James McNair Baker

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For other people named James Baker, see James Baker (disambiguation).

James McNair Baker
Confederate States Senator
from Florida
In office
February 18, 1862 – May 10, 1865
Preceded byConstituency established
Succeeded byConstituency abolished
Personal details
Born(1821-07-20)July 20, 1821
Robeson County, North Carolina, U.S.
DiedJune 20, 1892(1892-06-20) (aged 70)
Jacksonville, Florida, U.S.
Political partyDemocratic
Know Nothing
Whig
SpouseFanny Gilchrist (m. 1859)
RelationsGilchrist Baker Stockton (grandson)
Children5
Alma materDavidson College
Signature

James McNair Baker (July 20, 1821 – June 20, 1892) was a lawyer, politician, and Senator from

Confederate Congress during the American Civil War.[1]

Biography

Baker was born in Robeson County, North Carolina, a son of Archibald S. Baker and Catherine McCallum. He graduated from Davidson College in Davidson, North Carolina, in 1844. His family has long been associated with the college, and the Baker Sports Complex there is named for them. Initially, Baker set up a law practice in Lumberton, North Carolina. But, after a bout with typhoid fever, he determined to move to a warmer climate and traveled to Florida on horseback. He re-established his practice of the law for a time at Old Columbia on the Suwannee River. But, he then moved to the town of Alligator, where he encouraged the residents to change the uninviting name to the modern Lake City.

In 1852, Baker was named State Attorney for the Suwannee Circuit, and served as a delegate to the

U.S. Congress as a Know Nothing-Whig candidate despite his extensive horseback travels across the state.[2]

In 1859, Baker succeeded in winning election as the state judge for the 4th Judicial District, which met in Suwannee. The same year, he married Fanny Gilchrist. During the tumultuous

Constitutional Union ticket of Bell and Everett and opposed Florida's secession after the election of Abraham Lincoln
. Once the secession ordinance passed, however, he loyally supported the decision of his adopted state.

Judge Baker was still on the bench in 1861, when the

U.S. Civil War
.

Returning to Florida after the defeat of the South in 1865, Baker was quickly appointed a justice of the

Reconstruction constitution in 1868 forced his resignation and return to private practice. Over the next several years, he gained his greatest professional reputation for litigation associated with the disposition of lands held by the state's Internal Improvement Fund
—which had been created in 1855 to attract Northern capital and spur development.

By 1876, Baker was an active member of the state's Democratic Executive Committee, and worked hard to bring about an end to the Reconstruction era in Florida. In 1881, he was returned as a judge on the state's 4th Judicial Circuit by Governor

William Bloxham. He was re-appointed in 1885 by his successor Governor Edward A. Perry
. But, he resigned due to declining health in 1890.

Last years and death

Judge Baker retired in

Presbyterian
church. He died at his home in that city, aged 70, and was buried at the nearby Evergreen Cemetery. He was survived by his wife and five children.

References

  1. ^ James McNair Baker Archived 2010-11-25 at the Wayback Machine
  2. ^ Warner Jr., Ezra J. (1975). Biographical Register of the Confederate Congress. Louisiana State University Press. p. 11.
  3. ^ Publications of the Florida Historical Society. Florida Historical Society. 1908. p. 30.


Confederate States Senate
New constituency
Confederate States Senator (Class 1) from Florida
1862–1865
Served alongside: Augustus Maxwell
 Constituency abolished
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