My Genealogy Hound

Eli Bailes, farmer and treasurer of Cross County, is prominent among the comparatively young men of Cross County, whose career thus far has been both honorable and successful. Well-informed on the general topics of the day, he cannot but impart to those with whom he comes in contact something of the truths with which his mind is stored. He was born in York County, S. C, in 1850, and was the youngest of a family of seven children born to Eli and Mary A. (Alexander) Bailes, natives, respectively, of South Carolina and North Carolina. The father was a tiller of the soil and died in his native State in 1886. The mother died in 1887. Eli Bailes was reared in South Carolina and his time was divided in early life between assisting on the home place and in getting a limited education in the common schools. During the war his father and two brothers were in the Confederate army and one brother was killed. Eli Bailes came to Arkansas in 1867, located in St. Francis, bought a farm of 110 acres, erected buildings, cleared land and remained there until 1877, when he came to Cross County and located on the Bay Ridge farm. He remained there for four years and then removed to the McCrae farm, where from overflow and several bad speculations he met with temporary financial embarrassment. He remained on this farm until 1885, and then came to Deadrick, now known as Levesque, where he farmed about 450 acres. On this farm he has a store, mostly intended for his own plantation supplies, but has a fair stock of goods and is doing a good business. On December 1, 1888, he was appointed postmaster at Levesque and on the first of the following year, at a special election, he was made treasurer of Cross County. He has always taken a deep interest in politics and is known as one of the hardest workers for the Democratic party. He has been married twice, first in March, 1869, to Miss Dovie Lembler, a native of South Carolina, but who was reared in St. Francis County. She died in September, 1875, and left two children, a son and daughter: Charles Edward and Dovie Ethel. His second marriage took place on Januuary 19, 1877, to Miss Maggie Wood, who was born and reared in St. Francis County. The fruits of this union were four children, two of whom are living: Robert H. and Lucile. Those deceased were unnamed. Mr. Bailes is a good farmer and a respectable citizen.