Why is it Called Coburn-Baker Cemetery?

There is not a single Coburn surname buried in the Coburn-Baker Cemetery, so why is it called the Coburn-Baker Cemetery? The property on which the cemetery rests was part of the Coburn farm during the Civil War, and as there are other Baker cemeteries in Bracken County, adding “Coburn” helps to identify which Baker cemetery we are blogging about today.

Mary Harriet Taylor Coburn was the wife of James W. Coburn, but as James died in 1850, the farm came under Mary’s ownership. The Coburns had eleven children, including Clay C. who served in the 3rd Kentucky Cavalry (C. S. A.) during the war (I believe Mary had at least one other son who served during the war, but I yet to pinpoint his service). Mary’s sympathies with the southern cause were known locally, and it was she who would write in a letter to her niece in Illinois, dated October 5th, 1862, that Mayor Doniphan was dressed in women’s clothing and hiding in a cellar during the fight in Augusta. It would be difficult for Mrs. Coburn to know about the mayor’s disposition first hand as she stated that she saw the Confederates passing her farm to and from Augusta, indicating that she was not in town during the battle. But let’s not let the truth get in the way of a good story.

The Coburn farm in 1860 consisted of 239 acres, of which 120 acres were improved, and had a cash value of $9560 (about $325,000 in 2022 dollars). Mrs. Coburn was one of the largest land owners in Bracken County, and livestock included four horses, five “milch” cows, two oxen, and twelve other cattle, to go along with thirty sheep and thirty hogs. The farm produced 400 bushels of wheat, 80 bushels of rye, 1,000 bushels of Indian corn, and 100 bushels of oats. Like most Bracken County farms, tobacco was the prime crop, with 6,500 pounds of the leaf present in 1860. Wool and butter in some quantities were also present.

Next time you drive along Kentucky 19 think about Mary Coburn and her farm, and know now why it is called the Coburn-Baker Cemetery.