Bailey Family Pages

This is the landing page for research of the ancestry of Mary (Bailey) Lathrop. Links to Profiles and Posts are below.

Researching the first two or three generations of Mary (Bailey) Lathrop's ancestors has been relatively straight forward. The Baileys, and the Richeys on her mother's side, are long-established families in south-eastern Illinois.

John Henry "Jack" Bailey was born in England. Official records have been difficult to identify. Both "John" and "Bailey" were very common names in England in the 1800s, so it's hard to know which record is actually our ancestor! He came to Richland County, Illinois, where all his children and grandchildren were born. In 1913, his grandson Roy married Blanche Richey. These are Mary (Bailey) Lathrop's (and her brother Jim's) parents.

The Richey family apparently came to the U.S. in the early 1700s from northern Ireland, though some sites say they were Scottish citizens in Ireland. They settled first in Pennsylvania. Leaving only his oldest son John McCuby Richey in Pennsylvania, Andrew Richey moved in 1821 to Meigs County, Ohio with his family, including second son Thomas. In 1832, John McCuby Richey joined the others in Meigs County.

In 1855, John McCuby Richey and his brother Thomas brought their families to German Township in Richland County, Illinois. In 1879, Thomas' son, James Austin Richey, married John McCuby's granddaughter, Mary. These are Mary (Bailey) Lathrop's maternal grandparents.