Prospecting for Gems of Bloomington's Past #4

How a black barber became part of the Underground Railroad in Bloomington

Christine Friesel of the Indiana Room at MCPL first introduced me to Notley Baker. by showing his listing in the 1850 census with his wife, Murriah (Moreah) and three children.

Notley Baker (also, Nolty, Natty, Nolley) was the first barber of any color and one of the first liquor sellers in Bloomington in 1827. You will notice in the following ad that both food and alcohol were available in his barber shop. The ad is notable as he could not read or write (see the 1850 census information for Notley Baker in posting #2). The language and sarcasm in the ad indicates he was probably attempting to attract “high class” customers. ¹

His shop was located at the first door north of Mr. Orchard's hotel across from the railroad depot in downtown Bloomington. That would be the first brick building north of “Orchard Ho” on the following map:

His business was listed as one of the first businesses in town. Several entries about him can be found on the Monroe County Timeline . Baker and his family lived near downtown and were listed in the 1840, 1850 and 1860 Federal Censuses.

How did a black man get to Bloomington, a very white town? A descendant of David H. Maxwell (the “Father of IU”), Martha Maxwell Howard, wrote down memories of old Bloomington in 1907, stating that the first barber was a "colored man by the name of Notly (sic) Baker" and this Mr. Notley Baker was owned by Mr. Joshua Howe, who brought him from Kentucky.² Of course, I had to find out what I could about Joshua O Howe, who will be the subject of a future blog. For purposes of this story, we will limit our information to the fact that Howe (and, probably, Baker) arrived in Bloomington from Kentucky in 1819. Howe was one of the first landowners in the county and established one of the first dry goods stores on the square. Baker had to be freed from slavery in Indiana, although he could be employed as a servant.

Even though slavery was prohibited in Indiana as part of the Northwest Territories, local counties got around the prohibition by an indenture law, the indenture often lasting a lifetime. Ex-slaves generally could not read or write, so they had little power. Notley appears on the scene in town in 1827, so it is unclear when he was freed.

Mr. Smith Hawkins, a black man from Washington, Indiana, married Sarah Ann Baker the daughter of Notley Baker on Dec. 8, 1850 in Bloomington. ³ The clergyman was a G C Smith from the Bethel Lane Methodist Church. Hawkin’s father, Jake, had been brought as a slave/indentured servant to Davies County, Indiana in 1806 by his master, Eli Hawkins. Jacob continued to serve the Hawkins family until afterMr. Hawkins died when his widow married a man who became a difficult master. At that time, Jake and another slave, called Isaac, filed a lawsuit challenging the legality of their indentured servitude, and won the case. After being freed from indenture in 1821, Jacob Hawkins became a prosperous farmer, owning over 1000 acres of property decades before the Civil War. When Smith Hawkins, eldest of Jacob’s nine children, married the daughter of Notley Baker, he made contact with men Notley knew in town who were willing to help escaped slaves. Hawkins was involved with the Underground Railroad network by giving the fleeing slaves directions and assistance on their journey north toward Thomas A Smith’s house in Bloomington. ⁴ Fugitive slaves often were given food and shelter at the Smith residence on Pickwick Place, near the Covenanter Cemetery at High and Moore’s Pike (built in 1828, it still exists). Sometimes, they stayed long enough to be taught to read and write.

Below is a picture of a younger brother of Smith Hawkins, Charner Hawkins. The Hawkins farm near Washington, Indiana, was close to a river area where escaping slaves sometimes hid from slave catchers. The whole Hawkins family was involved in the movement, as Jacob Hawkins knew what it was like to be a slave.

In 1831, Notley Baker bought Seminary Lot #24, and then sold it to his former master, Joshua O Howe the following year.⁵

The probate records in 1866 for Moreah Baker, Notley’s wife, indicate that she made an agreement to do the laundry of Joshua O Howe at $12 a year (or, $1.00 a month) in 1855 in exchange for the loan of $200 to buy In-Lot #51 in Bloomington. The laundry work was done between June 9, 1855 and Nov. 18, 1863 and she died in 1865 or 66. She was unable to pay the principal and did not finish paying for the interest accrued on the loan by her laundry work. The lot was probably one that Howe had previously owned. After Moreah Baker’s death, it was sold to Howe’s son, James, so Moreah “borrowed” it for a few years. There are no probate records for Notley Baker, but it is assumed he died in 1855. Sarah Ann Baker Hawkins was the only survivor of the three Baker children. ⁶

Here is a screen shot of Moreah Baker’s ln-Lot #51 next to the railroad tracks It would have been the second lot in from 4th St. on the westside of the B Line Trail.

1. Bloomington Post, Oct. 12,1838. p.2.

2. Martha (Maxwell) Howard, An Early Sketch of Bloomington and the Family of David H. Maxwell: Part IV from Lilly Library transcript (1907).

3. Monroe County Marriage Records Index: 18818-1881, 2nd Edition by Lee Ehman. (B-23)

4. Henry Lester Smith, Ph.D., "The Underground Railroad in Monroe County," Indiana magazine of history, September 1, 1917, 291.

5. Deed Records Index (c. 1811-January 1926), Sorted by Grantor, Deed Records Index (c. 1811-January 1926), Sorted by Grantee

6. Monroe County Probate Records Index: (Estate records are at the Monroe County History Center.)