THOMAS
O. BAILEY, one of the prosperous and progressive agriculturists
of Jackson
Township, residing on section 32, was born in Adams County, Ohio, March
8, 1826, a son of EBEN BAILEY. His father was born near May's Lick,
Kentucky,
and when an infant was brought by his parents to Adams County, Ohio. He
and his father, JOEL BAILEY, were at one time
the only Whigs in the township in which they lived. JOEL BAILEY was the founder of Winchester, Ohio, and his father, WILLIAM BAILEY, founded the city of Winchester, Virginia. The latter was a native of Wales, and both he and JOEL, the grandfather of our subject, were soldiers in the Revolutionary war.
THOMAS O. BAILEY, whose name heads this sketch, was reared in his native State, to the vocation of farmer, and received his education in the pioneer log cabin schools of that early day. In 1849 he came to Tippecanoe County, Indiana, where he was married April 28, 1851, to MISS MARY E. HIETT, a daughter of JOHN HIETT, a resident of Jackson Township, this county. Of the thirteen children born to this union ten still survive, their names being as follows: JAMES A., ELIZABETH R., JOHN S., MARY F., EBEN E., JACOB S., ELLEN C., CHARLES L., NATHAN O., and C. EUGENE. JAMES married SELINA CRUMB, who died leaving at her death two children named MARY F. and THOMAS A. He was a second time married to EMILY PEARSON. They are living at Normal, Illinois. ELIZABETH BAILEY married CULBERT CARTER, of Saybrook, Illinois, and they are the parents of three children: MARY, LENORA, and JOHN T. MARY BAILEY is now the wife of JOHN JOLLY, of Chauncey, this county. MR. BAILEY removed to McLean County, Illinois, in 1853, and in 1859 returned to this county, and settled in Jackson Township, where he has since resided. By his industrious habits and good management he has met with excellent success in his agricultural pursuits, and is now the owner of 300 acres of choice land. In connection with his general farming, he devotes some attention to stock-raising, making a specialty of graded stock. He is a member of the Methodist Episcopal church. He is also a member of the Masonic fraternity, an organization in which he takes an active interest. MR. BAILEY is a man of genial disposition, fair and honorable in all his dealings, and is classed among the respected men of Jackson Township, where he has made his home for so many years.