Joseph Bailey (1646 - 1712)

Born 1646 in Rowley, Essex, Massachusetts Bay

Ancestors

Husband of Abigail (Trumble) Bailey — married about 1670 in Rowley, Essex, Massachusetts Bay

Descendants

Died 11 Oct 1712 at about age 66 in Bradford, Essex, Massachusetts Bay

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Biography

Joseph Bailey was born to Richard Bailey and Edna Halstead, most certainly in Rowley, Essex County, Massachusetts.^[1] Joseph's birth record has not survived so we need to rely on other evidence. Fortunately, there are several sources in this regard, and they all point to 1646 as his birth year:

1. The Essex County court records, during a proceeding in Bradford in late November 1681, mention "Joseph Bally, aged about thirty-four years",^[2]
2. A Probate Court filing on 14 Nov. 1667, records "Joseph Bayly of Rowley" stating that all his inheritances had been provided.^[3] This date of 1667 is important, since the original terms of his father's probate (as laid out in the same reference, page 94) specified certain actions that must be completed when Joseph reached the age of 21, again pointing to a birth year of 21 years prior to 1667 i.e. 1646.
3. Furthermore, the same 14 Nov 1667 record mentioned just above refers to certain legacies that were made to Joseph at the age of 14, as also stipulated by the court in connection with his father's probate. Those legacies were documented in September 1660 by the Ipswich Quarterly Court, again implying a birth date 14 years prior i.e. 1646.^[4]

Given the timing of the age 14 and age 21 bequests mentioned above, Joseph was probably born in the summer of 1646.

Regarding Joseph's place of birth, this is quite clear based on sworn testimony on 20 July 1698, where Joseph says "In Rowley where I was born", leaving little doubt about his place of birth.^[5]

Joseph lost his father in 1648 when only about two years old, and was thereafter brought up by his new step-father Ezekial Northend. He was explicitly mentioned in his natural father's will^[6] and when he turned 21 (1667) acknowledged that the obligations therein had been fulfilled:^[7] "Joseph Bayly acknowledges the receipt from Ezekiel Northend.", his stepfather, of ".. my whole portion given me by the will of my ffather Richard Bayly which portion was ordered by the Generall Court & apoynted to be forty one pounds.."

Marriage

Joseph Bailey was married to Abigail Trumble^[8] in 1670 (some claim March 9, 1670) in Rowley, Massachusetts. The identity of Joseph's wife's maiden name was discovered in the 1870's, thanks to the discovery of Ann Trumbull's Will, as proved 24 Sep.1678, clearly identifying her daughter as "Abigail Bailey".^[9]

Joseph and Abigail settled on the south bank of the Merrimack River towards the Newbury line in an area later named (in 1672) as "Bradford". This area was originally part of the town of Rowley, and was called "Rowley on the Merrimack", "Rowley Village by the Merrimack", "Merrimac Lands", or just "Merrimack" before the name was changed to Bradford at a town meeting held January 7, 1672. It was named in memory of Bradford in the West Riding of Yorkshire, England, from which some of the original settlers of Rowley had emigrated, and first paid colonial tax on October 13, 1675.

Joseph's homestead was actually in a part of Bradford later known as the east parish of Bradford (as established in 1726). Counting from East to West, Joseph's lot was the fourth, after Joseph Richardson, Jonas Platts and John Hopkinson.^[10] This East Parish separated in 1850 and was incorporated as the town of Groveland on March 8, 1850. The remaining west part of Bradford was annexed to the city of Haverhill in 1897.^[11]

Joseph was a Deacon of the Church and selectman of the town for twenty three years. The house he built in 1700 later became the home of his son Richard.

Joseph and Abigail had 8 children, 3 sons and 5 daughters, with all their births recorded in Bradford^[12][13] and baptisms for the two oldest in Rowley.^[14]

Death

Joseph passed away 11 October 1712 in East Bradford, Massachusetts at the age of about 66.^[15][16]

Joseph Bailey's will was dated 19 August 1712 and mentioned his wife Abigail, sons Richard, Joseph, John, and his unmarried daughters Ednah and Sarah. His wife was well provided for, with some small sections of land, farm animals and have the house to live in for as long as "she remains my widow". Joseph left his homestead to his son Richard, and other land holdings to his sons Joseph and John. "All daughters" were to receive a portion of 40 pounds of money. A full image of his Will is printed at the following reference.^[17] All the children or their husbands signed the settlement 9 March 1713.^[18] Interestingly, Joseph's children signed their last name three different ways, "Baly", "Baley" and "Baily". By the time of his death, Joseph had 11 grandchildren, a number that later grew to at least 46.

According to Alfred Poor in 1895, Joseph Bailey had by that time some 5000 to 6000 descendants.^[19]

Sources

1. ↑ The Pioneers of Massachusetts (Boston, Mass., 1900), Charles Henry Pope, Genealogical Publishing House, Baltimore,MD: 1986 (originally 1900)| Page 40
2. ↑ Records and Files of the Quarterly Courts of Essex County Massachusetts, Volume VII, 1680-1683, Essex Institute, Salem, Mass., 1921| Page 215
3. ↑ The Probate Records of Essex County Massachusetts, Volume I, 1635-1664, Essex Institute, Salem, Mass., 1916| Page 94
4. ↑ Records and Files of the Quarterly Courts of Essex County Massachusetts, Volume II, 1656-1662, Essex Institute, Salem, Mass., 1912| Page 242
5. ↑ Essex County, Massachusetts Probate Records
6. ↑ The Probate Records of Essex County Massachusetts, Volume I, 1635-1664, Essex Institute, Salem, Mass., 1916| Pages 92 and 93
7. ↑ The Probate Records of Essex County Massachusetts, Volume I, 1635-1664, Essex Institute, Salem, Mass., 1916| Page 94
8. ↑ Torry, Clarence A. New England Marriages Prior to 1700. Baltimore, MD, page 32
9. ↑ Bailey - Hopkinson - Trumbull - Swan, by Alfred Poor, The New England Historical & Genealogical Register, 1877, Volume 31, Pages 115-116 | NEHGR 31:115
10. ↑ History of Bradford, Massachusetts, by Garder B. Perry, Haverhill, Mass., 1873| Page 64.
11. ↑ The Early Records of the Town of Rowley, Massachusetts, 1639-1672, Volume One, by Benjamin P. Mighill and George B. Blodgette, Rowley, Mass., 1894 | Pages 208-209
12. ↑ The Old Families of Salisbury and Amesbury Massachusetts (Providence, Rhode Island, 1897), by David W. Hoyt, Part I| "Old Families. Page 48"
13. ↑ Vital Records of Bradford, Massachusetts, to the End of the Year 1849 (Topsfield Historical Society, Topsfield, Mass., 1907) | Pages 14, 15 and 19
14. ↑ Vital Records of Rowley, Massachusetts, to the End of the Year 1849 (The Essex institute, Salem, Mass., 1928-31)| Page 14 and | Page 18
15. ↑ Vital Records of Bradford, Massachusetts, to the End of the Year 1849 (Topsfield Historical Society, Topsfield, Mass., 1907)| Page 294
16. ↑ FindAGrave, Memorial #59039040, Deacon Joseph Bailey. Created by Bob Brien, September 22, 2010. [No gravestone photo.]
17. ↑ Ransome, Jeanne Bailey, (1991) The Bailey family: a history and genealogy ... Ann Arbor, MI: J. B. Ransom, (Page 34) Available at FamilySearch.org
18. ↑ Massachusetts Probate Records, Essex County, Film #004482183| Image #112
19. ↑ Proceedings of the 3rd Annual Bailey-Bayley Family Association| Page 19

See Also:

• Family Search | Deacon Joseph Bailey
• Ipswich Deeds, Volume 3, page 78.
• Torry, Clarence A. New England Marriages Prior to 1700. Baltimore, MD, page 32.
• Vital Records of Bradford, Massachusetts, to the End of the Year 1849 (Topsfield Historical Society, Topsfield, Mass., 1907)
• A Genealogy of the Descendants of Richard Bailey of Rowley, Massachusetts, Historical and Genealogical Researches, of Merrimack Valley, Vol 1, Nbr. 1, April 1857, Published by Alfred Poor, Haverhill| Page 77, top left
• Proceedings of the 3rd Annual Bailey-Bayley Family Association, 1895| Page 19
• History of Bradford, Massachusetts, by Garder B. Perry, Haverhill, Mass., 1873, pp. 37 & 64| Page 37 and | Page 64.
• Memorial History of Bradford, Massachusetts, by J. D. Kingsbury, Haverhill, Mass., C. C. Morse & Son, 1883| "Page 35"
• Records and Files of the Quarterly Courts of Essex County, Massachusetts, 1636-1686 (The Essex Institute, 1911),
• The Probate Records of Essex County, Massachusetts (The Essex Institute, Salem, Mass., 1916-1920)
• Bailey - Hopkinson - Trumbull - Swan, by Alfred Poor, The New England Historical & Genealogical Register, 1877, Volume 31, Pages 115-116 | NEHGR 31:115

Acknowledgments

• Thank you to Jodie Beeson for creating WikiTree profile Bailey-5601 through the import of Beeson_Lemmer Family Tree.ged on Oct 27, 2013.
• Thank you to Dave Bailey for continuing elaboration of this profile between 2017 and 2019