Edmund L Baylies

Edmund Lincoln Baylies, Jr. (1857–1932) was a prominent New York City lawyer and philanthropist active during the Gilded Age. Born to Edmund Lincoln Baylies and Nathalie Elizabeth Ray, he hailed from a distinguished family with roots tracing back to Benjamin Lincoln and Thomas Baylies. Educated at Harvard College and Law School, he earned an LL.B. in 1882 and an LL.D. from Columbia Law School the same year.

Baylies' career began at Scudder & Carter, where he later became a partner in 1895, eventually retiring in 1926. He served as personal counsel to Cornelius Vanderbilt III and was involved in various corporate roles. Notably, he supported establishing a US-Hawaiian cable and contributed to the Seamen's Church Institute for over four decades, culminating in his role as honorary lay president.

In society, Baylies was listed in Ward McAllister's "Four Hundred" and belonged to elite clubs like the Knickerbocker Club. Personally, he married Louisa Van Rensselaer in 1879; her family included notable figures like William Paterson, New Jersey's governor. After battling double pneumonia in 1919, Baylies died at his Manhattan home in 1932 and was buried at Green-Wood Cemetery with esteemed pallbearers. His wife passed away in 1945.