Joseph Wilson Baines Explained

Joseph Wilson Baines
Term Start:	January 18, 1883
Term End:	1887
State House1:	Texas
Term Start1:	January 13, 1903
Term End1:	January 10, 1905
Birth Date:	January 24, 1846
Birth Place:	Mount Lebanon, Louisiana, U.S.
Death Place:	Fredericksburg, Texas, U.S.
Resting Place:	Der Stadt Friedhof, Fredericksburg, Texas, U.S.
Mother:	Melissa Ann Butler
Relatives:	Samuel Ealy Johnson Jr. (son-in-law)
Serviceyears:	1863–1865
Unit:	Mann's Texas Cavalry Regiment
Battles:	American Civil War

Joseph Wilson Baines (January 24, 1846 – November 18, 1906) was an American journalist and politician. He was a Secretary of State of Texas and a member of the Texas House of Representatives.^[1] He was the grandfather of U.S. president Lyndon Baines Johnson.

Baines was born in Mount Lebanon, Louisiana, and his family moved to Anderson, Texas, when he was four. He was a son of George Washington Baines. He studied at Baylor University, then located in Independence, Texas. He entered the Confederate army "while quite a youth" with W. M. Williamson's cadets, later joining Walter L. Mann's Texas Cavalry Regiment. In 1867 he moved to Collin County, Texas, where he studied law under James W. Throckmorton. Baines began to practice law in Plano, Texas, in 1870, later moving to nearby McKinney the same year. Prior to his appointment as Secretary of State by John Ireland in 1883, Baines was the publisher,^[2] editor, and proprietor of the McKinney Advocate.^[3] He was re–appointed to the Secretaryship after Ireland's second inauguration.^[4] He was involved as owner and publisher of multiple papers in McKinney, Texas. Baines was the Secretary of State of Texas until 1887. Later, beginning in 1903, he was a member of the Texas House of Representatives for one term,^[5] and was succeeded by his future son-in-law Samuel Ealy Johnson Jr.^[6]

Baines married Ruth Ament Huffman of Collin County in 1869. Both are buried at Der Stadt Friedhof in Fredericksburg, Texas. They were the parents of Rebekah Baines Johnson, and the maternal grandparents of Lyndon B. Johnson.^[6]

See also

• Family of Lyndon B. Johnson

Sources

• Goodwin, Doris Kearns. Lyndon Johnson and the American Dream. New York: St. Martin's Press, 1991.

Notes and References

1. Web site: History of the Office. Texas Secretary of State. December 24, 2013.
2. Web site: The McKinney Advocate (McKinney, Tex.) 1877-18??. University of North Texas Libraries. December 15, 2023.
3. Book: Texas Legislative Manual, 1882-83. 1883. 235. Texas Legislative Library.
4. Book: Loughery, E. H.. https://lrl.texas.gov/scanned/members/bios/Personnel_19th_1885.pdf. Personnel of the Texas State Government for 1885; Containing Biographical Sketches of the Governor, Heads of Departments and Members and Officers of the 19th Legislature. Biographical Sketches of Members of the 19th Legislature. 1885. Austin, Texas. J. M. Snyder, Book and Job Printer. Texas Legislative Library. August 1, 2023. 70. Joseph W. Baines was born January 24, 1846, came to Texas when a boy, was educated at Independence, Washington county, served in the Confederate army until peace was declared, and then moved to Collin county where he taught school and studied law whenever his duties left him an hour at his disposal. In 1870, he began the practice of law at Plano, moved to McKinney, and up to the time of appointment as Secretary of State by Governor Ireland in 1883, edited, with great ability, the McKinney Advocate. He was re–appointed to the Secretaryship after the Governor's second inauguration..
5. Web site: Joseph Wilson Baines. Texas Legislators: Past & Present. Texas Legislative Reference Library.
6. Web site: Minor. David. Joseph Wilson Baines. Handbook of Texas Online. Texas State Historical Association. December 24, 2013.