The BAILEY Name
There are many spellings of the name; Bailie, Baillie, Baily, Baly, Bayley, just to mention a few. Whether Scotish, French, Irish or English; The Bailey or Bailiff was a man of great importance and was paid accordingly by his master. Where a shepherd earned 4 shillings per annum and a ploughman 8 shillings, the Bailey would receive six pounds. He lived in the Manor House at the Lord's expense and was responsible for the administration and supervision of the general agricultural policy. The term Bailey, now obsolete in England, is still common in Scotland where it is used as Chief Magistrate or Sheriff. In the 14th Century Dionisy-eri-la-Baillye owned shops and houses at the Old Bailey. The name BAILEY may be derived from more than one source. One of these is the old French "Bailli" originally meaning "carrier" but later "administrator".
Bailey's of Pennsylvannia
My Bailey family line are first known in Union then Snyder Counties, PA. Some believe our earliest known Baley is; George Bailey and his wife Barbara Lehman, daughter of Tobias Lehman. The only documentation I have heard of and not actually seen other than website that are not documentation is a reference to a piece of property that Barbara inherited from her father and sold in 1809. It is again believed that George served in the Revolutionary War being captured at Fort Freeland and again serving in the PA Line, but there is no DAR record of such service.
Of the children of George and Barbara the only one known to me at this time is John Baley born about 1775, of Union Co. John married about 1801 to Maria Eve, they had three sons; John, Peter, and Godfrey, and five daughters; Eve, Maria, Susannah, Sarah and Leah. It is believed that all of the children married and died in PA. Family tradition says John was buried in the Old Winfield Cemetery, Union Co, PA and that a flood in a nearby stream washed his tombstone away. After John's death Maria Eve married John C. Philip Trutt; they are buried together in Winfield.
John (George,John) married Sarah a.k.a. Sally Snook about 1828 in Union County, PA. Sally was the daughter of Peter Snook and Mary Aber. Our Mayflower line comes through Mary Aber's mother Dorthea Leonard. John and Sarah had 9 children, 6 boys and 3 girls. Most of the family stayed in the Penn's Creek area of what is now Snyder Co, and are buried in what appears to be a Bailey family cemetery filled with Bailey's and those whom married into the Bailey family; St. Paul's Evangelical / EUB Cemetery, in Penn's Creek. There is a tall monument with John and Sarah's inscriptions. Sarah was born in Tioga Co, PA and her parents and several siblings went West settling in Jefferson Co, Iowa. Information on John and Sarah is taken from Census, Wills, and Cemetery records in the possesion of site owner.
Peter (George,John,John) married Rebecca Boyer circa 1850 in Union now Snyder County, they resided in Washington Twp., and Monroe Twp, Snyder Co, PA for most of their marriage. Peter's occupation was always listed as "gentleman" in the census records and on his death record. He was the administrator for many wills of family members. He was a man of considerable wealth and stature in the community. He so notes this in his Codicil where he instructs his heirs on what he wants them to do with his grave. They were to build a brick wall with a ledge on top, and a marker to commeasurate with his place in the community. He left strick rules for his second wife Lizzie to follow in order to stay living on the property he owned. Peter and Rebecca are both buried in Shreiner's Cemetery, in Monroe Twp, Snyder County, PA. Several other members of the family, such as Peter's brother John are also buried there. Their son Uriah was my great grandfather. Information on Peter is taken from Census, Wills, Death and Cemetery records in the possesion of site owner.
Uriah (George,John,John,Peter) married Amelia Weller, April 8, 1879. Amelia was the daughter of Jacob Weller and Rebecca Brunner. Uriah was a teacher and one source says he quit teaching to go into politics. One of these days I will get back to PA and spend some time in the Historical Societies and see if I can trace this information, as well as learn if Rebecca was related to Uriah's Aunt Sarah Jane Brunner whom married GW Bailey. Uriah and Amelia lived in and around Freeburg, Washington Twp, Snyder Co, all their married life. Both are interred at Evergreen Cemetery as are Amelia's parents and grandparents. Another story told by an Aunt is that there was Amish or Mennonite lines at this point, possibly on the Weller side. Seems my Uncle had unpleasant memories as a child visiting the family and seeing all the black on the clothesline frightened him. He requested to not be buried in black. Uriah was the executor for several Wills including his father's. He was the second oldest of 9 children, six boys and 3 girls. Information is from Wills, Census, Death, and Cemetery records in the possesion of site owner.
Arthur (George,John,John,Peter,Uriah) married Grace Agnes Gemberling, Christmas Day 1902 in Selinsgrove, Snyder Co, PA. Grace was the daughter of Henry and granddaughter of Sephares Gemberling. Grace lost her mother at a young age, she and her brother Sephares Weaver were raised by their grandparents. Arthur and Grace lived in Freeburg until 1915 when they moved to Elkhart, IN., with a brief stay in MI. He worked in a brass company and farmed. I remember them having chickens and pigs and a dog named Lassie, of course, it was the 1950's. It must have been a hard lonely life for Grandma Grace as she never seemed to have a smile, even in her eyes. Grace was the first in the family to be diagnosed and die with Alzheimer's. Since her death, three of her children (every other birth order) have also had Alzheimer's, and it is now showing up in the grandchildren with several already passed away. Is there a pattern for this disease in our family, don't know. But I am keeping an eye on my two oldest siblings. Arthur and Grace are interred at Rice Cemetery in Elkhart, IN. Information is from Wills, Census, Death, and Cemetery records in the possesion of site owner.
Sorting Out The John's
There is much confusion concerning George's son John, one writting on the family has John married to Isabelle Simpson. While there was indeed a couple of this name, the John of this family tree DID NOT marry Isbelle Simpson. This couple were married in 1775, John Jr. was born in 1802 and is the oldest of the 8 children; 1802-aft 1819.This would mean that the couple was married 27 years before having a child and that Isabelle would have been at least 45 when she gave birth to him and his subsequent siblings.
Also note that George and Barbara are dated as marrying circa 1779 four years after their son's marriage.
Taking this information along with the Union County Orphan court records naming Maria Eve and her second husband John C. Phillip Trutt guardian of Baley's minor daughter Leah; we can consider that the John and Isabelle Bailey couple are a completely DIFFERENT couple. A further look shows that this couple are probably George's brother and sister in law.
Even more confusing is that if the family history written by Clarence and Ernest Bailey is somewhat accurate, then it may be John & Isabelle may be George's brother not his son. Since they both fought in the Rev. War along with William another of George's brothers.
According to the 1800 census "they" state that John had five members in his house, this certainly tells us that he is not the same John son of George.
When names are common and the persons lived in the same area, confusion does occur and mixing of the families does happen in researching the line. It can be very difficult to get the right man. It is my opinion that more documentation needs to be done, but considering the timeframe we may never have the proof needed to prove that there were two distinctly different families. Perhaps John & Isabelle left a will or other documents naming his wife and children.
For more on the Bailey's and their children visit my World Connect Database
To view more Photographs from my Tombstone Collection
