Welcome to my search for the Flat Island BAKERS. I began my Family Tree many years ago, when I was 17 years old. I started by gathering family information from my grandmother, Ida Mae (Baker) Gates. This is part of the information that she gave to me:
Her grandfather’s name was Philip Baker and he was born on Flat Island. She didn’t know Philip’s father’s name, but she was told that he had died of smallpox and was buried on Flat Island. Philip was then raised by his uncles (names unknown). She also thought that he had 2 sisters. She said they were a different family of Bakers than the nearby “Tancook Bakers” and possibly from England. That’s all she knew about them. My “aunt” Lillie (Schnare) Gates remembered working on a project for school on the “History of Upper Blandford” and in it, they wrote, “Bill Baker came from Flat Island. Mr. Baker died of smallpox,” but she didn’t know anything more on this family. I have since found that this wonderful little booklet has been reproduced on the Blandford & Area Historical Society website (http://www.aspotoganpeninsula.com/hist1934.htm). According to this transcription, Lillie (Lily Schnare) was in Grade V at the time. So my first clue to his identity was that his name was “Bill” Baker. This was all I had to go on. I did slowly find more information on Philip Baker’s family, but for years, I could not locate his parentage or any records linking Bakers to Flat Island. Since this island is now unpopulated and not accessible by ferry, I had no leads on where to look next. I hit the brickwall. The last clue I discovered was that my husband had been duck hunting on Flat Island as a teenager. He remembers seeing an old house foundation and some gravestones – evidence that there were indeed people living and buried on Flat Island at one time. Unfortunately, we moved away from Nova Scotia and I still have not been able to visit the island to confirm what is out there. By starting this website and blog, I hope to be able to discover and document the facts connected to this elusive family and hopefully be able to tell the forgotten story of their lives, which has been lost to my family. Join me on my journey of discovery!!
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Cheryl LevyFamily History enthusiast and direct descendant of the Flat Island BAKERS. Categories
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