William Bailey Biography


	This biography appears on pages 320, 321 in "History of Dakota 
	Territory" by George W. Kingsbury, Vol. V (1915) and was 
	scanned, OCRed and edited by Maurice Krueger, mkrueger@iw.net.

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				WILLIAM BAILEY. 

	William Bailey, one of the best known and influential citizens of 
Wayne township, Minnehaha county, is an agriculturist residing on 
section 15, where he owns two hundred and fourteen acres of land and 
where he has lived continuously during the past forty-five years. He 
enjoys the distinction of being one of the earliest settlers of Wayne 
township. He was born in Belfast, Ireland, of Scotch parentage, on the 
17th of June, 1846, his parents being John and Jane (Johnstone) Bailey, 
who died on the Emerald isle. 

	William Bailey was reared at home, acquiring his education in the 
public schools of his native land. In 1868, when a young man of twenty-
two, he crossed the Atlantic to the United States and spent two years 
touring the country in search of a desirable permanent location. In 
1870 he came to Minnehaha county, South Dakota, where in June of that 
year he took up land, being among the first to file on a homestead in 
this immediate vicinity. As above stated, he has remained on this 
property for the past forty-five years and is widely and favorably 
known throughout the community. Mr. Bailey extended the boundaries of 
his farm until at one time it embraced three hundred and twenty acres, 
but now owns only two hundred and fourteen acres. He also owns a fruit 
ranch of forty acres in Texas and spends many of his winters in that 
state. During the summer of 1910 he visited Scotland, England and 
Ireland, renewing acquaintance with a number of his old schoolmates. As 
an agriculturist he has met with gratifying and well merited success 
that has won him a place among the substantial and representative 
citizens of his county. 

	In 1872 Mr. Bailey was united in marriage to Miss Martha Foster, 
of Minnehaha county, who is a native of Canada. Her parents, Robert and 
Lilly (Scott) Foster, were born in Scotland and were among the early 
pioneers of this state. Our subject and his wife have five children, as 
follows: William, an agriculturist residing in Texas; Leslie, who is at 
home; Clifford, also at home; Essie, who gave her hand in marriage to 
William Foster and resides in Texas; and Belle, the wife of Robert 
Johnson, who is engaged in farming in Minnehaha county. 

	In his political views Mr. Bailey is a republican, loyally 
supporting the men and measures of that party. He has served as a 
member of the town board and also on the school board for many years 
past, discharging his official duties in a highly efficient and 
commendable manner. Fraternally he is identified with the Benevolent 
Protective Order of Elks, belonging to Sioux Falls Lodge, No. 262. Like 
his ancestors he is a Presbyterian in religious belief but now attends 
the services of the Methodist Episcopal church, of which his wife is a 
devoted member. Coming to the new world in early manhood, he wisely 
utilized the opportunities here afforded and has won both prosperity 
and an honored name.