His great-grandfather was Thomas Baylies, an ironmaster from Coalbrookdale, England, who immigrated to Boston in 1737.

[1] He studied law, and was admitted to the bar in 1810 and commenced practice in Taunton, Massachusetts.

Jackson then appointed him to the post of United States chargé d'affaires in Buenos Aires in the Argentine Confederation following the raid on the Falkland Islands by USS Lexington in 1831.

USS Peacock conveyed Mr. Baylies and family to la Plata and on the occasion, both the British line-of-battle ship Plantagenet and frigate Druid complemented her flag by playing Hail, Columbia.

This article incorporates public domain material from the Biographical Directory of the United States Congress