Thomas Jefferson Bailey Jr. (1897 - 1963)

Ancestors

Contents 1 Biography 1.1 Childhood 1.2 Military Service 1.3 Work in California & New Hampshire 1.4 Death & Burial 2 Sources

Biography

Childhood

Thomas Jefferson Bailey, Jr. was born on December 8, 1897, in rural Lawrence County, Tennessee. He was the eighth child of Thomas Jefferson Bailey, Sr. and Margaret Ellen Stacey.

Thomas' family lived in Civil District #5 during his childhood. There, his father was a farmer. He was eight years old when his mother died and his father never remarried. Thomas attended schooling up to the eighth grade.

Military Service

At eighteen years old, Thomas volunteered to serve in the United States Regular Army on August 11, 1916, at Jefferson Barracks Military Post in Lemay, Missouri. He served with Troops "L" of the 12th Cavalry Regiment, one of the several units which patrolled the Mexican border. Troops "L" and "M" were stationed at Fort Apache, Arizona.

Several months after the United States officially entered World War I, Thomas was one of the first men to serve with the 3rd Military Police Company, which was then known as the 3rd Train Headquarters and Military Police, 3rd Division. He began his service on November 25, 1917, and the unit was fully organized on January 8, 1918, at Chickamauga Park, Georgia.

Thomas was first in service with Company "B" of the Military Police 3rd Division Trains, later transferring to Company "A."

On March 16, 1918, he sailed from New York City, New York, to France on the ship "509." His unit arrived in France in early April, 1918, and participated in the following campaigns: Champagne, Aisne, Champagne-Marne, St. Mihiel, Meuse-Argonne, and Aisne-Marne. Members of the 3rd Military Police Company are said to have performed admirably during the Marne offensive, even fighting as an infantry to hold the lines. During this time, Thomas received his promotion to private 1st class on November 18, 1918. When World War I ended in November 1918, the company performed policing duties during the occupation of Germany until they returned to the United States.

Thomas was shipped home to the United States on July 22, 1919, on the U.S.S. Pocahontas from Brest, France. He arrived in Hoboken, New Jersey, on August 1, 1919, and marched to Camp Merritt. On August 3, 1919, he transferred to serve with Supply Company 13th Infantry. His Term of Service for World War I expired on August 18, 1920, but he resumed serving in the Army.

He stayed at Camp Merritt until October 23, 1923. He was honorably discharged but reenlisted for service the next day. Thomas served for another year and was other than honorably discharged on March 23, 1924.

Work in California & New Hampshire

Thomas never returned home to Tennessee after his military service. At the time of his discharge, he was living at 9 Groton Street in Ayer, Massachusetts. He would move between various towns in New Hampshire and California. He was living with his sister, Leslie, at 3990 Lime Street in Riverside, California, in the 1940 census.

He was employed by the Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) since the 1930s and had been performing kitchen work at the CCC camps in Riverside, California, and later at Bear Brook in Allentown, New Hampshire.

Thomas was registered in the World War II draft on February 16, 1942, described as being 5'7 1/2" feet tall, weighing approximately 155 pounds, and having a ruddy complexion, brown hair, and blue eyes.

Death & Burial

Thomas died on March 21, 1963, in New Hampshire. He was buried in Park Cemetery in Tilton, New Hampshire.

Two applications for military headstones were made for him, one from his commander James A. Fay and one from his friend Harry E. Burnham. However, both applications were cancelled within two months of their ordering. Regardless, a headstone for him was eventually ordered and placed at his burial site.

Sources

• "United States Census, 1900", database with images, FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:MSC8-58Q : 11 March 2022), Thomas Bailey in entry for Thomas J Bailey, 1900.
• "United States Census, 1910," database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:MGFB-S5D : accessed 27 July 2022), Vanni Bailey in household of Tom J Bailey, Civil District 5, Lawrence, Tennessee, United States; citing enumeration district (ED) ED 76, sheet 5B, family 100, NARA microfilm publication T624 (Washington D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration, 1982), roll 1509; FHL microfilm 1,375,522.
• The National Archives at College Park; College Park, Maryland; Record Group Title: Records of the Office of the Quartermaster General, 1774-1985; Record Group Number: 92; Roll or Box Number: 403; Date Range: 16 Mar 1918-26 Jul 1918; Ancestry.com. U.S., Army Transport Service Arriving and Departing Passenger Lists, 1910-1939 [database on-line]. Lehi, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2016.
• The National Archives at College Park; College Park, Maryland; Record Group Title: Records of the Office of the Quartermaster General, 1774-1985; Record Group Number: 92; Roll or Box Number: 253; Date Range: 1 Aug 1919-Feb 1920; Ancestry.com. U.S., Army Transport Service Arriving and Departing Passenger Lists, 1910-1939 [database on-line]. Lehi, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2016.
• Pike, J., 2022. 3rd Military Police Battalion (Provisional). [online] Globalsecurity.org. Available at: <https://www.globalsecurity.org/military/agency/army/3mp.htm> [Accessed 27 July 2022].
• "Page 10," Tennessee Virtual Archive, https://teva.contentdm.oclc.org/digital/collection/p15138coll38/id/4103, accessed 2022-07-27.
• "United States Census, 1920", database with images, FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:M4PG-1H4 : 2 February 2021), Thomas J Baily, Pvt I, 1920.
• "United States, Veterans Administration Master Index, 1917-1940," database, FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:QPZB-66BN : 3 September 2021), Thomas Jefferson Bailey, 24 Mar 1924; citing Military Service, NARA microfilm publication 76193916 (St. Louis: National Archives and Records Administration, 1985), various roll numbers.
• Year: 1940; Census Place: Riverside, Riverside, California; Roll: m-t0627-00277; Page: 17B; Enumeration District: 33-37; Description: RIVERSIDE JUDICIAL TOWNSHIP, RIVERSIDE CITY WARD 2 BOUNDED BY (N) 10TH, ORANGE, 8TH; (E) ATCHISON, TOPEKA & SANTA FE RAILWAY; (S) 13TH; (W) WALNUT; ALSO DOMINICAN SISTERS CONVENT, RIVERSIDE CITY JAIL, RIVERSIDE COUNTY JAIL; Ancestry.com. 1940 United States Federal Census [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2012.
• National Archives at St. Louis; St. Louis, Missouri; WWII Draft Registration Cards for New Hampshire, 10/16/1940-03/31/1947; Record Group: Records of the Selective Service System, 147; Box: 4; Name Range: Avery, Forest-Bangs, James; Ancestry.com. U.S., World War II Draft Cards Young Men, 1940-1947 [database on-line]. Lehi, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2011.
• National Archives at St. Louis, MO; St. Louis, MO, USA; Applications for Headstones, 1/1/1925 - 6/30/1970; NAID: NAID 596118; Record Group Number: 92; Record Group Title: Records of the Office of the Quartermaster General; Surname Range: Anothony, Eleanor-Ballance, Franklin; Ancestry.com. U.S., Headstone Applications for Military Veterans, 1925-1970 [database on-line]. Lehi, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2012.
• Find a Grave, database and images (https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/80973084/thomas-j-bailey : accessed 18 July 2022), memorial page for Thomas J Bailey (1897–1963), Find A Grave: Memorial #80973084, citing Park Cemetery, Tilton, Belknap County, New Hampshire, USA ; Maintained by rick pickwick (contributor 47208861).