Frazier B. Baker (abt. 1858 - 1898)

Born about 1858 in South Carolina, United States [uncertain]

Died 22 Feb 1898 at about age 40 in Lake City, Florence, South Carolina, United States

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Biography

Frazier Baker is Notable.

Frazier Baker, was a Black schoolteacher in Lake City, South Carolina, appointed to be the town’s postmaster in 1897. White people in the community didn't like his appointment, so they murdered him and his baby daughter, while attempting to kill his entire family.^[1] See the attached photo of his surviving family.

Frazier was born in South Carolina around 1858.^[2]

In 1880 he was living with wife Lavinia and an infant daughter in Effingham, South Carolina where he was farming.^[2]

Frazier was a postmaster in Effingham, South Carolina in 1892.^[3]

According to a historical marker erected in 2020^[4], when Frazier was appointed postmaster of Lake City, South Carolina, in 1897, whites who resented him burned the post office in an attempt to make him leave town. He did not leave, however, and a nearby house was used instead for his home and post office. Frazier's family at the time had expanded to include six children.^[1]

On Feb 21, 1898 a white lynch mob set the home on fire, and when the family tried to escape they were shot. Frazier and his youngest daughter, Julia, were killed. His wife and 3 children were shot but survived. Two children managed to escape unharmed.^[1]

Ultimately, thirteen men were indicted in U.S. Circuit Court on charges of murder, conspiracy to commit murder, assault, and destruction of mail on 7 April 1899, but the resulting trial ended in a mistrial and was never retried.^[1]

His wife and children ended up moving to Boston, where four of the children ended up dying from tuberculosis before 1920.^[1].

Sources

1. ↑ ^{1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4} https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lynching_of_Frazier_B._Baker_and_Julia_Baker
2. ↑ ^{2.0 2.1} 1880 Census: "1880 United States Federal Census"
   Year: 1880; Census Place: Effingham, Darlington, South Carolina; Roll: 1227; Page: 93B; Enumeration District: 034
   Ancestry Sharing Link - Ancestry Record 6742 #42424308 (accessed 31 October 2022)
   Fraser Baker (22), married, Farmer, head of household in Effingham, Darlington, South Carolina, USA. Born in South Carolina.
3. ↑ Employment: "U.S., Appointments of U. S. Postmasters, 1832-1971"
   The National Archives in Washington, DC; Washington, DC; Record of Appointment of Postmasters, 1832-Sept. 30, 1971; Record Group: Records of the Post Office Department; Record Group Number: 28; Series: M841; Roll Number: 114; Volume Number: 65
   Ancestry Sharing Link - Ancestry Record 1932 #938781 (accessed 31 October 2022)
   Name: Frazier B Baker; Post Office Location: Effingham, Florence, South Carolina; Appointment Date: 2 Apr 1892; Volume Year Range: 1889-1904.
4. ↑ https://scnow.com/lake-city-unveils-historical-marker/image_a4032738-301b-11e3-8fde-0019bb30f31a.html

• Daily Kos black history article: https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2021/2/22/2017412/-Postmaster-Frazier-Baker-and-his-infant-daughter-were-lynched-in-South-Carolina-on-Feb-22-1898#read-more

• Memorial: Find a Grave (has image)
  Find A Grave: Memorial #221152638 (accessed 31 October 2022)
  Memorial page for Frazier B Baker (1855-22 Feb 1898); Maintained by Jim Childers (contributor 47455615) Cremated, who reports a Killed from gunfire, remains burned up in house fire.