Occupation Clergyman, educator Parent(s) William Baker Religion Presbyterian Church Name Daniel Baker | Spouse(s) Elizabeth McRobert Role Educator Children 4 Books Addresses to Young Men | |
Born August 17, 1791 Midway, Georgia, U.S. Died December 10, 1857, Austin, Texas, United States Alma mater Hampden–Sydney College, Princeton University | ||
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.
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Early life
Daniel Baker was born on August 17, 1791 in Midway, Georgia. His father was William Baker. His mother died when he was an infant. His father subsequently remarried. He had six siblings.
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.
Career
Baker started his career as a Presbyterian minister in Harrisonburg and New Erection, Virginia in 1818. By 1822, he became the minister at Second Presbyterian Church in Washington, D.C.. In 1828, he became the minister at Independent Presbyterian Church in Savannah, Georgia. He then preached in Frankfort, Kentucky. He moved to Tuscaloosa, Alabama in 1836.
Baker moved to the Republic of Texas in 1840. He preached in Galveston, Houston, and Chriesman. 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. In 1848, he became the minister of First Presbyterian Church in Galveston, Texas.
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. He founded Austin College in Huntsville, Texas in 1850. 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. When McKinney resigned, Baker served as its second president from 1853 to 1857.
Personal life
Baker married Elizabeth McRobert on March 28, 1816. His wedding ceremony was conducted by Moses Hoge. Baker and his wife had four children.
Death and legacy
Baker died on December 10, 1857 in Austin, Texas. Daniel Baker College was named in his honor.