John Bailey of Haddam

John Bailey, Sr.

• Birth: Circa 1618 - Sheffield, Yorkshire, England
• Death: Aug 26 1696 - Haddam, Middlesex, Connecticut
• Parents unknown
• Spouse: Lydia Backus

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Biography

https://www.wikitree.com/wiki/Bailey-21142

John Bailey's origins are presently unknown as is his date of birth. It may be read he originated in Sheffield, Yorkshire but this is based solely upon the birthplace of his wife whom he married "by 1661" in the colony.[1]

He was viewer of chimneys and ladders in Hartford in 1648, constable in 1656-57, and was made freeman in May 1657.[2] In May 1662, John and Lydia are among the first 28 families to begin settling what would become Haddam, Connecticut, the families coming from Hartford, Wethersfield and Windsor.[3] He lived at Higganum in the northern part of Haddam.

His will is dated 17 Jun 1696 and was probated August 1696. He named in his will sons: John (eldest), Benjamin and Nathaniel; and daughters: Lydia, Susanna (unmarried), Mary (unmarried), and Elizabeth Clark. Son Thomas Clark is mentioned in a list of debts, written by John, dated 3 July 1696. An inventory valued at £186. 10. 6. was taken 29 Aug 1696 [4]

Children[2]

1. John
2. Lydia m Nathaniel Spencer [Disputed marriage]
3. Elizabeth m Thomas Clark
4. Benjamin - b 11 Nov 1665, Haddam
5. Susanna m _________ Hubbard
6. Nathaniel
7. Mary m ___________ Cornwell

Burial June 1696 Haddam, Middlesex, Connecticut, British Colonial America

From the files of Adolphus Hiram Sage, a Bailey family genealogist of the late 1800s. His research notes are located at the New York State Library Archives in Albany, New York:

• John Bailey was one of the twenty eight original proprietors of Haddam, CT 1662.
• John Bailey was the progenitor of one of the largest Bailey families in America.
• John Bailey is said to have appeared in Hartford about 1642 where he resided on "South Side" which probably meant in the vicinity of Wethersfield.
• John Bailey was Constable and Tax Collector in Hartford during the years 1656 and 1657.
• John Bailey was made a "freeman" by the General Court at Hartford, May 21, 1657. (Connecticut Public Records 1-297)
• John Bailey was probably from England, but his origin has not been definitely learned. In May, 1638 a vessel "The Bevis" from Southampton, England arrived in New England with four passengers named Bailey. (SEE PASSENGER LIST FOR THE SHIP "BEVIS")
• If the Bevis passenger was our John Bailey, he would have been 24 years of age when he arrived in Hartford in 1642. This John Bailey was evidently born about 1618.
• If he was the John Bailey of Hartford and Haddam, he must have been about 78 years of age when he died at Haddam in 1696.
• About 1655, John Bailey married Lydia (Backus) and their first three children were born at Hartford, or at least before they settled in Haddam.

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John Bailey 1 2 was born about 1618 in Sheffield, Yorkshire, Eng 3 and died in Jul 1696 in Haddam, Middlesex Co., CT 2.

• Documented events in his life were:
• 1. Emigrant Ancestor; Bef 1642; Hartford, Hartford Co., CT.
• 2. Mention in Will, Inv. or Prob.; 22 Sep 1674; Haddam, Middlesex Co., CT 4. 22 September, 1674. Thomas Smith of Haddam.. I give my Hogg to John Bailey, sen.. I make John Bailey sen. and Daniel Brainwood my Executors to see this my Will fulfilled
• Court Record, Page 144--11 November, 1674: Daniel Brainard refused the Executorship, & this Court grant Adms. unto John Bailey.
• 3. Debt Owed To; 7 Sep 1693; Haddam, Middlesex Co., CT 5. Owed debt of unstated amount by the estate of James Cockshott of Machamoodas who died 11 Jan 1692/3.

Will

4. Will; 17 Jun 1696; Haddam, Middlesex Co., CT 6. From Probate Records, Volume VI, 1695 To 1700, Will on File.

Bailey, John sen., Haddam. Invt. 186-10-06. Taken 29 August 1696, By Daniel Cone, Timothy Spencer & James Welles. Will dated 17 June, 1696.

• I John Bailey sen. of Haddam, in the County of Hartford, doe make this my last Will & Testament: I give half of my Lands, both Meadow & Upland, to my eldest son John, to be his on as equal division with his two brothers Benjamin & Nathaniel, to whome I doe give the other half to be equally divided between them two. I mean all that my Land at a place in Haddam Bounds called Higganum. I give unto my son John 20 acres of that 40 acres of upland I have in the upper Meadow on the East side of the Great River. Also I give to my daughter Lydia 20 Shillings. I give unto my two sons Benjamin & Nathaniel all my other Land in Haddam and all Rights, to be divided equally between them, only that Nathaniel shall have that Lott whereon the house stands, & the house I now dwell in, as part of his division, and Benjamin the other half, the house to be Nathaniel's. And It is my Will that my daughters Susannah and Mary shall continue in the house until one or both of them marryeth or when they see cause of their own Will to leave the same; and when Susannah marryeth I would have her take the Care of Mary and let her live with her until she be married away. It is my Will to give to my daughter Susannah 8. My Will is that my two Executors shall pay 40 Shillings yearly until she marry away; and if in seven years she marryeth, I give her 7. My sons Benjamin and Nathaniel I appoint to be my Executors. And my neighbors Timothy Spencer & James Brainard to be Overseers.
• Witness: Jeremiah Hobert, JOHN BAILE.
• James Welles,
• Upon the other side of the paper, Haddam July 3d, 1696 (was written) : Account of my several debts sch I will my Exequators to pay unto the several Creditors after my decease. Imprs. I owe to Samll Stone of Salem fiftie four Shills in pay, & 6 shll in money. It. Debts to the Widd Mrs. Waie of Hartford, two pounds 16s & six pence in pay. It. To Ensign Stanly of Hartford, seventeen Shills & odd pence, to be payd by my Exequtors out of my small share of Hartford mill, viz, the rent for it; & the rest of the soms aforesayd to be payd & made up to him pr my Exequators, the wholl in pay. It. To my son John ten shills given him pr his grand father (William Backus) to buy him a Bible. It. To my Daughter Lydia ten shs given her pr ditto (William Backus) to buy her a Bible with (all). It. To my Daughter Elizab. Clark fifty shills in pay for a weding gown I promised her. It. To my son Thomas Clark pr an old debt of five pounds 5s, & for work of himself & teame thirty six shills; both added together make in all seven pounds one shs in or pay. It. Debts to Thomas Dunke deceased, ye sum of fourteen shs in pay. These are the principal of my debts as far as I know at present, which I require you to pay or cause to be payed, as witness my hand on the day of the date hereof. JOHN BAILY.
• (Copied from original Paper on file.)
• 5. Inventory Taken; 29 Aug 1696; Haddam, Middlesex Co., CT 6. £186-10-06

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   John married Lydia Backus 7 8, daughter of William Backus and Elizabeth Unknown (Backus), before 1657. (Lydia Backus was baptized on 31 Dec 1637 in Sheffield, Yorkshire, Eng 8 and died before 1696 in Haddam, Middlesex Co., CT 7.) 

       Documented events in her life were:

       1. Mention in Will, Inv. or Prob.; 21 Jun 1661; Norwich, New London Co., CT 9 10. Father's will bequeathed three bushels of Indian corn to John Bayly and his wife. 

   Children from this marriage were: 

   + 2 M    i. John Bailey 7 was born about 1655 in Hartford, Hartford Co., CT 7, died on 28 Sep 1734 in Haddam, Middlesex Co., CT 7 and was buried in 1734 in Old Burying Gnd, Haddam, Middlesex, CT.

      3 M    ii. Nathaniel Bailey 7 was born in Haddam, Middlesex Co., CT 7 and died after 1696 in Haddam, Middlesex Co., CT 7.

           Documented events in his life were:

           1. Mention in Will, Inv. or Prob.; 17 Jun 1696; Haddam, Middlesex Co., CT 6. Bequeathed one quarter of his father's lands. 

      4 F    iii. Lydia Bailey 7 was born about 1659 in Hartford, Hartford Co., CT 7 and died before 1729 in Haddam, Middlesex Co., CT 7.

           Documented events in her life were:

           1. Mention in Will, Inv. or Prob.; 17 Jun 1696; Haddam, Middlesex Co., CT 6. Bequeathed 20 shillings in her father's will. 

       Lydia married Nathaniel Spencer 11, son of Ensign Gerard Spencer and Hannah Joannis Hills. (Nathaniel Spencer was born about 1654 in East Haddam, Middlesex Co., CT 11 and died about 1722 11.) 

           Documented events in his life were:

           1. Guardian; 8 Feb 1692/93; Haddam, Middlesex Co., CT 12. Grace Spencer, daughter of John Spencer, late of Haddam decd., chose her Uncle Nathaniel Spencer to be her Guardian. 

      5 F    iv. Elizabeth Bailey 7 was born in 1662 in Hartford, Hartford Co., CT 7 and died after 1728 in Haddam, Middlesex Co., CT 7.

           Documented events in her life were:

           1. Mention in Will, Inv. or Prob.; 3 Jul 1696; Haddam, Middlesex Co., CT 6. Mentioned in a codicil of her father's will where he leaves "To my Daughter Elizab. Clark fifty shills in pay for a weding gown I promised her." 

       Elizabeth married Thomas Clark 13, son of William Clark and Katherine Bunce. (Thomas Clark was born about 1647 in Hartford, Hartford Co., CT 13 and died about 1746 13.) 

           Documented events in his life were:

           1. Mention in Will, Inv. or Prob.; 30 Jun 1681; Haddam, Middlesex Co., CT 14. Charged with keeping his mother's cow over the winter. 

      6 M    v. Benjamin Bailey 7 was born on 11 Nov 1665 in Haddam, Middlesex Co., CT 7 and died after 1728 in Haddam, Middlesex Co., CT 7.

           Documented events in his life were:

           1. Mention in Will, Inv. or Prob.; 17 Jun 1696; Haddam, Middlesex Co., CT 6. Bequeathed one quarter of his father's lands. 

      7 F    vi. Susannah Bailey 7 was born about 1668 in Haddam, Middlesex Co., CT 7 and died before 1729 in Haddam, Middlesex Co., CT 7.

           Documented events in her life were:

           1. Mention in Will, Inv. or Prob.; 17 Jun 1696; Haddam, Middlesex Co., CT 6. Bequeathed £8 and the use of the house until she marries in her father's will. 

      8 F    vii. Mary Bailey 7 was born about 1672 in Haddam, Middlesex Co., CT 7 and died after 1728 in Connecticut 7.

           Documented events in her life were:

           1. Mention in Will, Inv. or Prob.; 17 Jun 1696; Haddam, Middlesex Co., CT 6. Mentioned by name in her father's will, but no bequest. 

Sources

   1. Darryl Boyd, (http://www.geocities.com/~boydsplace/).

   2. Backus, Reno W., The Backus Families of Early New England, (Privately Published, 1966.) p 13.

   3. Haddam, Connecticut, Genealogical Site, (http://haddam.com/tucker/).

   4. Charles W. Manwaring, Digest of the Early Connecticut Probate Records (Hartford District), (Hartford, 1902). Vol 1, p 139-140.

   5. ibid. Vol 1, p 158-159.

   6. ibid. Vol 1, p 535.

   7. Ancestors of Harold Monroe Jr. Walden, (Harold Monroe Walden, 30214 Briarcrest Drive, Georgetown, TX 78628-1149, (512)863-8678 hmwalden@flash.net).

   8. Bingham, Everett F., William Backus of Sheffield, Yorkshire, and Norwich, Connecticut, (New England Historical & Genealogical Register, Vol 142, July 1988, p 253-254).

   9. Backus, Reno W., The Backus Families of Early New England, (Privately Published, 1966.) p 4-8.

   10. Charles W. Manwaring, Digest of the Early Connecticut Probate Records (Hartford District), (Hartford, 1902). Vol 1, p 175-176.

   11. Enfield-Bryant Genealogy, (http://www.gendex.com/users/Enf_Bry/Enf_Bry/index.html (9 Sept 1998)).

   12. Charles W. Manwaring, Digest of the Early Connecticut Probate Records (Hartford District), (Hartford, 1902). Vol 1, p 99-100.

   13. Michael C. Owens, (solutions@kahala.net).

   14. Charles W. Manwaring, Digest of the Early Connecticut Probate Records (Hartford District), (Hartford, 1902). Vol 1, p 290.

   15. Edgar Waterman, Richard Smith of Wethersfield, (The American Genealogist, Vol 25, No 1, Jan 1949, p 126-139).

   16. Parsons, Samuel H, transcriber, Record of the Births, Marriages & Deaths of the First Proprietors of Lands in Middletown, CT, (New England Historical & Genealogical Register, Vol 14, January 1860, p 63 & subsequent).

   17. Town Clerk, Haddam, CT, Haddam Land Records Vol 1, (Connecticut Nutmegger, Vol 9 , #3 & 4, p 349-351, 518-520).

   18. Charles W. Manwaring, Digest of the Early Connecticut Probate Records (Hartford District), (Hartford, 1902). Vol 3, p 494. 

Source:

http://dunhamwilcox.net/source_files/bailey.htm#i2600