Floyd Perry Baker

Floyd Perry Baker (1820–1909) was a lawyer, land speculator, politician, government official, farmer, blacksmith, teacher and newspaper editor most well known for his activities as an early resident and community leader in Kansas from the 1860s until his death in 1909.

Biography

Floyd Perry Baker was born on November 16, 1820, at Fort Ann in Washington County, New York to Lois Comfort Chaffee Baxter, age 29, and Reuben Baker Jr., age 36. Because his father, Reuben, was a district school teacher^[5] on a modest salary while supporting a wife and 11 children, Floyd was sent to live with a neighboring farmer from the age of 8 until he was 18.^[6]

Early Years

In 1838, at the age of 18, Floyd taught school for 6 months in Hamburg, New York. In the Spring of 1839 he set up a blacksmith shop in Hillsdale, Michigan which was on the recently completed Chicago Road (finished 1833).^[6] He pursued that profession for one year then moved to Troy, New York where he owned an agency for packet boats on the Champlain Canal and a winter stage line between Albany, New York and Whitehall, New York. He operated these businesses for seven years.

On February 14, 1844, Floyd married Eliza Folger Wilson in Amsterdam, New York. In 1847 Eliza gave birth to their son, Floyd Perry Baker, Jr. in Troy, New York

In about 1847, Floyd, entered into a contract to build 2 miles of the Hudson River Railroad near what was to become Irvington, New York. The venture did not go well, bankrupting him.^[7]

Wisconsin

In 1848 he relocated his family to Racine, Wisconsin where he studied law and was admitted to the bar. He also farmed and ran an insurance business. In the summer of 1849, while still living in Racine, Floyd's wife, Eliza died. Nearly two years later, in the spring of 1851, Floyd remarried to Orinda Searle.^[8] (Conflicting with this is the 1850 U.S. Census, taken on June 1, 1850, listing Floyd and Orinda Baker living in the same household.)^[9]

In 1851 Albert Searle, the couple's first child was born. He lived only about one year, dying in April 1852 in Racine.

While in Racine, Floyd successfully ran for the positions of Justice of the Peace and Superintendent of Schools.^[10]

After a 3-year stay in Wisconsin, he moved to San Francisco where he practiced law for 12 months until 1852.^[11]

Move to Hawaii

In June, 1853 Floyd Baker moved his family to the Sandwich Islands (Hawaii) where he was appointed as crown attorney and clerk of the district court of the islands. During the journey, which took the family down the Mississippi River, Floyd Perry Jr., Floyd's only child by his first wife, Eliza, died in New Orleans on January 5, 1853.^{[note 1]} The trip took the Bakers from New Orleans to Aspinwall (Colon, Panama), the Atlantic-side terminus of the Panama isthmus railway, then to San Francisco and on the Sandwich Islands.^[12] In August 1853, Floyd and Orinda's second son, Nestor Reuben, was born. On May 22, 1854, Floyd, residing in Hilo, was appointed by Register of Conveyances, Asher B. Bates and approved by the governor, George L. Kapeau, to the position of Agent for the Island of Hawaii.^[13]

On October 14, 1854 a notice appeared in the newspaper, Polynesian, announcing that Floyd Baker, Esq. had been replaced as District Attorney and Clerk of the Circuit Court for the District of Hilo by Richard R. Chamberlayne, Esq.^[14]

One of his endeavors while in Hawaii was a real estate agency. On December 30, 1854, the newspaper Polynesian published an advertisement from Floyd promoting his law office in Honolulu at the corner of Beretania and Nuuanu Streets in which he solicited legal assistance to those having "...houses, stores, farms, or other real estate for sale or rent, or money to loan..."^[15]

On December 5, 1854, Baker appeared before the Chief Justice of the Hawaiian Islands Supreme Court in Honolulu to voluntarily declare bankruptcy.^[16] In February, 1855, the Baker family left Hawaii, sailing first to San Francisco, then back to the central states via the Nicaragua route.^[7]

Back to Wisconsin

After returning to the U.S. from Hawaii, Floyd and his family resettled in Wisconsin where his fourth son(his and Orinda's third), Clifford Coan was born in May 1853.

Missouri

Then, Floyd Baker moved his family to Andrew County, Missouri for several years where the couple's fourth son, Isaac Newcomb, was born in 1855.^{[note 2]} With a history of moving his household to better living conditions, Floyd moved in about 1860 from pro-slavery Missouri, to anti-slavery Kansas.

Kansas Years

After living in Missouri, he first settled in Centralia, Nemaha County shortly after the town was founded in 1859, then moved again to Topeka in 1863 after investing in the Kansas State Record. While he was living in Centralia, Kansas entered the Union as the 34th state. On November 14, 1860 Floyd was a delegate to the first meeting of the Territorial Relief Convention in Lawrence, Kansas. One of the purposes of the commission was to aid in the obtaining of relief loans from eastern capitalists to assist those citizens seeking funds for heavy farm mortgages, operating expenses or improvements.^[17] While in Centralia, Floyd practiced law with a focus on debt collection and real estate transactions.^[18] During this time he was also Nehmaha County Attorney and the Superintendent of Schools.

From 1861-1862 Baker was a member of the Kansas State Legislature. During the 1862 session, the legislature passed the first compilation of the laws of Kansas; the preparation of which was accomplished primarily by Floyd Baker and Wilson Davis.^[19] During this election, Floyd Baker and a group of fellow Republicans ran as independents in opposition to other Republican candidates.^[20]

During the 1860s and 1870s Baker was heavily involved in his community. In 1862, while living in Nemaha County, he served as the temporary presiding officer during the formation of the Kansas State Agricultural Society, precursor of the Kansas Department of Agriculture, and later served as treasurer. Later he was a founding member of the Kansas Historical Society.

In 1868, Floyd was appointed to a 3-year term as a trustee of the Kansas State Blind Asylum in Wyandotte (now part of Kansas City, Kansas).^[21] Starting in 1873 he was the editor-in-chief and publisher of the Topeka Commonwealth^[22](later absorbed by The Topeka Capital-Journal).

Texas

Floyd relocated with his family for a short time to Denison, Texas and founded the Denison Journal.^{[note 3]} On January 24, 1874 he was confirmed by the U.S. Senate as Postmaster to that community.^[23]

Back to Kansas

Arriving back in Topeka, Floyd was immediately involved in local affairs being a founding board member of the Kansas Historical Society on December 14, 1875.^[24] On February 10, 1878 Floyd Baker was appointed Additional Commissioner for the U.S. to the Paris Universal Exposition - 1878 by President Rutherford B. Hayes.^[22][25]

To fulfill that mission Floyd sailed from New York on April 18(or possibly the 20th), 1878 arriving at the Exposition in Paris on May 1. The Exposition was incomplete so he took one month to travel to Italy. When he returned to Paris at the end of May, he commenced an assignment to write a report on the topic of forestry for the U.S. government. He remained in Paris until the middle of August then spent four weeks traveling western Europe visiting England, Scotland, the Netherlands and Belgium.^{[7][22][note 4]}

Floyd was a member of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows (IOOF). In 1872 he was elected in Topeka as Grand Patriarch of the Grand Encampment.^[26]

Floyd Baker was appointed as chief of the Bureau of Forestry for the Mississippi valley west to the Rocky Mountains in 1882 by George B. Loring, U.S. Commissioner of Agriculture(precursor of the United States Forest Service) .^[27] During the same year he was elected as president of the Kansas State Editorial Association.^[28]

Appointments and Offices

Notes

References