Introduction to the Baker Family and their papers at Rice
The Captain James A. Baker Family papers, MS 487
The Captain James A. Baker Family Collection was a gift donated by Alice Baker Jones Meyer through Ray Watkin Strange in January 2000. The collection consists of more than 20 letters, over 20 newsclippings and published materials, and approximately 10 family photographs spanning the years between 1874 and 1951.
Baker's Correspondence in this Exhibit, 1873-1932
This online exhibit contains a representative sample of the collection's letters from Capt. Baker to various family members. Included within the exhibit is correspondence to his mother-in-law, with whom he shares his loneliness and worries in life. Also included are youthful letters to his grandmother, father, and sister regarding his time as a cadet in the Texas Military Institute, as well as much later correspondence to his beloved granddaughter.
Capt. James A. Baker was a prominent attorney in the law firm of Baker, Botts & Baker, who represented many wealthy citizens, one of whom was William Marsh Rice, founder of Rice University. In 1891, Baker was made a member of the Rice Institute Board of Trustees and served as the first Chairman of the Board. After Rice's death in 1900, a suspicious Capt. Baker alerted authorities to the possibility of foul play. Because of his efforts, investigators discovered that Rice was in fact murdered by an associate.
As Chairman of the Board, Baker contributed to the establishment of Rice University, an elite educational institution. Because of his business savvy, the Rice endowment was more than doubled in the early years of the institute. Mr. Baker served as Chairman until his death on Aug. 2, 1941. His son, James A. Baker, Jr. served in World War II, became a lawyer in the family firm, and continued the Baker commitment to Rice.
James A. Baker III., Capt. Baker's grandson, was born in 1930 to the wealthy Baker family and attended Princeton University. He joined the military and spent two years as a Marine lieutenant. After his stint in the military, Baker attended University of Texas School of Law and began a career as a lawyer, which lasted until his first wife's death in 1970. At the urging of his friend, George H. W. Bush, Baker ran for the Senate. He lost the Senate race, but went on to serve as Chief of Staff and Secretary of the Treasury in President Ronald Reagan's administration and as Secretary of State under George Bush. He has had a hand in the management of every Republican campaign for president from 1976 to 1992. After his career in politics, Baker returned to working as an attorney and became a member of the Baker Botts law firm.
On June 2, 1992, Dr. Richard J. Stoll, Director for the Center for the Study of Institutions and Values, as well as a professor of Political Science, sent a memo to then Rice President George Rupp, suggesting that Rice approach then Secretary of State James A. Baker III for the beginnings of a "James Baker Institute for Public Policy". Rupp responded favorably to Stoll's memo and thus, the Baker Institute was born. On March 31, 1993, Secretary Baker gave a speech accepting Rice's offer of an institute in his honor, laying down his ideas on the Baker Institute. In his speech, entitled Ideas Into Action, Baker charged the Baker Institute to "draw together statesmen, scholars, and students ... and ... build a bridge between the world of ideas and the world of action..." These founding words were later used as the building stones for the external architecture of the building.
The Honorable James A. Baker, III would later serve on the Rice Board of Trustees from 1993 to the present day, currently acting as Trustee Emeretus.
