John Baker (politician, 1769)

John Baker (born 1769 in Frederick County , Province of Maryland , †  August 18, 1823 in Shepherdstown , Virginia ) was an American politician . Between 1811 and 1813 he represented the state of Virginia in the US House of Representatives .

Career

Nothing is known about the childhood and youth of John Baker. He studied for three years at Washington College , the later Washington and Lee University in Lexington . After a subsequent law degree and his admission as a lawyer, he began in Berkeley County (now Jefferson County in West Virginia ) to work in this profession. Politically, Baker became a member of the Federalist Party founded by Alexander Hamilton . Between 1798 and 1799 he was a member of the Virginia House of Representatives . He later served as a defense attorney for former Vice President Aaron Burr at the latter's high treason trial.

In the congressional election of 1810 Baker was elected to the US House of Representatives in Washington, DC in the second constituency of Virginia , where he succeeded James Stephenson on March 4, 1811 . Until March 3, 1813, he was able to complete a legislative period in Congress . This had been shaped by the events of the British-American War since 1812 . After his time in the US House of Representatives, John Baker practiced as a lawyer again. Temporarily he served as a prosecutor in Jefferson County. He died on August 18, 1823 in Shepherdstown in what is now West Virginia, where he was also buried.

Web links

• John Baker in the Biographical Directory of the United States Congress (English)
• John Baker in the database of Find a Grave (English)