Draft:D. A. Baker (lawman)

David Amander Baker (August 24, 1846 – December 16, 1909) also known as "D. A. Baker", was a professional lawman having been the City Marshal of North Platte in Lincoln County, Nebraska, Lincoln County Sheriff, and a Special Agent for the Union Pacific Railroad.

One of the most accomplished professional lawmen of the old west, he worked right up until his sudden death in 1909, racking up 30 years as a law enforcement official. 14 years of which was a City Marshal and County Sheriff in a rough frontier territory, he was known as one of the toughest officers to ever wear a badge in Lincoln, Nebraska often trading blows with drunks and gangs who frequented Front Street saloons.

Early Life and Career
From New York - add info about his parents, etc.

Baker married Cynthia De Etta Wheelock on March 26, 1866.

Relocated family to North Platte in 1875.

One of the early pioneers of North Platte starting a restaurant, then conducted a dray line (flatbed wagon shipping transport).

Military service
At the age of 19, Baker enlisted into the Union Army at Erie County, New York, on March 21, 1865. He was assigned to the 8th Cavalry of the United States. He severed until after the Civil war being mustered out June 27, 1865.

City Marshal, North Platte
Baker was elected to the office of City Marshal in 1879.

His term is City Marshal ended in late December 1887.

Sheriff of Lincoln County
Baker ticketed as a republican when running to be the Sheriff of Lincoln County. He was elected in 1887 and began his term in office January of 1888.

In 1887, a ballot initiative to issue $10,000 in bonds to build a proper County jail had been approved. Construction began in 1888 and it was completed on January 8, 1889. The county commissioners then approved a budget of $700. On January 2, 1891 Baker was the first to charge "Sheriff's Fees" in the amount of $1.35. The end of Baker's term as Sheriff was 1893 after loosing re-election. After few years after Baker came Sheriff Timothy T. Keliher, had also been the county's Deputy Sheriff (elected in 1897 under sheriff Jake Miller), and was a Union Pacific detective that helped organize UP's mobile ranger corps, and the Chief Special Agent for the Illinois Central Railroad. Between the two of them, Baker and Keliher had more years in law enforcement than the more popular lawmen that history remembers, Wyatt Earp, Pat Garrett, and Wild Bill Hickok, combined. But, comparatively, far less is known and remembered of Baker and Keliher than of the likes of Earp, Garrett and Hickok.

Between 1867 and 1910 there were thirteen different sheriffs. None of them were gunfighters. The closest that the county came to such sheriffs were Asa Bradley, sheriff from 1876–1877, and Con Groner, sheriff from 1878–1883. These two were well known as excellent marksmen and were avid hunters, but neither had occasion to use those skills whilst in office. The electorate seemed to choose men who were known and trusted by the community, with long histories and ties to it, rather than people who were handy with firearms. David Baker and Tim Keliher were professional law enforcers, as mentioned. So also, was sheriff William Woodhust, elected in 1872 (and who resigned the office in 1873 to become warden of Nebraska State Penitentiary), who had been deputy sheriff under the county's first two sheriffs, O. O. Austin and Nathan Russell.

The sheriffs in their forties, with the exception of career law enforcement officer Baker, relied more heavily upon their much younger deputies for tasks other than administrative work,

From David Baker's two terms of office on-wards, sheriffs tended more to seek re-election, and multiple-term incumbents became more of the norm. Miller, Keliher, and Carpenter each held the office for two terms. Miltonberger held it for three. Baker's stint in office marked a turning point, where the office of sheriff became more professionalised. More counties had been incorporated around Lincoln County, making the policing of outlying regions less daunting, there was greater assistance from experienced deputies, and from Union Pacific detectives, who were a more visible presence in the railroad towns of the county by the end of the 1880s.

Almost all sheriffs in the 19th century kept their noses clean both in and out of office, with the two major exceptions being Haley (who, after he had left office, had to pay a fine of $25 for violating a municipal ordinance requiring him to have screens on all of his saloon windows) and Stuthers (who, years after he had been sheriff, in Grand Junction, Colorado shot and killed a highwayman that had attempted to rob him, but with the resultant charges against him dismissed on the grounds of self-defense).

Colt Peacemaker, Model 1873 - Frontier Six Shooter
Baker's chosen service weapon was the venerable and legend Colt Peacemaker. He specifically owned the civilian version of the Colt model 1873 Single Action Army (SAA) called the Frontier Six Shooter. He purchased the revolver new in 1886 during his last term as City Marshal. Serial # 105618 puts it as being manufactured in 1884 and it's recorded by Colt as being shipped to Montgomery Ward & Co, Chicago, Illinois on January 25, 1886 as part of a two gun shipment. The firearms specifications were a 4 3/4" barrel, blued finish, 1-piece lacquered walnut stocks, and chambered in .44-40 Winchester. In 1884 there were only 599 4 3/4" .44-40 single actions were built by Colt, of which very precious few still exist today.

Baker is known to have shot two men dead with it and he filed notches at the bottom of the wooden grip on the left side near the screw for each one, as was tradition. For comparison, most gun fighters also carved notches in the wooden grips, scratched the top of the barrel, etc. It's also recorded that he had the gun "slicked up" for fanning, although it's highly doubtful he ever used it in that manner as that's more of a Hollywood trope and a very inaccurate method of shooting. "Slick jobs" were however very common among shooters.

The gun still exists, in original condition, in a private collection and is documented in the Master Colt 1st Gen Database. Baker sold the Peacemaker as he entered service with Union Pacific to a J. R. Casey Sr. It was passed down in the same family three generations over 100 years before it was offered for sale.

Union Pacific Railroad
When Baker lost his bid for re-election as Sheriff in 1893 and in early 1894 he was immediately hired by Union Pacific Railroad as a Special Agent, also known as a Detective. Working for UP he was stationed in North Platte, Cheyenne, then Ogden in 1902, and finally to Denver in 1905.

Life in North Platte, Lincoln, Nebraska
Leaving for info about his son and the arson charges, jail time, etc.

- Still need to research and complete

In progress June 2024

Death
Baker died on December 16, 1909 at 6:30 PM local time in Denver, Colorado. He had come home from work, greeted his wife, sat in a chair, and then keeled over passing very suddenly according to his wife. Cause of deal was determined to be Rheumatism of the heart which he began to suffer seriously from a year prior.

He received a full Masonic funeral. His funeral service was held at the Masonic Hall in North Platte, Nebraska at 2:00 PM on Sunday December 19, 1909. Baker was laid to rest at North Platte Cemetery in Lincoln County, Nebraska, Lot 828, Space 1.

Baker as a Freemason
Baker was active in the fraternal organization of Freemasonry having been initiated at Platte Valley Lodge No. 32, in North Platte, Nebraska. William F. "Buffalo Bill" Cody was one of his brothers at this lodge. Baker's wife, De Etta, was notably a Charter Member of the North Platte Order of the Eastern Star, Signet Chapter #55 which formed in 1893.