Nelson Baker
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Venerable Nelson Henry Baker |
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| Born | February 16, 1842 |
| Died | July 29, 1936 (aged 94) |
Nelson Henry Baker (February 16, 1842 – July 29, 1936) was a Roman Catholic priest and church administrator in the Buffalo, New York area. At the time of his death in 1936, he had developed a "city of charity" under the patronage of Our Lady of Victory in Lackawanna, New York. It consisted of a minor basilica, an infant home, a home for unwed mothers, a boys' orphanage, a boys’ protectory, a hospital, a nurses' home, and a grade and high school.
Since 1986, the Our Lady of Victory parish and the Diocese of Buffalo have been working to secure Father Baker's canonization. He has been designated "Venerable" by the Roman Catholic Church.
Nelson Baker was born in Buffalo, New York on February 16, 1842 to Lewis Becker (later Baker) and Caroline Donnellan, parents who were ethnic German and Irish, during a period when the rate of immigration was increasing from Europe. He was the second eldest of four sons. His father, a German Evangelical Lutheran, was a retired mariner. Lewis had opened a grocery and general goods store on Batavia Street (now called Broadway) in Buffalo. He is said to have instilled an astute business sense in young Nelson, who worked in the store after graduating from high school in 1858. Nelson's mother Caroline was a devout Irish Catholic, and the children were all baptized and reared as Catholic. Nelson was baptized a Roman Catholic in 1851, aged 9.
During the Civil War, Baker enlisted at age 21 as a Union soldier in early July 1863 as part of the 74th regiment of the New York State Militia. His regiment, which saw duty along the Pennsylvania front at the Battle of Gettysburg, was used to help quell the New York City draft riots in 1863. Crowds of largely ethnic Irish rioted in protest of the draft; in their resentment they attacked African Americans, and their homes and businesses. Both groups competed in low-paying jobs.
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