Salem was a bustling town when John Bayliss arrived about 1816. Salem, the seat of justice of Livingston County, was a busy place especially the county courthouse, which faced what is today US Highway 60. It was but a few years prior to John's arrival that the courthouse was the scene of one of the most acclaimed trials in the history of Livingston County when the nephews of Thomas Jefferson were tried for the murder of a slave. This trial would have been recounted through the years and, without a doubt, John Bayliss heard all about it shortly after his arrival.
John quickly settled into life in Salem and married
Elizabeth Thompson, daughter of local businessman, William Thompson, 17 October
1816. They had at least one child before Elizabeth died a few years later. John
Bayliss then married Susan Boggs, daughter of William Boggs, 17 September 1823. John and Susan had several children, including
two who died as infants.
John Bayliss and William McCroskey entered into partnership
to conduct business in Salem. At some point, they had a saddler shop, but
perhaps had other business interests, also. Their saddler shop was located
catty corner across the public square from the courthouse.
In 1836, John Bayliss decided to relocate and sold his town lots in
Salem (Deed Book EE:144), to James Campbell. In this deed, John reserved "
10 feet including the graves of his children in the garden ... and permission
to inter his Wife in sd. space" unless he decided to move the corpses
later.
John moved to Paducah and formed a partnership with John A.
Calhoun. The partnership did not last long and was dissolved in 1841, the same
year John wrote his will. In his will, John named his wife, Susan, his son,
William, born of the marriage to Elizabeth Thompson, and his daughter, Sarah
Margaret, born of the marriage to Susan Boggs. The executrix named in his will
was his wife, Susan.
Because the partnership assets had not been assigned before
John died, a law suit ensued which dragged on for several years. It was
disclosed in this law suit that Susan Boggs Bayliss' agent, William Kay, who
was also John Bayliss' brother-in-law, had dissipated the assets of the
Bayliss-Calhoun partnership and there was not enough money to cover the estate
debts. The administration of the estate was later turned over to Berry Hodge.
Susan, who had suffered a number of losses during the past few years, was committed
to the Tennessee Lunatic Asylum in Nashville, where she died circa 1843.
William Bayliss, only surviving son of John Bayliss' first
marriage, was born 26 July 1817 in Salem. After his father moved to Paducah,
William Bayliss and William McCroskey formed a partnership in a dry goods
business in Salem.
On the 27th of November 1841, William "being sick and weak but of sound mind and memory" and to restore his health, "I intend starting in a few days to New Orleans and may go to Cuba ... and the possibility that I may never return." In the will, he mentions a wife, Mary, who was to receive his entire estate. To date, a marriage record for William and Mary has not been found. William did go to Havana, Cuba, where he died 24 January 1842. There is a tombstone in the old, abandoned Pippin/Butler Cemetery in Salem. Whether his body in interred there or the stone is simply a memorial to his life is unknown. A large stone, it is broken and layes on its side amid downed branches and with myrtle surrounding it.
Sarah Margaret Bayliss, who was born 19 November 1828, was the only surviving child of the marriage of John Bayliss and Susan Boggs. After her father's death, she moved to Montgomery County, Tennessee where she married J.N. Corbett 19 February 1846. The Corbetts moved to Nashville and had a number of children. Sarah Margaret died in Nashville 30 January 1900 and is buried in Mt. Olivet Cemetery.
The burial places of John Bayliss and his two wives are unknown. Perhaps they are also buried in the Pippin/Butler Cemetery. If so, no record of their burial survives.
No comments:
Post a Comment