See also
| Husband: | Reuben BAKER (1810- ) | |
| Wife: | Frances AGATE (1817-1895) | |
| Children: | Sarah Ann BAKER (1836- ) | |
| Fanny BAKER (1838- ) | ||
| William Arthur BAKER (1842- ) | ||
| Alice BAKER (1842- ) | ||
| Ruth BAKER (1844- ) | ||
| Reuben BAKER (1847- ) | ||
| George BAKER (1849-1930) | ||
| Marriage | 21 Jun 1835 | St. Nicholas, Brighton |
| Name: | Reuben BAKER | |
| Sex: | Male | |
| Father: | Arthur BAKER (1767-1844) | |
| Mother: | Elizabeth CHANTLER (1770-1850) | |
| Birth | 1810 | Billingshurst, Sussex |
| Census | 1851 (age 40-41) | 20 Vine Street, Brighton |
| Death | "BEF. 1861" | |
| Name: | Frances AGATE | |
| Sex: | Female | |
| Father: | William AGATE (1786-1863) | |
| Mother: | Phebea FRANCIS (1790-1835) | |
| Birth | 9 Feb 1817 | Pulborough, Sussex |
| Death | 29 Nov 1895 (age 78) | 32 Caledonian Road, Brighton |
| Name: | Sarah Ann BAKER | |
| Sex: | Female | |
| Birth | 25 Sep 1836 | Godstone, Surrey |
| Name: | Fanny BAKER | |
| Sex: | Female | |
| Birth | 19 Aug 1838 | Godstone, Surrey |
| Name: | William Arthur BAKER | |
| Sex: | Male | |
| Spouse: | Ann Susan HARDS (1842- ) | |
| Birth | 4 Sep 1842 | Great Bookham, Surrey |
| Name: | Alice BAKER | |
| Sex: | Female | |
| Birth | 9 Sep 1842 | Great Bookham, Surrey |
| Name: | Ruth BAKER | |
| Sex: | Female | |
| Spouse: | Edward George BENNETT (1843- ) | |
| Birth | 12 May 1844 | Great Bookham, Surrey |
| Name: | Reuben BAKER | |
| Sex: | Male | |
| Spouse: | Barbara HARDS (1846- ) | |
| Birth | 7 Mar 1847 | Epsom, Surrey |
| Name: | George BAKER | |
| Sex: | Male | |
| Spouse 1: | Rebecca SPARSHOTT (1851-1892) | |
| Spouse 2: | Eliza Emma MILES (1863- ) | |
| Birth | 4 Mar 1849 | Epsom, Surrey |
| Census | 1881 (age 31-32) | 43 Wood Street, Brighton |
| Death | 1930 (age 80-81) | |
1. I have found no record of the birth of Reuben Baker and no evidence that his father's name is Arthur. Any mention of his father is pure guesswork. See Note 9 below. The absence of a birth record might be because the family were non-conformists - See Note 2 on Arthur Baker.
2. The first mention of Reuben Baker is on Ancestry.com which has a record of his marriage to Frances Agate on 21 June 1835 at Saint Nicholas church, Brighton. His father's name is not shown, but maybe it would be there if a photo of the source record were available.
3. His first two children were born in Godstone, 1836 and 1838, and the parish register gives his profession as Maltster. Wife's name is Frances.
4. There is an 1841 census entry for him in Epsom. See transcript at www.familychest.co.uk/History/Data/Cen41_005.htm
5. In 1849, the birth certificate of his son George gives his profession as Bricklayer. This certificate clearly says that his wife's name was Frances Baker, formerly Agate.
6. The 1851 census shows him at 20 Vine Street, Brighton, living with his wife and 5 children. profession Bricklayer. The problem is that it gives his wife's name as Alice, but this appears to be a completely isolated mistake. See census transcript at www.familychest.co.uk/History/Data/Cen51_004.htm
7. By the time of the 1861 census his wife (whose name has reverted to Frances) is a widow.
8. The marriage certificate of his son George in 1869 shows him as deceased. His profession is given as Plasterer.
9. I have made contact with Karen Norrish who has seen a will of an Arthur Baker, bricklayer, 1767 - 1844, of Billingshurst. He married Elizabeth Chantler and had 4 (surviving) children, James, David (b. 1796), Elizabeth and Reuben. She believes that some of the family moved later to Hove and then Brighton. The fact that this Arthur Baker had a son Reuben, in Billingshurst, of roughly the right age is the only reason for pencilling in Arthur as the father of our Reuben.. Karen has searched the Billingshurst parish registers (and some of the surrounding parishes) and has failed to find any record of his birth. See the notes on Arthur Baker for a possible explanation.
10. The PRO Index has the death of a Reuben Baker in Brighton, 3rd Qtr 1851 - but it is not him. (This is a 6-month old child, the son of a Reuben Baker, Tailor). There is another death of Rheuben Baker in Brighton, 4th Qtr 1851 (Vol VII p.211) - Not checked yet.
1. My evidence concerning Reuben's wife starts with the birth certificate of George b. 4/3/1849 in Epsom, the son of Reuben Baker and Frances, formerly Agate.
2. The 1841 census shows the family living at Bookham Common - Westside, Epsom. Surrey. Here Frances is aged 26. See the census transcript at www.familychest.co.uk/History/Data/Cen41_005.htm
3. We then run into a problem with the 1851 census where Reuben's wife is down as Alice, aged 31 and born in Godstone. All these details are very questionable. The 1851 entry shows the family living at 20 Vine Street, Brighton. See census transcript at
www.familychest.co.uk/History/Data/Cen51_004.htm
The change in the wife's name suggests a second marriage but I have checked from 1849 - 1851 inclusive in the PRO index both for the death of a Frances Baker and for the re-marriage of Reuben without success. I have also checked in parish registers for Godstone and all neighbouring parishes for the birth of any Frances or Alice Agate, but without finding anyone at all suitable. The conclusion is that the appearance of Alice Baker in the 1851 census is an isolated mistake.
4. Fortunately the 1861 census shows that Frances Baker is still alive and well, which comfirms that the 1851 version is simply a mistake. The 1861 record shows Frances Baker, widow, born Pulborough, age 37, living at 19 Crown Garden, Brighton with 3 children. See the census transcript at www.familychest.co.uk/History/Data/Cen61_005.htm
5. Ancestry.com shows a Frances Agate christened 9/2/1817 in Pulborough.
6. The date of death of 1895 and corresponding place are both taken from an entry on Ancestry.com provided by a descendent of her son George. This entry also agrees with her date and place of birth as Pulborough in 1817.
7. The details about Frances Agate's parents are taken from David Walshe's family tree on Ancestry.