ANDREW J. BAKER, one of the valiant men to whom we are indebted for the preservation of the Union, was born in Muskingum County, Ohio, Aug. 11, 1841.  His parents, Joseph and Catherine (Haynes) Baker, were natives of Ohio and came to Ohio prior to their marriage, settling in Belmont County.  After a short sojourn there they removed to Muskingum, and later to Licking County, where they both died, the mother being the first to pass away and the father following her shortly afterward.  Twelve children had been born unto them, eight of whom survive, and all are residents of Ohio with the exception of one sister, Mrs. Susan Francis, who lives in Missouri.
     In youth Mr. Baker enjoyed good school advantages and at the age of twenty years he began to teach school, but his occupation was interrupted by the outbreak of the Rebellion.  He was then under twenty-one and his father opposed his enlistment, but being resolved to enter the service, he went to Iowa and enlisted as a member of Company E, Eighth Iowa Cavalry, which was mustered in during September, 1863.  At once the regiment went to the front. They suffered severely, being reduced from the full quota of twelve hundred men to three hundred and forty-five discharged at the close of the war.  When it is considered that the regiment was recruited several times with new men, it is reasonable to suppose that few of the original number escaped.
     With his regiment our subject participated in the following battles: Dalton, Resaca, Kenesaw Mountain, Mt. Kingston, Atlanta, Eastport, Columbus, Franklin, the two days’ battle of Nashville, Tuscaloosa, Blue Mountain and many engagements of less importance.  While he had many narrow escapes, his cap being knocked off his head and bullet holes penetrating his clothing, yet he was never wounded.  He was promoted to Sergeant of his company and was recommended for a commission as First Lieutenant. From Aug. 20, 1864, until March, 1865, he was in command of his company.  He was honorably discharged at Clinton, Iowa. in October, 1865.  At the time of his discharge he was so reduced and emaciated by disease incurred in service that he weighed but ninety-eight pounds.  He was unable to engage in any active business, and his disability has continued to the present.  For many years after the war he received a pension of 86 per month.  This was afterward made $8, later raised to $12, and is now $14.  He is a member of Evans Post No. 668, at Perryton, and has been its Commander for the past four years.
     In 1866 Mr. Baker was united in marriage with Miss Jane Fairall, a native of Muskingum County, Ohio, of which her parents were early settlers.  Six child ren have blessed the union, of whom five are living.  They are, Elmer G., Inez A., George I., Alice L. and Estella.  In 1889 Mr. Baker was appointed Postmaster at Perryton and filled that position with credit to himself and satisfaction to the patrons of the office until a change of administration was followed by a change of Postmaster.  He succeeded in bringing the office up to considerable importance, the money order system being introduced under his management.  Supplementary to the emoluments of office, he added a stock of notions, groceries, farming tools, tinware, etc., and still continues in the business.  In political sentiments he is a stanch Republican, and for some time has held the position of Clerk of Perry Township.  With his wife he holds membership in the Christian Church.  They are a worthy couple, and are held in high esteem by the people of the locality.
Source:  Memorial Record of Licking Co., Ohio - Chicago - Record Publishing Co., 1894 - Page 415

Mrs. John Barrick

Source:  Memorial Record of Licking Co., Ohio - Chicago - Record Publishing Co., 1894 - Page 459

HON. SAMUEL L. BLUE.   Few citizens of Licking County are more widely known than the honored gentleman whose name appears above and who, through now temporarily residing in Columbus, was for many years inseparably associated with the business and political history of Homer.  He was born in Romney, Hampshire County, Va. (now W. Va.), Mar. 15, 1838, and is the son of Richard and Lucinda (Larimore) Blue, also natives of Hampshire County.  His mother died in April, 1893, aged seventy-seven years; his father, who was born Mar. 4, 1808, now makes his home with a daughter, Mrs. Wagner, in Burlington Township, and notwithstanding his seven and eighty years, enjoys excellent health.
     It was in 1850 that Richard Blue came to Ohio from the Old Dominion, and here he engaged in farming until about 1874, when, selling his estate, he removed to the village of Homer and there resided until his wife’s death.  He was of Scotch lineage, while his wife was of Irish descent, though remote on both sides.  They were the parents of eight children, of whom six are now living.  Robert William died at the age of nineteen; James J. is a hotel keeper at Clay Centre, Kan.; our subject is the next in order of birth; Hannah C. became the wife of Evan Leggett, a contractor and builder living in Denver, Colo.; Isaac P. is engaged in farming in Clay County, Kan.; John, who resides in Homer, is a painter by occupation; Susan E. died at sixteen years of age; Ella, wife of Harris Wagner, resides in Burlington Township.
     The education gained in the common schools our subject has supplemented by careful reading and observation until, he is a man exceptionally well informed on current topics, and especially on political subjects.  In the advocacy of his views he has always been active and earnest, and is a recognized leader of the Democratic party in Licking County.  While a resident of Burlington Township he held the office of Township Clerk three years, was Township Treasurer ten and one-half years, and also served as President of the Homer School Board for nine years.
     A still higher honor was conferred upon Mr. Blue when, in 1887, he was elected a member of the House of Representatives of Ohio by the Democratic party, and two years later he succeeded himself, after which he voluntarily retired.  During his legislative work he served on various committees, and in the Sixty-eighth Assembly was a member of the Committees on Claims, Revision and Working Home of the Blind.  In the Sixty ninth Assembly he was Chairman of the Committee on County Affairs, a very important and responsible position, and also served on the Military Committee and the Committee on Medical Colleges and Societies.
     At the time of his election to the Legislature Mr. Blue was a merchant in Homer, having opened a store in that place in 1865.  He continued the business during both terms of the Legislature, closing it out afterward.  Prior to engaging as a merchant he was a farmer and came to Homer soon after his marriage.  This important event occurred Oct. 31,1862, the lady being Miss Sarah E. Smith, a cultured woman, who received a good education in the schools of Homer.  She is a daughter of Daniel A. Smith, a soldier in the War of 1812, who died in May, 1883, aged ninety-five years.  Her mother, whose maiden name was Elizabeth Mitchell, departed this life in September, 1893, at the age of eighty-two.
     Three children have blessed the union of Mr. and Mrs. Blue.  The eldest, Nettie, married J. W. Sigler, a merchant of Mt. Vernon, Ohio, engaged in a general store with Browning & Sperry; they have two children.  The younger daughters, Eleanor and Mabel, were educated in the public schools of Homer, Eleanor being a graduate of the Columbus Business College.  For two years she was stenographer for the Warden of the state penitentiary, was also employed in the Singer Sewing Machine office, and latterly in a railroad office, all in Columbus.
     Being called to Columbus on the convening of Legislature, Mr. Blue has since resided there.  Socially, he is a member of the Masonic order and the Independent Order of Odd Fellows.  His career was so long and closely linked with the history of Licking County, that a work of this character would be incomplete without a sketch of his life.  To the ability of such men as he does the county owe its advance movements in every department of business activity and the development of its valuable resources, and he therefore justly occupies a high place in the regard of the people.
Source:  Memorial Record of Licking Co., Ohio - Chicago - Record Publishing Co., 1894 - Page 247