George Ellis Baker Explained

Office:Member of the New York State Assembly for Kings County
Term Start:January 1, 1851
Term End:December 31, 1851
Predecessor:Joseph A. Yard
Successor:John Berry
Birth Date:16 March 1816
Birth Place:Dedham, Massachusetts, U.S.
Death Place:Washington, D.C., U.S.
Resting Place:Oak Hill Cemetery
Washington, D.C., U.S.
Party:Whig
Parents:John Baker II
Patty Ellis Baker
Spouse:Eveline Stevens
Children:George Fisher Baker
Martha Baker Schley
Eva Frances Baker
Relations:Florence Bellows Baker (granddaughter)

George Ellis Baker (March 16, 1816 – October 2, 1887) was an American merchant, town clerk and state legislator.

Early life

Baker was born on March 16, 1816, in Dedham, Massachusetts. He was the eldest son of six children born to John Baker (1780–1843) and Patty (Ellis) Baker (1791–1876). His father served as the sheriff of Norfolk County from 1834 until his death in 1843.[1] His brother was Fisher Ames Baker,[2] a prominent and successful attorney who had served in the Civil War.[3] [4]

Baker was descended from Richard Baker, who landed in the Massachusetts Bay Colony in 1635 and settled in Dorchester. After five generations in Dorchester, the Bakers moved to Dedham, Massachusetts.[5]

Career

Baker moved to Troy, New York, where he opened a shoe store. The business was not a success, so he relocated again to Williamsburg, Brooklyn in the early 1840s before opening another shoe store on Maiden Lane in Manhattan. While this store failed to catch on, Baker successfully became involved in politics.[5]

He was clerk of the board of trustees of the village of Williamsburg and a census taker. In 1850, he was elected on the Whig ticket to the New York State Assembly which met in Albany from January 7 to July 11, 1851, during the first year of Washington Hunt's governorship.[5] While in Albany, he attached himself to former governor and then U.S. Senator William Henry Seward, serving as his private secretary in the 1860's. After President Abraham Lincoln appointed Seward U.S. Secretary of State, Seward had Baker appointed disbursing clerk and administrator of the Secret Service Fund.[5]

Personal life

Baker was married to Eveline Stevens (1817–1903).[6] She was a daughter of James Stevens and granddaughter of Capt. William C. Stevens of the Continental Army.[7] [8] Together, they were the parents of:

Baker died in Washington, D.C., on October 2, 1887. He was buried at Oak Hill Cemetery there.[14] [15] His widow died in 1903 and was also buried in Washington, D.C.[6] [15]

Descendants

Through his son George, he was a grandfather of Evelyn Baker (who married Howard Bligh St. George); Florence Bellows Baker (who married William Goadby Loew); and George Fisher Baker Jr.[16] (who married Edith Brevoort Kane; their daughter Elizabeth married John M. Schiff and their son, George F. Baker III married Frances Drexel Munn,[17] a daughter of Mary Astor Paul and member of the Drexel banking family).

Through his daughter Martha, he was a grandfather of Chaloner Baker Schley;[18] Grant Barney Schley Jr.;[19] [20] Evander "Van" Baker Schley (who married Sophie Beverly Duer, a granddaughter of U.S. Representative William Duer, in 1931);[21] [22] Evelyn Baker (wife of Max Howell Behr, brother to Karl Behr)[23] and aviator Kenneth Baker Schley.[24]

References

Notes
Sources

External links

Notes and References

  1. Book: Baker Family Collection, 1766-1961, bulk 1860s . 2019 . Dedham Historical Society & Museum . 13 October 2021.
  2. News: COL. FISHER A. BAKER DIES.; Lawyer Who Had Practiced Here Since 1865 Dies in Yonkers Home. . 13 October 2021 . . 31 May 1919.
  3. Web site: Fisher Ames Baker (1837-1919), Class of 1859 . hoodmuseum.dartmouth.edu . . 13 October 2021 . en.
  4. Fisher Ames Baker '59 . . November 1928 . 13 October 2021.
  5. Book: Grant . James . Money of the Mind: How the 1980s Got That Way . May 1994 . Macmillan . 978-0-374-52401-2 . 41 . 13 October 2021 . en.
  6. News: BAKER . 13 October 2021 . . 11 February 1903.
  7. Book: Revolution . Daughters of the American . Lineage Book - National Society of the Daughters of the American Revolution . 1910 . Daughters of the American Revolution . 13 October 2021 . en.
  8. Book: Paine . Albert Bigelow . George Fisher Baker, a Biography: With Illustrations . 1938 . Knickerbocker Press (G.P. Putnam's sons) . 13 October 2021 . en.
  9. News: GEORGE F. BAKER, 91, DIES SUDDENLY OF PNEUMONIA; DEAN OF NATION'S BANKERS; STRICKEN ON THURSDAY Financier Succumbs in His Madison Av. Home With Family at Side. SMILES TO THEM AT END Complained After Board Session and His Illness Became Grave in a Few Hours. LONG ACTIVE DESPITE AGE Director of Steel Corporation and Head of First National, He Gave Millions to Public. . 13 October 2021 . . 3 May 1931.
  10. News: MRS. G.F. BAKER DIES; STRICKEN AT PARTY; Wife of Banker Entertaining Friends at Tuxedo Home When She Became Ill. . 13 October 2021 . . 26 July 1913.
  11. News: Died . 13 October 2021 . . 14 February 1910.
  12. News: Grant B. Schley, Financier, Dead; Head of Firm of Moore & Schley and Member of Stock Exchange for 36 Years . . newspapers.com . 17 May 2023 . 23 November 1917.
  13. News: BAKER, Eva Frances . 13 October 2021 . . 18 October 1867 . 3.
  14. Web site: Baker, George Ellis . sewardproject.org . Seward Family Digital Archive . 13 October 2021.
  15. Web site: Oak Hill Cemetery, Georgetown, D.C. (Reno Hill) - Lot 705 . oakhillcemterydc.org . 2022-08-16 . https://web.archive.org/web/20220308063500/https://www.oakhillcemeterydc.org/app/themes/oakhill/assets/records/705.pdf . 2022-03-08 . live.
  16. News: GEORGE F. BAKER, 59, DIES OF PERITONITIS ON YACHT IN HAWAII; Banker, Who Was Operated On at Sea, Succumbs After 300-Mile Race to Honolulu PLANES TAKE WIFE TO SIDE Chairman of First National of New York is Said to Leave Holdings of $50,000,000 Father Died in 1931 Operated On at Sea GEORGE F.BAKER, 59, DIES ABOARD YACHT LEHMAN MOURNS BAKER Governor Calls Him 'Great Constructive Force' in Country . 13 October 2021 . . 31 May 1937.
  17. News: TIMES . Special to THE NEW YORK . George F. Baker's Grandson Slain On Family's Florida Plantation; George F. Baker's Grandson Slain On Family's Florida Plantation . 13 October 2021 . . 18 January 1949.
  18. News: C.B. SCHLEY DIES OF HURTS; Baltimore Man Sucoumbs After Crash in Which Wife Lost Life. . 13 October 2021 . . 14 January 1936.
  19. News: GRANT B. SGHLEY, 56, STOCK BROKER, DIES; Partner in New York Firm Was Nephew of George F. Baker -- Stricken in France. HAD BEEN ACTIVE IN SPORT Former Member of Exchange Had Lived Abroad for 10 Years -- Estate a Show Place. . 13 October 2021 . . 12 January 1936.
  20. News: Times . Special to The New York . STOCKBROKER A SUICIDE; Grant B. Schley Found Dead on Locust Valley Estate . 13 October 2021 . . 26 April 1959.
  21. News: Other Weddings --- Schley--Duer . 13 October 2021 . . 31 March 1931.
  22. News: TIMES . Special to THE NEW YORK . MRS. EVANDER B. SCHLEY; Banker's Wife Aided Several Philanthropic Causes . 13 October 2021 . . 16 August 1950.
  23. News: BEHR -- SCHLEY. . 13 October 2021 . . 21 March 1906.
  24. Web site: Kenneth Baker Schley, Jr.. New Jersey Hills Media Group. 21 January 2018.

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