1884 - The Saratoga Sentinel newspaper, Thursday, September 18, 1884.
The Baker family, numbering about one hundred and fifty, had their twenty first anniversary gathering at the residence of Benjamin Baker of Halfmoon, September 5. The worthy host and wife extended a most cordial greeting and hearty welcome. The refreshments were abundant and well served. After refreshments, an hour or more was devoted to thanksgiving, singing and prayer. Appropriate remarks were made by Mr. Abel Baker, one of the four surviving brothers and originators of the reunion scheme. He was attentively listened to by all present, and was followed by others, making this part of the program very interesting and edifying. The prospect of perpetuating this happy gathering, which for twenty-one years has been growing more and more interesting, was discussed, and several expressed their willingness and desire to open their houses another year. The influence of this gathering is not alone felt among those directly connected with it, but is reaching far and wide.

1964 - The Saratogian newspaper, Tuesday, August 4, 1964. Baker Family Marks Century in Saratoga County.
Mechanicville -- The Baker family, oldest organization of its kind, will celebrate its 100th anniversary at Bemis Heights on Saturday. The reunion will bring together progeny of James and Ruth Post Baker, who were married on Feb. 15, 1795 near Salt Point, Duchess County. The couple had 16 sons, 11 of whom were born in Mechanicvilee. There were no daughters.
The centennial gathering of a family steeped in the development of Saratoga County will be held at the Bemis Heights Grange Hall with a dinner at 1 p.m. Main speaker for the occasion will be Robert Patterson Strine, a member of the Baker line, who is associated with a Utica radio station.
Among the prizes which will be given are one for the oldest member, the youngest member and the one traveling the longest distance. A complete program is scheduled for the day. The first reunion held in 1864 was attended by 11 of the 16 sons with their wives. Two were dead, and three were absent in the west.
The reunion was changed in 1879 to a giant family picinic and was held eventually under a large tent purchased by the Baker family. In 1883 four of the remaining sons were present. The reunion progressed to such an extent that the tent was bypassed, and the offspring of James and Ruth Baker met at Lake Lauderdale. This year's gathering marks a departure from the regular schedule. Abel Baker, last of the 16 sons, died in 1901.
Most of these men who wrote the history of the county are buried in the family plot a few miles above the old Baker homestead on Viall Ave. Hill. A large monument in the center of the plot bears the names of James and his 16 sons. At one time, all but six of the boys lived within six miles of the homestead.
The Baker line is the story of the 16, first-born of whom was Peter, a butcher, who died on a visit to Mechanicville when he broke his hip. He had five daughters and four sons. Second in line, William, died in Stillwater at the age of 70, leaving seven children. George, the third, had three sons and a daughter. He died Nov. 9, 1863 and never attended a reunion. Joseph, fourth born, never had any children and lived on a farm in Halfmoon and died at the age of 81.
Israel Baker, born in 1799, had six children who had 70 children, 25 of them boys. He lived to be 81.
The seventh son, David Sands Baker, was born in Mechanicville and lived near Waterford on a farm. He was the father of three children and died at the early age of 49. He was the first of the 16 to die. David, the tragic son, also died at the age of 49 after being kicked by a horse. He had three children, of whom his son Benjamin inherited his misfortunes. Benjamin's three children all died within a week of membranous croup. Later, he himself was killed when thrown from a sleigh at the corner of Park Ave. and Main St.
Eighth son was Isaac Baker who had eight sons and five daughters.
Titus Baker had eight children.
The tenth son, named James after his father, never married and died when he was 59.
Samuel, who had two children, moved west.
The 12th son, Ransom, died in his 80th year. He was a farmer. He had 11 children.
John T. Baker, 13th son, had 13 children. His 83 years were spent entirely at the Viall Ave. homestead.
Abel, a grocer and Daniel, a farmer, had 16 children between them.
Paris, last, born in Mechanicville in 1824, died there in 1900. He married three times and had three children.
The 16 sons had 69 sons and daughters.
When the Bakers meet, William P. Baker, 88, whose grandfather was Israel Baker, fifth son of the original 16, will be there. Baker, a retired Ketchums Corners farmer, is probably the oldest living member of the family and has been looking forward to this year's centennial.
Following the dinner on Aug. 8, election of officers will be held. Present officers are President, Dr. Valentine Baker, Malta Ridge; first vicepresident, Dr. Leon Baker, Poughkeepsie; second vicepresident, Merrill Baker, Mechanicville; historian, Mrs. Elizabeth Abel, Stillwater, and secretary-treasurer, Edna Baker, Stillwater.