"I've been waiting for your call," said the stranger

Once again, a story has come to my attention that celebrates the unexpected connections among people and the value of research. Add a bit of curiosity, uncanny timing, and the element of surprise, and we have a remarkable experience.

This is not my story as much as my husband’s, and it occurred several years ago. My husband, Jon, is an avid reader. Having been an editor, tech writer, and documentation manager, he pays attention to words and details. He also dabbles in family genealogy.

One day, a few years back, he was looking at a genealogy assembled by Nelson M. Baker, in 1867. Nelson (I feel as if we’re now on a first-name basis) was the definitive documentarian of the descendants of Edward Baker, who came to New England when it was new.

In looking at this compilation, Jon noticed the work was published in Lafayette, NY, and wondered where Nelson’s papers might be.

The first point of contact was the Lafayette Public Library (we love libraries!) where a pleasant young librarian tried to help. Skeptical at first about “the papers of Nelson Baker,” he thought a moment and remembered someone who might know more. He said he would reach out to a man named J. Roy Dodge, a local historian, and if agreeable, would provide contact information.

A few days later, the librarian followed up with a phone number. Jon explains: “I quickly called and introduced myself to Mr. Dodge, who immediately said, ‘I’ve been waiting for your call.’ I didn’t understand. He then explained that when Anna Minerva Baker’s home was being sold, the current owner came to him with a satchel found in the attic. It bore the initials N.M.B. Mr. Dodge had kept the satchel and safeguarded the contents, figuring someday, someone would come looking for it.”

Hearing this account sent shivers up my spine. Written into a novel, this plotline would probably have been edited out as “cliché, too trite, not likely to happen.” But it did.

Mr. Dodge wrote about it in 2006, in the Lafayette Historical Society newsletter. “This past September, when Mary Jo Kelly and her sisters found a suitcase of old Baker papers in the farmhouse attic, I knew where they came from. Seeing the Civil War era briefcase named ‘N.M.B’ was a thrilling sight. It proved to be a time-capsule left untouched for nearly 135 yrs. It included ten programs and two receipts from Cortland Academy between 1855 and 1864. About fourteen programs at Hamilton College, between 1858 and 1867; Nelson’s essays and declamations at Hamilton, some of which won him prizes. From his days as a lawyer and justice of the peace in Lafayette come several other interesting documents.”

While the satchel, unfortunately, did not contain the hoped-for trail of Nelson’s correspondence, it contained something better: Cartes de Visite (photographic calling cards) of Nelson and his family. These images are like the random albumen prints of stern ancestors that turn up at flea markets and consignment shops without any identification. But these were identified.

Jon offered to drive to Lafayette to photograph them, but Mr. Dodge generously shipped them by mail, trusting us to return the items which of course we did. From the contents, we learned about these people and their daily lives in ways that far exceeded narrative description.

We now know Nelson was born in 1836, had a sister (with a wonderful name) Anna Minerva, and a brother, Byron Watts. Nelson married a woman named Delia Plumb, who apparently had to cope with Nelson’s death in March,1872, and the birth of their son, Edward, in July of the same year. Edward, unfortunately, did not survive long, dying at the age of 3 years, 9 months. We can only imagine Delia’s pain.

Thanks to this cache, we also know the faces of Nelson’s parents. Nelson’s father, Morris, was born in 1801, and his mother, née Julia Bryant, was born in 1809. We can see what their house looked like from an etching published in the “History of Onondaga County” by Professor W. W. Clayton, 1878. We know Morris and Julia celebrated a Golden Wedding anniversary, 1833-1883, because we can see their invitation with a thoughtful, “No Presents” notation.

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What blew me away, as a writer, was the ability to confirm, through the photographs, the attire of the day, which I so carefully (but somewhat clinically) had researched for my book, Silver Line: historical fiction that travels between contemporary Boston and 1861 Colorado. Suddenly, the drape of the fabric, the cameo at the throat, the plaited hair encircling the head… the line of small buttons at the tight bodice, the bracelet, the long-tailed bow at the neck, and the broad sleeves fitted at the wrist, were almost tangible. The cape, the fur muff, the bonnet decorated with flowers… the waistcoat and wide lapels on the men... suddenly became real.

The timeline confounds me. On the back of the photo of Anna Hayden, Mrs. Seth Baker, (Seth and Anna were Nelson’s grandparents), I see the annotated dates 1774-1854. It is mind-boggling that I’m looking at a family member who was born before the American Revolution!

As a result, Jon, in consultation with Mr. Dodge, organized these elements into two books: Nelson M. Baker: A Family Album, and Nelson M. Baker, School Papers. The Family Album, Volume 1, is produced in color to retain authenticity. (Hardcopies are available through Amazon; ebooks are available on many platforms.) Volume 2, School Papers, is published in black-and-white. It's a collection of writings, in the author’s hand, that offers a peek into the thinking of the day.

While these books were never intended to be mainstream bestsellers, they’re a fascinating journey for the history-lover, New York state native, or aspiring genealogist. What is most intriguing to me is that they tell a story with no end, one that binds generations and turns strangers into people we feel we know.

This would not have been possible were it not for a man in another state, who waited decades for our call.

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Footnote: There is some lack of clarity as to exactly when the satchel was discovered. It may have been found when the Anna Minerva Baker house was first sold in the 1970’s, assuming the new owners simply set it aside. But it may also have remained hidden until the owners were cleaning up and moving on in 2006, at which point they gave it to J. Roy Dodge. Either way, it’s a treasure trove. J. Roy Dodge, incidentally, is the author of a comprehensive, limited-edition book on the history of Lafayette (also spelled LaFayette) called “Crossroads Town.”