William Baker (Kansas politician)

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William Hewitt Baker
Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Kansas's 6th district
In office 1891–1897
Preceded by	Erastus J. Turner
Succeeded by	Nelson B. McCormick
Personal details
Born	(1831-04-29)April 29, 1831 Washington County, Pennsylvania
Died	February 11, 1910(1910-02-11) (aged 78) Lincoln Center, Kansas
Resting place	Lincoln Center Cemetery
Political party	Populist

William Hewitt Baker (April 29, 1831 – February 11, 1910) was a U.S. Representative from Kansas.

William Hewitt Baker was born near Centerville, Pennsylvania, and grew up to become a prominent figure in Kansas. He attended public school and graduated from Waynesboro in 1856. He married Philena Griffith in 1858, and they had eight children together. In 1878, Baker moved to Lincoln County, Kansas, where he became a farmer and rancher. He later entered politics and served in the U.S. House of Representatives from 1891 to 1897. Baker died on February 11, 1910, at 4:15 p.m., February 11, 1910 and was interred in Lincoln Center Cemetery. His obituary was published in the Lincoln Sentinel, February 10, 1910.

Baker was a teacher and moved to Iowa in 1859 to become the principal of the public schools in Council Bluffs. Baker studied law, was admitted to the bar in 1860, but never practised. In 1865, he returned to Beallsville, Pennsylvania. From 1865 to 1878, he engaged in mercantile pursuits.

William Hewitt Baker, a member of the Populist Party, was elected to three consecutive terms in the U.S. House of Representatives, serving from March 4, 1891, to March 3, 1897, as part of the Fifty-second, Fifty-third, and Fifty-fourth Congresses. He was not a candidate for re-nomination in 1896, and he resumed agricultural pursuits.

• United States Congress. "William Baker (id: B000075)". Biographical Directory of the United States Congress.

• "Kansapedia: William Baker". Kansas Historical Society. June 2011. Retrieved 10 March 2020.
•  Johnson, Rossiter, ed. (1906). "Baker, William". The Biographical Dictionary of America. Vol. 1. Boston: American Biographical Society. p. 193.
• William Baker at Find a Grave
•  This article incorporates public domain material from the Biographical Directory of the United States Congress