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 and Joseph. (and perhaps 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. Several brothers and sisters did not emigrate: Peter, Robert, Thomas, Elizabeth, Mary (the older), Elizabeth and Margarett. Because of the two Maries mentioned in the will, it is likely that all these children may be by two different wives of Robert. Robert is supposed to have been descended from Sir Richard Baker the Chronicler, who wrote a history of the Kings of England. We have not been able to establish this descendancy, but it is still under research. 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. The Hearth taxes of the Manor of Edgmond in 1671 show that John and his family lived in one house with one hearth; and that Joseph and his mother (and presumeably three younger sisters) lived in another house with one hearth. In 1672, after the death of Robert, Mary, his widow, signed a fostering agreement with a Walter Littleton for the tuition and education of Hanna, Sarah and Mary, who are minors. The other children who did not emigrate in 1684 presumeably were married and settled elsewhere than Edgmond. After 1684 there were no Bakers left in Edgmond.

After coming to the New World, John died in 1685, shortly after his arrival in Philadelphia. 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.