Daniel Baker (Presbyterian minister)

Daniel Baker (1791–1857) was an American Presbyterian minister and educator in the Antebellum South. He was the founder of Austin College, and served as its second president from 1853 to 1857.

Daniel Baker
BornAugust 17, 1791
Midway, Georgia, U.S.
DiedDecember 10, 1857
Austin, Texas, U.S.
Alma materHampden–Sydney College
Princeton University
OccupationClergyman, educator
Spouse(s)Elizabeth McRobert
Children4
Parent(s)William Baker

Early life

Daniel Baker was born on August 17, 1791 in Midway, Georgia.[1][2] His father was William Baker.[1] His mother died when he was an infant.[1] His father subsequently remarried.[1] He had six siblings.[1][3]

Baker attended Hampden–Sydney College from 1811 to 1813. However, due to the War of 1812, he transferred to the Princeton University, and graduated in 1815.[2]

Career

Baker started his career as a Presbyterian minister in Harrisonburg and New Erection, Virginia in 1818.[1] By 1822, he became the minister at Second Presbyterian Church in Washington, D.C..[1] In 1828, he became the minister at Independent Presbyterian Church in Savannah, Georgia.[1] He then preached in Frankfort, Kentucky.[1] He moved to Tuscaloosa, Alabama in 1836.[1]

Baker moved to the Republic of Texas in 1840.[1] He preached in Galveston, Houston, and Chriesman.[1] Later, he preached in Victoria, Cuero, Clinton, Goliad, Gonzales, New Braunfels, Bastrop, Wharton, Columbia, Port Lavaca, La Grange, Palestine, Brownsville, Rio Grande City, as well as cities like Austin and San Antonio.[1] In 1848, he became the minister of First Presbyterian Church in Galveston, Texas.[1]

Baker served on the Board of Trustees of the Chalmers Institute, a boys' school in Holly Springs, Mississippi, where he had served as pastor in the 1840s.[4] He founded Austin College in Huntsville, Texas in 1850.[1] He hired Samuel McKinney, an Irish-born Presbyterian minister who had founded the Chalmers Institute, as the first president of Austin College from 1850 to 1853.[4] When McKinney resigned, Baker served as its second president from 1853 to 1857.[2][5]

Personal life

Baker married Elizabeth McRobert on March 28, 1816.[1] His wedding ceremony was conducted by Moses Hoge.[1] Baker and his wife had four children.[1]

Death and legacy

Baker died on December 10, 1857 in Austin, Texas.[1][2] Daniel Baker College was named in his honor.[1]

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References
  1. Currie, Thomas W. Jr. (June 12, 2010). "BAKER, DANIEL". Handbook of Texas Online. Texas State Historical Association. Retrieved September 6, 2015.
  2. "Past Presidents". Austin College. Retrieved September 6, 2015.
  3. "August 10: Daniel Baker". This Day in Presbyterian History. 10 August 2017. Retrieved 10 August 2017.
  4. "Historic Sites Survey: The Chalmers Institute" (PDF). Mississippi Department of Archives and History. Retrieved September 6, 2015.
  5. Littlejohn, Jeff (2009). Huntsville. Mount Pleasant, South Carolina: Arcadia Publishing. p. 34.
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