David S. Walker. However, ratification of the state's Reconstruction constitution in 1868 forced his resignation and return to private practice. Over the next several years, he gained his greatest professional reputation for litigation associated with the disposition of lands held by the state's Internal Improvement Fund—which had been created in 1855 to attract Northern capital and spur development. By 1876, Baker was an active member of the state's Democratic Executive Committee, and worked hard to bring about an end to the Reconstruction era in Florida. In 1881, he was returned as a judge on the state's 4th Judicial Circuit by Governor William Bloxham. He was re-appointed in 1885 by his successor Governor Edward A. Perry. But, he resigned due to declining health in 1890. Judge Baker retired in Jacksonville, where he became an elder in the Presbyterian church. He died at his home in that city one month shy of his seventy-first birthday, and was buried at the nearby Evergreen Cemetery. He was survived by his wife and five children, including two sons who followed in his professional footsteps as prominent Florida attorneys. Members of his family also gained prominence as the founders of Florida Rock Industries . References 1821 births 1892 deaths American Presbyterians Confederate States of America senators 19th-century American politicians Davidson College alumni Florida Constitutional Unionists Florida Democrats Florida lawyers Florida state court judges Justices of the Florida Supreme Court Florida Whigs People from Lake City, Florida People from Robeson County, North Carolina People of Florida in the American Civil War Politicians from Jacksonville, Florida 19th-century American judges 19th-century American lawyers