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Silent City: Hershel Clay Baker by Dave Thomas Silent City performer Dave Thomas brought the story of Hershel Clay Baker to the stage - the historic Columbia Cemetery - during the 2023 event. The notes from his presentation to the crowd of history lovers follows: Good afternoon, my name is Herschel Clay Baker, I've been here quite some time, but, I was up and about long before I made it here. December 16, 1841...the day I was born, a ways from here in Cumberland County, to Elaizer Clay Baker and Sarah Alexander Baker, my parents, who I sadly lost very young. I was only 5 when my father died and at 14 I lost my mother. After my mother passed is when I came to Columbia, to live with my uncle, Thomas Alexander, who was a local Judge. I attended school in Columbia, graduated from the Male and Female High School and went on to attend Centre College in Danville, as part of the Class of 1862. During my junior year at Centre, I was called to deliver the graduation address to the outgoing senior class. That was the first time in the College's history that an underclassmen had been asked to give the graduation speech, and in my lifetime it didn't happen again, and that was quite a while, at the time of my passing, I was the oldest living alumni of Centre College, but we'll get to that a bit later. After college, I returned to Columbia and practiced law under my uncle, Judge Alexander, and was admitted to the bar in 1863. I would practice locally until 1876, but between that time, I would marry my wife, Dollie. Dollie is what she was known by to all that came in acquaintance, although few knew her full name to be Dorothy...Dorothy Lisle, she was from Lebanon, Marion County. Dollie and I were married in 1867 and between 1868 and 1883, we welcomed 7 children into our family...4 daughters and 3 sons: Nannie, Sarah, Nette and Mamie...Waller, Tyler and Herschel. Our first born, our daughter Nannie, unfortunately died as an infant, the only of our children to die young and not grow to become adult age. Now as I mentioned, after admission to the bar, I practiced locally until 1876, when I was met with the opportunity to practice with a larger firm. It would require my family and I to relocate to Louisville, which we did, but it was very short lived, and in 1879, after just 3 years, we moved back to Columbia for good. I had many an iron in the fire from then on. Along with the law practice and also in business and politics. In politics, I was fortunate to have gained the respect of both Republicans and Democrats alike. I represented Adair County in the state legislature, served as County Attorney, and as Judge of the 29th Judicial District for 6 years. In business, like politics, I did my best to earn the utmost respect of all my constituents. I was president of the board that organized the very first fair we had in Columbia, that was 1884. I was involved in the organization of the Bank of Columbia, for which I served as president for a time. I also helped start the Columbia Spectator, and while getting it off the ground, served for a brief time as editor. I was notably and most proudly involved in local education. Having a large family, making sure our children had the best education possible was very important to me. I was chairman of the board of trustees for the Male and Female High School for several years, and during that period, the time came that I felt the school had served its days, if you will. It was then that I began the negotiations to replace the current system with a graded educational system. These negotiations didn't go as smoothly as you may think. While I had many in agreement that the change was necessary, there was also plenty of opposition, those who didn't feel a change was needed. The discussions became heated and bitter on several occasions. It took 3 attempts for a motion to pass, but on the third try, the vote finally carried. Now, with all the things I was involved with, practicing law, the several business ventures and politics...Dollie and I always made sure that family took center stage. With such a large family, it would have been easy for us to cut corners and make things easier, but that isn't how we wanted to go about things. Above all, I wanted my children to know that your personality and character would take you further than any monetary or material thing. Church was a big part of Dollie and my lives growing up, and we wanted the same for our children. We were members of the Presbyterian Church, very active and devoted members. I served as an elder for a time, while Dollie was highly involved with the other women in the church. Our children were introduced to church at young ages and continued into their adult lives. Now it my seem as though things were very well for our family...and it was, there'll be know pity party from yours truly, we were met with the same trials and struggles as everyone else in those times, but I can proudly say that my family never wanted nor needed for anything. The only dark cloud being the death of our infant daughter. Tragedy would cast its shadow again however. In 1904, the last of August, a Wednesday afternoon, Dollie and I were on our way home from Russell Springs...we were at the crossing of Russell Creek, just past White Oak, when for whatever reason, our horse became spooked...I lost control of the reins and we were left with no choice but to jump from the buggy. Fortunately, other than some scratches and scrapes, I was unhurt. Dollie however was not ad lucky, and she suffered severe injuries in her fall. I was able to get her to the nearest house, the home of a Mr. Cy Roy. Mr Roy took us in and immediately sent to Columbia for Dr. Grissom and Dr. Grady. Seeing the severity of her injuries, our children were sent for as well and made haste to get to their mothers side. At one time, she did regain consciousness and was able to communicate with those around, and we were met with hope of a recovery. The hope however, turned out to be false...on the Sunday following the accident, at about 3 in the afternoon, my sweet Dollie succumbed to her injuries, very peacefully in her sleep. The following day, W.C. Clements presided over a beautiful service, after which, Dollie was laid to rest here in our family's plot. Our children, as they became adults and embarked on lives of their own, were very successful. Our son Waller went into banking with the Monticello Bank. Nette married a very prominent Texas lawyer named William Walker. Mamie married a local man by the name of William Jones, who was school superintendent for many years. Our youngest, Herschel, went into the lumber business and was very prosperous. Sarah, "Sallie" as she was better known, never married or had any children, but she left her mark on the community through her career as a teacher. She was also a founding member of the Jane Lampton Daughters of the American Revolution. She also took excellent care of me in my final years. Following the tragic events of 1904, I would outlive my wife by some 30 years, but by the time spring arrived in 1934, I was in a poor, poor shape...had been since earlier that past winter. Ironically as it may seem, that the accident that would eventually take Dollie's life happened on a Wednesday afternoon...it was also late in the evening on a Wednesday, that after clinging to life by a mere thread for several days, a heart attack would bring my time to an end, 92 years after it began over in Cumberland County. A couple days later, Rev. Arthur Gross led my funeral service at the Presbyterian Church, after which I was brought and laid to rest next to Dollie. Some of our children and grandchildren have followed since...And that brings us to today. It appears that the sun is setting on my time above the sod, so I'd like to Thank each of you for your visit this evening, and feel free to visit again whenever you'd like. And just because I have to go doesn't mean you have to, I encourage you to take a stroll on through the Silent City, and you may just happen across one of my neighbors who'd love to make your acquaintance as well. Thank You again, and God bless each of you! This story was posted on 2023-10-23 20:17:00
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More articles from topic Local History:
Dr. Charles Montgomery Russell featured at Silent City Silent City 2023: Professor and Mrs. A.H. Ballard Silent City 2023: Matthew and Tranquilla Armstrong Lee Ann Jessee was Rosa Flowers Grissom in Silent City Photo Contest being held at Genealogy & History Center Search is on for past MCHS yearbooks How do we know it's time for lunch without the clock DAR Heritage explored at Adair Genealogy Meeting Kennedy's mother visited Columbia in 1960 Honeymoon at Dreamland, September 1964 View even more articles in topic Local History |
 
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