This is the life story and family history of Mary Virginia Baker of Fulton, Missouri. She was born in 1920, the daughter and granddaughter of Westminster College professors. She grew up during the Depression of the 1930's and married shortly after World War II. She raised five children during the tumultuous 1960's and made sure all of them earned college degrees, while building her own career as an educator of the deaf. Her family history is traced back to the pioneers who fought for and settled America's heartland. Her mother's family includes General Thomas Smith of Saline County, who commanded the Western Army after the War of 1812. He later claimed 6,000 acres in Saline County and built a farm he called Experiment. This book also includes chapters on the Scott family and the Baker Family. John Harvey Scott was a professor at Westminster College for 65 years. The Baker family came to Callaway County, Missouri from Kentucky and helped found the town of Millersburg. John Robison Baker worked as an engineer building railroads in Ecuador and later built a career as a successful criminal attorney in Missouri.