James H. Baker

James Heaton Baker (May 6, 1829 – May 25, 1913) was a Republican politician who was Ohio Secretary of State from 1856 to 1858, Minnesota Secretary of State, 1860–1862, and served in the American Civil War.

Life James H. Baker was born May 6, 1829, in Monroe, Butler County, Ohio. He was educated in common schools, and graduated from Ohio Wesleyan University. He became a teacher, and had charge of the Female Seminary at Richmond, Indiana. In 1853 he purchased the Scioto Gazette in Chillicothe, Ohio. In 1855 he was elected to a single term as Ohio Secretary of State. Later in life, he would be Minnesota Secretary of State 1860–1862.

During the American Civil War, Baker served as colonel of the 10th Minnesota Volunteer Infantry in the Union Army in 1862–1863. He was appointed Provost Marshal for the Department of Missouri, and served till the close of the war.

After the war, Baker was appointed Register of Public Lands at the Boonville, Missouri Federal Land Office, which he performed for two years. He then retired to a farm in Minnesota, and was appointed Commissioner of Pensions by President Grant from 1871 to 1875. Erected in 1912, it soon became the object of controversy and was finally removed by the City of Mankato in 1971. He is buried at Glenwood Cemetery in Mankato.

1861

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