|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Judge R. E. B. BaylorA man who was the epitome of courage, conviction, and compassion
By Dr. Eugene W. Baker
Robert Emmett Bledsoe Baylor was born in Lincoln County, Kentucky, on
May 10, 1793, the sixth of twelve children of Walker and Jane Bledsoe
Baylor. Both his father and uncle George Baylor fought in the
Revolutionary War and were personal friends of George Washington.
During the War of 1812, Robert and his brothers John, William, and
Cyrus upheld the family military tradition and served with the Kentucky
militia. William was officially commended for his bravery in battles
against the Indians, and Cyrus was awarded a sword by the U.S. Congress
for his leadership in the defense of Fort Stephenson.
 Robert
was sergeant major of one of the units which forced the British and
their Indian allies to lift siege at Fort Meigs in northern Ohio during
the early stages of the war. When his enlistment expired, Baylor
reenlisted as a private and volunteered for a campaign into lower
Canada. Led by General William Henry Harrison, Commodore Oliver H.
Perry, and Kentucky governor Isaac Shelby, the assault resulted in the
death of the legendary Indian warrior Tecumseh and the defeat of the
British troops. It was one of the most significant American victories
of the war.
A few years later Baylor obtained his license to practice law after
studying under his uncle Jesse Bledsoe. Judge Bledsoe was the son of
Joseph Bledsoe, a Baptist minister who, in the late eighteenth century,
was arrested in Virginia for preaching the Gospel. He was later
released through the brilliant defense efforts of American patriot
Patrick Henry.
In 1819 Baylor was elected to the Kentucky House of Representatives,
occupying the same seat his brother George had held the previous year.
After serving a single term, Robert moved to Tuscaloosa, Alabama, and
entered private law practice. Early in 1824 he was appointed
aide-de-camp to Governor Israel Pickens and that summer won a seat in
the Alabama House of Representatives. A highlight of Robert's one-year
term was his participation in the state's festivities which welcomed
the return to America of the Marquis de Lafayette who had fought
alongside Robert's father and uncle in the Revolutionary War.
Robert Baylor ran for the U.S. House of Representatives in 1825 and
1827, losing the latter election by only 176 votes. In 1829 he captured
almost one thousand votes more than the combined total of the two other
candidates to become a representative from the Alabama middle district
tot the Twenty-first Congress.
While in Congress he was not noted for proposing any major legislation,
but did gain a reputation as a loyal follower. Among those with whom he
worked and associated socially were Daniel Webster, John Calhoun and
Henry Clay. Unfortunately, Baylor's friendship with these men--and with
his fellow boarding house residents Davy Crockett and Thomas
Chilton--probably ruined his political future.
Elected by Andrew Jackson loyalists in Alabama, Baylor was soon
perceived as anti-Jackson since Crockett, Chilton, and Clay were known
opponents of the president. Though Baylor profusely proclaimed his
loyalty to the Jacksonian party, Alabama voters refused to return him
to the Twenty-second Congress. In congressional bids in 1835 and 1837,
the anti-Jackson stigma cost Baylor heavily and he was defeated on both
occasions, though the last election was lost to the incumbent by only
forty-seven votes.
Following his narrow defeat, Baylor settled in Mobile and soon became
prominent in community affairs. In 1838 he was elected president of the
Mobile Franklin Society, a literary and scientific organization. He
also was greatly sought after to aid citizens in claims against banks
which failed during the months following the Panic of 1837.
In the spring and early summer of 1839, Baylor moved inland to
Talladega, possibly to escape the danger of yellow fever which
frequently ravished the coastal cities. There he boarded with his
former Washington colleague and first cousin, Thomas Chilton, who had
left the political arena a few years previous and had become a Baptist
minister.
Though an agnostic, Baylor often had expressed interest in Christianity
and had closely studied the Bible. As a child he had been exposed to
the Baptist faith by his father who was active in denominational
affairs, but Baylor steadfastly refused to accept the tenets of
Christianity. At a Chilton-led revival during the summer, Baylor was
converted to Christianity. Shortly thereafter he was licensed to preach
the Gospel.
Later that year he emigrated to Texas where he traveled to several
communities in search of a suitable location in which to live. In
Austin he submitted a petition for a land grant as heir of his nephew
John, who had been wounded in battle of San Jacinto in April 1836 and
had died a few weeks later while visiting Baylor in Alabama. Baylor
eventually settled in La Grange where he opened a school in a small log
cabin.
Baylor did not divulge he was a licensed minister during the first few
weeks of his residence in Texas for fear someone would think he was
seeking favors. However, in February 1840, the Reverend Z. N. Morrell,
a West Tennessee canebrake preacher who had emigrated to Texas in
December 1835, visited Baylor in La Grange. Having been informed by
friends in Alabama of Baylor's license to preach, Morrell encouraged
him to acknowledge his Christian calling. As a result, Baylor started
preaching, probably in the Baptist church near La Grange, where he soon
became an active member.
In June 1840, along with several other ministers, Baylor attempted to
help organize Baptists in Southeast Texas into an association. Because
of disagreements over theology and polity, however, the effort failed.
In October Baylor joined eight other men in another attempt. They
represented only three churches with a total membership of forty-five,
but their efforts resulted in the creation of the Union Baptist
Association.
T. W. Cox, pastor of the three churches represented, was elected
moderator and Baylor was chosen as corresponding secretary. Only a few
weeks previous to this occasion, Baylor, Cox, and Morrell and other
volunteers had fought a band of Indians who had pillaged the frontier
town of Linnville. Later named the Battle of Plum Creek, it was one of
the most colorful skirmished with the Indians during the days of the
Republic.
In January 1841, the Texas Congress elected Baylor judge of the third
judicial district. For the next twenty-three years he dispensed justice
throughout several counties, frequently holding court during the day
and preaching at night--many times in the same building. When his
schedule permitted he led revivals, participated in associational
meetings, served as part-time pastor, and assisted colleagues in
establishing new churches and in ordaining new ministers and deacons.
Occasionally he also delivered prayers at special legislative sessions.
By virtue of his district judgeship, Baylor was a member of the Supreme
Court of the Republic of Texas. In this capacity he met at least once a
year with the other justices to act upon various legal matters, often
establishing precedents for future civil and criminal cases.
In the fall of 1844 and the early weeks of 1845, Baylor successfully
led the efforts of the Texas Baptist Education Society to establish a
university in Texas. He was named a charter trustee of the institution
which bore his name, and when the trustees gathered for their first
meeting, he was elected president pro tem of the board.
During the summer of 1845 a convention was called to develop a
constitution for Texas, a requisite for admission into the United
States.
Baylor was one of two deputies elected from Fayette County to this
body. He attended every session of the fifty-six-day convention, even
though his brother, Walker Keith, was accidentally killed while
visiting him in Texas during this time. In 1846 Baylor made a bid to
represent Texas in the U.S. House of Representatives. He was so soundly
defeated that he never made another attempt to reenter national
politics as a candidate. He did have to ride the campaign trail again,
however, in his 1851 and 1857 reelection bids for district judge. He
won both contests, but the final one returned him to the bench by fewer
than two hundred votes.
When the study of law was introduced at Baylor University in 1849,
Baylor volunteered to deliver special lectures. He received no
compensation for his teaching, just as he never accepted money for any
of his ministerial service.
Baylor was interested not only in denominational educational
activities, but also in the general educational condition of the state.
He expressed this interest by helping to establish the Texas Literary
Institute in December 1846. This organization, though short-lived, made
significant progress in increasing awareness of the educational needs
across Texas.
By September 1848 there were scores of Baptist churches in Texas, most
of which were aligned with particular associations. When delegates from
these associations and from various churches met in Anderson to
organize a convention, Baylor moderated the session, helped write the
constitution, and was elected one of the board of managers, a position
he helped almost continuously for a quarter century. Baylor later
served as president and vice president of the convention.
Following the Civil War, Baylor helped establish the Sabbath School and
Colportage Convention. Its purposes were to distribute literature and
organize Sunday schools across the state. In 1866, when the female
department of Baylor University separated and became Baylor Female
College, Baylor was elected a trustee of that institution. He remained
a trustee of both institutions bearing his name until his death in
December 1873.
During his life Baylor's circle of friends include United States
presidents, military generals, international figures, governors,
congressmen, supreme court justices, wealthy merchants, and
professional and community leaders. He was at ease with all of these
individuals, but perhaps he was most comfortable sitting under the
shade of giant oak trees discussing the Christian life with farmers,
small businessmen, preachers, schoolteachers, and students.
His last will and testament embodied his Christian spirit. In it he
wished "…that I could will to my relations a personal interest in the
atoning blood of my blessed Redeemer without which there is no
happiness…."
Robert Emmett Bledsoe Baylor was a simple, ordinary man with extraordinary talents and an unusual love for Jesus Christ.
|
|
|
|
|
.jpg)
