Francis Baylies (October 16, 1783 – October 28, 1852) was a

U.S. Representative The United States House of Representatives, often referred to as the House of Representatives, the U.S. House, or simply the House, is the lower chamber of the United States Congress, with the Senate being the upper chamber. Together they c ...

from

Massachusetts Massachusetts (Massachusett: ''Muhsachuweesut Massachusett_writing_systems.html" ;"title="nowiki/> məhswatʃəwiːsət.html" ;"title="Massachusett writing systems">məhswatʃəwiːsət">Massachusett writing systems">məhswatʃəwiːsət'' En ...

, and brother of congressman

William Baylies William Baylies (September 15, 1776 – September 27, 1865) was a U.S. Representative from Massachusetts, and brother of congressman Francis Baylies. His great-grandfather was Thomas Baylies, an ironmaster from Coalbrookdale, England, who emig ...

. His great-grandfather was

Thomas Baylies Thomas Baylies (1687–March 1756) was a Quaker ironmaster first in England, then in Massachusetts. Origins and family Thomas Baylies was the son of Nicholas Baylies of Alvechurch in north Worcestershire. On 5 June 1706, he married Esther, ...

, an ironmaster from

Coalbrookdale Coalbrookdale is a village in the Ironbridge Gorge in Shropshire, England, containing a settlement of great significance in the history of iron ore smelting. It lies within the civil parish called the Gorge. This is where iron ore was first s ...

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

, who immigrated to

Boston Boston (), officially the City of Boston, is the state capital and most populous city of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, as well as the cultural and financial center of the New England region of the United States. It is the 24th- mo ...

in 1737. Baylies was born in

Taunton, Massachusetts Taunton is a city in Bristol County, Massachusetts, United States. It is the seat of Bristol County. Taunton is situated on the Taunton River which winds its way through the city on its way to Mount Hope Bay, to the south. At the 2020 cen ...

, in 1783, the son of Dr. William Baylies (1742–1826).History of Bristol County, Massachusetts, J. W. Lewis & Co., 1883
/ref> He studied law, and was

admitted to the bar An admission to practice law is acquired when a lawyer receives a license to practice law. In jurisdictions with two types of lawyer, as with barristers and solicitors, barristers must gain admission to the bar whereas for solicitors there are dist ...

in 1810 and commenced practice in

. He later served as Register of Probate for Bristol County 1812–1820. He was an unsuccessful candidate for election in 1818 to the Sixteenth Congress. Baylies was elected as a Federalist to the Seventeenth Congress, a Jackson Federalist to the Eighteenth Congress, and a Jacksonian to the Nineteenth Congress (March 4, 1821 – March 3, 1827). He was an unsuccessful candidate in 1827 for reelection to the Twentieth Congress. He served as member of the

Massachusetts House of Representatives The Massachusetts House of Representatives is the lower house of the Massachusetts General Court, the state legislature of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. It is composed of 160 members elected from 14 counties each divided into single-member ...

from 1827 to 1832. Jackson then appointed him to the post of United States chargé d'affaires in

Buenos Aires Buenos Aires ( or ; ), officially the Autonomous City of Buenos Aires ( es, link=no, Ciudad Autónoma de Buenos Aires), is the capital and primate city of Argentina. The city is located on the western shore of the Río de la Plata, on South ...

in the Argentine Confederation following the raid on the Falkland Islands by USS ''Lexington'' in 1831. USS ''Peacock'' conveyed Mr. Baylies and family to la Plata and on the occasion, both the British line-of-battle ship ''Plantagenet'' and frigate ''Druid'' complemented her flag by playing ''

Hail, Columbia "Hail, Columbia" is an American patriotic song and ceremonial entrance march of the vice president of the United States. It was originally considered to be one of the unofficial national anthems of the United States until 1931, when "The St ...

''. His very short term in office was due to the unsettled conditions of the time. Baylies was again elected to the

in 1835. He engaged in literary pursuits. He died in

, October 28, 1852, and was interred in the Old Plain Cemetery.

Writings

*
An Historical Memoir of the Colony of New Plymouth
' (1830). * Massachusetts Historical Society,
Letters of Francis Baylies 1827–1834.
' in Proceedings of the Massachusetts Historical Society. vol. 45, Pages 166 -184, (1912).

References

* Emery, Samuel Hopkins.:
Ministry of Taunton
' v. 1 p. 253, (1853). {{DEFAULTSORT:Baylies, Francis 1783 births 1852 deaths Politicians from Taunton, Massachusetts American people of English descent Federalist Party members of the United States House of Representatives from Massachusetts Jacksonian members of the United States House of Representatives from Massachusetts Members of the Massachusetts House of Representatives 19th-century American diplomats 19th-century American politicians American lawyers