In 1684 the Baker family arrived in Pennsylvania from the Manor of Edgmond, Shropshire, England. Being Quakers, they had been persecuted for their faith. They came to Pennsylvania for freedom to worship and for the opportunities the new land presented.

These are the Bakers who emigrated in 1684:

The following five siblings were all children of Robert Baker of Edgmond.
John Baker and his children Rebecca, Mary and Dorothy. His wife, Dorothy, died before or during the trip.
Joseph Baker, his wife Mary, and children Sarah, Joseph and Robert.
Hannah Baker
Sarah Baker
Mary Baker (the younger)

Another emigrant, Joseph Jr., was supposedly the nephew of the above five siblings. We do not know who his father was, although the will of Robert Baker of Edgmond gives us three possiblities.

We do not know a lot about the family in England. Their father Robert had died in 1672, and their mother Mary a few years later. She is on the Edgmond Tax list in 1678 and not there in 1680. Several brothers and sisters did not emigrate: Peter, Robert, Thomas, Elizabeth, Mary (the older), and Margarett. Because of the two Maries mentioned in the will, and the fact that the will refers to "Mary, my now wife," it is likely that all these children may be by two different wives of Robert.

The Baker emigrants are claimed to be descended from Sir Richard Baker the Chronicler, who wrote a history of the Kings of England. Richard, in turn, is a descendant of the Bakers of Sissinghurst, Kent. In the past, several genealogists have said that the Baker siblings were the children of a John Baker, not Robert, but the will makes it fairly clear that Robert is the father. See Erroneous Baker Genealogy, which shows the present state of our research with sources.

After coming to the New World, John died. His will is dated March 12, 1684 (1685, new style), shortly after his arrival in Philadelphia, and probated June 31 [sic] 1685. Joseph, now head of the family, bought and sold several parcels of land, and at some time before 1699, bought 500 acres in Chester (now Delaware) County. This was in Edgmont township, to which he probably gave the name, after his home in Shropshire. Joseph was elected member of the Pennsylvania Assembly several times. The Bakers of Edgmont married and proliferated, many staying in the area, where they still have descendants, while others moved west and helped to build the new country.

The genealogical information on this site is the product of research by a group of Baker Researchers. We have a mail list and keep in close contact, so that when new data comes to light we can share it and discuss it. The genealogy on this site is a concensus of what we believe to be accurate. It does not agree with several published genealogies which we believe to be in error. See Erroneous Baker Genealogy. In spite of these errors, for the most part, these authors have a large amount of data that is correct and carefully researched, and we do not advise you to ignore the rest of their data because of these mistakes. For the most part, the genealogy of Bakers in Pennsylvania is fairly accurate. For many years, researcher after researcher has gone to England and in a few days or a few weeks come up with data that was insufficient to prove or disprove our premises. For this reason, pertaining to Baker Research in Shropshire, England only, we are listing sources of Baker information in hope that we can refer to it and avoid retracing steps. See Baker Sources in Shropshire.

Please join the Bakers of Edgmont Maillist, if you are researching this family's descendants.

Contact Anne Wiegle about this page.

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