John Harris Baker was a U.S. Representative

United States House of Representatives

The United States House of Representatives is one of the two Houses of the United States Congress, the bicameral legislature which also includes the Senate.The composition and powers of the House are established in Article One of the Constitution...

 from Indiana

Indiana

Indiana is a US state, admitted to the United States as the 19th on December 11, 1816. It is located in the Midwestern United States and Great Lakes Region. With 6,483,802 residents, the state is ranked 15th in population and 16th in population density. Indiana is ranked 38th in land area and is...

 and a United States federal judge

United States federal judge

In the United States, the title of federal judge usually means a judge appointed by the President of the United States and confirmed by the United States Senate in accordance with Article II of the United States Constitution....

, brother of Lucien Baker

Lucien Baker

Lucien Baker was a United States Senator from Kansas.Baker was born near Cleveland, Ohio and moved with his parents to Morenci, Michigan...

.

Early years and education

Born in Parma, New York

Parma, New York

Parma is a town in Monroe County, New York, United States. The population was 15,633 at the 2010 census.The Town of Parma, then in Genesee County, was organized in 1808, named after Parma in Italy.-Geography:...

, Baker moved with his parents to the present county of Fulton, Ohio

Fulton, Ohio

Fulton is a village in Morrow County, Ohio, United States. The population was 264 at the 2000 census. Fulton is south of Mount Gilead, Ohio, the county seat.-Geography:Fulton is located at...

. He attended the public schools and was a teacher before receiving an A.M.

Master of Arts (postgraduate)

A Master of Arts from the Latin Magister Artium, is a type of Master's degree awarded by universities in many countries. The M.A. is usually contrasted with the M.S. or M.Sc. degrees...

 from Wesleyan University

Wesleyan University

Wesleyan University is a private liberal arts college founded in 1831 and located in Middletown, Connecticut. According to the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching, Wesleyan is the only Baccalaureate College in the nation that emphasizes undergraduate instruction in the arts and...

 in 1879.http://books.google.com/books?id=WxcaAAAAYAAJ&pg=RA2-PA441&lpg=RA2-PA441&dq=%22john+harris+baker%22+and+%22wesleyan+university%22&source=bl&ots=SDxy6yVXKT&sig=eY4uUsBPZDS4ixkplCsnsj7MWNY&hl=en&ei=dnBRSoDZKdPDtwehzr2mBA&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=4 He read law in Adrian, Michigan

Adrian, Michigan

As of the 2010 census Adrian had a population of 21,133. The racial and ethnic makeup of the population was 84.1% white, 4.4% black or African American, 0.6% Native American, 0.9% Asian, 5.9% from some other race and 4.0% from two or more races...

 and was admitted to the bar

Admission to the bar in the United States

In the United States, admission to the bar is the granting of permission by a particular court system to a lawyer to practice law in that system. Each U.S. state and similar jurisdiction has its own court system and sets its own rules for bar admission , which can lead to different admission...

 in 1857, commencing practice in Goshen, Indiana

Goshen, Indiana

Goshen is a city in and the county seat of Elkhart County, Indiana, United States. It is the smaller of the two principal cities of the Elkhart-Goshen Metropolitan Statistical Area, which in turn is part of the South Bend-Elkhart-Mishawaka Combined Statistical Area. It is located in the northern...

. He served as member of the Indiana State Senate in 1862, but, being a notary public

Notary public

A notary public in the common law world is a public officer constituted by law to serve the public in non-contentious matters usually concerned with estates, deeds, powers-of-attorney, and foreign and international business...

 at the time, was unseated because the Constitution of Indiana

Constitution of Indiana

There have been two Constitutions of the State of Indiana. The first constitution was created when the Territory of Indiana sent forty-three delegates to a constitutional convention on June 10, 1816 to establish a constitution for the proposed State of Indiana after the United States Congress had...

 forbade the simultaneous holding of two lucrative offices.

Congressional service

Baker was elected as a Republican

Republican Party (United States)

The Republican Party is one of the two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Democratic Party. Founded by anti-slavery expansion activists in 1854, it is often called the GOP . The party's platform generally reflects American conservatism in the U.S...

 to the Forty-fourth

44th United States Congress

The Forty-fourth United States Congress was a meeting of the legislative branch of the United States federal government, consisting of the United States Senate and the United States House of Representatives. It met in Washington, D.C. from March 4, 1875 to March 4, 1877, during the seventh and...

, Forty-fifth

45th United States Congress

-House of Representatives:-Leadership:-Senate:*President: William A. Wheeler *President pro tempore: Thomas W. Ferry -House of Representatives:*Speaker: Samuel J. Randall -Members:This list is arranged by chamber, then by state...

, and Forty-sixth

46th United States Congress

The Forty-sixth United States Congress was a meeting of the legislative branch of the United States federal government, consisting of the United States Senate and the United States House of Representatives. It met in Washington, D.C. from March 4, 1879 to March 4, 1881, during the last two years of...

 Congresses (March 4, 1875-March 3, 1881). He declined to be a candidate for renomination in 1880, and resumed the practice of law in Goshen. He served as delegate to the 1888 Republican National Convention

1888 Republican National Convention

-Synopsis:The 1888 Republican National Convention was a presidential nominating convention held at the Auditorium Building in Chicago, Illinois, on June 19-25, 1888. It resulted in the nomination of Benjamin Harrison, a former senator of Indiana, and Levi P. Morton, a former U.S. representative of...

.

Federal judicial service

On March 24, 1892, President Benjamin Harrison

Benjamin Harrison

Benjamin Harrison was the 23rd President of the United States . Harrison, a grandson of President William Henry Harrison, was born in North Bend, Ohio, and moved to Indianapolis, Indiana at age 21, eventually becoming a prominent politician there...

 nominated Baker to a seat on the United States District Court for the District of Indiana vacated by William A. Woods. Baker was confirmed by the United States Senate

United States Senate

The United States Senate is the upper house of the bicameral legislature of the United States, and together with the United States House of Representatives comprises the United States Congress. The composition and powers of the Senate are established in Article One of the U.S. Constitution. Each...

on March 29, 1892, and received his commission the same day. Baker retired on December 8, 1902, and thereafter resided in Goshen until his death. He was interred in Oak Ridge Cemetery.