Betsy/Bettie Baker

1847 – September 28 – She was listed on the inventory of Isaac Franklin’s estate as 20 years old.

1900 – US Census records listed Betsy as 80 years old and born in 1820 in Virginia. Her daughter Hanna is listed as the head of household. Also living with them is her son Mark and three of Hanna’s nephews (presumably Mark’s children) including Willie (22), Mark (18), and possibly Early (15). She could not read or write.

1910 – US Census records listed Bettie living again with Hanna and Mark (this time Mark is the head of the household). It also states that Bettie had 15 children but only 6 were living at the time. She could not read or write.

1920 – US Census records listed Bettie

1924 – June 6 - The Tennessean published an article about the death of Betty Baker Betsy (age 110) at Peach Valley in Sumner County, Tennessee. It stated that in 1826 at the age of 12 she and her family were purchased by Isaac Franklin from John Washington, adopted son of Gen. George Washington, in Virginia. She also had nine children.

Note – John Washington was not George Washington’s adopted son. Bushrod Washington (a nephew of the president) took over after Martha Washington’s death and John Washington II (Bushrod’s nephew) took over next, running the property from 1829 to 1832. In 2023, researchers at Mount Vernon were unable to find any documentation to support this story, however it is possible Betsy was owned by a relative of George Washington, as there were several Washingtons living in the same area of Virginia at the time.