Harold Jones Baker (1914 - 1966)

Born 26 May 1914 in St. Louis, Missouri, United States

Died 8 Nov 1966 at age 52 in New York City, New York, United States

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Biography

Shorty Baker is Notable.

Shorty Baker is a Military Veteran.
Served in the U.S. Army, World War II

Harold "Shorty" Baker was a jazz trumpeter who played with Duke Ellington's Orchestra over a twenty year span in the 1940s-1960s.^[1]

Harold Jones Baker was born in 1914 in St. Louis, Missouri. He was the son of Isaac Baker and Fannie Merritt. ^[2][3]

In 1930 at the age of 15 he was living with his parents and siblings in St. Louis, where he was already working as a musician in the theater.^[2]

When he registered for the World War II draft he was living in New York and working for "Andy Kirk's Band". ^[4] "Shorty" served in the U.S. Army during World War II with a rank of Private from 1944 to 1946.^[5]

Baker began his career playing drums, but switched to trumpet during his teens. He worked with Teddy Wilson and Andy Kirk before joining Duke Ellington. He married Kirk's pianist Mary Lou Riggs in St Louis in 1954, and though the two separated shortly thereafter, they never officially divorced and she is buried with him in Jefferson Barracks National Cemetery.^[1][6]

Baker worked on and off in Duke Ellington's Orchestra from 1942 to 1962. He also worked with Johnny Hodges's group in the early 1950s during the period when Hodges was not a member of Ellington's orchestra.

Harold died in 1966 and is buried in Jefferson Barracks National Cemetery in St. Louis, Missouri.^[7]

Sources

1. ↑ ^{1.0 1.1} https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shorty_Baker
2. ↑ ^{2.0 2.1} 1930 Census: "1930 United States Federal Census"
   Year: 1930; Census Place: St Louis, St. Louis (Independent City), Missouri; Page: 13A; Enumeration District: 0127; FHL microfilm: 2340974
   Ancestry Sharing Link - Ancestry Record 6224 #21928206 (accessed 31 October 2022)
   Harold Baker (15), single son, Muscian, in household of Isaac Baker (51) at 4008 Fairfax Ave., St Louis, St. Louis (Independent City), Missouri, USA. Born in Missouri.
3. ↑ Ancestry Record 2238 #195032671Ancestry.com. U.S., World War II Draft Cards Young Men, 1940-1947 [database on-line]. Lehi, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2011.
4. ↑ Military: "U.S., World War II Draft Cards Young Men, 1940-1947"
   National Archives at St. Louis; St. Louis, Missouri; Wwii Draft Registration Cards For New York City, 10/16/1940 - 03/31/1947; Record Group: Records of the Selective Service System, 147
   Ancestry Sharing Link - Ancestry Record 2238 #195032671 (accessed 7 May 2023)
   Name: Harold Jones Baker; Race: Negro (Black); Age: 26; Birth Date: 26 May 1914; Birth Place: St. Louis, Missouri; Registration Date: 16 Oct 1940; Registration Place: New York; Employer: Andy Kirk's Band; Height: 5 2; Weight: 156; Complexion: Light; Hair Color: Black; Eye Color: Brown; Next of Kin: Fannie Merrit Baker;
   Household Members (Name) Age Relationship:
   Harold Jones Baker 26
   Fannie Merrit Baker Mother.
5. ↑ Burial: "U.S., Veterans' Gravesites, ca.1775-2019"
   National Cemetery Administration; U.S. Veterans' Gravesites
   Ancestry Record 8750 #182044 (accessed 31 October 2022)
   Harold Jones Baker burial (died on 9 Nov 1966) on 14 Nov 1966 in Missouri, USA.
6. ↑ Marriage: "U.S., Presbyterian Church Records, 1701-1970"
   Presbyterian Historical Society; Philadelphia, Pennsylvania; U.s., Presbyterian Church Records, 1701-1907; Accession Number: 03-0605a 51f
   Ancestry Sharing Link - Ancestry Record 61048 #497807 (accessed 31 October 2022)
   Harold John Baker marriage to Mary Lou Riggs on 17 Sep 1954 in Saint Louis, Missouri, USA.
7. ↑ "Find A Grave Index," database, FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:QVV2-W5HD : 5 March 2021), Harold Jones Baker, ; Burial, Lemay, St. Louis, Missouri, United States of America, Jefferson Barracks National Cemetery; citing record ID 23218831, Find a Grave, http://www.findagrave.com.

• "United States Census, 1920", database with images, FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:M887-X4P : 2 February 2021), Harold Baker in entry for Isaac Baller, 1920.
• "United States Census, 1930," database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:XHJ5-RXL : accessed 28 June 2021), Harold Baker in household of Isaac Baker, St Louis (Districts 1-250), St Louis (Independent City), Missouri, United States; citing enumeration district (ED) ED 127, sheet 13A, line 36, family 183, NARA microfilm publication T626 (Washington D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration, 2002), roll 1239; FHL microfilm 2,340,974.