The oldest child of Enos and Mary Bailey, John Herr Bailey was born in
Baileytown in 1876.
The small, weather-beaten house that was his
birthplace became the subject of a Philadelphia Inquirer article in 1948.
John Herr Bailey's birthplace (Photos taken by Philadelphia
Inquirer, 1948)
The Philadelphia Inquirer, October 10, 1948
In 1898
John married Elizabeth Lake Trout, who was born in Baileytown in 1881. He built their home
with his own
hands, and five of their eight children were born there.
John was a man of enterprise. He established a steam
sawmill here, and Elizabeth operated the log saw while her husband and her brother,
John Trout, made crates. Their daughter recalled her
mother setting the very young
children on a saw dust pile while she
fired the boiler. As the business grew and workers were needed, John
hired mostly Bailey relatives. John and Elizabeth also ran a small store out of this
location where they sold bread, milk, and canned goods.
Left Photo: John and Elizabeth Bailey at their sawmill in Baileytown,
circa 1919
Right Photo: Workers at John Bailey's sawmill, circa 1918.
Note the wooden baskets drying in the sun.
Their oldest daughter related how a traveling salesman by the name of Mr. Schaeffer
of Millville used to come through Baileytown going door to door with new
clothing to sell. This was a big occasion for the residents of rural
Baileytown, and she recalled how, "We used to gather around that darned thing and see if
there wasn't something we'd like to have."
In 1911 John moved his family to a new home in Mauricetown, NJ. All of the
lumber for this home was cut at his Baileytown sawmill. He expanded his
basket business at the Mauricetown homestead and eventually moved it to a larger
facility in Millville. He is without a doubt the most well-known of the South Jersey Bailey's because
of his success in the basket industry. There is a great deal of
information about this at
www.jerseypackage.info.
