This collection contains Thomas Baker's three surveying books which document land and property ownership in southern Lancaster County, primarily Colerain Township from 1856-1902. Octorara Creek, Kirkwood, Christiana and Upper Oxford Twp. are among the place names.
Admin/Biographical History
Thomas Baker traces his ancestry back to Sir Richard Baker (1568), born in the county of Kent, England. In 1685, seven generations before Thomas Baker was born, Joseph Baker immigrated to Delaware County, Pennsylvania. Born in Chatham, Chester County to Lewis and Diana Baker, Thomas was well-educated; a teacher until 1840, when he commenced the study of surveying. Land surveying is the location of points on, above and below the surface of the earth and the relation of those points to a common reference system. Employed at Jonathon Goss, at Unionville Academy in Chester, he surveyed over 650 farms in Lancaster County's Colerain Township. He married in 1855; his family adhering to his Quaker faith. The Biographical Annals in Lancaster, published in 1903, describes Baker as "…a man esteemed by his neighbors for his many good qualities and excellent character, and in disposition he is a man of warm heart and kindly feeling."
Signers of petition: J. Englee Davis, Robert Beyer, William S. Barkley, Alexander Turner, George Shimony, William C. Worth, R. W. Ferguson, Andrew Byer, George Sampson, Samuel McConnel, Abraham McConnel, A. D. Whiteside, Fredus P. Ryland.
3 items, 3 pieces
Access Conditions / Restrictions
Request at Reference Desk; photocopy made by staff member.
Signers of petition: J. Willis Houston, Thomas Beyer, William S. Barkley, R. W. Ferguson, Thomas S. Jackson, Robert J. Pennock, [Fredus P. Ryland], James Turner, Robert Beyer, John Montgomery, William N. Galbraith, Elisha Brown, Samuel A. North.
3 items, 3 pieces
Access Conditions / Restrictions
Request at Reference Desk; photocopy made by staff member.
Signers of Petition: Thomas Beyer, John C. Pennington, Samuel McConnel, Daniel Walton, Francis Scott, James Turner, Alexander Andrews, Robert Beyer, Thomas McCausland, [Truman] Coates, William Given, Jacob K. Samborn.
1 item, 1 piece
Access Conditions / Restrictions
Request at Reference Desk; photocopy made by staff member.
Signers of petition: Robert Beyer, William Given, Alexander Andrews, Samuel G. Wright, Truman Coates, Thomas Beyer, Abraham McConnel, Robert Andrews, Thomas McCausland, William C. Worth, Corbin P. Davis, Thomas Pennington.
1 item, 1 piece
Access Conditions / Restrictions
Request at Reference Desk; photocopy made by staff member.
Signers of petition: Thomas Beyer, Abraham McConnel, W. G. Chandler, Andrew Beyer, Robert Ferguson, Jacob K. Lamborn, William Sampson, John Sampson, Samuel G. Wright, John C. Smith, Robert Beyer, Thomas Pennington, John C. Morgan.
1 item, 1 piece
Access Conditions / Restrictions
Request at Reference Desk; photocopy made by staff member.