Stratton House Inn :: Little Home Histories, Part 05 -- Lindley Patterson and Elizabeth (Stanton) Bailey.
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by Bailey, Sarah Jo.

See previous entry: Little Home Histories, Part 04 -- Joel Bailey.

There was an unusual stir of excitement at the Stillwater Meeting the twenty-sixth day of July in the year of our Lord eighteen hundred and seventy-one. Lindley Patterson Bailey and Elizabeth Stanton had announced their intention to wed thirty days previously and on that day they were married.

Elizabeth, the youngest daughter of Joseph and Mary Stanton, was born on a farm a short distance northwest of Tacoma, Ohio, on December 24, 1846. Lindley Patterson, who was the third son of Jesse and Asenath Bailey, was born on March 8, 1850.

The charming Elizabeth Stanton was the same young girl who not so many years before had attended the Mount Pleasant Boarding School. In those days the rules of boarding school life were very strict. There was no social relationships between the boys and girls, except under strict supervision. One day Elizabeth and one of her girl friends were out in the yard, and seeing some boys on the roof, stopped to see what they were doing. But by a strange trick of fate a watchful teacher saw this "misdemeanor" and their registers were "marked" for "looking at the boys."

In this stalwart, attractive looking young man was a youthful orator, who many times had mounted a stump, and with the birds and animals of his fathers' farm for an audience, had delivered an oration which caused much stir among the animal life.

After leaving school, Elizabeth Stanton was invited to attend the wedding of Lindy Bundy and Roanna Frame and to be a "waiter" with Lindey P. Bailey, almost a stranger to her at the time. From the friendship formed at this wedding came the seed of a youthful romance which blossomed into full glory on July 26, 1871 and remained in all its loveliness for almost sixty long years.

The happy couple lived for a while in "the weaning house" -- a little log cabin on his father's farm. From this home they went to an adjoining farm, where Lindley worked during the summer and taught school during the winter. While living here, they advanced another step on the ladder of life, for on July 18, 1872, they became the proud parents of a red and wrinkled baby boy, their eldest son -- Edwin Macy Bailey. The year after the birth of their first child they bought a farm near Tacoma of one hundred and sixteen acres, which proved to be a heavy burden during the financial panic of 1873.

Lindley and Elizabeth lived on this farm for six years, during which time Lindley continued the combination of farming and school teaching. While here three more children came to bless the home: Oscar Joseph, December 5, 1874; Anna, August 16, 1876; Clara, June 25, 1878.

Elizabeth had a natural inclination for cows. She made high class butter, commanding a premium price in the village. Lindley did not share this liking for dairy cows -- preferring beef cattle and sheep, but finally acknowledged that Elizabeth's cows brought in better returns than some of the other farm interests. James Edgerton, a few years before, had imported from Rhode Island three registered Jersey cattle, said to be the first ever shipped across the Allegheny Mountains. Elizabeth desired to own some of these Jerseys, so she persuaded Lindley to trade a threshing machine which he was running somewhat against her wishes for a Jersey bull, a cow and a heifer calf. At last Lindley became interested in dairying and more particular in Jersey cows. The children of this family feel that they are justified in calling their mother the sponsor of the Jersey cow interest in Ohio.

In the fall of 1877, Lindley, always interested in raising fine crops, took special care in one wheat field and the next year he had a fine field of grain. This turned out to be fortunate for him. The county was looking for a tract of land on which to build a children's home and to have additional space for raising various products. Lindley sold his farm to the county, partly because of the fine impression which his wheat field made. It is doubtful if he ever could have paid off the debt on the place and the selling of it was good luck for him. The family remained there until 1880. The brick for the building of the Children's Home were made on the farm and Elizabeth boarded the men who made the brick.

One day while still in their third home, Lindley went to get some coal and Edwin came to meet him on his return. The little boy got up on the load of coal to ride the rest of the way home, but going over a bad spot in the road he fell off. The rear wheel went over his chest, but good fortune was with them for Edwin was not injured.

In 1880 the family rented a farm near Speidel, Ohio, and lived there for six years. While in this home the two youngest boys were born: Alva Caleb, April 26, 1880; and Jesse Stanton, April 15, 1884.

The log house in which they lived was surrounded by big walnut trees and the water which they used came from a spring nearby. They had no cellar under their house so they built a cave in which they kept their fruit and vegetables. On this farm there was a small log stable but as Lindley became more and more interested in the dairy business, they built a larger cattle barn on the hill just above the house.

The six years they spent on this farm were years of happiness, mingled with sadness, but always busy years. Six hearty children had to be fed, clothed, and sent to school. The nearest school was over a mile away.

The boys can well remember attending No. 8 school where it was the custom to put the teacher out at least once a term. One day the larger boys, who were enrolled in the school, locked the teacher out while he was ringing the bell. Instead of becoming angry, the teacher asked the little boys and girls to go skating with him. That act won the favor of the whole school and he soon was let back in.

Very often when the children were coming home from school they would walk up the railroad tracks to the station at Speidel. Just beyond the station was a deep cut in the hill. One evening, Oscar walked home with some friends, and leaving them, he walked down through the cut towards the station. An old lady, who lived nearby saw him just before he went out of sight. A train was coming, but wasn't near enough for a little boy, who was skipping and running along to hear. The station master ran out and called to him and the old lady ran out on the hill waving her apron. This attracted his attention and seeing his danger he threw himself to the side and was off of the tracks before the train went whizzing by.

To go from this story to the one of Alva and Clara sliding down the side of the cave on this place seems ridiculous, but so is life: The common place with a touch here and there of the unusual. The children were not allowed to slide down the side of the cave but Alva and Clara thought it too great a temptation and took the chance. When Elizabeth saw them, she came after them with a stick and they ran, as children will. They crawled into a hole which went under the house, but their mother was not discouraged by this and called sister Anna and told her to go after them. Anna couldn't refuse and go after them she did. Then -- POOR CHILDREN -- Well you couldn't blame them for running.

It doesn't seem that Anna profited too much from this experience for she and Oscar were likewise tempted beyond their power, to resist. One day they decided they wanted some apples to eat. The apples were still green but nevertheless they went to the orchard and climbed the tree. In place of picking a few and eating them they shook the tree vigorously and enjoyed seeing the apples fall to the ground. Things might have turned out all right, but their father coming from the barn saw the performance and their only reward was being whipped by their father while their big brother Ed laughed at them from his hiding place behind the chicken house.

There is a pathetic story told about Oscar. His mother and father had gone away from home, taking Edwin and Anna with them, and Oscar was left to be the man of the house. This didn't quite suit Oscar's liking so he went to seek work elsewhere. At that time there were some tenants on the farm who raised tobacco. One of them, Aaron Bishop, needed a hired hand. Oscar, although just a little tyke, asked for the job. Asron assured him laughingly that he would be glad to have him and would pay a dollar a day. Oscar was very serious about it all. He went home and told Ella Butcher, the hired girl, that he had a job and asked her to pack some clean clothes for him. Then he went to Carl McIlvane, the store keeper in Speidel, and talked, man to man, about his job and Carl gave him an account book and a pencil with which he might keep an accurate account of his time. The next morning, Oscar trudged happily down the hill with his clothes done up in a red bandanna, on his way to work, but he was soon told it was all a joke. The hill seemed awfully long as a little boy trudged back home, swallowing his tears of disappointment and grief -- the first great tragedy of his life.

At another time during the six years on the farm near Speidel, Mag McKnight worked for the family. For some reason or other she got mad and quit. They owed her twelve or fifteen dollars in wages and Lindley wrote a check for this amount. But, no! she must have cash that she could count with her own hands, so Lindley went to town and got ten dollars in pennies and the rest in nickels and dimes. He gave her the money and let her count it to her satisfaction.

Many, many things of interest come to the mind of the members of this family as they think over those days of their youth. For instance they all remember with somewhat a thrill, the torch light procession which was held in Speidel for James G. Blane and John D. Logan who were running for president and vice president respectively.

In this home at Speidel there was a large fireplace and one time as Lindley was putting in a big back log he slipped and broke his leg. At another time the children all had the measles. While Susan Wharton was working for Elizabeth, her daughter, Bird, took the measles. Susan would either have to stay home or bring Bird with her when she came to work. Elizabeth told her to bring the girl, so that all the children would have the measles and that one childhood disease would be done with. She did and all six of the Bailey children were sick with the measles at the same time.

It was while the family lived on this farm that Elizabeth had a very serious illness. For a few days her condition was critical, but she had a mission yet unfulfilled and was spared to her family. Dr. Kemp, the family physician, attended her.

After her recovery she nursed Oscar through a case of typhoid fever and often went to other homes to offer her services as a practical nurse. A boy, who lived close to them, was shot in the hand, the wound became seriously infected and amputation of two fingers was necessary. Elizabeth assisted the doctor in this operation and for several weeks afterwards she would go everyday to change the dressing on his hand.

During this time the Jersey cow had become the leading breed of dairy cows in Belmont County and even in Ohio. Lindley seeing this demand made a trip to Massachusetts for a car load of Jerseys. The demand seemed to increase and Lindley realizing this made other trips to New England and brought back some prize cattle. It was then that they began to ship their cream to Bellaire.

All these extra Jerseys meant extra work. The Bailey children were taught to work as well as play and they all remember the days spent there with pleasure.

As we have said these years were busy years but never too busy to think of some of the bigger things in life. Elizabeth and Lindley always had a keen interest in the affairs of their community. The school and the church as well as the home held a high place in their lives. They were never too busy or the cares of the home were never so great but that they found time to go to the Friend's Meeting of which they were life long members. They looked forward to these days as times in which they gained strength for the tasks that followed through the week.

There are many things which this account leaves untold, but perhaps it gives to one a glimmering into the life of two grand people and their children up until the year when they moved to the John Bundy Farm.

Source: Written by Sarah Jo Bailey (Daughter of Oscar J. Bailey; Granddaughter of Lindley and Elizabeth S. Bailey.)

See next entry: Little Home Histories, Part 06 -- David Ball.

For the table of contents and first entry in this series, please see: Little Home Histories, Part 01 -- Table of Contents and Introduction.


This entry is adapted from Little Home Histories in Our Early Homes, Belmont County, Ohio, which was published in 1942. Its publication was coordinated by Robert D. and Beulah Patten McDonald. This entry has been reedited for inclusion in the Pierian Press Fulltext eBooks database, and is included on the Stratton House Inn Website by special permission. This entry is licensed for use ONLY on this Website. It may be used for educational purposes and personal pleasure under fair-use provisions via this Website. Please note that the Stratton House Inn iteration of this entry does NOT include the subject headings assigned each chapter for use in the Fulltext eBooks database.

DATABASE: Fulltext eBooks: Copyright (c) 2002 The Pierian Press, Inc. All Rights Reserved
ENTRY NUMBER: EBK30013705

 

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