on a greater role as a captain who led 48 men during the French and Indian War.4 His service took him away from the family, and sadly, he was killed in an attack at a fort in New York on July 20, 1758.4
In the aftermath of Mary’s father’s death, she was documented in his probate records.5 Mary was 16-years-old and still underage, so she was assigned a guardian of her choosing. On a document dated September 16, 1758, it states “I have chosen Captain Stephen Hosmer of Concord to be my guardian,” followed by her name and mark. Captain Hosmer was also assigned to her younger sister Hannah; like their father, he served as an officer in the French and Indian War.
Document showing Mary's choice of guardian.
Mary was left 30 pounds in her father’s will to be given to her upon marriage, or when she turned 21, whichever came first.5 The same offer went to her sisters Dorothy and Hannah, but not to two other sisters who were married and had received money from him already. The girls would also receive a cow only if they got married. The five sisters were to divide up half of their father’s household goods, and would receive the other half if their mother remarried, or at the time of her death.6 Mercy Dakin didn’t remarry and passed away 35 years later, so this second provision was probably never applied.
A few years after Mary’s father’s death, she found a husband in Timothy Baker, and they got married on January 15, 1761 in Sudbury.2 Timothy had also served as a soldier, and was one of the New England men who helped send French families in Acadia into exile.7 It’s also been said that he served in the American Revolution, but this isn’t certain. It is known that two of Mary’s brothers, Oliver and Samuel, enlisted as Minutemen in spite of being in their 40s.4
Mary gave birth to ten children from 1762 to 1786;8,3 interestingly, her first six were girls and last four were boys. Little else is known of her life, and she appeared on no records after the birth of her youngest child. Mary’s husband Timothy died on April 14, 1810.9 The legacy of the military experience of the men in her life lived beyond Mary, and at least one great-grandson, Minot Kittredge, served in the Civil War, becoming wounded at Gettysburg in 1863.10
Children:
1. Mary Baker — B. 23 May 1762, Littleton, Massachusetts;8 D. 16 Sep 1828, Mont Vernon, New Hampshire;11 M. Josiah Kittredge (1762-1850)11
2. Hannah Baker — B. 21 Jan 1764, Littleton, Massachusetts;12 D. 16 Feb 1825, Marlborough, New Hampshire;13 M. Levi Whitcomb (1763-1827), 4 Dec 1786, Templeton, Massachusetts14
3. Nancy Baker — B. 29 Sep 1766, Littleton, Massachusetts;15 M. John Farnsworth (1765-?), 29 Dec 1789, Groton, Massachusetts16
4. Beulah Baker — B. 15 Nov 1768, Littleton, Massachusetts;17 D. 15 Apr 1827, Nelson, New Hampshire;18 M. Joshua Kittredge (1761-1834), 10 Jun 1796, Packersfield, New Hampshire18
5. Alice Baker — B. 1 Oct 1770, Littleton, Massachusetts;19 D. 13 Aug 1858, Whitefield, New Hampshire;20 M. Israel Abbott (1771-1840), 1 May 1791, Packersfield, New Hampshire21
6. Lydia Baker — B. 28 Jun 1773, Littleton, Massachusetts;22 D. 5 Jul 1854, Sudbury, Massachusetts;23 M. Joshua Blodgett (~1771-?)24
7. Samuel Dakin Baker — B. 20 Sep 1775, Littleton, Massachusetts;25 D. 18 Jul 1844, Bradford, Vermont;26 M. Sarah Prince (1777-1858)27
8. Abel Baker — B. 16 Jun 1778, Littleton, Massachusetts;28 D. 16 Aug 1867, Roxbury, Massachusetts;29 M. Sarah Reed (1790-1867), 3 Dec 1807, Cambridge, Massachusetts30
9. Stephen Baker — B. 15 Oct 1781, Littleton, Massachusetts;31 D. 12 Feb 1858, Randolph, Massachusetts;32 M. Eliza _______33
10. Timothy Minot Baker — B. 7 Mar 1786, Littleton, Massachusetts;3 D. after 7 Jun 1860;34 M. Elizabeth Wright (1785-1857), 29 Jan 1811, Medford, Massachusetts35
Sources:
1 Birth record of Mary Dakin, Massachusetts Vital and Town Records, 1626-2001
2 Marriage record of Timothy Baker and Mary Dakin, M.V. & T.R.
3 Birth record of Timothy Minot Baker, M.V. & T.R.
4 History of Sudbury, Massachusetts, 1638-1889, Alfred Sereno Hudson, 1889
5 Probate Records 1648-1924 (Middlesex County, Massachusetts)
6 Concord, Massachusetts Births, Marriages and Deaths, 1893
7 An Historical Sketch of the Town of Littleton, Herbert Joseph Harwood, 1890, pg. 14
8 Birth record of Mary Baker, M.V. & T.R.
9 Death record of Timothy Baker, M.V. & T.R.
10 Letter from Samuel Farrington Kittredge to Sophia Kittredge French, September 12, 1893
11 Mary Kittredge memorial, Findagrave.com
12 Birth record of Hannah Baker, M.V. & T.R.
13 Hannah Whitcomb memorial, Findagrave.com
14 Marriage record of Levi Whitcomb and Hannah Baker, M.V. & T.R.
15 Birth record of Nancy Baker, M.V. & T.R.
16 Marriage record of John Farnsworth and Nancy Baker, M.V. & T.R.
17 Birth record of Beulah Baker, M.V. & T.R.
18 Beulah Kittredge memorial, Findagrave.com
19 Birth record of Alice Baker, M.V. & T.R.
20 Death record of Alice Abbott, New Hampshire Death Records, 1654-1947
21 Marriage record of Israel Abbott and Alice Baker, N.H. Marriage Records, 1720-1920
22 Birth record of Lydia Baker, M.V. & T.R.
23 Death record of Lydia L_____, Massachusetts Deaths, 1841-1915
24 Death record of Lovie Blodgett Brown (June 7, 1905), Massachusetts Deaths, 1841-1915
25 Birth record of Samuel Dakin Baker, M.V. & T.R.
26 Death record of Samuel Dakin Baker, Vermont Vital Records, 1760-1954
27 Samuel Dakin Baker memorial, Findagrave.com
28 Birth record of Abel Baker, M.V. & T.R.
29 Death notice of Abel Baker, The Boston Herald, August 17, 1867
30 Marriage record of Abel Baker and Sarah Reed, M.V. & T.R.
31 Birth record of Stephen Baker, M.V. & T.R.
32 Stephen Baker obit, The Trumpet and Universality Magazine, February 27, 1858
33 Death record of Minot Baker (July 24, 1862), Massachusetts Deaths, 1841-1915
34 1860 U.S. Census for Timothy Baker
35 Marriage record of Timothy Baker and Elizabeth Wright, M.V. & T.R.
