California Biographies Mendocino and Lake Counties, California Transcribed by Peggy Hooper This file is part of the California Genealogy & History Archives http://www.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~cagha/index.htm Source: History of Mendocino and Lake Counties, California With Biographical Sketches History by Aurelius O. Carpenter And Percy H. Millberry Illustrated, Complete In One Volume Historic Record Company, Los Angeles, California, 1914 PERCY C. BAYLIS.� Since 1900 Mr. Baylis has given nearly all his attention to carpenter work and contracting, and he is building up a business and reputation which promise well for his future. The number of substantial structures in the vicinity of his home, in Burns valley, and elsewhere in Lake county, stand as evidence of the reliable and workmanlike manner in which his contracts are filled. He has been practically a lifelong resident of the county, having been here all his life except for the time he was away attending school and a couple of years in Oregon, and he has looked after his various responsibilities in such a way as to invite the confidence and esteem of his fellow men. His father, the late Dr. A. W. Baylis, was well known to the people of Lake county in his day as a physician and surgeon, and his untimely death was widely mourned. Dr. Baylis was a native of England, and came to California broken in health and with the idea of giving up practice. He settled in Lake county, and soon found his professional services much in demand, as might be ex- pected in a new country, where a good physician is always sure of a welcome. He met his death by accident, in 1879, being drowned in Clear lake by the upsetting of a sailboat, and left a wife and a large family. Mrs. Baylis, whose maiden name was Phoebe Morris, was also born in England, and resides now in San Anselmo, Marin county, Cal. To Dr. and Mrs. Baylis were born nine children, namely : Mrs. Zoe E. Bigelow, who is a widow and lives with her mother ; Irene, Mrs. Webber, of Oakland ; Ernest, who is a miner in Mexico ; Mrs. lantha Anderson, who lives in Lower Lake; Percy C. ; Maud, Mrs. Young, living in Texas ; Mabyn, who lives with her mother ; Harold, who died in Mexico ; and Theodosia, Mrs. Lilly, also living with her mother. Percy C. Baylis was born October 6, 1871, in Burns valley. Lake county, where he passed his youth, and after attending the local public schools went to high school in Oakland and San Francisco. For about two years he was engaged in mining in Curry county, Oregon, and when the mines shut down he came back to Lower Lake, in his native county, soon finding employment on the Wrey ranch, adjoining that town on the south. There he continued for some time, becoming assistant superintendent, a position he held for several years, during which time he gained valuable experience, in various branches of ranching and also in looking after large interests, fruit growing especially being carried on there extensively. Meantime he had acquired thorough familiarity with carpentry, to which most of his time has since been given, and a number of fine residences in Lake county are specimens of his skill, the summer home of his brother-in-law, Louis Jago, at Point Lake View, on the banks of Clear lake, being particularly worthy of note. His own resi- dence there also, in which his family pass most of their summers, is a creditable piece of work, and is one of the substantial things Mr. Baylis has done to attract buyers to this site, in which he is much interested. It is a location of great natural beauty, which makes it highly desirable for summer homes. Web- ber's dance hall and the clubhouse at the lake shore, and the summer residence of R. W. Beale, all at Point Lake View, are also of his construction, and show a conscientious desire on the part of the builder to do his work well, from both the useful and the artistic standpoint. In connection with his building operations Mr. Baylis also engages in agricultural work to some extent, living on and cultivating his wife's ranch, a seventy-acre property at the head of Burns valley, a part of the old O'Ferrell place. Mr. Baylis married Miss Fannie Jago, who was born at Gibraltar, daugh- ter of Major General Jago, a British army officer. She is the sister of Louis Jago, a prominent business man of Lower Lake, proprietor of Jago's cash store. Seven children have been born to Mr. and Mrs. Baylis : Percy Nor- man, Alice Fannie, Inez Mary, Jack A. and Thyra C, twins, Frances Mary and Beatrice Victorine. The home life of the family, though quiet and un- pretentious, is wholesome and animated by the real spirit of helpfulness and cordiality. Before her family monopolized her attention Mrs. Baylis gave considerable time to painting and music, doing particularly good landscape work, and she is a pianist of pleasing ability. Mr. Baylis has taken no special part in public life, but he is a Republican in his political views and interested in the success of his party.