Robert Baylor was born on May 10, 1793, in Kentucky, the son of Jane (Bledsoe) Baylor and of Walker Baylor, a soldier in Washington's army, and nephew of George Baylor, aide-de-camp to Washington. His maternal grandfather, Aaron Bledsoe, was a Baptist preacher in Virginia.
After being educated in the local schools, Rpbert Baylor served in the War of 1812, first under Col. Boswell in the fighting at Fort Meigs, later under Gen. Harrison in the campaign against Proctor. After the war he studied law in the office of his uncle, Judge Jesse Bledsoe, a noted Kentucky lawyer.
In 1819 Robert Baylor was elected to the Kentucky legislature and served one term. In 1820 he moved to Tuscaloosa County, Alabama. Here he was elected to the legislature for one term, 1824; and in 1829 he was elected as one of Alabama's three representatives to the Twenty-first Congress. His work in Congress seems to have been undistinguished, and he was defeated for reelection. In 1833 he moved to Dallas County where he formed a law partnership with G. W. Gayle. He commanded a battalion of volunteers during the Creek Indian troubles in 1836. In the same year he moved again, this time to Mobile. In 1839 he emigrated to the Republic of Texas, settling first in Fayette County and later in Washington, where he resided until his death.
Just before leaving Alabama he had joined the Baptist Church and had become a preacher. Though his chief vocation was that of a lawyer, or judge, he continued also as a preacher "without a charge"; and he was from the first a zealous leader in all the affairs of his Church in Texas. He soon achieved prominence in his new home. Within a year after his arrival he took part in the important battle of Plum Creek against the Comanche Indians. On January 7, 1841, he was appointed by the Texas congress judge of the third district of Texas. As the judicial system of the Republic was organized this made him also an associate justice of the supreme court. He held this position until Texas entered the Union; he was then appointed one of the first district judges under the constitution of 1845 and remained on the bench continuously until the Civil War. Although the statement is frequently made that he was a member of the Texas congress, his name does not appear on the rolls of that body. He was a delegate from Fayette County to the constitutional convention of 1845 and served on the committee to report an ordinance accepting the terms of annexation offered by the United States, on the judiciary committee, and on the committee on general provisions of the constitution. He seems to have been highly respected by the other members of the convention.
His speeches were few in number, but were always short, clear, and pointed. He favored the exemption of homesteads from forced sale, annual elections, the exclusion of the clergy from the legislature; he opposed the grant of any veto power to the governor. Rigidly honest, yet kindly in manner and given to tempering justice with mercy, he enjoyed popularity and even veneration as a judge. Wherever he held court - so great was his religious zeal - he usually followed his work on the bench during the day by preaching or holding other religious services at night.
Baylor was always interested in education, and in 1843 was made president of the first Baptist education society in Texas. In 1845 he and W. M. Tryon projected the first Baptist college in Texas. He drew the charter and was chiefly instrumental in procuring its passage through the congress, and despite his protests the college was named for him. Baylor University was first established at Independence, Washington County; in 1886 it was moved to its present site at Waco, and "the female department, " Baylor College, was moved to Belton. Judge Baylor made the largest cash contribution to its initial endowment and was for many years chairman of the board of trustees. From 1857 to the Civil War he served as professor of law without pay. For a long time he was moderator of the Texas Baptist Union Association and president of the Baptist State Convention. The last years of Baylor’s life were spent quietly at his home at Gay Hill.
Robert Baylor was a member of the U. S. House of Representatives from Alabama's 2nd district (1829-1831); the Alabama House of Representatives (1824); president of the Texas Baptist Educational Society (1843); a moderator of the Texas Baptist Union Association and president of the Baptist State Convention.
Robert Baylor was a man of impressive appearance, over six feet two inches in height, and of great dignity of face and bearing.
Robert Baylor was never married.
