DUANE
Duane's take
Here's my telling of what the official marker says about James Louis and Ellen Austin Baker, up there in San Saba County — and friend, buckle in, because this one covers some ground. Now, you have to understand where this story starts before you can appreciate where it ends. Jim Baker came into the world in 1829, and Ellen Prather Austin came along in 1839.
Jim's people had rolled into Texas all the way from Tennessee back during the days of the Republic itself. Ellen's family had made the trek from Missouri, settling in Travis County. And it was in Travis County that these two found each other, married on June 15, 1859, and set the whole thing in motion.
The Baker family had already been in the cattle business for a good while before that wedding day. Jim's father, James H. Baker, had registered the Baker B cattle brand way back in 1836, right there in Travis County.
That's not a family that came late to the game. Cattle and wealth — the marker puts those two words together, and it's hard to argue with either one. Then in 1856 — three years before Jim and Ellen even married — Jim and his brother George made a move that announced exactly what kind of men they were.
They loaded up six thousand head of cattle and drove them from Travis County to the newly formed San Saba County. Six thousand head. And within five years, that herd had multiplied significantly.
San Saba was starting to feel like home. But 1861 brought a moment that could have ended the whole story right there. Jim and Ellen, their daughter Olga, and Ellen's father were traveling from Austin back to the Baker home in San Saba when they were attacked by members of the Comanche Tribe, in Lampasas County.
Jim was struck by multiple arrows. Multiple. The man recovered — he did — but the wounds were serious enough that he was unable to assume active duty during the Civil War.
That's the kind of thing you carry for the rest of your life. After the war ended, Jim and George went back to work. They operated together as the Baker Brothers, and their branded cattle ranged from the head of the San Saba River all the way down to Onion Creek in Travis County — a stretch of one hundred and fifty miles.
One hundred and fifty miles of Baker cattle. But cattle raids were a real and ongoing problem, and the brothers made a decision: they would move their herds out of Texas and onto open lands near Trinidad, Colorado. By 1871, Jim and George had moved at least three herds to Trinidad, and they did it using the Goodnight-Loving Trail.
In 1873, they registered a new brand — the Lazy F. And by 1878, they were ready for the next chapter, moving a portion of the herd back into northwest Texas to establish the Quitaque Ranch, out in the Quitaque Peaks region. Now here's the number that makes you sit back and just shake your head a little.
In January of 1880, Jim and George sat down and negotiated the sale of their one-hundred-and-forty-thousand-acre Quitaque Ranch — along with twenty thousand cattle and the Lazy F brand itself — to Charles Goodnight, on behalf of Cornelia and John Adair. One hundred and forty thousand acres. Twenty thousand cattle.
A brand they'd built from scratch. And what did Jim and Ellen do with all of that? They went home.
Back to their beloved San Saba, the marker says, and I think that word — beloved — does a lot of work in two syllables. They resumed ranching on a limited scale, comfortable and settled at last. Jim Baker, born 1829, died 1903.
Ellen Baker, born 1839, died 1909. Both of them passed at their home in Baker Valley. From six thousand cattle on the move to one hundred and forty thousand acres sold, from arrows in Lampasas County to a quiet home in Baker Valley — that is one life.
That is two lives, really. And San Saba County still holds the memory of both of them.
What the marker says
James "Jim" Louis Baker (1829-1903) and Eleanor "Ellen" Prather Austin Baker (1839-1909) married in Travis County on June 15, 1859. Jim's family moved to Texas from Tennessee during the time of the Republic, and Ellen's family moved to Travis County from Missouri. Jim's father, James H. Baker, registered the "Baker B" cattle brand in 1836 in Travis County. The family acquired both cattle and wealth. In 1856, Jim and his brother George moved 6,000 head of cattle from Travis County to the newly formed San Saba County. Within five years, the herd had multiplied significantly. While traveling from Austin to the Baker home in San Saba, Jim, Ellen, their daughter Olga, and Ellen's father were attacked by members of the Comanche Tribe in Lampasas County in 1861. Jim was wounded by multiple arrows. He recovered but was unable to assume active duty during the Civil War. After the war ended, Jim and George operated as the "baker brothers" with branded cattle ranging from the head of the San Saba river to Onion Creek in Travis County, a distance of 150 miles. Soon after, the brothers decided to move their cattle from Texas to open lands near Trinidad, Colorado, in an effort to avoid cattle raids. By 1871, Jim and George moved at least three herds to Trinidad using the Goodnight-Loving Trail. The brothers registered their own brand, the "Lazy F" (1873), and by 1878, were ready to move some of the herd to the Quitaque Peaks regions of northwest Texas, establishing the Quitaque Ranch. In January 1880, Jim and George negotiated the sale of their 140,000-acre Quitaque Ranch, 20,000 cattle and the Lazy F brand to Charles Goodnight for Cornelia and John Adair. The Bakers were able to return to their beloved San Saba and comfortably resume ranching on a limited scale. Both Jim and Ellen died at their home in Baker Valley.