Rev. Robert Baker came from Tennessee to Missouri at a very early date, and was one of the first Methodist preachers in Montgomery County. He organized the first church of that de-nomination in this County, at the house of Rev. Drury Clanton, who was also a Methodist preacher. His house was situated on a branch called “Pinch,” about five miles southwest of Danville, and the church was organized in 1819. Baker was an old revolutionary soldier and drew a pension from the government, all of which he gave to his church and the Sunday-school cause. He had two sons, Jacob and Esau, who were as much unlike each other in personal appearance as it was possible for them to be; Jacob being six feet two inches in height, while Esau measured only four feet five inches. The former settled in Callaway County, near Readesville. He had an old yellow dog that he thought a great deal of, and in order to keep him from running away, he drove a honey locust stake in the yard and tied him fast to it. The stake took root and grew to be a large tree, and its .branches cast a grateful shade over the yard and dwelling.
