BAILEY, John (1790 – 1839), Camden County, Ga., son of David Bailey and Elizabeth Lang, was b. in Spanish East Fla. At age of two years and five months, on May 13, 1793, he and his brother, David Bailey, Jr., four months, were baptized. The record of their baptisms is in the Roman Catholic Parish, St. Augustine, and they were the only ones recorded there for the six children of this couple. The parent being protestants were not required to attend Mass, nor were they required to relinquish their own religion, so no baptisms are recorded in the parish archives for them. The same liberal rules did not legally apply to the second generation which is the explanation for the two children being baptized by the priest of the parish when on one of the trips to visit settlers between the St. Marys and the St. Johns Rivers. The age given in John Bailey’s baptismal record agrees with the Nov. 24, 1790 date which is inscribed on his tombstone located in the old cemetery at Jeffersonton, Camden Co.
After the Bailey family returned to Camden County several years later, John Bailey appears to have spent the remainder of his life there. He reached a respectable degree of local prominence when at the age of 25 he became Tax Receiver in 1815, and served until 1817. In addition he held other offices of trust in Camden County, from 1818 until April 1830 when his brother, Isaac, succeeded him. He also served as Sheriff for a period from 1816, and was also succeeded by his brother Isaac in this office. In 1821 he was appointed Justice of the Peace, and on Mar 7, 1817, in his capacity as Sherif was a witness to a deed signed by his brother Isaac conveying to their mother, Elizabeth Lang Bailey, Lot No. 15 in Jefferson upon which there were improvements. Subsequently on Jan 11, 1819, a receipt was signed by both John and Isaac acknowledging that Elizabet Bailey, wid. of David, had turned over to them their full portions of their father’s estate as well as their full portions of the estate of Richard Lang, dec., he being their mother’s father.
About five months after signing the receipt with his brother, John Bailey married Miss Mary Jones, June 17, 1819, Camden County, who was b. Apr 5, 1803. The ceremony was performed by his cousin William Bailey, Justice of the Inferior Court, and the marriage license was recorded by the groom in his official capacity as Clerk of the same court! The marriage record is of interest in giving names of persons present at the ceremony, “agreeable to Custom.” Unfortunately, the parents of the bride were referred to merely as, “Mr. & Mrs. Jones (father and mother of Mary Jones)” Others present mentioned by name were: Daniel Grant; Wm. McNish; Arthur Moore & wife; Mrs. Bailey (the groom’s mother); Misses Mary & Sarah Bailey (sisters of the groom.)
John and Mary Jones Bailey were parents of four children:
(1) David Bailey, b. Oct 12, 1822, d. Dec 9, 1888. m/1 Miss Isabella Lang, Mar 16, 1848. She was b. Mar 23, 1827, and d. May 19, 1860. m/2 Miss Catharine Lang, Apr 25, 1864, sister of first wife, both being daughters of William & Nancy Atkinson Lang. Catharine Lang Bailey was b. Oct 7, 1825, and d. Jan. 19, 1903.
(2) Henry Bailey, b. Aug 23, 1825, m. Apr 23, 1845, in Macon, Bibb Co., Ga., Miss Theresa Bennett, ceremony performed by Rev. Seneca G. Bragg, rector of Christ Episcopal Church. She was b. in Macon, Nov 9, 1826, daughter of Gen. Joseph Bennett, and wife, Mrs. Ellen (DeWitt) Burnett Bennett. Henry Bailey attended the University of Georgia but did not graduate. He d. Aug 6, 1851, buried in the cemetery at Jeffersonton next to graves of his father and mother. He was survived by his widow and three children: John Henry Bailey, b. 1847; Mary Ellen Bailey, b. June 29, 1848; and Theresa Elizabeth Bailey, b. in St. Marys, Ga., Feb. 27, 1850. The widow later remarried a Presbyterian minister, Rev. Thomas B. Neil, and there was one child of this marriage, a son, Harry Neil. Mrs. Theresa B. Neil d. either Jan or June 30, 1864, probably at Fairview, S. C., where her husband was minister of a church. Her grave has not been located.
(3) William Bailey, b. 1828, m. Miss Martha J. Hardaway of Macon, Ga., June 12, 1851. He d. prior to Oct 7, 1861, when his wid., Martha J. Bailey, was granted Letters of Administration on his estate. William Bailey was one of the Justices of the Inferior Court of Camden Co., elected to serve Mar. 20, 1858 for a four year term.
(4) Mary R. Bailey, b. Feb 5, 1830, m. Capt. Alonzo B. Dufour of St. Marys on May 22, 1851. He was a son of Louis and Marie Ponce Dufour of Camden Co. She d. Aug 20, 1857, and is buried in the historic cemetery at St. Marys, Ga. A beautiful, ornate Italian marble monument marks her place of interment.
The late Miss R. Lee Russell of Waverly, Camden Co., Ga., who was very familiar with the records and families of Camden, wrote in an undated report she prepared for Mr. & Mrs. Clyde Afton Taylor, of St. Marys and Brunswick, Ga., that John Bailey’s signature “appears more times than that of any other man in the early records. The quality of his work was very high.” Mr. Taylor, now deceased, was a grandson of Henry Bailey and a son of Mary Ellen Bailey, wife of J. W. Taylor.
The reputation and standing of the Bailey family is confirmed in a letter written by Mr. J. S. Silva of Savannah in 1914, a native of St. Marys, and at the time of writing in his 82nd year, in referring to the Dufour family, mentioned Alonzo B. Dufour as, “a splendid looking fellow. He married Miss Mary Bailey, an amiable young woman, who I esteemed very much as a classmate. Of this family there were David; Henry; and William, all fine men. Mr. Bailey, the father, owned a rice plantation on the Satilla River, but his family lived in St. Marys on account of the educational advantages there.”
In addition to political office, John Bailey and his relatives were often appointed to positions of trust of a more personal nature by their friends and associates. He and his cousin, Zachariah Bailey, were named as trustees under the Will of Jane Williams of Camden County, dated Jan 14, 1826, and probated Aug 7, 1826. Under the terms of the will of his mother, Elizabeth Lang Bailey’s brother-in-law, Francis Starling (sometimes spelled Sterling), dated Sept 7, 1825, and probated May 8, 1828, John Bailey and William Lang were nominated as Executors. John Bailey’s sister, Mary Bailey Bunkley, and her husband Brittain R. Bunkley, by Deed of Gift dated Mar 10, 1831, conveyed to John Bailey as Trustee for their niece, Mary Elizabeth Bailey, infant daughter of Isaac and Jane Bailey, all of Lot No. 26 in the Town of Jefferson.
1820 Tax Digest of Camden county shows that both Isaac & John Bailey were landowners in the county. John Bailey also owned a lot with improvements thereon in the Town of Jefferson valued at $600. five negroes; one Two Wheel Carriage and an interest in another lot in Jefferson valued at $500.00, owned as tenant in common with his mother. He also made returns as Trustee for Joseph Summerlin; D. Woodworth and R. Frusley. The 1830 census for Camden Co., Ga. shows that John; Isaac; and Elizabeth Bailey, their mother, were living in the neighborhood of each other. John Bailey was listed as between 30 and 40 years old with one white male between 5 and 10 years; two white males under 5 years; white female between 20 and 30 years and fifteen negro slaves.
John Bailey brought slaves from the Territory of Florida at least on two occasions, for in a book of Camden County Affidavits made by Owners Bringing Slaves Into the State, 1818-1847, there are two affidavits signed by him, one dated Feb 7, 1833; the other Nov 29, 1833. On Mar 5, 1834 he purchased from Mrs. Mary Ann Cowper one tract of 72 1/2 acres near Jefferson, and another tract of 309 acres adjoining the town. On July 1, 1835 he bought from the estate of Joseph Bixby the one-half interest of the decedent in the plantation called “Woodbine,” together with the interest of the decedent in all stock; implements of husbandry; furniture; and slaves belonging to the said plantation, about 98 in number. The consideration was $25,000.00. The writer of this sketch regrets not having any notations showing the purchase by John Bailey of the remaining interest in this plantation, but it is certain that the year after he had discharged his payment of the purchase price on May 26, 1837, he bought on Jan 19, 1838, an adjoining 656 acres of land known as “Johnston’s Tract,” from Charles Drayton, physician of Charleston, S. C., who had purchased it on Sept 3, 1835, from the Executors of Joseph Bixby.
To those who have not previously been aware of the importance of rice cultivation along the tidal rivers of southeast Georgia prior to the Civil War, the following ad may be of interest, published in “The Georgian” newspaper, Savannah, Ga., Nov 14, 1832, page 4, column 6, concerning this same “Woodbine” Plantation, which a few years later was purchased by the subject of this sketch.
FOR SALE – Valuable Rice Plantation and Negroes. The Plantation called Woodbine, on the great Satilla River, Camden County, with all appurtenances, containing 900 acres, of which 273 acres are first rate tide land, under thorough bank and improvements, 130 Inland Swamp, 150 acres Hammock, suitable for Provisions, Cotton or Cane, the residue Pine Land, Also a gang of 94 negroes, accustomed to its culture, considered as one of the finest and most orderly gangs in the state.
With a good stock of Cattle, Sheep, and Hogs, Horses and implements of husbandry. The buildings are extensive and good. For fertility of soil, healthfulness of situation, facility of access and cultivation, it is believed to be equal to any plantation in the state. On the site formerly used for a Saw Mill, contiguous to the Rice Yard, a Mill could be erected at small expense for threshing or beating the crop.
Persons desirous of purchasing the whole of this valuable estate, or the clear undivided Moity thereof, as it now stands (except the present crop) can view the premises on application to Mr. C. M. Caldwell, Overseer. Possession to be given as soon as the present crop is ready for market. For terms or conditions of sale, apply (if by letter, post paid) at Charleston, S. C., to JACOB R. VALK, AT THE STATE BANK. Oct 30.
Rice plantations were a great source of wealth for their owners and Woodbine Plantation was no exception. Net proceeds of the rice crop in 1840, the year after John Bailey died, was $15,757.27. In 1846 the net sales of rice amounted to $17,080.24, plus $70.00 additional which was received from Gen. Duncan L. Clinch for 70 bushels of rice. The following year’s crop was slightly better, netting $17,226.91. In 1848 the net proceeds from the sale of the rice netted $13,269.42; in 1849 a drastic drop to $8,751.69, but increased the following year to $10,371.40.
Additional information concerning rice culture in southeast Ga. is contained in an article published Aug 5, 1955, Sec B of the Camden County Tribune, written by our late esteemed Mrs. Mary Givins Bryan, State Historian, and Beatrice F. Lang, Sec., Camden Historical Committee, now County Archivist, Ga Dept of Archives & History. The writers state, “wish also to call attention to those wishing to study rice planting and rice plantations, that the great rice planters lived and cultivated rice mostly along the Little & Great Satilla Rivers, whereas Cattle Grazing, Timber Lands, and Com merce were found as an important part of life on the St. Marys Rive and that there were not many of the great plantations on the St. Ma
Mr. James T. Vocelle in, “History of Camden County,” says that Jefferson Town, also called Jefferson and Jeffersonton, was settled principally by wealthy rice planters who moved their families the 2 miles distance to St. Marys for residence during the summer. In thi little costal town the sea breezes kept the mosquitoes away and there was usually less malaria and other fevers than when residing on the plantations during warm weather.
John Bailey was one of the gentlemen residing in the county who received a subscription list with hopes that, “those intelligent gentlemen would subscribe freely to the building fund for the Academy,” the citizens of St. Marys proposed to build. The matter was discussed in the Presbyterian Church July 4, 1838 with Gen. D.L. as Chairman. Undoubtedly John Bailey assisted in this worthy cause and by 1840 a four room brick Academy had been completed. Unfortunately he did not live to see its completion, having died June 4, 1839. He and his wife, Mary Jones Bailey, are interred at Jeffersonton, she having died in 1830.
Robert Lang and George Thomas applied for Letters of Administration on the John Bailey estate Sept 2, 1839, his brother-in-law Wilso Oden objected but overruled by the court. Robert Lang was dismissed as Administrator at the January Term 1846 of Inferior Court, and at same time he and decedent’s son, David Bailey, were appointed as coadministrators. Robert Lang pointed out the Woodbine Plantation property to the three appraisers, who were John May; Thomas K. Dunham; and Alex McHardy, who were appointed Feb 26, 1846, and estimated it to be $52,490.56, probably a conservative figure. Three other appraisers were shown the town house property in St. Marys by David Bailey they were: Francis Rudulph; J. Vocelle and Jno. J. Dufour, and their estimate of the house and lot and three negro servants was $2,566.25
Court records infer the three orphan children, all minors, in 1839, lived with their Aunt Miss Sarah Bailey, who never married, and a member of the Methodist Church, “joined on Probation 1825, received into full communion in 1825,” and listed as a member in 1868. Mrs. Martha J. Bailey joined the same church in 1855, but in 1856 is show?? to have, “joined the Presbyterians.” She was wife of Wm. Bailey.
Woodbine Plantation was in operation as the Estate of John Bailey for many years after his death. The 1840 tax filed by Robert Lang, one of the administrators showed 6,477 1/2 acres of land, most in Camden county; one four wheel carriage and 132 negro slaves. Lang was issued Letters Dismissory Mar. 4, 1850 and David Bailey was issued Letters Dismissory at the Dec Term 1852, although for many years the?? after he continued as the main operating force in continuing the Woo?? bine Plantation as an agricultrual unit. His tax return in 1853 as Agent of the estate showed in Camden County 450 a. of 1st quality land; 150 a. of 2nd quality land; 2,622 a. of pine land. In Lee county 400 a. pine land; in Carroll county 400 a. pine land; in Appling county 40 a. of 2nd quality land and in Cherokee county 208 a. of pine land. The rural estate aggregated $38,681.00 in value. The estate also owned property in St. Marys valued at $1,000.00, and 175 negro slaves valued at $51,250.00.
Miss Sarah Bailey and the family of Maj. David Bailey were living in Camden at the close of the war. Mrs. Martha J. Bailey, wid of William, had moved to Thomasville with her two children, Wm. Jr., known as “Willie,” and Sallie. Her Adm. sold a lot she owned in Thomasville May 8, 1878. The brother-in-law, Alonzo B. Dufour, d. at home in Camden Co. Aug 17, 1882. The orphan children of Henry Bailey Mary Ellen and Theresa Elizabeth, who had attended the, “Select Boarding & Day School of the Misses Nash & Miss Kollock,” at Hillsborough, N. C., just prior to the war, were living in Macon with their maternal grandmother, Mrs. Ellen (DeWitt) Burnett Bennett, as was their brother, John Henry Bailey. Times had changed radically, and a way of life they had known was, for better or worse, truly gone with the wind!