US Congressman. Elected as a Republican to represent Massachusetts' 9th District in the Thirty-Seventh Congress, he served from 1861 until his death. Bailey was born in Westmoreland, New Hampshire. After the death of his father in 1826 he moved with his mother to Fitchburg, Massachusetts, which he called home for the rest of his life. At age 17 he was sent to Vermont to apprentice at the Bellows Falls Gazette and in 1844 became that newspaper's editor and publisher, while studying law in his spare time. He was admitted to the bar in 1848 and returned to Fitchburg to practice and involve himself in local affairs. He was the town's Postmaster from 1851 to 1853, a member of its school committee from 1849 to 1854, and elected to the State House of Representatives (1857) and the State Senate (1858 to 1860). Already ailing from tuberculosis when he arrived on Capitol Hill, Bailey was largely absent from the US House though he made an effort to vote on all legislation of crucial importance to his constituents. He went to Florida in a vain attempt to restore his health and finally retired to Fitchburg, where he died at 38. There is a cenotaph in his memory at Congressional Cemetery in Washington, DC.
US Congressman. Elected as a Republican to represent Massachusetts' 9th District in the Thirty-Seventh Congress, he served from 1861 until his death. Bailey was born in Westmoreland, New Hampshire. After the death of his father in 1826 he moved with his mother to Fitchburg, Massachusetts, which he called home for the rest of his life. At age 17 he was sent to Vermont to apprentice at the Bellows Falls Gazette and in 1844 became that newspaper's editor and publisher, while studying law in his spare time. He was admitted to the bar in 1848 and returned to Fitchburg to practice and involve himself in local affairs. He was the town's Postmaster from 1851 to 1853, a member of its school committee from 1849 to 1854, and elected to the State House of Representatives (1857) and the State Senate (1858 to 1860). Already ailing from tuberculosis when he arrived on Capitol Hill, Bailey was largely absent from the US House though he made an effort to vote on all legislation of crucial importance to his constituents. He went to Florida in a vain attempt to restore his health and finally retired to Fitchburg, where he died at 38. There is a cenotaph in his memory at Congressional Cemetery in Washington, DC.
Bio by: Bobb Edwards
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