Francis Baylies

Francis Baylies
Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Massachusetts's 12th district
In office March 4, 1823 – March 3, 1827
Preceded by	Lewis Bigelow
Succeeded by	James L. Hodges
Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Massachusetts's 10th district
In office March 4, 1821 – March 3, 1823
Preceded by	Marcus Morton
Succeeded by	John Bailey
Member of the Massachusetts House of Representatives
In office 1827–1832
United States Chargé d'Affaires, Argentina
In office 15 June 1832 – 26 September 1832
Preceded by	John Murray Forbes
Succeeded by	William Brent, Jr.
Member of the Massachusetts House of Representatives
In office 1835
Personal details
Born	October 16, 1783 Taunton, Massachusetts
Died	October 28, 1852 (1852-10-29) (aged 69) Taunton, Massachusetts
Resting place	Old Plain Cemetery
Political party	Federalist Jackson Federalist Democratic
Spouse(s)	Elizabeth Moulton
Children	Harriet Baylies
Profession	Lawyer
Signature

Francis Baylies (October 16, 1783 – October 28, 1852) was a U.S. Representative from Massachusetts, and brother of congressman William Baylies. His great-grandfather was Thomas Baylies, an ironmaster from Coalbrookdale, England, who immigrated to Boston in 1737.

Baylies was born in Taunton, Massachusetts, in 1783, the son of Dr. William Baylies (1742–1826).^[1] He studied law, and was admitted to the bar in 1810 and commenced practice in Taunton, Massachusetts. He later served as Register of Probate for Bristol County 1812–1820. He was an unsuccessful candidate for election in 1818 to the Sixteenth Congress.

Baylies was elected as a Federalist to the Seventeenth Congress, a Jackson Federalist to the Eighteenth Congress, and a Jacksonian to the Nineteenth Congress (March 4, 1821 – March 3, 1827). He was an unsuccessful candidate in 1827 for reelection to the Twentieth Congress. He served as member of the Massachusetts House of Representatives from 1827 to 1832.

Jackson then appointed him to the post of United States chargé d'affaires in Buenos Aires in the Argentine Confederation following the USS Lexington raid on the Falkland Islands in 1831. The USS Peacock conveyed Mr. Baylies and family to la Plata and on the occasion, both the British line-of-battle ship Plantagenet and H. B. M. frigate Druid complimented her flag by playing Hail, Columbia.^[2]:pp.25,26 His very short term in office was due to the unsettled conditions of the time.

Baylies was again elected to the Massachusetts House of Representatives in 1835. He engaged in literary pursuits. He died in Taunton, Massachusetts, October 28, 1852, and was interred in the Old Plain Cemetery.

Writings

• An Historical Memoir of the Colony of New Plymouth (1830).
• Massachusetts Historical Society, Letters of Francis Baylies 1827–1834. in Proceedings of the Massachusetts Historical Society. vol. 45, Pages 166 -184, (1912).

References

• United States Congress. "Francis Baylies (id: B000255)". Biographical Directory of the United States Congress. 
• Emery, Samuel Hopkins.: Ministry of Taunton v. 1 p. 253, (1853).

 This article incorporates public domain material from the Biographical Directory of the United States Congress website http://bioguide.congress.gov.