Daniel Baker was an American Presbyterian minister and educator in the Antebellum S.
Background
Daniel Baker was born on August 17, 1791 in Midway, Georgia. Left an orphan while still a child, he went to Savannah when fourteen years old and worked for the next six years in various commercial establishments. But the deeply religious atmosphere in which his early years were spent had left a deep impress upon the mind of the sensitive boy and he determined to be a preacher.
Education
Fully aware of the need of an education, in 1811 he took advantage of an opportunity to go to Hampden-Sidney College in Virginia. Here he spent two years in hard study and then went to Princeton where he graduated in 1815. While in Princeton his religious zeal manifested itself in organizing prayer meetings among his fellow students. He then studied theology for a year under a Presbyterian minister in Winchester, Virginia.
Career
He held various Presbyterian pastorates - at Harrisonburg, Washington, D. C. , Savannah and Tuscaloosa. His growing reputation for persuasive eloquence drew him into much evangelistic work. In 1840 he was sent to the Republic of Texas as an evangelistic missionary. He participated in the organization of the first presbytery of his church in Texas and proposed the establishment of a church college for young men. He remained in the Republic but a short time, soon accepting a pastorate at Holly Springs. But his interest continually turned to Texas and in 1848 he was recalled there. He found that the establishment of a college had been agreed upon by the presbyteries but that little had been done on the project. He threw himself into the work with characteristic energy, selected Huntsville as the site, was made "general agent, " and began soliciting subscriptions.
In November 1849 the legislature granted a charter to Austin College, so named in honor of Stephen F. Austin. In spite of the poverty of Texas at that time and the small membership of his own church, Baker was markedly successful in obtaining funds both for its maintenance and endowment. In 1853 he became president as well as general agent. He repeatedly made extensive tours over both Texas and the United States as a whole in search of funds and equipment. For several years he endeavored to obtain grants from the state legislature in the form of endowed scholarships, but state policy was against grants of public money to denominational schools and he never succeeded. His advocacy of a general public-school system, however, probably had much to do with the passage of the act of 1854 to provide a system of public schools. As the college grew the problem of obtaining support became heavier, and in January 1857 he resigned the presidency in order to devote his whole time to the work of the agency. But his work was nearly over, for he died suddenly at the home of his son.
Achievements
Connections
In 1816 he married a Virginia girl, Elizabeth McRobert. Baker and his wife had four children.