William Baylies (September 15, 1776 – September 27, 1865) 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 Francis Baylies. 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 emigrated 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

Dighton, Massachusetts Dighton is a town in Bristol County, Massachusetts, United States. The population was 8,101 at the 2020 census. The town is located on the western shore of the Taunton River in the southeastern part of the state. History Crossroads Dighton's l ...

, in 1776, the son of Dr. William Baylies (1743–1826). He graduated from Brown University,

Providence, Rhode Island Providence is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Rhode Island. One of the oldest cities in New England, it was founded in 1636 by Roger Williams, a Reformed Baptist theologian and religious exile from the Massachusetts ...

, in 1795 where he studied law. He 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 ...

and commenced practice in Bridgewater (west parish) in 1799 and served as member of the State house of representatives in 1808, 1809, 1812, 1813, 1820, and 1821 and in the State Senate in 1825, 1826, 1830, and 1831. He was elected a member of the

American Antiquarian Society The American Antiquarian Society (AAS), located in Worcester, Massachusetts, is both a learned society and a national research library of pre-twentieth-century American history and culture. Founded in 1812, it is the oldest historical society i ...

in 1814. Baylies was credentialed and seated in the 11th Congress, but the election was contested by his opponent

Charles Turner Jr. Charles Turner Jr. (June 20, 1760 – May 16, 1839) was a U.S. Representative from Massachusetts. Born in Duxbury in the Province of Massachusetts Bay, Turner received a common-school education at Duxbury and Scituate. He was commissioned an a ...

Turner had won a majority of the ballots in the November 1808 election, but the Governor ruled that no one had received a majority because nearly 20% of Turner's votes had been cast for "Charles Turner" and the rest for "Charles Turner, Jr." The Governor called for a special election that Baylies won and he took the seat. But Turner successfully argued that the votes that omitted "Jr." were clearly intended for him. The special election was deemed void and on June 28 Baylies was deemed unentitled to the seat. Baylies was then elected as a Federalist to the Thirteenth and Fourteenth Congresses (March 4, 1813 – March 3, 1817). He was elected as an

Anti-Jacksonian The National Republican Party, also known as the Anti-Jacksonian Party or simply Republicans, was a political party in the United States that evolved from a conservative-leaning faction of the Democratic-Republican Party that supported John Qu ...

to the Twenty-third Congress (March 4, 1833 – March 3, 1835). He died 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 ...

, on September 27, 1865. Interment was in Dighton Town Cemetery,

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Baylies, William 1776 births 1865 deaths People from Dighton, Massachusetts American people of English descent Federalist Party members of the United States House of Representatives from Massachusetts National Republican Party members of the United States House of Representatives from Massachusetts Members of the Massachusetts House of Representatives Massachusetts state senators Members of the American Antiquarian Society Brown University alumni Members of the United States House of Representatives removed by contest