Purley Albert Baker (18581924) was an ordained

Methodist Methodism, also called the Methodist movement, is a group of historically related denominations of Protestant Christianity whose origins, doctrine and practice derive from the life and teachings of John Wesley. George Whitefield and John's ...

minister who strongly opposed any consumption of

alcoholic Alcoholism is, broadly, any drinking of alcohol that results in significant mental or physical health problems. Because there is disagreement on the definition of the word ''alcoholism'', it is not a recognized diagnostic entity. Predomina ...

beverages and was superintendent of the Ohio

Anti-Saloon League The Anti-Saloon League (now known as the ''American Council on Addiction and Alcohol Problems'') is an organization of the temperance movement that lobbied for prohibition in the United States in the early 20th century. Founded in 1893 in Ober ...

Biography

Purley Baker was born in

Liberty Township, Jackson County, Ohio Liberty Township is one of the twelve townships of Jackson County, Ohio, United States. As of the 2010 census, 1,821 people lived in the township. Geography Located in the western part of the county, it borders the following townships: * Jacks ...

, on April 10, 1858. His father died when he was ten years old, and he began working on farms to support himself. At age 17, he attended a

revival meeting A revival meeting is a series of Christian religious services held to inspire active members of a church body to gain new converts and to call sinners to repent. Nineteenth-century Baptist preacher Charles Spurgeon said, "Many blessings may come t ...

in Williamsport and converted to

Methodism Methodism, also called the Methodist movement, is a group of historically related denominations of Protestant Christianity whose origins, doctrine and practice derive from the life and teachings of John Wesley. George Whitefield and John's br ...

. He attended school in Xenia, read law with a judge in Circleville, and entered the ministry at age 25. He married Lillie I. Greene at

Washington Court House, Ohio Washington Court House (often abbreviated as Washington C.H.) is a city in Union Township, Fayette County, Ohio. It is the county seat of Fayette County and is located between Cincinnati and Columbus. The population grew almost 1.5% from 2010 to ...

, on August 27, 1884. He became head of the national Anti-Saloon League in 1903, and five years later created the League's Industrial Relations Department to promote the idea that imposing prohibition would be a good business investment. He raised large sums of money to create a major information campaign, an important component of which was to demonize the producers of alcoholic beverages. He announced his resignation as general superintendent of the League on March 8, 1924, for reasons of ill health. He died at his home in

Westerville, Ohio Westerville is a city in Franklin County, Ohio, Franklin and Delaware County, Ohio, Delaware counties in the U.S. state of Ohio. A northeastern suburb of Columbus, Ohio, Columbus, the population was 39,190 at the 2020 United States Census, 2020 ...

, on March 30.

References

External links

Purley Baker
at the Westerville Public Library 1858 births 1924 deaths Temperance activists from Ohio Anti-German sentiment in the United States Methodist ministers People from Jackson County, Ohio Religious leaders from Ohio {{US-activist-stub

Biography

See also

References

External links