Francis Baylies (October 16, 1783 – October 28, 1852) was a U.S. Representative from

Massachusetts Massachusetts ( ; ), officially the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It borders the Atlantic Ocean and the Gulf of Maine to its east, Connecticut and Rhode ...

, and brother of congressman

William Baylies William Baylies (September 15, 1776 – September 27, 1865) was an American lawyer and politician who served four non-consecutive terms as a United States House of Representatives, U.S. Representative from Massachusetts in the early to mid-19th ...

. His great-grandfather was Thomas Baylies, an ironmaster from Coalbrookdale,

England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...

, who immigrated to

Boston Boston is the capital and most populous city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Massachusetts in the United States. The city serves as the cultural and Financial centre, financial center of New England, a region of the Northeas ...

in 1737. Baylies was born in

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

, 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 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 (United States), state legislature of Massachusetts. It is composed of 160 members elected from 14 counties each divided into ...

from 1827 to 1832. Jackson then appointed him to the post of United States

chargé d'affaires A (), plural ''chargés d'affaires'', often shortened to ''chargé'' (French) and sometimes in colloquial English to ''charge-D'', is a diplomat who serves as an embassy's chief of mission in the absence of the ambassador. The term is Frenc ...

Buenos Aires Buenos Aires, controlled by the government of the Autonomous City of Buenos Aires, is the Capital city, capital and largest city of Argentina. It is located on the southwest of the Río de la Plata. Buenos Aires is classified as an Alpha− glob ...

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 La Plata () is the capital city of Buenos Aires province, Argentina. According to the 2022 Argentina census, census, the La Plata Partido, Partido has a population of 772,618 and its metropolitan area, the Greater La Plata, has 938,287 inhabit ...

and on the occasion, both the British line-of-battle ship ''Plantagenet'' and frigate ''Druid'' complemented her flag by playing '' Hail, Columbia''. 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 American lawyers 19th-century members of the United States House of Representatives 19th-century members of the Massachusetts General Court