110 Park Avenue Brockport, N.Y. History written by Carol L. Hannan, June 2014 Photo Credit and Produced by Pamela Ketchum© Copyright by Carol L. Hannan – June 2014. All rights reserved. Ellen M. Baker Owner/builder: by 1902 to 1926 The history of 110 Park Avenue begins with Charles H. and Ellen Case Baker, already detailed in the house history of 54 South Street, which originally was a Mechanic Street (now Park Avenue) home. Charles, the Civil War veteran, and his wife Ellen moved to Brockport after living in Ogden and Hulburton, an Orleans County hamlet, where their last child Marcus was born. A farmer before the war, Charles worked as a carpenter after his military service. Farming was risky business. He knew that first-hand. In the late 1890s, Charles, Ellen and his parents lost their Odgen farm to foreclosure. Hulburton was the site of their daughter Adah’s wedding to William Tompkins in 1890 and the birthplace of their youngest child, Marcus Phillip. Marcus declared his birthplace on both his army enlistment papers and World War I Draft Registration. In all, it’s believed that Charles and Ellen had six children. More is known about some of their offspring than others. Son Charles H. and daughter Louise, according to newspaper obituaries, did not survive their parents. Ada (or Adah) Baker Thompkins Clute lived in Buffalo, where she died in 1935, after being hit by a taxi. Bert C. married and moved to Michigan, where he worked as a carpenter. Grace A. Baker Bowen was her mother’s executrix. Youngest child Marcus was, at first, a photographer in Brockport, who then spent the next six years of his life in the army hospital corps, travelling the world and then the western United States. He was last identified living in Delaware. Although none of the Bowen children stayed in Brockport, granddaughter Blanche Bowen Remington and her children would return to live in the village. Many details of Ellen’s parentage are unsupported by evidence but it’s known that her father’s name was William H., a farmer and later, a day laborer in Sweden, Union and Ogden. Polly A. was her mother’s name. She had one brother, Edwin De Los Case. No information about her family could be found locally after the 1860 Federal Census. They may have moved out of state. Charles Baker died in 1901 and was buried in the Brockport Cemetery. Ellen, with her children grown and living alone, retained ownership of a portion of her lot, on which 110 Park Avenue was built. At some point in time, a large barn, built and owned by a neighbor on South Street, was acquired as part of the lot belonging to 110 Park Avenue. The small house and large barn take up the entire lot area. It was here that Ellen lived for the remainder of her life. She was not, as some people may have thought, living in a house built for the hired hands who worked in the complex of barns once owned by the residents of 48 South Street. Ellen was a housewife during her married life. There were a few contemporary reports of visits with her children but no other details of her life were found. She passed away “suddenly” in Buffalo, where two of her children, Adah and Marcus, were living at the time. Her funeral was held in the Brockport Methodist Episcopal Church. Burial was in the Brockport Cemetery. Epilogue 2014 The tiny house on Park Avenue stands today. The owner has utilized the tree lawn to plant a garden of perennial flowers which complement the colorful window box plantings of this cozy Brockport cottage. © Copyright by Carol L. Hannan - June 2014. All rights reserved. |
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