The Baker and Bird Families

But the family dynasty would be threatened as typhoid fever swept through the community in 1821, taking with it three members of three generations – Samuel Baker, his son-in-law Eleazer Belcher Jr. and his great granddaughter, six-year-old Mary Bird.

But there were few thoughts of death in those early years as the family continued to grow in numbers and influence as the community began to shed its rural heritage and enter the industrial age.

The Early Years...
Samuel Baker was one of the incorporators of the town that was formed in 1778, a founder of the Congregational Society and a deacon from 1805 until his death. His family occupied pew four in the Meeting House while midweek services were held in his home which also served as a virtual Inn for visiting clergy.

A man of strong beliefs, Deacon Baker was as patriotic as he was devout. The ferment that was festering in Boston did not escape his notice. Efforts by the Royal Governor to enforce taxes levied to support British interests rather than necessities in the Colonies did not set well. Defiance by the Colonists found a cause around which to rally – the tax on tea and the Crown’s reaction to the Boston Tea Party. Deacon Baker issued the edict that no tea was to be drunk in his house as long as the tea was taxed by the British. The news did not set well with Mrs. Baker, who had a strong fondness for the brew. Enlisting the help of young Esther, she had the child stand at the door to make sure her husband was not returning from the fields while she brewed herself a pot of tea. (The teapot used by Mrs. Baker is now on display at Memorial Hall.)

Once Foxborough formed a government in 1778, Deacon Baker was named Surveyor of Highways and to serve on the committee charged with deciding a method of collecting taxes.

When the town sought to beautify the area around the Meeting House, Deacon Baker donated most of the land in 1782 to form the present Common (which was laid out in its present configuration in 1857).

New blood lines
When young Esther Baker came of age, she married Eleazer Belcher Jr. October 30, 1791. The newlyweds moved into the Baker household and began making a life for themselves in the community. Her husband added an ell to the building to make room for his family, using lumber from the first schoolhouse in the center built on Chestnut Street.

Eleazer served as Surveyor of Highways in 1798 and again in 1801 and 1812. He was elected a Tythingman in 1814 and served as Pound Keeper in 1818.

Esther and Eleazer Belcher had a daughter Esther, their only child, in 1792. She married well, becoming the bride of Warren Bird Esq. in 1813, a union that would add many chapters to local history. Once again, the Baker farmhouse would be enlarged to accommodate newlyweds as three generations now called the sprawling farmhouse home.
The family would settle into village life, active in church and town affairs. Warren Bird would serve in an impressive number of town positions, including 20 years on the school committee, 14 as town clerk, eight as collector of taxes and 18 years as surveyor of highways, the third person to hold the title under Deacon Baker’s roof.

Warren Bird had been licensed to preach, and in 1822 became pastor of the Baptist Church by making a rather unusual offer. Church records that year read: “Voted cordial acceptance of an offer of W. Bird to supply our Pulpit one year gratis, and that he may, if he desires it, be absent four Sabbaths.” The offer would be repeated and accepted for a full decade during which the church moved from the Meeting House into its own building on Elm Street and many came into membership in 1823 and ’24.

The first of six Bird daughters was Mary Boyden Bird, born in 1814, followed by Catherine Emma in 1817 and Clementina in 1819.

Tragedy
Life was good in those busy village years as the community was coming of age. But residents had no way to guard themselves against a hidden danger that would soon have a grip on the community. A silent killer – typhoid fever -- began striking families and stalking the hallways of the Baker farm house.

The first to be stricken was little Mary Boyden Bird, great granddaughter of Deacon Baker. She died Sept. 28, 1821 at the age of six years and nine months, her mother too ill to come to her side even once during her sickness. Her great grandfather, Deacon Baker, succumbed the following day, Sept. 29. Little Mary’s grandfather, Eleazer Belcher Jr., who had been widowed a year earlier, died the next day, Sept. 30, 1821.

Following the tragedy, Esther and Warren Bird had three more daughters, Esther Belcher Bird in 1823, Angeline Cordelia in 1826 and Ann Elizabeth in 1828. The original Baker homestead was filled to capacity. As the girls married, some would spend their first few years in the old home prior to establishing residences of their own as they began to populate Baker Street which had been carved out of the original Baker farm.


The Baker & Bird Families

By Jack Authelet Esther Baker was born in March 3, 1770 to a life of position and privilege in the area that would later be set aside as a town called Foxborough. She was the only child of Samuel Baker of Walpole and Mary Boyden of Wrentham who married in 1769 and started a large farm here in the village. Their home faced the Meeting House on the Common and the farm was bounded roughly by Main and Chestnut Streets past Mechanic and nearly to Cocasset. It was the start of a family dynasty that would influence the church and town for generations, their descendants playing leadership roles in every aspect of life in the village. Esther’s daughter would marry another community leader whose influence was felt in the early decades of the 1800s and her granddaughters and their spouses would build the first stately homes on Baker Street which remain today a link to Foxborough’s coming of age in the 19th Century.	Baker Street viewed from Bird Street.
But the family dynasty would be threatened as typhoid fever swept through the community in 1821, taking with it three members of three generations – Samuel Baker, his son-in-law Eleazer Belcher Jr. and his great granddaughter, six-year-old Mary Bird. But there were few thoughts of death in those early years as the family continued to grow in numbers and influence as the community began to shed its rural heritage and enter the industrial age. The Early Years... Samuel Baker was one of the incorporators of the town that was formed in 1778, a founder of the Congregational Society and a deacon from 1805 until his death. His family occupied pew four in the Meeting House while midweek services were held in his home which also served as a virtual Inn for visiting clergy. A man of strong beliefs, Deacon Baker was as patriotic as he was devout. The ferment that was festering in Boston did not escape his notice. Efforts by the Royal Governor to enforce taxes levied to support British interests rather than necessities in the Colonies did not set well. Defiance by the Colonists found a cause around which to rally – the tax on tea and the Crown’s reaction to the Boston Tea Party. Deacon Baker issued the edict that no tea was to be drunk in his house as long as the tea was taxed by the British. The news did not set well with Mrs. Baker, who had a strong fondness for the brew. Enlisting the help of young Esther, she had the child stand at the door to make sure her husband was not returning from the fields while she brewed herself a pot of tea. (The teapot used by Mrs. Baker is now on display at Memorial Hall.) Once Foxborough formed a government in 1778, Deacon Baker was named Surveyor of Highways and to serve on the committee charged with deciding a method of collecting taxes. When the town sought to beautify the area around the Meeting House, Deacon Baker donated most of the land in 1782 to form the present Common (which was laid out in its present configuration in 1857). New blood lines When young Esther Baker came of age, she married Eleazer Belcher Jr. October 30, 1791. The newlyweds moved into the Baker household and began making a life for themselves in the community. Her husband added an ell to the building to make room for his family, using lumber from the first schoolhouse in the center built on Chestnut Street. Eleazer served as Surveyor of Highways in 1798 and again in 1801 and 1812. He was elected a Tythingman in 1814 and served as Pound Keeper in 1818. Esther and Eleazer Belcher had a daughter Esther, their only child, in 1792. She married well, becoming the bride of Warren Bird Esq. in 1813, a union that would add many chapters to local history. Once again, the Baker farmhouse would be enlarged to accommodate newlyweds as three generations now called the sprawling farmhouse home. The family would settle into village life, active in church and town affairs. Warren Bird would serve in an impressive number of town positions, including 20 years on the school committee, 14 as town clerk, eight as collector of taxes and 18 years as surveyor of highways, the third person to hold the title under Deacon Baker’s roof. Warren Bird had been licensed to preach, and in 1822 became pastor of the Baptist Church by making a rather unusual offer. Church records that year read: “Voted cordial acceptance of an offer of W. Bird to supply our Pulpit one year gratis, and that he may, if he desires it, be absent four Sabbaths.” The offer would be repeated and accepted for a full decade during which the church moved from the Meeting House into its own building on Elm Street and many came into membership in 1823 and ’24. The first of six Bird daughters was Mary Boyden Bird, born in 1814, followed by Catherine Emma in 1817 and Clementina in 1819. Tragedy Life was good in those busy village years as the community was coming of age. But residents had no way to guard themselves against a hidden danger that would soon have a grip on the community. A silent killer – typhoid fever -- began striking families and stalking the hallways of the Baker farm house. The first to be stricken was little Mary Boyden Bird, great granddaughter of Deacon Baker. She died Sept. 28, 1821 at the age of six years and nine months, her mother too ill to come to her side even once during her sickness. Her great grandfather, Deacon Baker, succumbed the following day, Sept. 29. Little Mary’s grandfather, Eleazer Belcher Jr., who had been widowed a year earlier, died the next day, Sept. 30, 1821. Following the tragedy, Esther and Warren Bird had three more daughters, Esther Belcher Bird in 1823, Angeline Cordelia in 1826 and Ann Elizabeth in 1828. The original Baker homestead was filled to capacity. As the girls married, some would spend their first few years in the old home prior to establishing residences of their own as they began to populate Baker Street which had been carved out of the original Baker farm.
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