Was Mary Baker a Pig Thief?

In 1836 Mary Baker was charged with petit larceny. Coonrod/Conrad Baker accused her of stealing several hogs. Others accused were Theophilus P. Carter, Sarah Baker, Catherine Baker and Thomas Baker.

Witnesses for the defense were: Benjamin Davis, Micajah Pain, Absalom Baker, John and Lewis Humphrey, Mary Hood, Allen McCaskall, Robert Baker, David McCaskell, Richard Harris, Renfro Garner and Thomas Rail. (Polly C. Warren, Jill Garrett's Maury Genealogist, v. 1 - 1972, reprinted 1987, p. 193)

Copies from the original Circuit Court Minutes for September 1836 are difficult to read, but it appears that Mary Baker was acquitted and Coonrod Baker was ordered to pay court costs.

It would be interesting to learn more about this case. A question that arises is who was Coonrod Baker and was he related to Robert Baker's family?

Civil War

Robert Baker had three sons and a brother who served in the Civil War. Fielding H., George W. and William T. Baker, sons of Robert and Mary (Humphrey) Baker all enlisted in Co. K, 48th Tennessee Infantry (CSA) in 1861. In December, 1863 they were all captured and sent to Rock Island Military Prison in Rock Island, Illinois. The prison was over-crowded and one group of arriving prisoners was sick. Soon smallpox spread through the camp infecting both prisoners and guards. The Baker boys all became ill. Fielding and his brother, William, died within a few days of each other. George W. Baker recovered and remained in the prison until the end of the war. In 1865 he signed an oath of allegience to the United States and was released to return home.

Robert's brother, Perry G. Baker, also enlisted in Co. K, 48th Tennessee Infantry. In 1863 he was reported as being absent since the fall of Fort Henry in 1862. What happened to him is not known. He may have been injured, captured or returned home for some reason. He died in 1900, so we know he wasn't killed in action.