Albert Cornelius Baker (February 15, 1845 – August 31, 1921) was an American

jurist A jurist is a person with expert knowledge of law; someone who analyzes and comments on law. This person is usually a specialist legal scholar, mostly (but not always) with a formal education in law (a law degree) and often a Lawyer, legal prac ...

and politician who was the only person to serve on both the Arizona Territorial Supreme Court and the

Arizona Supreme Court The Arizona Supreme Court is the state supreme court of the U.S. state of Arizona. Sitting in the Supreme Court building in downtown Phoenix, the court consists of a chief justice, a vice chief justice, and five associate justices. Each justi ...

. As a judge he served four years as Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of

Arizona Territory The Territory of Arizona, commonly known as the Arizona Territory, was a territory of the United States that existed from February 24, 1863, until February 14, 1912, when the remaining extent of the territory was admitted to the Union as the ...

and two-and-a-half years as a justice of the Arizona Supreme Court. Politically he was a member of the

Arizona Territorial Legislature The Arizona Territorial Legislature was the legislative body of Arizona Territory. It was a bicameral legislature consisting of a lower house, the House of Representatives, and an upper house, the council. Created by the Arizona Organic Act, the l ...

and a delegate to Arizona's constitutional convention.

Background

Baker was born on February 15, 1845, in

Girard, Alabama Girard, Alabama was a city in the far north-east corner of Russell County, Alabama across the Chattahoochee River from Columbus, Georgia. History Named after Philadelphia-based banker Stephen Girard, who had purchased much of the Muscogee ter ...

, to Benjamin H. and Eliza (Greer) Baker. His father was a prominent attorney and he was educated in private schools. During the

American Civil War The American Civil War (April 12, 1861May 26, 1865; also known by Names of the American Civil War, other names) was a civil war in the United States between the Union (American Civil War), Union ("the North") and the Confederate States of A ...

he joined the

Confederate States Army The Confederate States Army (CSA), also called the Confederate army or the Southern army, was the Military forces of the Confederate States, military land force of the Confederate States of America (commonly referred to as the Confederacy) duri ...

and served two-and-a-half years as

color bearer A standard-bearer, also known as a colour-bearer or flag-bearer, is a person who bears an emblem known as a standard or military colours, i.e. either a type of flag or an inflexible but mobile image, which is used (and often honoured) as a ...

for Waddell's Battalion of Artillery. While in the battalion, Baker saw action during the

Siege of Vicksburg The siege of Vicksburg (May 18 – July 4, 1863) was the final major military action in the Vicksburg campaign of the American Civil War. In a series of maneuvers, Union Major General Ulysses S. Grant and his Army of the Tennessee crossed th ...

and during the Atlanta Campaign from the

Battle of Rocky Face Ridge The Battle of Rocky Face Ridge was fought May 7–13, 1864, in Whitfield County, Georgia, during the Atlanta Campaign of the American Civil War. The Union army was led by Maj. Gen. William Tecumseh Sherman and the Confederate army by Gen ...

to the

Battle of Atlanta The Battle of Atlanta took place during the Atlanta Campaign of the American Civil War on July 22, 1864, just southeast of Atlanta, Georgia. Continuing their summer campaign to seize the important rail and supply hub of Atlanta, Union forces ...

. Following Atlanta he spent a short time as a

prisoner of war A prisoner of war (POW) is a person held captive by a belligerent power during or immediately after an armed conflict. The earliest recorded usage of the phrase "prisoner of war" dates back to 1610. Belligerents hold prisoners of war for a ...

. Following the war, Baker became a graduate of East Alabama Male College (now Auburn University). After completing school he studied law at a law office and was admitted to the bar in 1868. Baker opened his own law office in Crawford, Alabama and practiced there for three years before moving to

Missouri Missouri (''see #Etymology and pronunciation, pronunciation'') is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. Ranking List of U.S. states and territories by area, 21st in land area, it border ...

. From Missouri he moved to

San Diego, California San Diego ( , ) is a city on the Pacific coast of Southern California, adjacent to the Mexico–United States border. With a population of over 1.4 million, it is the List of United States cities by population, eighth-most populous city in t ...

and in 1876 arrived in

Los Angeles Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...

. In February 1879, his legal practice brought Baker to Phoenix, Arizona Territory. As he was concluding his business and preparing to return, Justice DeForest Porter requested Baker serve as special prosecutor for a

Maricopa County Maricopa County () is a county in the south-central part of the U.S. state of Arizona. As of the 2020 census the population was 4,420,568, or about 62% of the state's total, making it the fourth-most populous county in the United States and ...

attorney accused of

malfeasance in office Malfeasance in office is any unlawful conduct that is often grounds for a Just cause (employment law), just cause removal of an elected official by statute or recall election, or even additionally a crime. Malfeasance in office contrasts with Mi ...

. After accepting and completing the assignment he began accepting additional cases and never made his planned return to California, instead making Phoenix his home for the rest of his life. Baker was elected a member of the council (

upper house An upper house is one of two Legislative chamber, chambers of a bicameralism, bicameral legislature, the other chamber being the lower house. The house formally designated as the upper house is usually smaller and often has more restricted p ...

) for the 11th Arizona Territorial Legislature in November 1880. During the session he served as chairman of judiciary committee. Two years later he defeated Charles Austin Tweed to become Maricopa County attorney. During the 1880s he also served four years and Phoenix city attorney and four years as

Assistant United States Attorney An assistant United States attorney (AUSA) is an official career civil service position in the U.S. Department of Justice composed of lawyers working under the U.S. attorney of each U.S. federal judicial district. They represent the federal gov ...

. In 1886, Baker was a candidate for the Democratic nomination for Territorial Delegate but lost the nomination to Marcus Aurelius Smith. On February 2, 1882, Baker married Mary Jesus Alexander in a ceremony performed by Justice Porter. The couple had four children survive to adulthood. As a delegate to the

1892 Democratic National Convention The 1892 Democratic National Convention was held in Chicago, Illinois, from June 21 to 23, 1892. Former President Grover Cleveland, who had been the party's standard-bearer in 1884 and 1888, was nominated again. Adlai Stevenson I of Illinois was n ...

, Baker was a supporter of

Grover Cleveland Stephen Grover Cleveland (March 18, 1837June 24, 1908) was the 22nd and 24th president of the United States, serving from 1885 to 1889 and from 1893 to 1897. He was the first U.S. president to serve nonconsecutive terms and the first Hist ...

. When Cleveland was elected, Baker applied to become the territory's chief justice. His support as a delegate, combined with endorsements by L. C. Hughes,

Joseph Henry Kibbey Joseph Henry Kibbey (March 4, 1853 – June 14, 1924) was an American attorney who served as Associate Justice of the Arizona Territorial Supreme Court from 1889 to 1893 and Governor of Arizona Territory from 1905 to 1909. His legal career is mo ...

Richard Elihu Sloan Richard Elihu Sloan (June 22, 1857 – December 13, 1933) was an American jurist and politician, who served as associate justice of the Arizona Territorial Supreme Court, a United States federal judge, United States district judge of the United S ...

, and

William Henry Stilwell William Henry Stilwell (May 24, 1849 – May 8, 1928) was an American jurist who served as Associate Justice of the Arizona Territorial Supreme Court from 1880 till 1882. Following his removal from the bench, he remained in the territory where h ...

, resulted in a

recess appointment In the United States, a recess appointment is an appointment by the President of the United States, president of a Officer of the United States, federal official when the United States Senate, U.S. Senate is in Recess (motion), recess. Under the ...

on May 16, 1893. He took the oath of office on May 24, 1893. On top of his duties as Chief Justice, Baker was responsible Arizona Territory's third judicial district. To this was added the roles of member of board of curators for the territorial library and member of board of regents for the Arizona Normal School at Tempe (now Arizona State University). Baker administered the oath of office to his successor on July 20, 1897, and returned to private practice. In 1899 he became president of the Territorial Bar Association, a position he held for two years. In 1910 he was elected to represent Maricopa County at Arizona's constitutional convention. At the start of the convention he served as Temporary President before the delegates could select their leaders. He was also a member of Committee on Style, Revision, and Compilation which edited the wording of the final document. In 1918, Baker ran for election as a Justice to the

. During the

primary Primary or primaries may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Music Groups and labels * Primary (band), from Australia * Primary (musician), hip hop musician and record producer from South Korea * Primary Music, Israeli record label Work ...

he defeated the incumbent,

Alfred Franklin Alfred Morrison Franklin (September 30, 1871 – after 1948) was an American jurist and politician. He was the first chief justice of the Arizona Supreme Court and served as a member of Arizona's 1910 constitutional convention. Biography F ...

, by a vote of 14,419 to 12,275. He then won the

general election A general election is an electoral process to choose most or all members of a governing body at the same time. They are distinct from By-election, by-elections, which fill individual seats that have become vacant between general elections. Gener ...

with 20,721 votes to Republican candidate A.A. Jayne's 5,008 and Socialist candidate J. N. Morrison 3,688. Following his election, Baker was asked to fill the vacancy left by Justice Franklin's resignation. Baker decided to wait till the start of his own term and took the bench on January 4, 1919.

Personal life

Baker died on August 31, 1921, while visiting his daughter in

Los Angeles, California Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...

. His body was returned to Phoenix and buried in St. Francis Cemetery.

References

* * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Baker, Albert Cornelius 1845 births 1921 deaths Arizona pioneers Justices of the Arizona Supreme Court Justices of the Arizona Territorial Supreme Court Chief justices of the Arizona Territorial Supreme Court Auburn University alumni Confederate States Army soldiers Lawyers from Phoenix, Arizona Members of the Arizona Territorial Legislature People from Russell County, Alabama People of Alabama in the American Civil War Politicians from Phoenix, Arizona Chief justices of the Arizona Supreme Court 19th-century American lawyers

Background

Personal life

See also

References