The Family Tree

The Bailey family of Cambridgeshire

The Bailey family were located in the small fenland village of Wicken. The earliest confirmed date of an ancestor is Richard Bailey and his wives Martha Dennis and Frances Flower. Richard married Martha in 1746 but within four years, and after two children, Martha died. Within eight months, widower Richard had married Miss. Frances Flower. Together they grew the family another nine times, reaching eleven known children.

In 1785 - 1786, it appears that some kind of disease passed through Wicken. Eight villagers across a range of ages, were buried in the parish between these dates and each has the note 'coll' next to their name in the burial register. It is unlikely that this refers to 'colic' as this is not contagious but it may have referred to 'cholera', which would have been very contagious. I have yet to find reference to an outbreak in Wicken during this time.

Half of these 'coll' victims were from the Bailey family (again suggesting contagious disease), with Richard Bailey (father and son), Frances (née Flower - the mother) and Anne (the son's wife) all dying from this condition. Also at during the same period, Peggy Fuller (Richard and Frances' married daughter) also died.

My most recent Bailey ancestor was Richard Bailey's great grand-daughter, Ann Bailey born in Wicken during 1811. She was the daughter of William Bailey and his wife Elizabeth Bird.

Ann married Henry Bowers at Wicken Church on 27th October 1832 and the couple went on to have at least eight children before Henry's untimely end in 1847. After Henry's death, Ann remarried to widower Jackson Layton (1817-) of Burwell and had at least 3 more children.

The other siblings of the Bailey family are noted in Wicken between 1841 and 1881 where several of them married and had families.

William and Elizabeth (the parents) are noted on the 1841 census as living with only their unmarried daughter Sarah. There is no mention of Isaac Bailey on this census.

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