Cyrus Baker, a prosperous business man of Sims, Grant county, Indiana, was born in Clark county, Ohio, October 16, 1830. He received his preliminary education in the subscription schools in vogue at the time of his boyhood, but this has been largely supplemented by a life-time of careful reading and observation. His early years were spent in farming, though he did not settle down to any definite occupation for some years after arriving at the age of maturity. For some eight years he employed his winters in trapping and in buying and selling furs. This was a profitable business, which he combined with his farming interests. In 1862 he came to Grant county, Indiana, walking all the way from Wabash to Marion, having reached the former place by canal boat from his Buckeye home. Here he lived with his sister during the Civil war, but afterward returned to Ohio, where he engaged in the grocery business for a number of years. While sojourning temporarily in Grant county he purchased fifty acres of land, for which he paid six dollars per acre, and this was the nucleus to his later possesions in real estate.

        On returning to Grant county in May, 1871, Mr. Baker exchanged this piece of land for other real estate property in Sims township, where he has since lived and has has been prominently identified with the growth and progress of his town and county. It was Mr. Baker who was instrumental in laying out the village of Sims and he has always manifested great interest in the development of the lively and prosperous little town. He was one of the organizers of the Sims Gas & Fuel Company, of which he has been a trustee since its organization. He also aided materially in the development of the oil and gas interests in Sims township and in the profitable utilization of the same. In political affairs he has been equally interested and zealous. For sixteen years he occupied the thankless but honorable position of township committeeman, having always affiliated with the Republican party.

        The ancestral history of Cyrus Baker is a matter of interest, as well as special honor to himself. The man who can trace his lineage to Revolutionary sires and a race of patriots from the far-away day to the present has a genealogy of which any true American may justly feel proud. The family history is as follows: He is a son of John and Susanna (Norman) Baker. Father was born in Rockingham county, Virginia, December 25, 1788, and died November 3, 1859. The grandfather of this venerable pioneer came from Germany in early colonial days and settled in the Jamestown colony. His son, Henry Baker, was a soldier in the Revolutionary war and fought under General Washington, and, tradition says, was present at the surrender of Lord Cornwallis at Yorktown. Henry Baker, mentioned here, married Martilina Shank. The father of Cyrus Baker was a soldier in the second war with England and was wounded at Fort Jefferson, Ohio, in a fight with Indian allies of the British government. As a result of this wound he lost a foot and was a pensioner during the remainder of his life.

        Cyrus Baker was married on the 9th of June, 1872, the lady of his choice being Miss Rachel Harris, a daughter of Nathaniel and Pinniah (Elliott) Harris. Miss Harris was born July 12, 1842, and received a good education in the public schools. She, too, is a representative of Revolutionary stock. Her family is of Scotch-Irish descent, established in America by her great-grandfather, who settled in North Carolina. There her grandfather, William Harris, was born and became a soldier in the Continental army during the Revolution. Her maternal grandfather, Pritlow Elliott was also a soldier in the war for America independence. An uncle of her father spent seven years in captivity among the Indians, and on his return he was not recognized by his wife and family, they believing him dead.

        The family of Mr. and Mrs. Baker consists of five children, whose names are given below: Mary E., the eldest, was born June 15, 1873. She is now the wife of Cyrus Osborn and they have two daughters, Lillian L. and Florence; Ellen M., who was born October 14, 1874, became the wife of Estes Bailey. They have two sons, Vaughn D. and Tass; Eber J. was born April 12, 1875; Ida S., the wife of William H. Bailey, was born May 15, 1877. Their two children are named Rosella Chloe and Mary Dace; Thomas E., the youngest of the family, was born July 27, 1881.

        Mr. and Mrs. Baker have given their children the best of educational advantages and they are all highly intellectual and cultured people. The married members of the family are settled around the parental home and are in comfortable circumstances and happy domestic relations. The family sustain very high social standing in the community and are rated among the best citizens of the county. Cyrus Baker is a gentleman of affable and pleasing manner, whose years rest so lightly upon him that the casual observer would never receive the impression that he has already passed the "three-score and ten" milestone on life's journey. His has been an active and busy life in which all has not been sunshine, neither has he had serious misfortune. His efforts in the business world have been measurably successful and his ample possessions are the result of his own and his estimable wife's business tact, industry and good management. Assuredly no family in Grant county has a prouder ancestral record, or is more worthy of representation in a volume dedicated to the life history of the leading families. Space is cheerfully given to this fairly complete resume of the family history, and it is believed that its careful preservation and transmission to future generations will prove a source of pleasure and profit to those who may read it in future ages.