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GEN. JOSEPH BAILEY
(Deceased).
Even to one accustomed to
the preparation of biographical memoirs it is an undertaking of no small
magnitude to properly portray the life history of such a one as the
subject of this sketch, for words seem to but faintly indicate the true
worth of the man, and the sincere respect in which he was held.
His residence in this county was of such importance to the people that
only few realized his influence and standing until he had been called
away, stricken down as he was in the very prime of life, and at a time
when it seemed possible for him to accomplish the most good.
Joseph Bailey was a man of the people, and yet he unconsciously towered
above those of ordinary intelligence. Quiet, unassuming and calm
in demeanor, he was as is often the case, possessed of those traits of
character which pronounced him a man of fearless, decisive
determination, and those with whom he often had to deal knew this fact
well. Frequent mention is made all through the present volume of
this good man, and to those places we would refer our readers for more
extended account of the part he took in advancing the interests of
Vernon county. Originally from Ashtabula county, O., where he was
born March 6, 1825, Gen. Bailey moved to Southern Illinois when young
and there was principally reared. Later on he went to Columbia
county Wis., and there was engaged in engineering for a time,
subsequently becoming captain of the 4th Wisconsin regiment. At
the outbreak of the Civil War he enlisted as captain, and served through
the war, passing the various stages of major, lieutenant-colonel,
colonel, etc., until given the title of general, a distinction for which
he was well qualified. After the close of the war he came to
Missouri in 1866, and this continued to be his home until his untimely
death, elsewhere referred to. His brutal murder and the excitement
of the news of such a crime will be remembered by all who were then
living in the county. December 24, 1846, Mr. Bailey was married to
Miss Mary Spaulding, of New York, who still survives, a lady of
substantial worth and refinement of manner. She accompanied her
parents to Illinois when only 13 years old. At this time she is
residing upon a farm of 375 acres in the western part of Harrison
township, warmly esteemed by all who are favored with her acquaintance.
History of Vernon County, Missouri. St.
Louis: Brown & Co. 1887. p. 774-775.
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MURDER OF GEN. JOSEPH BAILEY.
Tuesday, Mar 26, 1867, the
then sheriff of the county, Gen. Joseph Bailey, was murdered by two
brothers named Pixley, whom he had arrested and was conveying to Nevada
City, on a charge of hog stealing. The following details of this
incident have been abridged from the account given in the Nevada City
Times of March 29, succeeding the date of the tragedy:--
On Monday, March 25, Lewis
Williams made complaint before Justice E. I. Fishpool, of Center
township, that Perry and Lewis Pixley had stolen from him a hog and
refused to give it up when called upon to do so. The justice
issued a warrant for the arrest of the Pixleys, but as there was no
acting constable in the township the writ was directed to the sheriff of
the county. The sheriff and deputy both being absent from the town
on the 25th, the warrant was not placed in the hands of Gen. Bailey
until about noon on Tuesday, the 26th, and about 3 o'clock that day he
proceeded to the home of the Pixleys to execute the writ. The
Pixleys lived near Moore's mill on the Marmaton, some three miles
northwest from Nevada. They had formerly lived in Clay county, and
during the war were bushwhackers. Gen. Bailey made the arrest, but
the prisoners refused to deliver up their arms and at first refused to
go, though finally consenting to accompany him; but one was heard to say
that he would "go part of the way, but not all the way," and was also
heard to tell his sister-in-law to persuade his brother not to go up to
town, that they would be disarmed if they got up there. Gen.
Bailey assisted in driving up their horses which they were to ride to
town, but not having saddles a stop was made at a Mr. Brown's, a quarter
of a mile distant, to procure them. At that time one of the
Pixleys asked Gen. Bailey to see that Mr. Brown's saddles were returned
if they (Pixleys) should not return them, and receiving an affirmative
answer the party started. A few moments before this two ladies,
Mrs. and Miss Bryan, had left Mr. Brown's to go home; they were about 60
yards in advance of Gen. Bailey and the Pixleys, who when last seen were
near where the main road forks, one (on which the ladies were traveling)
leading to Nevada, and the other obliquing to the left,--Gen. B. being a
little ahead of the Pixleys. Before riding far one of the ladies
heard a pistol shot, but not suspecting that these men were under arrest
and not knowing who they were, thought but little about the firing, and
proceeded towards home, which was a mile from town.
Only a portion of the
citizens knew that Gen. Bailey had gone to arrest the Pixleys, but when
inquiries were made for him Wednesday morning, and it was ascertained
that he had not returned, a party at once proceeded to search for him.
Arriving at Mr. Brown's, and learning of the facts concerning the
sheriff's departure with his prisoners from that place, information was
immediately sent to town and a few minutes later 25 or 30 more persons
were searching for the missing man. The first party struck the
trail at the forks of the road and followed the horse tracks and one
footman's tracks down the left-hand road about half a mile to Scott's
branch. In the road near the stream blood was found, and further
search revealed indications of the body's having been dragged through
the brush some 10 rods to the bank of the creek. The body of Gen.
Bailey was found in 8 inches of water, and 50 yards distant his cap,
with the warrant in it, was discovered, hidden in a hollow tree. A
coroner's jury was impaneled and a verdict rendered in accordance with
the above facts, after which the body was taken into town, where it
received every attention.
The body of the murdered man
was accompanied to his home in the southwestern part of the county by a
party of ladies and gentlemen, and on Friday morning following the
Masonic Lodge of Fort Scott received the body of its late member and
interred it in the military graveyard in that city, with the honors of
the order; it was afterwards removed to Evergreen Cemetery.
On the reception of the news
at Balltown the citizens of Little Osage township assembled and went in
search of the Pixleys and their confederates. In the forks of the
Osage and Marmaton rivers lived three or four of their intimate friends,
and John Eslinger and J. W. Williams were arrested on the night of March
28th. After their arrest they were interrogated as to their
knowledge of the whereabouts of the Pixleys, but each protested his
ignorance of the commission of any crime and claimed he had heard or
seen nothing of the Pixleys for over a week. Eslinger was finally
prevailed upon to tell what he knew concerning the murder. He
stated that on the night of the 26th Lewis and Perry Pixley came to Mrs.
Doke's, where he was staying, and said they had killed Gen. Bailey that
evening, and that they had swam the river a short time before and were
very wet. Breakfast was prepared for them and two hours before day
they started to the Marmaton, and entering into a canoe which had
previously been stolen by Tom Ingram and himself (Eslinger) started down
the river. Arrangements were made for Pixley's family to cross the
river, and the following Monday all were to start for North Missouri.
Williams afterwards confessed and corroborated this statement.
Tom Ingram was arrested
Friday evening, but refused to make a confession, though he did remark
that the Pixleys "made a raise of $250," the amount secured from Gen.
Bailey. Williams confessed that on Wednesday Tom Ingram came up to
his house with one of Pixley's horses (one used when Bailey was killed)
and wanted him (Williams) to take care of it; that afterwards he
(Ingram) wanted him to take care of a gray horse (belonging to Bailey)
and told him that the Pixleys had killed the sheriff and had gotten that
horse of him. He (Williams) refused to do so, when Tom Ingram
turned the horse loose and it remained on the prairie until Williams'
arrest. At the time Ingram was arrested he was at the house where
Pixley's family also were, endeavoring to execute the programme adopted
by him and the Pixleys when they parted at the canoe, which was to have
the family cross the Marmaton, then very high, preparatory to starting
to North Missouri. Eslinger and Williams after their arrest
claimed that Ingram, who had secured the information direct from the
Pixleys, knew more of the particulars of Gen. Bailey's murder than they
did, they having been told of the affair by Ingram. They did not
know what amount of money was taken from the sheriff, only Ingram told
Williams they "made a raise of $250." The party that arrested
these men brought Mrs. Doke and Ingram's wife to town at the same time.
After reaching Nevada Ingram remarked to one who demanded him to
surrender that he had come nearer losing his life that night than he
ever had; and that he had "the drop on him" or there were not enough men
on that hill to arrest him. The same day he had been at a house in
the neighborhood and made the remark that the work (meaning Gen.
Bailey's murder) had just commenced, and that a certain, giving his
name, would be the next one to go. Ingram was the husband of the
woman, formerly the wife of notorious "Pony" Hill, the well known outlaw
and bushwhacker during the war.
After Ingram's incarceration
he refused to state anything further; at his own request he was
permitted to see his wife. The same night he was taken out of the
hands of the guards by a posse of men, supposed to be the vigilance
committee. The next morning his body was found hanging to a tree
in the edge of the timber skirting the town; a coffin was provided by
the citizens, a large number of men went to town from the country, and
after the body had been placed in the coffin it was carried off and
buried.
A reward of $1,500 was
immediately offered by the people for the arrest of the Pixleys, and
this was supplemented by an offer of a similar amount on the part of the
authorities, making $3,000 in all. Following is a copy of the
hand-bill and advertisement circulated by County-Attorney Birdseye:--
Murder -- $3,000 Reward!!!
Whereas, The citizens of Vernon county have offered a reward of $1,500
for the apprehension of Lewis Pixley and Perry Pixley, the murderers of
Gen. Joseph Bailey, sheriff of Vernon county, on the evening of March
26, I, John T. Birdseye, county attorney, on behalf of said county,
offer an additional reward of $1,500 making the sum of $3,000, for the
apprehension and delivery to the authorities of Vernon county the bodies
of the said Pixleys, or one-half for either of them, or sufficient proof
of their having been killed in attempting to arrest them. Perry
Pixley is 5 feet 8 inches high, weighs about 165 pounds, small, clear
blue eyes, full face, lips compressed, light hair, very light thin
whiskers, twenty-two or twenty-three years of age, and talks out one
side of his mouth, which draws that side of his mouth down somewhat
while talking. Lewis Pixley bears a strong resemblance to Perry,
but is larger and more rough; nose is rather large, bones of the face
are large, about 5 feet 9 inches high, weights about 180 pounds, smooth
face, light hair, twenty-five or twenty-six years old, and has a defect
in one eye which gives it a slightly inflamed and watery appearance; was
once shot in the left arm, from which cause he carries his left shoulder
an inch or so lower than the right; was also wounded in the thigh, which
causes a slight lameness.
John T. Birdseye,
Nevada City, Mo.,
March 27, 1867
County-Attorney.
Gen. Joseph Bailey was born
in the village of Pennsylvania, Ashtabula county, Ohio, May 6, 1825.
He was educated chiefly at Quincy, Ill., was married to Miss Mary
Spaulding in 1846, and removed to Wisconsin the following year.
When the civil war broke out he resided at Kilbourn City, Wisconsin,
engaged in lumbering and building railroad and other bridges, although
he was by profession a civil engineer. He raised a company of
lumbermen and entered the Federal service as captain of Co. D, 4th
Wisconsin infantry. He was promoted to major in March, 1863, to
lieutenant-colonel in June following, and June 10, 1864, for his service
on the Red river campaign, he was made a brigadier-general and received
a resolution of thanks from Congress. It was he who, as every
history of the war relates, constructed the wing dams at Alexandria,
La., thus raising the water in Red river so that the large and valuable
Federal fleet of gunboats and transports could pass over the rapids at
that point. But for Gen. Bailey, perhaps, every boat would either
have been destroyed or fallen into the hands of the enemy.
Gen. Bailey's services
during the war were chiefly in the line of engineering, although he took
part in the battles at Port Hudson, Baton Rouge, Grand Gulf, and in
numerous skirmishes in Maryland and Louisiana. He built Ft. Dix,
in Maryland, a large fortification at New Orleans, and had charge of the
Vicksburg cut-off. He received the surrender of Ft. Morgan and its
garrison at Mobile, and his last services were rendered in leading an
expedition through Western Florida and from Mobile to Baton Rouge.
He resigned from the army July 7, 1865, and in October following settled
in this county, on the farm in Harrison township where his widow still
resides. He had visited the locality in 1860, and then resolved to
make it his future home.
In politics Gen. Bailey was
a firm Democrat, but personally popular with all parties. Had he
lived he would have become in 1868 the Democratic candidate for Congress
in this district, and in time would have been chosen to high and
responsible positions in the State and republic. He was of great
service to this county during the brief period he lived here, and his
death was universally deplored.
History of Vernon County, Missouri. St.
Louis: Brown & Co. 1887. p. 350-355. |
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A
BRAVE OFFICER’S DEATH
The Finding of Old Papers Revives a Story
It
Was One of the Sensations in Nevada’s Early History
Delving among the old records of his office, Circuit Clerk Diehr has
found all the papers connected with the killing of Sheriff Joseph
Bailey, which occurred March 27, 1867.
There is a copy of the indictment, the verdict of the coroner’s jury, a
list of the subscribers to the reward offered for the murderers, and the
testimony taken in the case.
“I remember it all very distinctly,” said A. R. Patterson. “I came to
Nevada about six weeks after Sheriff Bailey was killed and the community
was still in perfect tumult about it.
“Lewis and Perry Pixley were the men who did the killing. They lived
two or three miles northwest of town and the sheriff went out to arrest
them for hog stealing. They were desperate men, but Bailey was brave to
recklessness.
After their arrest they asked to keep their arms to protect themselves
against a mob which they feared. The request was granted. When they
reached the by-road which turned east a short distance north of what is
now the Mitchell fruit farm, it is supposed the fatal shot was fired.
The ground there evidenced the prancing and wheeling of the horses. The
body was found over the hill in a little draw.
“The Pixleys escaped and every one wondered then who it was that put
them across the Marmaton. The water was very high at that time and
seriously interfered with pursuit.
“Many years afterward it was learned that a sweetheart of one of the
Pixley’s rowed them across the river.
“A man named James Ingraham was accused of ferrying them over. He was
arrested and brought to town. He was thoroughly reckless and after
abusing his captors in very hastily selected and indiscreet language, he
told them he had aided the Pixleys. In truth, he had done so such
thing.
“Several of the citizens soon collected and took Ingraham away from his
guard. I do not think it was a very difficult task. They carried him
to a little frame out building a short distance from the present site of
the Centenary church, and there hung him to a rafter until he was dead.
“The house stood on the residence lot of Deputy Sheriff Shaw. It was
decided that it would make Mrs. Shaw nervous to know that a man had been
hung in her summer kitchen, so they moved the body and strung it up on a
black jack near the place where the Trinity church now stands. They
neglected to pull the rope hard enough, and the feet were left dragging
on the ground.
“Sheriff Bailey’s body was found by John Birdseye, if I remember
correctly. His cap was sticking in the end of a hollow log and there
was a bullet hole through it. The ball had entered the back part of the
sheriff’s head.
The sheriff was stationed in this section of the state during the war.
He was the colonel of the third Wisconsin regiment. A considerable
number of his men settled here and at Ft. Scott after the war.”
A copy of the testimony of John T. Birdseye is preserved among the
papers in the office of the circuit clerk. Rendered uneasy by the
length of Sheriff Bailey’s stay, Mr. Birdseye and others went in search
of him.
Starting from the point where the ground had been trampled by the
horses, Mr. Birdseye followed the trail through the woods. He first
picked up a pocket-comb which he recognized as the property of the
sheriff and a little further he discovered the body lying in a pool of
water in a ravine.
Other witnesses saw the sheriff in company with the Pixleys.
A reward of $3,000 was offered for the murderers, $1,500 being offered
by the county court and the remainder was made up by individual
subscription.
The Pixleys took $700 from the body of their victim and also took his
horse which was a very fine animal.
The memory of Sheriff Jose Bailey is commemorated in the name of the G.
A. R. post at this place.
The
Nevada Daily Mail,
Nevada, Vernon Co., MO. April 20, 1893.
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