Two claims, one settler
Elisha Baker held land on two separate Missouri tracts in the first years of American rule — one that became his home and outlasted him in his family's hands, and one he let go of early. Read side by side, they show two different paths through the same territorial land system.
At a glance
| Bellevue settlement | Little Rock Creek | |
|---|---|---|
| Survey | No. 2150 · 1,426 arpents 89 perches surveyed | No. 2021 · 800 arpents surveyed |
| District | Ste. Genevieve district | District of St. Louis, later Jefferson County |
| Legal basis | Written permission from a Spanish-era syndic, Nov. 1803 | Possession, inhabitation & cultivation only — no grant on record |
| Confirmed | 640 acres, Act of 29 April 1816 | 640 acres, same Act of 29 April 1816 |
| Baker's role at patent | Deceased by 1829 — patent to "Baker's representatives" | Sold his interest in 1812 — confirmation ran to buyer Jeduthan Kendall |
| Timeline span | Fall 1803 – 26 March 1829 | 1802 – January 1863 |
Reading the two claims
Baker's Bellevue tract, on Big River, is the better-documented of the two: a syndic's permission survives, his household is described in sworn testimony, and the claim's path — survey, rejection, confirmation, resurvey, and a patent issued after his death — is traceable start to finish. Baker sold the confirmed 640 acres himself in 1816, and the land kept changing hands for decades after.
Little Rock Creek is the quieter, earlier claim. No grant or permission is cited for it at all — only continuous possession from 1802. Baker sold his interest in 1812, years before confirmation, for a fraction of what Bellevue later fetched, and the record suggests it was never the family's home in the way Bellevue was.
Read the timelines
The Bellevue claim — from a Spanish syndic's permission in 1803 to a federal patent issued to Baker's heirs in 1829, and the land's later sales through 1861.
Little Rock Creek — an earlier, weaker claim Baker sold off in 1812, and the long chain of owners, lawsuits, and a final resurvey that followed him.
Combined chronology — every dated event from both claims, interleaved by date.
Sources — the full citation list for both claims, and related family records.