Baxter, John, 1765-1826.

Flatlands farmer; school teacher.

From the description of Journal, 1790-1826. (Unknown). WorldCat record id: 155459699

John Baxter was born in Omagh, county Tyrone, Ireland on December 20, 1765. In 1784, leaving his parents in Ireland, Baxter migrated to the United States. By 1790, he had settled in Flatlands, Kings County, NY (now part of Brooklyn, NY), initially working as a teacher, but soon taking up farming. He married Altie Stoothoff on October 13, 1791. Their son, Garret (often spelled "Garrit"), was born on August 4, 1792. Garrett married Abigail Wyckoff on May 8, 1816. They had a daughter, also named Abigail, on April 8, 1817. The mother died shortly after the birth, on May 4, 1817. Garret, also a farmer in Flatlands, later married Abigail's sister, Sarah Wyckoff, on November 21, 1820. Beginning in 1790 and continuing until his death on May 2, 1826, John Baxter kept what he called a daily journal, but which has many attributes of a diary. At John's death, Garret Baxter continued the journal until some months prior to his own death, on December 22, 1835.

(Source: Information gleaned from the Baxter journals.)

From the guide to the John and Garret S. Baxter journals, 1790-1836, 1876, (Brooklyn Historical Society)