Item 0045 - Letter, 27 May 1892

Edgar Crow Baker was born on September 16, 1845, in Lambeth, Surrey, England.
 
He was a Canadian politician who received his education at the Royal Hospital School in Greenwich. In 1860, he joined the Royal Navy where he served as a navigating lieutenant until his retirement at the rank of major in 1878. After retiring from the Navy, Baker settled in Victoria, British Columbia, where he became a prominent accountant, real estate conveyancer, and notary. He earned the nickname "Crow Baker" due to his success in his professional life and became one of the wealthiest men in the city. Baker was also active in the local community and served as the Grandmaster of the Masonic Grand Lodge of British Columbia. He entered civic politics as an alderman in Victoria and later switched to federal politics. He was elected to Parliament as a Conservative in the 1882 federal election and was re-elected in 1887. However, he resigned from his seat in 1889. In addition to his political career, Baker founded the Victoria & Esquimalt Telephone Company, Limited in 1880, which he managed as director and secretary-treasurer until 1900 when the company merged into what is now the B.C. Telephone Company, Ltd. He also helped introduce electric light to the city through the Victoria Illuminating Company, which later merged with the B.C. Electric Company, Ltd. Baker married Frances Mary Jones in 1869, and after her passing in 1894, he remarried Marion Henrietta "Etta" Clapham in 1896. He was actively involved in the Protestant Orphans' Home for many years.

He died on November 3, 1920, in Victoria, British Columbia.