I don't have a lot of information on my Baily/Bailey ancestors and I can only prove my lineage back to Jacob Rufus Bailey (1832-1892). Jacob married Mary Elizabeth Wansley (1836-1927) in 1859 in Elbert County, GA - they are my maternal 2nd great-grandparents.
Jacob firsts appears, with certainty, on the 1860 census living in Ruckersville, Elbert County, Georgia with his wife Mary Wansley. Close neighbors are his father-in-law Fleming Wansley, his brother-in-law Thomas Nathaniel Wansley and several other members of the Wansley family. This area is near present day Richard Russell State Park on the Savannah River. He is not shown on the 1870 census but he is shown on a couple of the Elbert County tax digests in the 1870s in the Moss District - still living close to his Wansley in-laws.
On the 1880 census, Jacob is now living with his family in the Currahee District of Habersham County, Georgia. This is a move of about 45 miles north of where they were living in 1860. He is shown to be 47 years old on this census - a birth year of 1832-1833 which is consistent on most of the records that I found for him.
We also have him listed in both the Habersham County and Franklin County Tax Digests in the 1880s up to 1890. In Franklin County he is shown only as a "Poll". On the Habersham County tax digests he is shown owning land. The tax digests show post offices for Ayersville and Toccoa and Currahee District. The tax digests for Franklin County show Carnesville as the post office and Red Hill District. Carnesville and Toccoa are towns today. The Red Hill community is very close to where my grandparents lived. Allens Methodist Church [1] is located in that area as well. Ayersville District was probably near the present day confluence of the Middle Fork Broad River and Dicks Creek - today there is a road named Ayersville Road. The railroad runs directly through the small community.
A fire destroyed most of the 1890 census and with Jacob dying in 1892, 1880 is the last census that we have for him.
On the 1900 census, Mary E. Wansley Bailey (widow of Jacob) is shown living in the Byrums District (Red Hill) of Franklin County, GA. Several of their children, including son Thomas Jefferson Bailey (my great grandfather), are shown living with her..
Jacob was a Confederate soldier. He was originally with the 9th Battalion Georgia Volunteer Infantry (Elbert County Guards) but this unit was consolidated into the 37th Regiment Georgia Infantry, Company G on May 6, 1863 and he was with this unit when the Confederate Army surrendered at Greensboro in 1865. The 37th was part of the Army of Tennessee and they fought from Kentucky to Nashville and Chickamauga to Atlanta and into North Carolina. The unit was almost completely decimated by 1865. Anecdotal stories indicate that he drove a wagon for at least part of his service. Here are a couple of links to websites with more information on the 37th. Murray County Museum
National Park Service, www.researchonline.net.
I have no definitive proof of Jacob's parents. Prior researchers claim that he was born in North Carolina but the census records show both North Carolina and Georgia. Let's examine the records for both.
BORN IN NORTH CAROLINA?
On at least one late 1800s census he indicates that he was born in 1833 in North Carolina. We also have the later censuses for his children where they indicate their father's birth in North Carolina. We do have at least one census where he is shown born in Georgia but as we know, the censuses are not completely reliable. There are more censuses with him shown born in NC than there are with him born in GA.
If one examines the 1850 (the first census where all members of the households are named) census, I can find only one good match and that is for a Jacob Baily living in Surry County, North Carolina. On the 1850 census for Surry, South Division, there is a Jacob R. Baily living in the household of Aquilla Shear. Aquilla is shown to be a tanner and this Jacob is working as a laborer. Also for 1850 in Surry County, South Division, we have a Jacob age 16 living in the household of Susan Baily where he is working as a farmer. This could be the same Jacob but counted twice (different census takers). If we consider the Jacob Baily living with Susan, and we look at the 1840 census for Surry County, we find a Henry Baily (age 60-70) that might be the husband of Susan. The ages and number of children seems to match fairly close. Interestingly, a George Blair is shown as the next consecutive entry after Henry on this census. [2] Henry Baily is also listed on the 1830 census for Surry County (age 50-60). I have not researched the whereabouts of Henry prior to 1830 but I did find a record for Surry County dated 1790 where the Quakers David and Ruth Bailey noted children Henry and Stanton at the August meeting at Newgarden. New Garden was another meeting house located in Guilford County. Doing a little bit of research, I found the Quaker Meeting House location in Surry is still a Quaker church. It is called the Westfield Friends Meeting House and it is located just north of present day Mount Airy, NC on NC Hwy 1809. As noted above, a Jacob Baily can be found working for Aquilla Spear. I read that Aquilla's tannery was near Boonville and the Yadkin River, approx. 20 miles from the Westfield Friends Meeting House. These locations are all close to one another and if you look at the research of Frances Bailey Hall that I have quoted below, you will find that two of the purported sisters of Jacob Rufus Bailey owned a hat shop in this same general area. Matilda, the youngest of the sisters, is buried near Dobson.
The probable mother of this Jacob appears to have died in the 1850s because she cannot be found on the 1860 census and most of the females that were shown living with her on the 1850 census can be found living together on the 1860 census for Yadkin County. So it is apparent that Jacob is not living in the area. Note that Yadkin County was formed in 1850 from part of Surry County. Matilda, the youngest at 18 years old in 1860 can later be found listed in a Yadkin County poor house record and is buried in the cemetery - this is now on Fisher River Park land near Dobson. The mother dying in the 1850s also fits with Jacob arriving in Elbert County, GA where he married in 1859.
We also have the research done by Frances Bailey Hall many years ago and I have copied portions of what she sent to me and I have posted that information below:
Jacob and Mary are in the middle; Thomas Jefferson Bailey is standing on the right side of his mother, Mary Elizabeth Wansley Bailey, and the other boy is likely William Erskine Bailey. The girl holding the mule could be Georgia Amanda Bailey, their youngest daughter. If that is Georgia Amanda, this photo was likely taken around 1890 based on her birth of 1883. The other two women could be daughter Mary Ann Bailey and the wife of son Joseph S. Bailey (holding the baby).
Also note that our generation of TV viewers will probably remember the hit TV show called "The Beverly Hillbillies". The show's leading character was Andy Griffith who was from this area. The show often made references to the fictional town of "Mt. Pilot" which was a spin on the actual local towns of Mt. Airy and Pilot Mountain. Historically, this area is Scots-Irish and thus was largely Presbyterian.
BAILEY FAMILY OF ELBERT COUNTY, GEORGIA - COINCIDENCE?
As noted above, Jacob married a girl from Elbert County, Georgia and they lived there for many years. Interestingly, there were several other Bailys/Baileys living in Elbert County when Jacob was living there. One of the most interesting of these was Ezekiel/Hezekiah Bailey. On the 1850 census, Ezekiel/Hezekiah is shown as the next consecutive entry after "F. Wansley". "F. Wansley" is Fleming Wansley, the future father-in-law of Jacob Rufus Bailey. Then, on the 1860 census, Jacob Rufus Bailey is shown as the 2nd next consecutive entry following Fleming Wansley. Is this a coincidence or is our Jacob Rufus Bailey somehow related to Ezekiael/Hezekiah Bailey?
Ezekiel/Hezekiah Bailey was born 1811. This is probably the son of Hezekiah (Sr.) who is shown to have been living in the area of Vann's Creek in the late 1700s Elbert County records. The records that I have seen for Hezekiah are vague up until the 1850 census. But Jacob is clearly not shown as one of Ezekiel/Hezekiah's sons on the 1850 census; However, his son Captain James Augustus Bailey happens to have also moved to Franklin County, Georgia about the same time as our Jacob Rufus Bailey and he also happens to be buried in the same small cemetery as the granddaughter of Jacob Rufus Bailey (my grandmother, Rubye Bailey Blair). [3] To me, this is not a coincidence.
In addition to the aforementioned Captain James Augustus Bailey, Hezekiah Jr. had several sons that served in the same Civil War unit as our Jacob Rufus Bailey: The records indicate 1st Lt. Augustus Bailey, 1st Sgt. Eldridge P. Bailey, 1st Corporal Newton L. Bailey, Private Griffin Bailey, Private Jacob R. Bailey, Private Jasper M. Bailey and Private L.L. Bailey. Any or all of these Bailey soldiers might be related in some fashion.
We have proof from the censuses and the tax books that Captain James Augustus Bailey was living in Habersham and Franklin Counties near Jacob. He is shown to be in the same District (Currahee) while in Habersham County. He is shown to be a wagon maker. On the 1880 census, James Augustus is enumerated on page 7 and Jacob is on page 10. In his Civil War files, this Augustus is shown to have been born in Elbert County, GA which almost certainly is the same man. Did Jacob Rufus Bailey and James Augustus Bailey travel together from Elbert County to Habersham County and then both later move to adjacent Franklin County? Is this how Rufus wound up living in Franklin County? "As the crow flies", the graves of James Augustus Bailey and Jacob Rufus Bailey are only about 9 miles apart in Franklin County.
On one census, Ezekiel/Hezekiah Bailey and one of his sons his sons are shown to be "Mechanics". Would a "Mechanic" have been someone that worked on wagons? Anecdotal stories indicate that our Jacob drove a wagon during the Civil War and Augustus is shown as a "Wagon Maker" on the 1880 census. [4]
Since Ezekiel/Hezekiah Bailey was likely the son of Hezekiah Sr., it is possible that Rufus' father might be a brother of Hezekiah, Sr. which would of course make Rufus the nephew of Hezekiah Jr. and the 1st cousin of Augustus. Some claim that Hezekiah Sr. was born in SC but married in Virginia - This makes no sense to me since there are land records for Hezekiah buying land in Elbert County in 1786. I am wondering if there might have been more than one Hezekiah Bailey and the researcher confused them.
If our Jacob is related to the Elbert County Baileys and if he was from Surry County, NC, that relationship might be one explanation for why he wound up in Elbert County. It is very curious that Ezekiel/Hezekiah Bailey is shown as the next consecutive listing following Fleming Wansley on the 1850 census and then on the 1860 census, Jacob Rufus Bailey is the 2nd next consecutive entry. And with Captain Augustus Bailey and Jacob Rufus Bailey both ending up in Franklin County living very close to one another, we may have another clue to a familial relationship.
It is a curious situation to ponder with many possibilities. If Jacob's parents were in fact the Henry and Susan Baily of Surry County, NC, is it possible that Hezekiah/Ezekiel is a brother or 1/2 brother of Jacob or perhaps an uncle of Jacob? With Hezekiah being born in Georgia in 1811 did Henry and Susan move to Surry County, NC from Elbert County, GA? Is the Henry noted in the "Friends Meeting House" records the same Henry? Perhaps Jacob is not related to Hezekiah/Ezekiel but he is related to his wife who was a Gaines? Again, I have not done much in depth research on this family so there may be records that make clear where our Jacob was born and who his parents were which would straighten out the mystery.
CENSUSES
1840
1850
1860
1870
I was unable to locate Jacob on the 1870 census; However, I did find him in a tax book.
1880
1900
1910
1920
Some Descendants of Jacob Rufus Baily and Mary Elizabeth Wansley (4 generations)
(Note: This list is incomplete as I do not currently know all the descendants and living descendants are not shown for privacy reasons.)
The house in the background does not appear to be the Abraham Riley home but could be the same home as pictured above (based on the front porch structure).
These photos were likely taken in either Greenville, Greer or Mauldin, SC
Picture taken on Mimosa Drive in Decatur (my childhood home), early 1960s shortly before Rosa died
Circa 1970s
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[1] John Ledbetter and Susan Williams Ledbetter, the grandparents of Rosa Murl Ledbetter, are said to be buried in the church's cemetery. Rosa M. Ledbetter married Thomas Jefferson Bailey, son of Jacob and Mary Bailey.
[2] My Blair ancestors are discussed elsewhere but it appears that Colbert Blair (the father of Col. James Blair) lived and died in nearby Caldwell County, NC. This George Blair is certainly old enough to have been a Rev. War soldier and potentially related to Col. James Blair. I have not done any research on George Blair. The ISBELL name is a surname that can also be found living in Pendleton District and Franklin County Georgia near my many other maternal ancestors.
[3] The small Sunshine Methodist Church located near the intersection of Hwy 106 and 320 in the Mize Community of Franklin County.
[4] Also of interest is the male shown to be 17 years old on the 1850 census for Ezekiel/Hezekiah: This male is the same age as Jacob Rufus Bailey but this male's initials are "H.C." and there is an H.C. Bailey shown living with a Jonathan Bell in a later census. This seemingly eliminates this male as being Jacob Rufus Bailey and Jacob being a son of Ezekiel/Hezekiah.
(This page was created on 8/7/2023)