A BAYLESS FAQ
Here is a list of points which may help you with your research. This list
includes things to keep in mind in order to get as many truths as possible
into your BAYLESS genealogy. This FAQ is compiled by me, Barbara Ribling,
and is my opinion. I have had some input from BAYLESS cousins and welcome
all comments, corrections, additions. I would urge all researchers into
ancestral links todig deep for facts, question all sources and make your
family history the best and most accurate that you can.
A brief note about merchants mentioned below. I have a subscription to
Family Tree Maker's Genealogy Library.com and am satified with it. I own a copy
of Howard Green Bayles' book which I purchased with a hard cover from Higginson
Books. It is printed on acid-free paper. The wait for this book was about three
months as Higginson prints each book as it is ordered and does not keep books in
stock. Extra time and an additional fee is required for a hard cover. I am glad
to have the book. I cannot state that the merchants will meet your needs or
that their services are something you should try, I name them only as sources
for hard-to-find and rare publications. Some of the items may be found through
the LDS, your local library, inter-library loans, state archives, genealogy
libraries, private collections, etc.
I will try to add to this page. It is surprisingly difficult to create!
You can send your comments to me at: bribling@earthlink.net
* Coat of Arms - The Coat of Arms as seen above is as described in the book
by Eliza Bayles St. John (see below). Blazon:
"Shield - Gules (red) a fesse (broad horizontal band across the middle of
tth shield) argent (silver) between three mullets (star shaped figure) in chief
(at top) and as many martlets (birds without feet) in base of the second
(i.e. silver)."
Q. Why do you spell the name BAYLESS?
A. Actually in my database I use both BAYLESS and BAYLES. These are not
the only spellings that have been used in this family line. William K. Bayless,
a family member who contacted many BAYLESS descendants, claimed to have found
more than 300 different spellings for the name. Some of the more common
spellings are BAYLIS, BAYLISS, BAYLEY, BAILEY, BAYLIES. Some of the rarer
spellings seem to include BAYLIF, BAYLIFF, VAILEY (yes I have seen this)
and others.
Q. What about the BAYLIS family of Virginia?
A. The Blums have written a lengthy book, The BAYLIS Family of Virginia.
In their book, they briefly discuss the BAYLES family of Long Island. The
Blums and Howard Green Bayles together concluded that the two families were
unrelated. I do not at this time have a copy of the book by the Blums and so
cannot tell you if your 'mystery' ancestor might be from the VA family. If you
cannot connect your BAYLIS to the L.I. family, please check out the VA BAYLIS
family. Please be aware that some of the L.I. BAYLESes spent time in VA and
that there might actually be an undiscovered blood connection between these two
families. This book is available in some genealogy libraries. I have seen it
at the Clayton Library, Houston, TX; the Ladsdon Library, Vidalia, GA; the city
library in downtown Jacksonville, FL. It is also available as a reprint from
Higginson Books, Salem, MA.
Q. Our Immigrant ancester was the John of the the Truelove of London.
A. This may or may not be correct. Most of us believe that John of the Truelove
was the same John who settled in Southold, Long Island. There are no records
that I know of as yet which show the movements of John of the Truelove after
his arrival in America. We believe that he was an indentured servant of William
Wells. If the servant story is true, then John probably spent some time in
Connecticut before settling in Long Island. William Wells did eventually
settle in Southold.
Q. John BAYLES married Rebecca STILLWELL or Rebecca Vincent WHITNEY.
A. John married Rebecca. I don't know who Rebecca was. I have found no
records that give her name prior to her marriage to John. John and Rebecca's
first daughter, Rebecca (they had 2 of this name) married Nicholas STILLWELL.
I believe that those who call Rebecca a STILLWELL may have her confused with
her daughter. Some descendants think Rebecca was Rebecca Vincent WHITNEY
before her marriage to John. Those who have researched the WHITNEYs have not
found this name. There was, however, a descendant of John and Rebecca who was
named Vincent Whitney BAYLESS. Vincent Whitney was a well known man in
Binghampton, NY, where the family of V.W. BAYLESS lived. I think it is likely
that V.W. Bayless was named after this popular man and not after an ancestor.
Q. The Truelove went to Bermuda didn't it?
A. The Truelove is believed to have sailed from London to the Summer Isles
before finally coming to America. One or more early BAYLES families did live
in the British West Indies. Here are some of the monuments as recorded in
Monumental Inscriptions and in More Monumental Inscriptions by Vere Langford
Oliver for "Stokvis Studies in Historical Chronology and Thought", No.s 13 & 14.
1. In St. John’s Church, Barbados, there is a monument to Sir Francis Souper
Bayley, Knight, of Malvern, Barbados. He died in Oct. 1824 at age 35. No.13.
2. In St. John’s Church, Barbados, a monument to: "the Memory of two ever
to be Lamented Parents Francis and Jane Bayley...". Francis Bayley died
Oct. 21, 1777, and Jane died Nov. 10, 1803. The monument was placed by their
son Francis Souper Bayley. No.13.
3. In St. John’s Church, Barbados, there is a marriage record for Lt.Col.
Bayley and Eliza Foster, Dec. 25, 1657. No.13.
4. At St. James, Hole Town, Barbados is a monument to Sarah Frances Bayley,
dau. of Joseph Bayley and to Francis Bayley, brother of Joseph and son of
Francis G. Bayley who erected the monument to his granddaughter and son.
They both died in 1816. No.13.
5. In St. Paul’s Church, Island of Nevis, British West Indies, is a monument
to "Lieut. Joseph Bailey, R.N., Many Years Master of the Ship ‘Earl of Liverpool’
..." He died May 1842. No.14.
There are one or two other early family members buried in the British West Indies.
I have no idea if any or all of these people were in any way related to John Bayles
of the Truelove of London.
Q. John BAYLES of Long Island owned New Jersey or was the founder of
Elizabethtown.
A. This is untrue! John BAYLES and his associates formed Bailey & Co. and
bought some NJ land in 1665 from the native Americans of Staten Island.
The associates improved this land for some time before learning that the sale was
invalid. In 1666, Gov. Carteret of NJ offered to buy out the associates. You can
read more about this in the US GenWeb archives for NJ. Read the file that was
uploaded by Harry Nelms. It contains abstracts of documents regarding the
Elizabethtown Purchase.
Newly Discovered: A book by O.E. Monnette, First Settlers of Ye Plantations
of Piscataway and Woodsridge Olde East New Jersey 1664-1714, Part One, 1930, has
recently been added to Genealogy Library.com. It includes John Bayles and wife
Rebecca of Jamaica, Long Island, 1682, as among the first settlers of Staten Island.
This is very interesting as I know of no other indication that John and Rebecca
ever lived on Staten Island. John is believed to have died in 1682 in Jamaica.
Q. What are the sources for BAYLESS genealogy?
A. There are many sources and they are getting easier to find each day.
Here are some of the traditional sources:
1. St. John, Eliza M. Bayles. The Bayles Family in the United States
1635-1900. Mrs. St. John was the daughter of Aaron Bayles. She compiled
her family history in 1900. Her work includes much information from family
members as well as a couple of wills and some information on the NJ land
purchase. Her book also includes a charming description of her family
life as it was when she was a young girl in the early 1800s. She is a major
source for most later family historians and Howard Green Bayles includes much
of her data in his own books. This book is available on LDS microfilm #1307567
and can be ordered through your local Family History Center. The microfilm copy
is very poor and is labeled "Illegible", it was made from a xerox copy. It is
also available as a reprint through Higginson Books of Salem, MA.
2. Bayles, Howard Green. The Bayles Family of Long Island and New Jersey and
Their Descendants, 1944. Also see, Supplement to the Bayles Families of Long
Island and New Jersey, 1946. Hard bound copies of these books are in the family
history collection at Clayton House, Clayton Library, Houston, TX, and in other
libraries. Howard Green Bayles traveled to Long Island where he researched the
early BAYLES families. He visited libraries, archives, churches and cemeteries.
The first book (1944) is the result of his research and includes submitted
information from descendants. The second book (1946) includes corrections and
more descendants information. The original vol. is available as a reprint through
Higginson Books, Salem, MA.
3. Newkirk, Thomas J. Thomas J. Newkirk wrote a book about his family,
Genealogy and History of the Newkirk, Hamilton and Bayless Families. He is
often cited by other researchers particularly Howard Green Bayles. It is from
Newkirk that we have information that Daniel Bayless of TN left TN for OH. This
information (about Daniel Bayless) is difficult to verify. His book is very
informative about the NEWKIRK family and also includes chapters on the HAMILTON
and BAYLESS families. Mr. Newkirks’s book is now available online at
Family Tree Maker’s Genealogy Library.com. There is a charge for use of
Genealogy Library.com.
4. Hubbs, Ferol Frost. Mrs. Frost prepared "The Bayless Family 1955" in
preparation for a chapter on the BAYLESS family to be included in her book
about the FROST/HUBBS family. This unpublished ms. in in the Special
Collections of the University of TN at Knoxville. This work includes her
original research and submissions from other BAYLESS descendants. Of interest
to some is the inclusion of the Rev. War record of John Bayless (husband of
Ann Price) of Washington Co., TN.
5. Headman, Mary Hoss. Unpublished. Mrs. Headman contributed her knowledge
and research to Howard Green Bayles (HGB) and others and is often quoted as a
source. Please be aware that when you cite HGB and/or some of the other sources
that you may, in fact, be citing materials that originated with Mrs. Headman who
was a descendant of Hannah Bayless and Calvin Hoss.
6. Bayless, William Keene. Unpublished. Mr. Bayless (WKB) began a genealogical
study of his family in his latter years after his retirement. He set out to
correspond with all Bayless family members that he could locate. Some of his
letters to Mrs. Letitia Bayless Isbell of Niota, TN, are available and possibly
a few others. There are copies of some of these letters in the Athens, TN,
library’s BAYLESS file. Mr. Bayless wrote to many people and received replys
from many. The location of his original files is unknown. If found, these
letters could help a great deal towards establishing the ancestry of some
families.
7. Isbell, Letitia Bayless. Unpublished. Mrs, Isbel is known for her
correspondence with WKB. She also was interested in her ancestry and may
have accumulated much information from her family members. I do not know of
any extant papers or letters of Mrs. Isbel although they may exist in the
collections of one or more Knoxville, TN, area libraries or archives.
8. Boyer, Reba Bayless. Mrs. Boyer, a professional genealogist, has published
a few books regarding TN records. She is well known, her ancestry is not. I
know of no publication regarding the BAYLESS family that has been produced by
her and would like to hear of it. Her marriage books and other publications have
been sources of information for many seeking the location of original documents.
She has written a sketch of her family which has been included in the McMinn Co.,
TN, heritage book.
9. "The Bayles Bible". This "Old Buckram Bible" is the most desired and least
seen Bayless source. It is said to be the Bible of Daniel Bayles and Johannah
Lake. If found, this Bible would be extremely valuable to all descendants of
Daniel and Johannah and it may clarify more than one line of descent. The Bible,
as far as I know, has been seen by no living person. It is often quoted. Be
careful of using this Bible as a source for your family history. It is last
known to have been in the possession of C.H. Davis of Passadena, CA. Mrs.
McGarity of GA is believed to have seen this book. She copied the entries and
shared the information with several people one of whom was Pearl Davis of
Knoxville, TN. Ms. Davis donated a copy of her copy from Mrs. McGarity to the
McClung Collection, McClung Library, Knoxville, TN.
I feel I must say a few words regarding Bible records. Please be careful when
using a Bible record as a source. I say this for the following reasons:
Many of the early Bible records were hand copied by the viewers as no copy
machines were available at the time. These hand copies were later recopied and,
in some cases, additional information was added. The additions were made with
good intentions in order to clarify or elaborate on the details. Unfortunately,
the original information became tainted and unrecognizable. An example of this
is in Ms. Davis’ copy of the Daniel Bayles Bible. Her copy states that Daniel
Bayles sold his property in 1777 and removed with his family to Ohio. My great
question is - who actually wrote that? Is this statement actually in the Bible
record? Was is written by one of the family members who went to Ohio? Did Mrs.
McGarity add it or Ms. Davis? Until the actual Bible is found and photographed,
we will never know the answer.
Another problem with Bible records is that people will often add information
about their parents and grandparents and possibly even older kin. One example
of this is that my own Mother added information about her parents into her
Mother’s old Bible. I saw her do it. Mother wanted to have a family record in
the Bible. She meant well but she made some mistakes. This Bible now looks as
though my grandmother made the entries. The date of the Bible is the late 1880s.
If I had not been there when Mother made the entries and had come upon this Bible
after her death, I would have been thrilled to find my Grandmother’s old Bible
with a family record. I may have wondered why the dates were not quite right but
I would have thought that other records were in error as Grandmother surely knew
when her children were born.
The moral of the story? Be cautious, ask questions, check dates and names.
Photograph that Bible record and give copies of the photos to as many of your
family members who are interested. Place copies of the photos along with
accurate, notarized transcripts in an archive someplace. Your old Family Bible
can be a treasure and your proper treatment of the Family Record can be the center
point of your Family History.
10. Mrs. McGarity. Mrs. McGarity of Floyd Co., GA, had an interest in family
Bibles. She owned at least one BAYLESS Bible, that of Lott Southard Bayless.
She owned a BELL family Bible that included BAYLESS family members who were
also members of the Lott Southard Bayless family. Mrs. McGarity is the prime
source for the information contained in the "Old Buckram Bible" of Daniel and
Johannah Bayles. She shared this infomation with Mrs. Headman, Mrs. Frost and
others. I do not know if this Bible still exists or if the transcriptions that
some people have are accurate.
11. Hicks, C.W. Charles Wesley "C.W." Hicks was the son of Catherine Bayless
and Mark More Hicks of Monroe Co., TN. C.W. was a Civil War veteran who completed
a TN Civil War Questionaire (CWQ). The CWQ gives interesting information about
the life and family of Mr. Hicks. C.W. was a writer who wrote about TN history.
He also wrote a column for the Monroe Co., TN, newspaper. His newspaper column
dealt with family history. He wrote about his immediate family and his BAYLESS
and HICKS ancestors. The column is one of the earliest records of our family
members. It is especially helpful because Mr. Hicks had first hand information
about many family members and their lives before, during and after the Civil War.
12. Bayless, Robert Reese. Robert R. Bayless is a minor source but should not
be overlooked. He, like C.W. Hicks, completed a CWQ. Unfortunately for us, he
did not fill out the questions regarding ancestors. His CWQ does, however,
describe his family and his life before and during the Civil War. It is a
valuable document for his family and descendants.
13. Bayless, Miss Bell. Unpublished (?). Miss Bell Bayless apparently did
much family research. She has been cited as a source by Howard Green Bayles,
Ferol Frost Hubbs, Mrs. Headman, Mrs. McGarity and others. I have little
information on this lady and do not know where her research data is located.
14. Bayles, George Harmon "G.H." Mr. Bayles, a descendant of Jesse Bayles of
Ice’s Ferry, WV, researched his ancestry and contributed information about his
family to the KY Historical Society. Read more about his "Family Tradition" on
my Native American Connections page.
15. Black, Roxie (Bayless). Unpublished. A grandaughter of John Washington and
Elizabeth Bayless of Johnson City, TN. Mrs. Black knew many of the people
associated with "the Bayless House" in Johnson City as they were all members of
her family. She visited the house and her parents had lived in it as newly weds.
She wrote fondly of the house, her parents and grandparents and other kin and it
is through her recollections that much of the history of the house has been
preserved. She shared her recollections with Reba Bayless Boyer. Mrs. Black
identified all of the people in the noted photograph of "the Bayless House".
This information is included in the BAYLESS file in the genealogy section of the
Athens, TN, library and possibly in other area collections.
16. The New York Historical Society Collections. This is an excellant source
for early Long Island records. Many early wills are included in the collections
which may be found in many libraries around the country. Several volumes are
also available online at Genealogy Library.com on the Family Tree Maker WEB site.
There is a charge for use of Genealogy Library.com.
17. Many other descendants are currently researching their family lines. Some
of these researchers have published their research on the Internet and elsewhere.
If you have a published family history or know of one, please let me know about
it. Some histories have been produced for family reunions and are not available
in any known archive.
18. There are, of course, many other sources, census records, war records,
deeds, etc., which are available in libraries and archives around the country
as well as on CDs and in magazines and newspapers. Federal war records may be
obtained from the National Archives. Confederate war records, for the most part,
must be obtained from state archives. If your ancestor made a claim for damages
at the end of the Civil War, that claim would have been made to the Southern
Claims Commission (SCC) and can be obtained through the National Archives. I
have a copy of the claim made by John Porter Bayless of Walker Co., GA, as well
as some war records. From county courthouses I have some birth, death and marriage
records. Land records may also be obtained through county courthouses or state
archives. The Social Security Death Benefits listings are available online at
Ancestry and possibly other sites. "The Civil War Veteran" is a magazine that
was begun after the Civil War and includes much information about individual
soldiers including a few BAYLESSes. I believe that "The Civil War Veteran" is
now available on CD.
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