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Joseph Wilson Baines

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Joseph Wilson Baines
Secretary of State of Texas
In office
January 18, 1883 – 1887
GovernorJohn Ireland
Preceded byThorton Hardie Bowman
Succeeded byJohn Marks Moore
Member of the Texas House of Representatives
from the 89th district
In office
January 13, 1903 – January 10, 1905
Preceded byJohn Lowery Little
Succeeded bySamuel Ealy Johnson Jr.
Personal details
BornJanuary 24, 1846
Mount Lebanon, Louisiana, U.S.
DiedNovember 18, 1906(1906-11-18) (aged 60)
Fredericksburg, Texas, U.S.
Resting placeDer Stadt Friedhof, Fredericksburg, Texas, U.S.
Political partyDemocratic
Spouse
Ruth Ament Huffman
​
(m. 1869)​
Children
  • Rebekah
  • Huffman
  • Josefa
Parents
RelativesSamuel Ealy Johnson Jr. (son-in-law)
Alma materBaylor University
Military service
AllegianceConfederacy
Branch/serviceConfederate States Army
Years of service1863–1865
UnitMann's Texas Cavalry Regiment
Battles/wars

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 maternal 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.[2] 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.[3] He served for two years. In 1868 he moved to Collin County, Texas, where he taught school for three years at Hide Out school and at Rowlett. He studied law under James W. Throckmorton and Thomas Jefferson Brown, the former governor and future chief justice of Texas, respectively.[4] 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,[5] editor, and proprietor of the McKinney Advocate.[3] He was re–appointed to the Secretaryship after Ireland's second inauguration.[6] He was involved as owner and publisher of multiple papers in McKinney, Texas.[2] 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,[7] and was succeeded by his future son-in-law Samuel Ealy Johnson Jr.[2]

Baines married Ruth Ament Huffman, daughter of John S. Huffman, who was one of the Peter's colonists. Baines moved to Fredericksburg, Texas, after serving in the legislature.[4] Both Baines and his wife are buried together at the Der Stadt Friedhof, on the first row, near the National Museum of the Pacific War. They were the parents of Rebekah Baines Johnson, and the maternal grandparents of Lyndon B. Johnson, the 36th president of the United States.[2]

See also

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References

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  1. ^ "History of the Office". Texas Secretary of State. Retrieved December 24, 2013.
  2. ^ a b c d Minor, David. "Joseph Wilson Baines". The Handbook of Texas Online. Texas State Historical Association. Retrieved December 24, 2013.
  3. ^ a b Texas Legislative Manual, 1882-83 (PDF). 1883. p. 235 – via Legislative Reference Library of Texas.
  4. ^ a b Stambaugh, J. Lee; Stambaugh, Lillian J. (1958). Carroll, Horace Bailey (ed.). A History of Collin County, Texas. Texas County and Local History. Vol. III. Austin: Texas State Historical Association. p. 145 – via University of North Texas Libraries.
  5. ^ "The McKinney Advocate (McKinney, Tex.) 1877-18??". University of North Texas Libraries. Retrieved December 15, 2023.
  6. ^ Loughery, E. H. (1885). "Biographical Sketches of Members of the 19th Legislature" (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. Austin, Texas: J. M. Snyder, Book and Job Printer. p. 70. Retrieved August 1, 2023 – via Legislative Reference Library of Texas. 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.
  7. ^ "Joseph Wilson Baines". Texas Legislators: Past & Present. Legislative Reference Library of Texas.

Sources

[edit]
  • Goodwin, Doris Kearns (1991). Lyndon Johnson and the American Dream: The Most Revealing Portrait of a President and Presidential Power Ever Written. New York: St. Martin's Press. ISBN 0312060270. OCLC 975962635.
  • Conrad, David Eugene; Craddock, Emmie; Pool, William Clayton (1965). Lyndon Baines Johnson: The Formative Years. Austin: Southwest Texas State College Press. OCLC 475217.
[edit]
Texas House of Representatives
Preceded by Member of the Texas House of Representatives
from District 89 (Blanco)
1903–1905 		Succeeded by
Political offices
Preceded by Secretary of State of Texas
1883-1887 		Succeeded by
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