John Baker (Indiana politician)

John Harris Baker

John Harris Baker (February 28, 1832 – October 21, 1915) was a U.S. Representative from Indiana and a United States federal judge, brother of Lucien Baker.

Biography

Early years and education

Born in Parma, New York, Baker moved with his parents to the present county of Fulton, Ohio. He attended the public schools and was a teacher before receiving an A.M. from Wesleyan University in 1879.[1] He read law in Adrian, Michigan and was admitted to the bar in 1857, commencing practice in Goshen, Indiana. He served as member of the Indiana State Senate in 1862, but, being a notary public at the time, was unseated because the Constitution of Indiana forbade the simultaneous holding of two lucrative offices.

Congressional service

Baker was elected as a Republican to the Forty-fourth, Forty-fifth, and Forty-sixth Congresses (March 4, 1875 – March 3, 1881). He declined to be a candidate for renomination in 1880, and resumed the practice of law in Goshen. He served as delegate to the 1888 Republican National Convention.

Federal judicial service

On March 24, 1892, President Benjamin Harrison nominated Baker to a seat on the United States District Court for the District of Indiana vacated by William A. Woods. Baker was confirmed by the United States Senate on March 29, 1892, and received his commission the same day. Baker retired on December 8, 1902, and thereafter resided in Goshen until his death. He was interred in Oak Ridge Cemetery.

Further reading

• "Memorial Meeting of the State Bar Association of Indiana in Memory of Hon. John H. Baker," in Report of the Twentieth Annual Meeting of the State Bar Association of Indiana, Held at Lafayette, Indiana, July 13 and 14, 1916. Indianapolis: Harrington and Folger for the Association, n.d. [1916].
• John Harris Baker at the Biographical Directory of Federal Judges, a publication of the Federal Judicial Center.
• United States Congress. "John Baker (id: B000068)". Biographical Directory of the United States Congress.

 This article incorporates public domain material from the Biographical Directory of the United States Congress