Martha (Woodside) Baker


My great-great-grandmother, Martha (Woodside) Baker,
around the time she was in her late 60s (the early 1930s).
This was my paternal grandfather's (Delbert "Bud" Saunders) grandmother.

A hearty pioneer, she lived much of her life in the wilds of Montana and played a large role in raising my grandfather as a child.  Family lore has it that she traveled to Montana with her husband, Fred, from Illinois, by covered wagon.  As with many pioneer women she was reputed to be very capable and strong, but also extremely tenderhearted and generous.   If my grandfather's ways were any imitation of hers, she must have been an amazingly compassionate soul.  My grandmother Irma (D'Angeli) Saunders, Bud's wife, always told the story of how astoundingly tall she found Martha to be, when they first met.  Being that Irma measured in just barely above five-feet, that might not have been saying much except that Martha  stood near the same height as my grandfather, who was himself about six feet tall.

I love the beautiful serenity of her face in this photo.  Her eyes are so gentle and kind.  They are the same eyes I remember from my grandfather's face.

In the bottom right corner of the photo is written the word "Mother" in my great-grandmother,'s (Nora Belle (Baker) Saunders) hand.  My first inclination was to PhotoShop it out, but I quickly thought better and decided to preserve it for posterity.