Edward Dickinson Baker (1811 - 1861)

Born 24 Feb 1811 in London, England, United Kingdom

Husband of Mary Ann (Foss) Baker — married 27 Apr 1831 in Greene County, Illinois, USA

Descendants

Died 21 Oct 1861 at age 50 in Loudoun, Virginia, United States

Edward Baker is Notable.

Preceded by Delazon Smith

Edward Dickinson Baker US Senator (Class 2) from Oregon[1] 1860—1861

Succeeded by Benjamin Stark

Biography

• Father: Edward Baker, school teacher, Quaker
• Family emigrated from England to the US in 1816. Starting in Pennsylvania, they moved to Indiana, then again to Illinois, all while Edward was still a boy
• Admitted to the Illinois Bar in 1830
• Wife: Mary Ann Foss on 27 Apr 1831. Five children.
• Elected to Congress from Illinois in 1844, defeating Abraham Lincoln to win the seat.
• In his capacity as militia colonel, he led the efforts to apprehend the leaders of the mob which had killed Joseph Smith, founder of the Mormon church
• Served in the Mexican-American War, Colonel of Illinois Volunteer Infantry, 4th regt.
• Opened a law practice in San Francisco, 1851
• Upon Oregon statehood, 1859, Baker was recruited by the Oregon Republican party to stand for US Senate. In Sept 1860, he was chosen as one of the state's two Senators. (The other, in a compromise, was a Democrat.)
• Within a few weeks of the shots at Fort Sumter, SC, which opened the American Civil War, Baker was authorized to head a California regiment (later renamed to 71st Pennsylvania Infantry) in May 1861. Rank: Colonel. He was killed in battle that October at the Battle Balls Bluff. It was reported that Lincoln wept at the news of his old friend's death.

Legacy

• Abraham Lincoln named a son after him
• Baker County, Oregon is named in Senator Baker's honor, as is its county seat, Baker City.
• Fort Baker in Nevada was named in his honor upon its formation in 1864.
• The US Senate passed a resolution that all members of the body would wear armbands in his memory for 30 days
• Baker Street in San Francisco is named in his honor
• In 2011, upon the sequecentennial of the Senator's death, Oregon designated February 24 as Edward D. Baker Day.

Sources

1. ↑ Died in office, vacant October 21, 1861 – February 27, 1862 when successor appointed.

• Find A Grave: Memorial #23419
• Edward Dickinson Baker on Wikipedia
• Biographical Directory of the United States Congress
• https://www.senate.gov/artandhistory/history/minute/Senator_Killed_In_Battle.htm

From behind the ancestry.com subscription wall:

• Illinois Marriage, 1831
• US Census, 1860