Horace W. Bailey
Horace W. Bailey (January 16, 1852 - January 6, 1914) was a Vermont politician and government official. A Republican, he was most notable for his service as a member of the Vermont Senate from Orange County (1894-1896), a member of the Vermont House of Representatives from Newbury (1902-1904), and the United States Marshal for the District of Vermont from 1903 until his death.
Horace W. Bailey | |
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Bailey as depicted in a 1903 edition of The Vermonter magazine | |
United States Marshal for the District of Vermont | |
In office October 21, 1903 – January 6, 1914 | |
Preceded by | Frank H. Chapman |
Succeeded by | Arthur P. Carpenter |
Member of the Vermont House of Representatives from Newbury | |
In office 1902–1904 | |
Preceded by | Hammon T. Baldwin |
Succeeded by | Albert W. Silsby |
Member of the Vermont Senate from Orange County | |
In office 1894–1896 Serving with Joseph K. Darling | |
Preceded by | John H. Watson, William H. Dubois |
Succeeded by | Cassius Peck, Caleb C. Sargent |
Personal details | |
Born | Newbury, Vermont, U.S. | January 16, 1852
Died | January 6, 1914 61) Rutland, Vermont, U.S. | (aged
Resting place | Oxbow Cemetery, Newbury, Vermont |
Political party | Republican |
Education | Newbury Seminary |
Occupation | Government official |
Early life
Horace Ward Bailey was born in Newbury, Vermont on January 16, 1852, a son of William U. Bailey and Abigail (Eaton) Bailey.[1] He was educated in the schools of Newbury and graduated from Newbury Seminary.[1] He taught school in Newbury, then met John Lindsey, the proprietor of the Fabyan House resort hotel in New Hampshire.[1] Bailey became a manager at Lindsey hotels; besides the Fabyan House, he worked at resorts in Lancaster, New Hampshire, Old Orchard Beach, Maine, and Eastman, Georgia.[1] Bailey was the executor of Lindsey's estate, which led to a later career settling estates in northern Vermont and northern New Hampshire.[1]
In 1882, Bailey returned to Newbury, where he became the owner of a general store, which he operated until 1892.[1] A Republican, in 1886 he was elected Newbury's town clerk, a position he held until 1896.[2] In addition to serving as town clerk, Bailey served in other local offices, including lister, town school board member, town school superintendent, and member of the county school board.[1][2]
Continued career
Bailey served in the Vermont Senate from 1894 to 1896, and was a member of the committees on education, railroads, and the state prison, as well as a joint committee that examined unexpected spending increases on the prison.[1] He was also appointed a member of the state Fish and Game Commission in 1894, and he served until 1900.[1] As a Fish and Game commissioner, Bailey was credited with management improvements at the state fish hatchery, and was also selected to oversee construction of a dam at the outlet of Lake Morey in Fairlee.[1] He was a member of the Vermont Republican State Committee from 1894 to 1904.[2][3]
In 1902, Bailey was elected to represent Newbury in the Vermont House of Representatives, and he served until 1904.[1] During his tenure in the House, Bailey was chairman of the committee on railroads, as well as the committee that oversaw Vermont's participation in the 1904 Louisiana Purchase Exposition.[1] In addition, he was Orange County's representative on the joint committee that studied the temperance issue.[1] In 1902, Bailey was appointed to the state Railroad Commission, and he served until 1904.[1] From 1906 to 1910, Bailey was a member of the Lake Champlain Tercentenary Commission, which planned celebrations to commemorate Samuel de Champlain's discovery of the lake in 1609.[2]
A civic activist, Bailey was head of the board of trustees for Newbury's Tenney Memorial Library.[2] He was an author on Vermont topics, including histories of Lake Champlain, Newbury Seminary and Newbury Methodist Church, and served as a vice president of the Vermont Historical Society.[1][2] He was also a longtime member of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows and Knights of Pythias, served on the board of directors of St. Johnsbury's Citizens Savings Bank and Trust, and was a trustee of the Bradford Savings Bank.[1][2][4]
US Marshal
In October 1903, Bailey was appointed U.S. Marshal for Vermont, and he served in this position until his death.[4][5] He received the appointment following the October 15, 1903 termination of Marshal Fred A. Field's commission.[6] Field was accused of dereliction and neglect after three prisoners he was transporting in June 1903 effected an escape.[6] Federal district court judge Hoyt Henry Wheeler then appointed Field's chief deputy Frank H. Chapman to temporarily fill the vacancy.[7]
Following Field's removal, President Theodore Roosevelt asked Vermont's Congressional delegation for recommendations.[5] The two US Senators and two US Representatives quickly agreed to suggest Bailey.[5] Roosevelt appointed him a few days after Chapman's interim appointment, and Bailey then reappointed Chapman as chief deputy.[5][8] For most of his term as marshal, Bailey lived and worked in Rutland, Vermont.[4]
For many years, Bailey's girth and ongoing health problems required him to walk with the aid of a cane.[9] Over time, he amassed a notable collection of canes and walking sticks.[9][10] This collection was covered in newspapers nationwide in 1904, after Bailey received a carved bamboo cane from a friend in the U.S. Army who had recently returned from a trip to Japan.[9][10] According to contemporary press accounts, Bailey's collection included a lignum vitae cane from the Philippines which was a gift from Mason S. Stone, and one made of pine recovered from the floor of the Confederacy's Civil War-era Libby Prison.[9][10]
Death and burial
In his later years, Bailey suffered from Bright's disease, which led to several complications.[4] In 1907 he lost a foot to amputation, and in 1913 continued complications caused doctors to remove his other foot.[4] Bailey died in Rutland on January 6, 1914.[4] He was buried at Oxbow Cemetery in Newbury.[11] Bailey never married, and had no children.[4]
Legacy
During his lifetime, Bailey amassed a vast collection of works related to the history of Vermont, including many rare books, pamphlets, town histories, and railroad annual reports.[12] His collection included works from 1794 to his death, including many on slavery and other political topics.[12] After his death, Bailey's executors sold his library.[13] His pamphlet collection of more than 900 items was purchased intact by Middlebury College, which maintains Bailey's Vermont Pamphlet Archive as part of its library's Special Collections.[12][13]
In 1904, Bailey purchased Newbury's old schoolhouse, which had been constructed in 1839, as a repository for his private library of works on the history of Vermont.[14] After his death, the building was used by different owners for several different functions.[14] The building was purchased by the town in 1969 for use as the town clerk's office, and was partially destroyed during a 1973 tornado.[14][15] It was later restored, and is now the Horace W. Bailey Club, a meeting facility for several different organizations and civic groups.[14] The Bailey Club is part of the Newbury Village Historic District, which was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1983.[15]
References
- Genealogical and Family History of the State of Vermont.
- Encyclopedia of Vermont Biography.
- "Delegates to Chicago".
- "Leading Vermonter Dies at Rutland".
- "Vermont's New Marshal".
- "Field Removed".
- "Marshal Field's Successor".
- "US Marshals Appointed".
- "A Collection of Canes".
- "Valuable Collection of Canes".
- Where They're Buried.
- "Bailey's Vermont Pamphlet Archive".
- "The Bailey Library".
- "Newbury: Horace W. Bailey Club".
- "Newbury Village Historic District".
Sources
Books
- Carleton, Hiram (1903). Genealogical and Family History of the State of Vermont. I. New York, NY: Lewis Publishing Company. pp. 642–643 – via Google Books.
- Dodge, Prentiss Cutler (1912). Encyclopedia of Vermont Biography. Burlington, VT: Ullery Publishing. pp. 106–107 – via Internet Archive.
- Spencer, Thomas E. (1998). Where They're Buried. Baltimore, MD: Clearfield Company. p. 375. ISBN 978-0-8063-4823-0 – via Google Books.
Newspapers
- "Field Removed". The Daily Journal. Montpelier, VT. October 15, 1903. p. 1 – via Newspapers.com.
- "Marshal Field's Successor". Montpelier Evening Argus. Montpelier, VT. October 19, 1903. p. 1 – via Newspapers.com.
- "Vermont's New Marshal". Montpelier Evening Argus. Montpelier, VT. October 22, 1903. p. 3 – via Newspapers.com.
- "US Marshals Appointed". Barre Daily Times. Barre, VT. November 4, 1903. p. 1 – via Newspapers.com.
- "A Collection of Canes". Burlington Clipper. Burlington, VT. January 16, 1904. p. 2 – via Newspapers.com.
- "Valuable Collection of Canes". Cheyenne County Rustler. St. Francis, KS. February 4, 1904. p. 5.
- "Delegates to Chicago". The Chelsea Herald. Chelsea, VT. April 21, 1904. p. 1 – via Newspapers.com.
- "Leading Vermonter Dies at Rutland". Burlington Daily News. Burlington, VT. January 7, 1914. p. 5 – via Newspapers.com.
- "The Bailey Library". Brattleboro Reformer. Brattleboro, VT. April 29, 1916. p. 2 – via Newspapers.com.
Internet
- "Newbury: Horace W. Bailey Club". Cohase.org. Wells River, VT: Cohase Chamber of Commerce. Retrieved January 16, 2020.
- DeLaittre, Margaret (August 4, 1983). "Newbury Village Historic District". National Register Nomination Information. Lebanon, NH: Connecticut River Joint Commissions. Retrieved January 16, 2020.
- "Bailey's Vermont Pamphlet Archive". Special Collections. Middlebury, VT: Middlebury College Library. Retrieved January 16, 2020.
External links
Additional resources
- Fish, Frank L. (1914). Horace Ward Bailey, Vermonter; A Memorial by his Friends. Rutland, VT: The Tuttle Company – via Internet Archive.
- Davidson, Jim (February 10, 2013). "Horace W. Bailey Gives a History Lesson - 1906". Moments in History (1:50 film clip). Rutland, VT: Rutland Historical Society – via Internet Archive.