Collection is open for research.
Gift of Mrs. Lincoln Earl Kennedy, 1966 (Lib. Acc. 10254).
The collection is arranged in two series: Series 1. Family papers; Series 2. Baker & Baker Company records.
Henry Clay Baker was the son of Dorsey Syng Baker (1823-1888) and Caroline Tibbetts (died circa 1863), and the grandson of Gideon Tibbetts (1808-1887) and Mary Fox Tibbetts (1815-1901). Dorsey Syng Baker crossed the plains to Oregon in 1848. After living briefly in California, Baker returned to Oregon in the early 1850s. In 1850, he married Caroline Tibbetts and they had four children. Baker was educated as a physician but eventually ventured into a variety of businesses, such as a store, steamboats, and railway lines. He built the second rail line in the Pacific Northwest, which was named the "Rawhide Railroad." He also established, with John F. Boyer, one of the first banks in eastern Washington.
The Tibbetts family was connected to the Bakers through the marriage of Caroline Tibbetts to Dorsey Syng Baker. Gideon and Mary Tibbetts arrived in Oregon in 1847. A few years later, Gideon Tibbetts moved his family to East Portland and took over a homestead originally held by a family named Dobbins. This area, about 600 acres, was known as Tibbetts Addition. Gideon also served one term in the Oregon Legislature.
Henry Clay Baker family papers, Mss 1126, Oregon Historical Society Research Library.
Dorsey Syng Baker letters, Coll 20, Oregon Historical Research Library.
The collection consists of papers of the family of Henry Clay Baker, including property, estate, and financial documents. The materials are related to the Baker family of Walla Walla, Washington, and the Tibbetts family of Portland, Oregon. The majority of the collection consists of property-related documents such as deeds, abstracts of title, and plats. The estate papers relate mostly to Mary Tibbetts. The collection includes financial records of the Baker & Baker Company. A "fence book" for the estate of Dorsey Syng Baker describes properties in the state of Washington.
The Oregon Historical Society owns the materials in the Research Library and makes available reproductions for research, publication, and other uses. The Society does not necessarily hold copyright to all materials in the collections. In some cases, permission for use may require seeking additional authorization from copyright owners.
Howard McKinley, editor, "Dictionary of Oregon History" (Portland, Oregon: Corning, Binfords and Mort, 1956); Morning Oregonian, August 6, 1887; biography file, Tibbetts, Mrs. Gideon, Oregon Historical Society Research Library; Scrapbook 51, pages 155-156, and Scrapbook 66, page 8, Oregon Historical Society Research Library.
Inventory of real and personal property, account information, receipts, and map of Tibbetts Addition, Portland, Oregon
Quitclaim and warranty deeds.
Property locations in eastern Washington.
Property in Columbia County, Oregon, and lot 7, block 201, Portland, Oregon.