Adin Baker ---100 Years ago Enlisted in WWI by Various Baker and Taylor Cousins!

Adin in Uniform

Today,  June 24^th, it is one hundred years since our Great Uncle Adin entered the US Army and thus, World War One.

The Center Lisle Historian, Eleanor Ticknor, kindly sent along his service record:

ADIN BAKER SERVICE RECORD    World War I  

Adin Leonard Baker, born in Cadwell Settlement, near Center Lisle, Broome County, New York, June 26, 1889.

Parents:  Bryon H. Baker and Kate Youngs, his wife, both native born        Americans

·        Inducted into the Selective Service of the United States and entrained at Binghamton, New York, for Camp Upton, Long Island, New York, June 24, 1918.

·        Assigned at Camp Upton to the 10^th Company, 152^nd Depot Brigade, 3^rd Battalion, Infantry, June 25, 1918.

·        Transferred July 11^th, 1918 for Camp Greenleigh, Georgia, arriving July 4^th, and there assigned to Motor Company 1, Medical.

·        Transferred for Camp Crane, Pennsylvania, arriving August 2^nd, 1918, and there assigned to Unit 1, 1^st Replacement, Medical.

·        Left Camp Crane, (Allentown, Pa.), August 21^st, 1918, for overseas, via Montreal, Canada.  Embarked at Montreal, August 22^nd, on H. M. T. Valstia, sailed down the St. Lawrence river and laid off Sydney for a week; and the Valentia returned to Quebec September 3^rd, and transferred her troops to H. M. T. Port of Lincoln was one of 27 troop ships convoyed by five destroyers and a warship of the smaller class.

·        Landed in Liverpool September 16^th, 1918 at 8 o'clock in the morning, and on the same day marched out about seven miles to Knotty Ash rest camp. On Sept. 18^th, was one of 25 assigned to American Red Cross Hospital No. 4, at Mosley Hill, Liverpool, and served in the influenza and pneumonia ward.

·        Was detailed October 6^th, 1918, as one of two Medical orderlies to accompany, and in charge of, a psychopathic patient being returned to New York City on the White Starliner, Lapland.  Two days before reaching New York, Orderly Baker came down with the flu which became complicated with pneumonia and pleurisy.  On December 6^th, he was transferred to Camp Dix, New Jersey and to C Company, Overseas Convalescents.

·        Discharged December 12^th, 1918.

We here at the Cousins Blog have written about Uncle Adin before:

1.     Haying at Adin’s, by CB Taylor Kinsella (2007):

http://taylorbakercousins.blogspot.com/2007/11/haying-at-adins-by-aunt-cb.html

2.     Visiting Adin’s Farm by Sue Kinsella (2007):

http://taylorbakercousins.blogspot.com/2007/12/visiting-adins-farm-by-sue-kinsella.html

3.     Adin Baker, World War One and the Spanish Influenza, By Aunt CB and Pat Kinsella Herdeg (2009):

http://taylorbakercousins.blogspot.com/2009/06/adin-baker-world-war-one-and-spanish.html

4.     Adin and the Hobo Camps, by Aunt CB Kinsella ( 2010):

http://taylorbakercousins.blogspot.com/2010/06/adin-and-hobo-camps-by-aunt-cb.html

5.     Happy Birthday Uncle Adin! ( 2010):

http://taylorbakercousins.blogspot.com/2010/06/happy-birthday-uncle-adin.html

6.     Adin’s Letters for Veteran’s Day, By Pat Kinsella Herdeg (2010):

http://taylorbakercousins.blogspot.com/2010/11/adins-letters-for-veterans-day-by-pat.html

7.     Memories of Uncle Adin Baker by Aunt CB (Two months ago!):

http://taylorbakercousins.blogspot.com/2018/04/memories-of-adin-baker-by-cb-taylor.html

Take your time and read through all of these stories on Uncle Adin. They are fascinating! Some highlights of his time in World War One:

Adin writing from Camp Greenleaf in July of 1918:

It is not much hotter here than at home. Am in the Medical Corps. Was disappointed to be put in that as I signed for Infantry at Upton but drafted men go where they put them. I have a medicine belt with twelve compartments filled with bandages, liniments, powders and a short hatchet. If I meet the Kaiser I hollar "hoo hoo hoo" and then I swing on him as I have no rifle. They say we get an automatic revolver when we get across."

Adin writing from England:

"Dear Mother,
Just a few lines to you. Am alright, feeling fine. Had a good trip across, did not get seasick, but some did and you ought to see them puke.

Hope you and Pa are alright and keep well. Do not work too hard. The war news sounds good, the English people sure use the Yanks good. You ought to see them when we unloaded. We marched through town to the camp, small boys and bigger girls walked on both sides. "

Adin's mother and father next heard from the Red Cross in a telegram:

'It is our sorrowful duty to inform you that you son is critically ill at this hospital.'

We know the rest of the story--it ended well, and Adin's next letters were sent from Ellis Island, where he stayed for a few months to recuperate.

On December 24th, 1918, he again writes his mother:

“Think I will be home by January 1st and all through. Was examined by 21 doctors, one for nearly every part of the body. They OK and marked me normal in every way so I stand in class A for discharge."

Soon after, Adin came home to his beloved farm in Center Lisle.

If you read the Adin stories above, you have read Aunt CB’s memories, so I asked the cousins to write what they remembered of Uncle Adin.

 Adin Leonard Baker

From Nancy Taylor Wright:

My memories of Uncle Adin are somewhat vague.   I remember visiting him and Grandma Baker in that small farmhouse with a little porch on the front, thinking of him as someone that was tall and thin in farm clothes, and it seems that I remember his voice was deep and a little slow and warm when he talked, and possibly that he took me and my brothers out to see the cows.   But then, I remember more tales of the cows, cow patties, and blackberry picking in the pasture from Aunt Dot and Aunt CB. 

  

I do seem to remember pies cooling off on the back porch and the fly strips that hung from the ceiling of the back porch, and when I had my house in Lake Helen and found fly strips still available in Home Depot, I was elated and bought them and hung them around the back of my house to catch the deer flies and the love bugs that we always had in early summer, and it brought back so many memories.   

I remember the little white farmhouse being much different than the Baker farmhouse picture of 1913 that I have, which was a much bigger house.   

Wish I had more big stories to tell about the Baker Farmhouse trips, as I remember us kids were eager to get over to Aunt Lil's General Store where we could get a soda pop and chunks of cheese to take home from the big wheels of cheese she had on the counter tops, and then on the ride home we would stop by the ditches and pick elderberries to take home and can for pies later.    Some good memories.

From Susan Kinsella:

Oh, man, for a guy who seemed to want to travel and see the world - at least that’s what I guess from his hobo days - he sure got an eye-opening start for six months but then it all ended. Although perhaps that saved his life, given that he didn’t get sent into the meat-grinder of WWI - before the medical detail, he was infantry. Makes me sick to think of it.

From Kathryn Wood Barron:

My memories of Uncle Adin

I spent my childhood living on ‘The Farm’.  The same farm that Byron and Kate raised Ethel, Adin, Lillian and Ruth. The ‘original’ farm. Uncle Adin built his house right next door to it. Until I was 11, I lived next door to Uncle Adin. He was a wonderful, stable, part of my early life. 

He was Grandma’s bachelor brother. He wore suspenders on his pants. He wore a hat outdoors. He was wonderfully patient with us. 

We would walk through the pasture to get to his house next door. He was always happy to see us and let us eat anything we wanted. I remember that I loved the oyster crackers he had in the cupboard in the kitchen. Gail preferred the saltines. We all loved the candies he called ‘ox hearts’ that he kept in the living room.  

He let us explore all we wanted. He had the small entryway in front, then the living room/dining room. The kitchen was behind that on the left and on the right was the hallway to the stairs, Uncle Adin’s bedroom and the bathroom. I loved his bathroom! It was indoors! We had an outhouse over at the farm. His house was always a place we enjoyed. There was a small back porch. That was where he taught us to shoot. 

Each year, on the day between Uncle Adin’s birthday and mine, we would walk over to see him and give him his birthday present - a silver dollar. Then he would take us to Whitney Point to the ice cream stand to celebrate MY birthday with ice cream cones.  I was born on my parents’ anniversary. Every year they celebrated the anniversary. The only birthday celebration I remember ever having was these trips to the ice cream stand with Uncle Adin.  I suspect he understood that. 

One year, I had perfect attendance at school and I got $10. Uncle Adin took me to the bank in Marathon to start a saving account. One of the last things he ever said to me, was that we needed to go and check on this account, and see how much interest it had accumulated. We never went because he died soon after that. 

He took Chic to cattle auctions. Once he got Chic a heifer to raise.  He encouraged  and taught Chic farming. Something Chic loved all his life. 

I do not remember either of my grandfathers. Elmer died before I was two years old. Uncle Adin was the one who filled the place of ‘Grandfather’ for me. 

We always knew that he cared for us. 

Always.