Born about 1653 in Portsmouth, Newport, Rhode Island [uncertain]

Ancestors

Husband of Sutton (Unknown) Bailey — married before 6 Sep 1681 in Rhode Island

Descendants

Died 13 Jan 1736 in Middletown, Newport, Rhode Island

Profile manager: Mitch Watson [send private message]

Biography

John Bailey gave his age as '80 years' in his 1733 will,^[1] and died in 1735/6 in his '83rd year',^[2] placing his birth year about 1653 or 1654. He was the son of William Bailey Sr. and Grace.^{[Research Notes]} His family first appeared in New England by 1656. It's unknown if he was born in England or New England.

John Bailey, along with his parents and siblings, were listed on a 1694 land survey for John Stepney (John's brother-in-law) as persons transported to Albemarle, North Carolina. The date of transport was either damaged or illegible on the record, but likely occured in the mid to late 1660s.^[3]

John's brother William Bailey Jr. left a non-cupative will in 1670. He left "to my brother John six pound of that ten pound which the town councel did Alow me of my father Astat".^[4]

In March of 1681, "John Bailey" and "widow Sutten Browne" were indicted for fornication. The bill was quashed September 6, 1681, probably due to their recent marriage, as Sutton was then described as "widow Sutten Browne now wife of John Bailey".^[5]

John and Sutton had, all mentioned in his will except Sarah:^[1]

1. Sarah, b. February 27, 1681[/2]^[6]
2. William, b. 1684^[6]
3. John
4. Samuel, b. abt 1688 (aged 71 in 1759)^[7]
5. Thomas, b. 1690^[6]
6. Mary
7. Abigail, b. 1693^[6]
8. Ruth

John Bailey made his will May 11, 1733.^[1]

Will of JOHN BAILEY of Newport, R.I., Yeoman, "aged 80 years," Wife not mentioned. Sons: William (dec'd.), Thomas, John & Samuel Bailey. Daus: Mary Raynolds, Abigail Weeden & Ruth (dec'd.). Grsons: William, George, Samuel & John Bailey, sons of my dcd. son William Bailey. Dau.-in-law Dorothy Bailey, widow of dec'd. son William. Granddau. Sarah Walsworth. Grandson. Benjamin Bailey (under 21) son of my son John. Grandchildren. Mary Weeden & William Weeden, children. of my dau. Abigail Weeden. Daus-in-law Martha Simms & Jane Rogers. Sons-in-law: Daniel Sabeer, Jabiz Raynolds & William Weeden. Named dau-in-law Alec Bailey. Mentions lands in Lit. Comp. & Portsmouth. Son Thomas to be Executor. Witnesses: James Clark, William Sandford & Mary Sandford. Inventory of the estate of John Bailey of Newport, R.I., Appraisers: James Clerk & William Sandford.

John Bailey died January 13, 1735/6, and is buried in the Bailey lot. His gravestone inscription reads:^[2]

Research Notes

Bailey Family of Rhode Island

There has been lots of confusion regarding this family, largely originating in Austin's Genealogical Dictionary. He assumed that there was only a single William Bailey in Portsmouth during this period, and tried to fit the facts to that incorrect assumption. His work has since been copied and cited by numerous books and individual family trees, propagating his error.

John Bailey was the son of William Bailey Sr. and Grace, and his brother was William Bailey Jr. who married a daughter of Hugh Parsons.

Please see the G2G post about this family.

Sources

1. ↑ ^{1.0 1.1 1.2} The Rhode Island Historical Magazine (Newport Historical Pub. Co., 1882): Vol. 3, No. 4, pp. 233-241, The Will of John Bailey
2. ↑ ^{2.0 2.1} Find a Grave, database and images (https://www.findagrave.com : accessed 23 February 2021), memorial page for John “Baly” Bailey (unknown–13 Jan 1735), Find A Grave: Memorial #84746756, citing Bailey Lot, Middletown, Newport County, Rhode Island, USA ; Maintained by Denise Silvia (contributor 47715622) .
3. ↑ Johnson, William Perry. "Bailey Genealogy," North Carolina Genealogy , (Spring 1967), pp. 1835-1840. https://www.familysearch.org/photos/artifacts/35399187
4. ↑ Portsmouth Scrapbook, no. 128, document 4 of 6, "non-cupative will of William Baly"
5. ↑ Newport, Rhode Island; General Court of Trials; imaged, FamilySearch; Accessible at a Family History Centre; DGS 008137149 ("Court records A-B 1671-1741"): Volume A, Page 58/60
6. ↑ ^{6.0 6.1 6.2 6.3} Austin, John Osborne. The Genealogical Dictionary of Rhode Island (Genealogical Publishing Co., 1887): Page 9.
7. ↑ "Rhode Island Historic Cemetery", rihistoriccemeteries.com. http://rihistoriccemeteries.org/newgravedetails.aspx?ID=138169 (accessed October 1, 2019). Memorial of Sameul Bailey, with photograph

• Town of Portsmouth [Rhode Island]. Scrapbook. Digital images of microfilm. FamilySearch, DGS film 008137154.

More Genealogy Tools