William Thatcher Baker
Hamilton, Hamilton County, Texas
Marker Inscription
Farmer, rancher, merchant, and ginner. Born in Ohio, in 1850 he moved to Pleasant Run, Dallas County, Texas. Married Miss Emily Beeman, the daughter of James J. Beeman, Dallas pioneer. Although a Unionist, as a loyal Texan he made shoes for Confederacy in Civil War, 1861-65. Later he ran ferry 1-1/2 miles below Dowdy's Ferry on Trinity River. Moved (1879) to Plum Creek Farm, Hamilton County. Established post office named "Ohio" there on May 4, 1882.
Erected by Texas Historical Commission
The Story
Born in Ohio in 1850, William Thatcher Baker came to Texas as a young man and married Emily Beeman, daughter of a Dallas pioneer family. Though a Unionist at heart, he stayed loyal to his adopted state and made shoes for the Confederacy during the Civil War, then ran a ferry on the Trinity River in the years after. In 1879 he settled at Plum Creek Farm in Hamilton County and, in 1882, founded a post office he pointedly named "Ohio" for his home state.
Why it matters
His life shows the tangled loyalties of ordinary Texans during the Civil War and Reconstruction, when a man could quietly oppose secession yet still labor for the Confederacy and help stitch the frontier together one ferry and post office at a time.
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Related people
- · William Thatcher Baker
- · Emily Beeman
- · James J. Beeman
Themes & tags
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