Home County: Greene
Term of Service on the Supreme Court of Missouri: August 1868 – November 1868
Judge James Baker was born April 1, 1819, in Mason County, Kentucky.[i] He attended Indiana State University at Bloomington and continued his studies in the office of James Grant in Davenport, Iowa.[ii] Baker remained in Davenport until 1843, when he moved Ottumwa, where he practiced law for 10 years.[iii] In 1853, he was appointed register of the United States land office in Chariton.[iv] He served with the land office until 1856, then he returned to private legal practice.[v]
His legal practice was disrupted by the civil war, but after his service with an Iowa infantry unit, Baker relocated to Springfield, Missouri,[vi] where he practiced law with the firms of Baker & Fyan and Baker & Ellis.[vii] On August 13, 1868,[viii] Governor Thomas C. Fletcher appointed him to the Supreme Court of Missouri to serve the remainder of Judge Nathaniel Holmes’ term.[ix] Judge Baker served with the Court until the November 3, 1868, election.[x]
After his service with the Court, Baker was appointed attorney for the Pacific and Atlantic Railroad, and in the fall of 1870, he was also appointed attorney for the Missouri Pacific Railroad.[xi] He served as attorney for both railroads until 1876.[xii] In 1877, Baker was elected vice president and acting president of the St. Louis and San Francisco Railroad.[xiii] He continued to work with numerous railroad companies before he returned to private practice.[xiv]
In 1883, he returned to Springfield, where he practiced law for the remainder of his life.[xv] In 1899, at the age of 81, he appeared in federal court at Kansas City for a case involving the city of Springfield and the collection of taxes.[xvi] He resided in Springfield until 1909.[xvii]
Judge James Baker died October 16, 1910, in New Lenox, Illinois, and was buried in the Springfield National Cemetery in Springfield, MO.[xviii]
[i] “Judge James Baker,” History of Greene County, Missouri, Written and Compiled from the Most Authentic Official and Private Sources, Including a History of its Townships, Towns, and Villages, (St. Louis, MO: Nixon-Jones Printing Co. 1883), 742, accessed on July 18, 2018. Information courtesy of Archive.org, available from https://archive.org See also: “Judge Jas. Baker Dead,” The Leon Reporter (Leon, IA), October 27, 1910, page 1, column 2, accessed on July 18, 2018. Information available courtesy of the State Historical Society of Iowa and Chronicling America Website, available from; https://chroniclingamerica.loc.gov
[ii] “Judge James Baker,” History of Greene County, Missouri, 742. See also: “Judge Jas. Baker Dead,” The Leon Reporter (Leon, IA), October 27, 1910.
[iii] “Judge James Baker,” History of Greene County, Missouri, 742. See also: “James Baker, Attorney At Law, Ottumwa, Iowa,” Des Moines Courier (Des Moines, IA), August 15, 1851, page 4, column 3, accessed on July 18, 2018. Information courtesy of the State Historical Society of Iowa and Chronicling America Website, available from: https://chroniclingamerica.loc.gov See also: “Judge Jas. Baker Dead,” The Leon Reporter (Leon, IA), October 27, 1910.
[iv] Springfield-Greene County Library, “Judge James Baker,” Pictorial and Genealogical Record of Greene County, Missouri, accessed July 8, 2018. Information courtesy of Springfield-Greene County Library Website, available from; https://thelibrary.org. See also: “Judge Jas. Baker Dead,” The Leon Reporter (Leon, IA), October 27, 1910.
[v] “Judge Jas. Baker Dead,” The Leon Reporter (Leon, IA), October 27, 1910.
[vi] Springfield-Greene County Library, “Judge James Baker,” Pictorial and Genealogical Record of Greene County, Missouri.
[vii] Springfield-Greene County Library, “Judge James Baker,” Pictorial and Genealogical Record of Greene County, Missouri. See also: “Baker and Fyan Attorneys and Counsellors at Law,” Missouri Weekly Patriot (Springfield, MO) June 8, 1865, page 1, column 1, accessed on July 23, 2018. Information courtesy of The State Historical Society of Missouri Newspaper Database, available from; http://shsmo.org See also: “Baker & Ellis. Attorneys at Law,” Missouri Weekly Patriot (Springfield, MO) December 3, 1868, page 1, column 1, accessed on July 23, 2018. Information courtesy of The State Historical Society of Missouri Newspaper Database, available from http://shsmo.org
[viii] Michael K. McGrath, Secretary of State, ed., Official Directory of Missouri, (St. Louis, MO: John J. Stationary & Printing Company, 1885), 134.
[ix] Horace W. Fuller, ed., The Green Bag, (The Boston Book Company, Boston, MA: 1891), 159. See also: Peoples’ Tribune (Jefferson City, MO), September 30, 1868, page 4, column 1, accessed on July 23, 2018. Information courtesy of The State Historical Society of Missouri Newspaper Database, available from; http://shsmo.org
[x] McGrath, Official Directory of Missouri, 134. [For reference on November 1868 election date and terms of Judge Bliss, Judge Currier, and Judge Wagner]. See also: “Col. Baker Appointed to the Supreme Bench,” Missouri Weekly Patriot (Springfield, MO), August 20, 1868, page 2, column 2, accessed on July 18, 2018. Information courtesy of The State Historical Society of Missouri Newspaper Database, available from; http://shsmo.org
[xi] “Judge James Baker,” History of Greene County, Missouri, 742.
[xii] “Judge James Baker,” History of Greene County, Missouri, 742.
[xiii] Change of Railroad Officials,” Springfield Leader (Springfield, MO), September 20, 1877, page 2, column 1, accessed on July 24, 2018. Information courtesy of The State Historical Society of Missouri Newspaper Database, available from; http://shsmo.org
[xiv] “Judge James Baker,” Pictorial and Genealogical Record of Greene County, Missouri.
[xv] “Judge Jas. Baker Dead,” The Leon Reporter (Leon, IA), October 27, 1910.
[xvi] “A Venerable Attorney. Judge James Baker, of Springfield, 81 Years Old, Appears in Federal Court,” Kansas City Journal (Kansas City, MO), May 30, 1899, page 12, column 3, accessed on July 23, 2018. Information courtesy of The State Historical Society of Missouri Newspaper Database, available from; http://shsmo.org, also Chronicling America Website, available from; https://chroniclingamerica.loc.gov
[xvii] “Judge Jas. Baker Dead,” The Leon Reporter (Leon, IA), October 27, 1910.
[xviii] “Former Judge Baker Dead,” The Sullivan News (Sullivan, MO), October 27, 1910, page 7, column 2, accessed on July 18, 2018. Information courtesy of the State Historical Society of Missouri Newspaper Database, available from http://shsmo.org. See also: “Judge Jas. Baker Dead,” The Leon Reporter (Leon, IA), October 27, 1910.
Biographical information authored by Ms. Megan Vancil, 2018, University of Missouri-Columbia.