Dates of birth and death are from his gravestone.

There is a note posted anonymously on 29 Apr 2012 on his FindaGrave memorial that relates “Tom Baker was a Clay County local clan leader in the Baker - Howard feud. Once Tom Baker was sitting outside his door step when a would be assassin shot and narrowly missed Tom. The bullet became lodged in the wall near the door. Shortly afterwards Tom and his sons retaliated by ambushing 3 men of the Howard family. This event lead to an escalation of feud violent retaliations between the Baker and Howard families. Tom was not all bad. He did give his support to the establishment of one of the first schools established in the Manchester area off of Goose Creek. Tom Baker was murdered while in the company of state militia for his protection by an unknown assassin who entered the county sheriff's house when the sheriff was not home and used the sheriff's rifle for the assassination.”

Tom’s parents were George Washington “Baldy” Baker (20 Feb 1837 - 7 Apr 1898) and Rachel Strong (20 Feb 1837 - 9 June 1886), who are also buried in Boston Gap Cemetery. (The dates of birth and death are from their FindaGrave memorials. The same birth date for husband and wife seems like it might represent an incomplete copy-paste edit.)

The memorial for Tom’s father also includes this note posted anonymously the same day: “George W. Baker was Clay County attorney. He was murdered in revenge by Jim Howard after his son, Tom Baker lead an ambush that killed Wilson Howard and Burch Stores and wounded Ballard Howard, Jim's father. It was said that Jim Howard shot George Baker 25 times. Each shot was aimed so as to avoid killing George Baker. George was made to die by slowly bleeding to death and made to suffer being shot repeatedly according to the story.”

There are several longer accounts of the Baker-Howard feud (including newspaper articles) posted online, including:

http://yesteryearsnews.wordpress.com/2009/07/20/baker-howard-feud/

http://freepages.genealogy.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~bloodhound/feudsofclaycoky.html

http://oneidakentucky.homestead.com/history.html

Jim Howard also shot and killed William Goebel, governor of Kentucky, on 3 Feb 1900. (Howard was tried and convicted three times, the first two convictions overturned on appeal and a retrial ordered each time. The third conviction was not overturned but he was pardoned in 1908 by Gov. Augustus Willson.)

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_Goebel

1880 census of Clay Co., Ky, Bull Skin precinct, enumerated 14 June, lists on p. 27 as family #223/224:
Baker, George, 43, farmer; Rachel, 43, wife; Thomas, 19, son; Allen, 16, son; Anderson, 14, son; Wiley, 13, son; Gardner, son, 11; Ibby, 9, dau; Howard, son, 8; Emily, 6, dau; Abner, 5, son; Sarah, 3, dau. All born Ky Ky Ky. Strong, Alexander, 73, b. Ky Va Va, father-in-law, doctor; John, 13, brother-in-law, b. Ky Va Ky.

There are two other Baker families on the page: John Baker age 28 with wife Sarah age 19 at #216/217, and Daniel Baker age 19 with wife Ibby age 17 at #218/219.

Daughter of Woodward Lyttle (ca 1839 - ca 1866) and Tabitha “Bitha” Murray (ca 1835 - 25 May 1913), who were married 1 Feb 1858 in Clay Co. Her mother married second on 19 Jan 1868 to Jarious Ball (22 Feb 1842 - 1 Sep 1926), son of John A. Ball and Martha Hensley.

Her death certificate records Emlie Forman, age 49 years 1 month 22 days, born 10 July 1876 in Clay Co., Ky, died 9 Sep 1915 in Clay Co., Kentucky, married, father Wood Lyttle, born in Clay Co., Ky, mother’s maiden name Tobathe Murray, born in N. Carolina, cause of death pulmonary tuberculosis, informant B. P. Forman, burial in Baker Cemetery.

The reported birth date and age at death are inconsistent; the age at death would imply a birth date of 18 Jul 1865, which is closer to that implied by the census records. (She was recorded as age 5 in the 1870 census, age 15 in the 1880 census, and age 34, born June 1865 in the 1900 census.)

1870 census of Clay Co., Kentucky, precinct 3, Sextons Creek P.O., (undated), lists on p. 2 as family #9:
Ball, Jareyus, 26, farmer, b. Ky; Tabitha, 32, b. North Carolina; Martha E., 2; Mary J., 4/12, b. Mar; Lyttle, Daniel, 8; Mary E., 5. All children born in Ky.

The baby Mary J. probably represents a misheard “Sary M”; it is unlikely that Tabitha would give two living daughters the same given name.

1880 census of Clay Co., Ky, Bull Skin precinct 6, enumerated 11 June, lists on p. 23 as family #181/182:
Ball, Jay Rice; 40, farmer, b. Ky Ky Ky; Tabitha, 46, wife, b. NC NC NC; Martha L., 12, dau; Sarah J., 10, dau; George W., 8, son; Katharine O., 7, dau; Louisa A., 4, dau; William H., 2, son. All children born Ky Ky NC. Lyttle, Danil, 18, step son, divorced, farmer; Mary E., 15, stepdau. Both Lyttle stepchildren listed as born Ky Ky Ky, although that is incorrect since their mother is Tabitha.

This family is in my database because of the following chain of marriage links:

Thomas M. Baker (1860-1899) was the first husband of
Eliza Allen (858-1936), who was the first wife of
Jacob Rogers (ca 1870-1954), who was the second husband of
Isabell Brown (1874-1949), who was my half second cousin 4 times removed and whose first husband
John Tom Pettit (ca 1869-1930) was my first cousin 3 times removed.

1900 census of Clay Co., Kentucky, Sextons Creek precinct, enumerated 11 June, lists on p. 6A as family #89/93:
Baker, Emley, 34, b. June 1865, Ky Ky Va, widowed, married 18 years, mother of 14 children, 12 living; James, son, 18, b. Dec 1881; Hugh, son, 17, b. Dec 1882; Robert, son, 16, b. Feb 1884; Dory, dau, 12, b. Aug 1887; Allen, son, 10, b. Feb 1890; Gilbert, son, 8, b. Aug 1891; Daisy, dau, 6, b. June 1893; Fourd, son, 4, b. Sep 1895; Briant, son, 3, b. Dec 1896; Woodard, son, 2, b. Feb 1897; Thomas, son, 11/12, b. June 1899. All children born Ky Ky Ky.

Note that the reported birth dates of Briant and Woodard are in conflict, since they are only 2 months apart. Also the age for Woodard is in conflict with the reported birth date.

See Emily’s second marrage for the 1910 census notes for her and the four youngest boys.