Lawyer, Journalist, Diplomat. He married Julia Cook Edwards, daughter of Ninian W. Edwards and Elizabeth Todd Edwards, and niece of Mary Todd Lincoln. After attending Harvard Law School, he was admitted to the bar in Springfield. Baker was owner editor of the Illinois State Journal, and played an important part in his friend Abraham Lincoln's campaign in 1860. He was appointed US Consul to Buenos Aires, Argentina and began his tenure there March 17, 1874. He served famously in that position until the day he died as a result of a train accident, in Buenos Aires on July 8, 1897. [Contr. by Connie Nisinger]
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A telegram was received here Friday morning by Mr. A. S. Edwards from his brother, Charles Edwards of Chicago, bearing the intelligence that Hon. Edward L. Baker, consul at Buenes Ayres, had died in Buenos Ayres Thursday as the result of the accident which befell him two weeks ago. Telegrams which had come from the bedside of the injured man from day to day were cheering in tone and a fatal culmination of the accident came as a shock to the relatives in this city and to Mrs. Baker, who is now in Chicago with her daughter Julia.
The nature of the accident has never been fully understood by his relatives in this country. They had simply been advised by cable that on June 21 he had sustained a serious accident while en route on a train to see his son, Willis, who is consul at Rosalia. A letter with particulars is doubtless on the way but as it ordinarily takes a letter five or six weeks to come from Buenos Ayres to Chicago, full deatils will not be learned for some time yet. Cablegrams were practically out of the question because the rates are approximately five dollars a word. The advices about the condition of her husband which Mrs. Baker had received came through the state department at Washington, which has been very considerate in keeping her informed as fully as possible.
Mr. Baker is claimed by Springfield as one of its distinguished citizens who has made an enviable name for himself through his services to the country which he represents abroad. He was appointed consul to Buenos Ayres by General Grant in 1873 and had held the position up to the day of his death. His career in the consular services was remarkable for its length as well as for the excellent administration of his office. He was responsible more than any other one man for the pleasant relations which have always existed between this country and the Argentine Republic and for the large volume of business carried on between them. His service in this direction was so distinguished that no Republican successor of President Grant thought of displacing him with another, and when President Cleveland came into office, the pressure of merchants of this country and of Argentine for his retention was so great that the president yielded to their importunities and allowed him to hold the post. Robert T. Lincoln once remarked that of all the consuls the reports of Consul Baker were the ablest and most satisfactory to the state department. It was this fact which was effective in keeping Mr. Baker in the position almost a quarter of a century.
Mr. Baker was born in Kaskaskia, the first capital of Illinois, in 1829. He graduated from Shurtleff college in 1847, and then read law for two years with his father, Hon. David J. Baker. He then concluded his law studies in Harvard law shcool and was admitted to the bar in this city in 1855. Subsequently he became identified with W. H. Bailhache in the publication of The Alton Telegraph. He was connected with that paper five years and then became part owner and editor of The Illinois State Journal in 1857. His most active newspaper work was done during the political campaigns and in that branch of journalism he was counted particularly able. In 1869 he was appointed U. S. assessor for the Eighth district of Illinois and held that position until the office was abolished. It was in December 1873 that he was appointed consul at Buenos Ayres. He had never been in Springfield since he left for the Argentine Republic originally, although it was a wish he had expressed frequently that he might once more see the city and his Springfield friends before his death.
Mr. Baker was united in marriage June 6, 1855, with Miss Julia Cook Edwards, granddaughter of the first territorial governor of Illinois, Ninian Edwards, and daughter of Ninian W. Edwards, another distinguished citizen of Illinois. Two years ago Mrs. Baker and her daughter, Miss Julia, came to Chicago to recuperate the health of the latter and they have been in this country ever since.
In addition to the wife and daughter, Mr. Baker is survived by two sons, Willis, who is consul at Rosalia, and Edward Lewis, who lives in Lincoln, Neb. There also survive him two brothers, Colonel John P. Baker is paymaster in the regular army and is now stationed in St. Louis. David Jewett Baker, late member of the Illinois supreme court, is living at Cairo. A sister, Mrs. Miles Gilbert, lives in St. Mary's, Mo.
The government will take charge of the remains and have them brought to this country. They will be interred upon their arrival in Oak Ridge cemetery, where the deceased had purchased a burial lot. The body will not reach this city inside of a month and it may be six weeks on the way.
Illinois State Journal, Springfield, IL, 7-10-1897
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A telegram was received here Friday morning by Mr. A. S. Edwards from his brother, Charles Edwards of Chicago, bearing the intelligence that Hon. Edward L. Baker, consul at Buenes Ayres, had died in Buenos Ayres Thursday as the result of the accident which befell him two weeks ago. Telegrams which had come from the bedside of the injured man from day to day were cheering in tone and a fatal culmination of the accident came as a shock to the relatives in this city and to Mrs. Baker, who is now in Chicago with her daughter Julia.
The nature of the accident has never been fully understood by his relatives in this country. They had simply been advised by cable that on June 21 he had sustained a serious accident while en route on a train to see his son, Willis, who is consul at Rosalia. A letter with particulars is doubtless on the way but as it ordinarily takes a letter five or six weeks to come from Buenos Ayres to Chicago, full deatils will not be learned for some time yet. Cablegrams were practically out of the question because the rates are approximately five dollars a word. The advices about the condition of her husband which Mrs. Baker had received came through the state department at Washington, which has been very considerate in keeping her informed as fully as possible.
Mr. Baker is claimed by Springfield as one of its distinguished citizens who has made an enviable name for himself through his services to the country which he represents abroad. He was appointed consul to Buenos Ayres by General Grant in 1873 and had held the position up to the day of his death. His career in the consular services was remarkable for its length as well as for the excellent administration of his office. He was responsible more than any other one man for the pleasant relations which have always existed between this country and the Argentine Republic and for the large volume of business carried on between them. His service in this direction was so distinguished that no Republican successor of President Grant thought of displacing him with another, and when President Cleveland came into office, the pressure of merchants of this country and of Argentine for his retention was so great that the president yielded to their importunities and allowed him to hold the post. Robert T. Lincoln once remarked that of all the consuls the reports of Consul Baker were the ablest and most satisfactory to the state department. It was this fact which was effective in keeping Mr. Baker in the position almost a quarter of a century.
Mr. Baker was born in Kaskaskia, the first capital of Illinois, in 1829. He graduated from Shurtleff college in 1847, and then read law for two years with his father, Hon. David J. Baker. He then concluded his law studies in Harvard law shcool and was admitted to the bar in this city in 1855. Subsequently he became identified with W. H. Bailhache in the publication of The Alton Telegraph. He was connected with that paper five years and then became part owner and editor of The Illinois State Journal in 1857. His most active newspaper work was done during the political campaigns and in that branch of journalism he was counted particularly able. In 1869 he was appointed U. S. assessor for the Eighth district of Illinois and held that position until the office was abolished. It was in December 1873 that he was appointed consul at Buenos Ayres. He had never been in Springfield since he left for the Argentine Republic originally, although it was a wish he had expressed frequently that he might once more see the city and his Springfield friends before his death.
Mr. Baker was united in marriage June 6, 1855, with Miss Julia Cook Edwards, granddaughter of the first territorial governor of Illinois, Ninian Edwards, and daughter of Ninian W. Edwards, another distinguished citizen of Illinois. Two years ago Mrs. Baker and her daughter, Miss Julia, came to Chicago to recuperate the health of the latter and they have been in this country ever since.
In addition to the wife and daughter, Mr. Baker is survived by two sons, Willis, who is consul at Rosalia, and Edward Lewis, who lives in Lincoln, Neb. There also survive him two brothers, Colonel John P. Baker is paymaster in the regular army and is now stationed in St. Louis. David Jewett Baker, late member of the Illinois supreme court, is living at Cairo. A sister, Mrs. Miles Gilbert, lives in St. Mary's, Mo.
The government will take charge of the remains and have them brought to this country. They will be interred upon their arrival in Oak Ridge cemetery, where the deceased had purchased a burial lot. The body will not reach this city inside of a month and it may be six weeks on the way.
Illinois State Journal, Springfield, IL, 7-10-1897
Lawyer, Journalist, Diplomat. He married Julia Cook Edwards, daughter of Ninian W. Edwards and Elizabeth Todd Edwards, and niece of Mary Todd Lincoln. After attending Harvard Law School, he was admitted to the bar in Springfield. Baker was owner editor of the Illinois State Journal, and played an important part in his friend Abraham Lincoln's campaign in 1860. He was appointed US Consul to Buenos Aires, Argentina and began his tenure there March 17, 1874. He served famously in that position until the day he died as a result of a train accident, in Buenos Aires on July 8, 1897. [Contr. by Connie Nisinger]
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
A telegram was received here Friday morning by Mr. A. S. Edwards from his brother, Charles Edwards of Chicago, bearing the intelligence that Hon. Edward L. Baker, consul at Buenes Ayres, had died in Buenos Ayres Thursday as the result of the accident which befell him two weeks ago. Telegrams which had come from the bedside of the injured man from day to day were cheering in tone and a fatal culmination of the accident came as a shock to the relatives in this city and to Mrs. Baker, who is now in Chicago with her daughter Julia.
The nature of the accident has never been fully understood by his relatives in this country. They had simply been advised by cable that on June 21 he had sustained a serious accident while en route on a train to see his son, Willis, who is consul at Rosalia. A letter with particulars is doubtless on the way but as it ordinarily takes a letter five or six weeks to come from Buenos Ayres to Chicago, full deatils will not be learned for some time yet. Cablegrams were practically out of the question because the rates are approximately five dollars a word. The advices about the condition of her husband which Mrs. Baker had received came through the state department at Washington, which has been very considerate in keeping her informed as fully as possible.
Mr. Baker is claimed by Springfield as one of its distinguished citizens who has made an enviable name for himself through his services to the country which he represents abroad. He was appointed consul to Buenos Ayres by General Grant in 1873 and had held the position up to the day of his death. His career in the consular services was remarkable for its length as well as for the excellent administration of his office. He was responsible more than any other one man for the pleasant relations which have always existed between this country and the Argentine Republic and for the large volume of business carried on between them. His service in this direction was so distinguished that no Republican successor of President Grant thought of displacing him with another, and when President Cleveland came into office, the pressure of merchants of this country and of Argentine for his retention was so great that the president yielded to their importunities and allowed him to hold the post. Robert T. Lincoln once remarked that of all the consuls the reports of Consul Baker were the ablest and most satisfactory to the state department. It was this fact which was effective in keeping Mr. Baker in the position almost a quarter of a century.
Mr. Baker was born in Kaskaskia, the first capital of Illinois, in 1829. He graduated from Shurtleff college in 1847, and then read law for two years with his father, Hon. David J. Baker. He then concluded his law studies in Harvard law shcool and was admitted to the bar in this city in 1855. Subsequently he became identified with W. H. Bailhache in the publication of The Alton Telegraph. He was connected with that paper five years and then became part owner and editor of The Illinois State Journal in 1857. His most active newspaper work was done during the political campaigns and in that branch of journalism he was counted particularly able. In 1869 he was appointed U. S. assessor for the Eighth district of Illinois and held that position until the office was abolished. It was in December 1873 that he was appointed consul at Buenos Ayres. He had never been in Springfield since he left for the Argentine Republic originally, although it was a wish he had expressed frequently that he might once more see the city and his Springfield friends before his death.
Mr. Baker was united in marriage June 6, 1855, with Miss Julia Cook Edwards, granddaughter of the first territorial governor of Illinois, Ninian Edwards, and daughter of Ninian W. Edwards, another distinguished citizen of Illinois. Two years ago Mrs. Baker and her daughter, Miss Julia, came to Chicago to recuperate the health of the latter and they have been in this country ever since.
In addition to the wife and daughter, Mr. Baker is survived by two sons, Willis, who is consul at Rosalia, and Edward Lewis, who lives in Lincoln, Neb. There also survive him two brothers, Colonel John P. Baker is paymaster in the regular army and is now stationed in St. Louis. David Jewett Baker, late member of the Illinois supreme court, is living at Cairo. A sister, Mrs. Miles Gilbert, lives in St. Mary's, Mo.
The government will take charge of the remains and have them brought to this country. They will be interred upon their arrival in Oak Ridge cemetery, where the deceased had purchased a burial lot. The body will not reach this city inside of a month and it may be six weeks on the way.
Illinois State Journal, Springfield, IL, 7-10-1897
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
A telegram was received here Friday morning by Mr. A. S. Edwards from his brother, Charles Edwards of Chicago, bearing the intelligence that Hon. Edward L. Baker, consul at Buenes Ayres, had died in Buenos Ayres Thursday as the result of the accident which befell him two weeks ago. Telegrams which had come from the bedside of the injured man from day to day were cheering in tone and a fatal culmination of the accident came as a shock to the relatives in this city and to Mrs. Baker, who is now in Chicago with her daughter Julia.
The nature of the accident has never been fully understood by his relatives in this country. They had simply been advised by cable that on June 21 he had sustained a serious accident while en route on a train to see his son, Willis, who is consul at Rosalia. A letter with particulars is doubtless on the way but as it ordinarily takes a letter five or six weeks to come from Buenos Ayres to Chicago, full deatils will not be learned for some time yet. Cablegrams were practically out of the question because the rates are approximately five dollars a word. The advices about the condition of her husband which Mrs. Baker had received came through the state department at Washington, which has been very considerate in keeping her informed as fully as possible.
Mr. Baker is claimed by Springfield as one of its distinguished citizens who has made an enviable name for himself through his services to the country which he represents abroad. He was appointed consul to Buenos Ayres by General Grant in 1873 and had held the position up to the day of his death. His career in the consular services was remarkable for its length as well as for the excellent administration of his office. He was responsible more than any other one man for the pleasant relations which have always existed between this country and the Argentine Republic and for the large volume of business carried on between them. His service in this direction was so distinguished that no Republican successor of President Grant thought of displacing him with another, and when President Cleveland came into office, the pressure of merchants of this country and of Argentine for his retention was so great that the president yielded to their importunities and allowed him to hold the post. Robert T. Lincoln once remarked that of all the consuls the reports of Consul Baker were the ablest and most satisfactory to the state department. It was this fact which was effective in keeping Mr. Baker in the position almost a quarter of a century.
Mr. Baker was born in Kaskaskia, the first capital of Illinois, in 1829. He graduated from Shurtleff college in 1847, and then read law for two years with his father, Hon. David J. Baker. He then concluded his law studies in Harvard law shcool and was admitted to the bar in this city in 1855. Subsequently he became identified with W. H. Bailhache in the publication of The Alton Telegraph. He was connected with that paper five years and then became part owner and editor of The Illinois State Journal in 1857. His most active newspaper work was done during the political campaigns and in that branch of journalism he was counted particularly able. In 1869 he was appointed U. S. assessor for the Eighth district of Illinois and held that position until the office was abolished. It was in December 1873 that he was appointed consul at Buenos Ayres. He had never been in Springfield since he left for the Argentine Republic originally, although it was a wish he had expressed frequently that he might once more see the city and his Springfield friends before his death.
Mr. Baker was united in marriage June 6, 1855, with Miss Julia Cook Edwards, granddaughter of the first territorial governor of Illinois, Ninian Edwards, and daughter of Ninian W. Edwards, another distinguished citizen of Illinois. Two years ago Mrs. Baker and her daughter, Miss Julia, came to Chicago to recuperate the health of the latter and they have been in this country ever since.
In addition to the wife and daughter, Mr. Baker is survived by two sons, Willis, who is consul at Rosalia, and Edward Lewis, who lives in Lincoln, Neb. There also survive him two brothers, Colonel John P. Baker is paymaster in the regular army and is now stationed in St. Louis. David Jewett Baker, late member of the Illinois supreme court, is living at Cairo. A sister, Mrs. Miles Gilbert, lives in St. Mary's, Mo.
The government will take charge of the remains and have them brought to this country. They will be interred upon their arrival in Oak Ridge cemetery, where the deceased had purchased a burial lot. The body will not reach this city inside of a month and it may be six weeks on the way.
Illinois State Journal, Springfield, IL, 7-10-1897
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