This article, written by Todd Preston, President of the Magoffin County Historical Society, was taken from the AUGUST  28, 2014 issue of THE SALYERSVILLE INDEPENDENT newspaper.

            Here it is the last week of August and a bit of nostalgia has hit us here at the Magoffin County Historical Society.  This is the first time in our years as an organization that we are not sponsoring a Magoffin County Founders Days celebration.  As we have mentioned before extenuating circumstances prevented us from our usual activities this year.  We want to extend compliments to the City of Salyersville Mayor and City Council members along with their volunteers who have picked up a Labor Day tradition for our county and are conducting Magoffin County Heritage Days. 

            The staff, directors and members of the Magoffin County Historical Society are honored to be a part of this event as we are sponsoring the Magoffin County School Events for the youngsters of our county.  We are proud of our young people and want to encourage them to pursue their studies and achieve all they can in their lives.  Our county’s progress depends on the success of our children as they are our future.  We also commend all the school personnel, particularly those teachers who helped the students in their respective schools and those who participated by conducting the school events on the Pioneer Village stage.  We are always glad to see the parents, grandparents and other citizens who come out to watch and encourage our students.  Our hats are off to all of you!

            We continue to keep our genealogy library and the Pioneer Village open for the use of those researching their family roots and those with an interest in the history of our county.  It has been encouraging also to see some progress in the completion of the many books we have been working on for the past several years.

            We welcome visitors to our facility.  If you are unable to visit in person, please write to us at Magoffin County Historical Society, PO Box 222, Salyersville, KY 41465 or email [email protected].

            Among our recent visitors was a man from Ohio came in to research his eastern Kentucky Bailey family heritage last week.  Larry Gene Bailey’s paternal grandparents were Benjamin Bailey and Sarah Lovely.  We had their names in our Bailey family book but little other information.  Benjamin Bailey was a son of Wallace Bailey b. 28 Dec 1848 and Nancy Jane Calhoun.  Wallace died at age 80 years and 19 days on 15 Jan 1929. Nancy Jane was a daughter of Lester Calhoun and Susannah Holbrook and the family lived at Bays in Breathitt County, KY in 1880. 

            Nancy Jane Calhoun Bailey apparently died young as she and her husband Wallace are found in the 1880 Baker’s Fork, Breathitt Co. KY census.  He was age 32 and she was age 18. They had a one-year old daughter Susannah in the household (she later married Floyd Barnett).  There being no 1890 census, Wallace is next found in the 1900 Elliottsville, Breathitt County census.  He is age 52, widowed, with son Green age 16, son Ead (Ed) age 13, dau Manda age 10, son John age 7, dau Janey (Jenny) age 6 and son Benny age 4.

            In 1910 he is listed as Walus Bailey age 67, widowed and has son Ead age 23, son John age 18, son Ben age 16 and dau Jinnie age 14 in his household. 

            Wallace’s son Green Bailey married Nancy Ann Bailey, dau of Guilford Bailey.  Daughter Amanda married George Joseph.

            Wallace was a son of Samuel Bailey b. 1822 d. 1896 and buried at the head of the Licking River here in Magoffin County.  He was one of the three Bailey brothers (the others were John and Joseph) who married the three Runyon sisters.  Samuel’s wife was Nancy Runyon and they were married before 1843. Nancy’s son Wallace’s death certificate gives Magoffin County as the birthplace of Samuel Bailey and Rockcastle Co. KY as the birthplace of his mother Nancy Runyon.   We are indebted to our own Donna Marshall Wireman, Priscilla Mullins Joseph along with Reatha Shepherd of Floyd County, KY and the late Paul and Jeanette (Baker) Bailey of Wheatfield, IN for their help in assembling this part of the Bailey genealogy.

            Samuel Bailey was a son of John Bailey and his wife Susan who is believed to have been a Patrick.  Samuel and Susan lived on Bull Mire Creek where they raised their family of nine known children, (1) John Bailey, Jr. b. 1815, (2) Joseph Bailey, (3) Margaret Bailey Prater, (4) Susan Bailey Pinkerton, (5) Samuel Bailey, (6) a daughter whose name is not presently known, (7) Henry C. Bailey, (8) James Bailey and (9) Sarah Bailey Patrick. 

            The Bull Mire Bailey Cemetery is one of the oldest in that section of the county.  Bob Whittaker of SC placed a marker for that cemetery a few years ago with the help of Herley Manns and Todd Preston. 

            Now, we will pick up on the lineage of Wallace Bailey’s wife Nancy Jane Calhoun.  Nancy Jane was born in 1859 and died in 1898; her husband Wallace lived until 1926.  They were buried in the old Holbrook Cemetery in Breathitt County.

            Nancy Jane’s parents Lester Calhoun (1830-1892) and Susannah Holbrook Calhoun (1829 Harlan Co. KY-1906) are buried in the Hunting Creek Cemetery.  Susannah’s parents were John Henry Holbrook and Susannah Back.  These are families that were extensively researched by the late David Risner who collected much genealogy information along with pictures of the connected families.

            John Henry Holbrook was born in 1796 North Carolina and died in 1876 Breathitt Co. KY.  He married in 1820 Floyd Co. KY to Susannah Back.  She was born in 1804 and died in 1896, a daughter of John Back and Catherine Robinson.