Who started the white-baker feuds?

Answer 1

Apr 13, 1898 the Portsmouth Herald (Portsmouth, New Hampshire) states "George Baker was shot and killed by members of the Howard faction on his way to town." After this, the article states two from the Baker family went to Howard's home and killed Howard, his wife, and two children."

http://yesteryearsnews.wordpress.com/2009/07/20/baker-howard-feud/

Now, history goes before this, back to 1844 from what I can find. Abner Baker married Susan White. So evidently, things were OK up to this point. This was in 1844. Abner's sister Mary married Daniel Bates. I say this because the feud was more like the Baker-White/Bates feud, the Bates family taking the side of the Whites. Abner was a highly jealous man and that jealousy caused him to start making accusations of various men sleeping with Susan (his wife). Included in these accusations was Daniel Bates. Abner and Susan had moved in with Daniel and Mary sometime in 1844. In September of that year, Abner shot Daniel in the back. As Daniel lay dying, he dictated a will, and in that will he left instructions for his son to gain revenge on Abner either by killing him or seeing he is prosecuted.

This in turn split the community. See, many believed Abner was crazy and indeed he did show some signs of being a bit loopy. However, many others in the community felt he should be strung up without a fuss.

Abner was taken to two magistrates who deemed him insane and turned him over to his brothers who were doctors. This angered the Whites and the Bates who persuaded the Commonwealth to indict Abner for murder. Although there was plenty of testimony to show Abner was insane, the jury found him guilty and so he was hanged on October 3, 1845.

Much of this text comes from the internet although there was a special on the History channel a few years back detailing all of this.

It explains a lot why my uncle, a Bates, would sit kind of alone at Baker family functions.