Benjamin H. Bailey
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/7/77/Gravestone_of_Rev._Benjamin_H._Bailey.jpg/220px-Gravestone_of_Rev._Benjamin_H._Bailey.jpg)
Benjamin Holloway Bailey (1823-1919)[1] was an American Unitarian minister. At the time of his death, he was "one of [the Unitarian church's] best known and best loved as well as one of its oldest ministers."[2]
Personal life
Bailey was born in Bolton, Massachusetts on July 5, 1829 to Holloway and Lucy Sawyer Bailey.[2] He grew up in Northborough, Massachusetts on his father's farm before attending Bridgewater Normal College, Leicester Academy, and Harvard College, where he graduated in 1854.[2]
Then followed a few years of teaching at Chicopee High School and in Providence.[2] He studied law and then was graduated from Harvard Divinity School in 1860.[2] While living in Dedham he met his wife, Emily F. Sampson, and they married on June 1, 1864.[2][1][a] The had five children, three of whom died before he did.[2]
He spent the last six years of his life in retirement in Jamaica Plain, Massachusetts.[2] He is buried in Brookdale Cemetery.[1]
Ministry
Bailey served at the First Church and Parish in Dedham from 1861 to 1867.[3][2] In Dedham, he presided over the funeral of his predecessor, Alvan Lamson[4] and led the service at the 250th anniversary of the church's gathering in 1888 where he delivered an historical discourse.[5]
In 1867, he was called to Portland, Maine where he remained for five years.[2] He then served in Marblehead, Massachusetts beginning in 1872.[2][6] A twelve years pastorate there was followed by a slightly longer one at Malden, Massachusetts from 1884 to 1897.[2] For six years, he served on the Malden School Committee.[2] He then ministered in Westford, Massachusetts.[7][2] While there, he was a member of The Grange.[2]
Beginning in Marblehead, he began teaching as well.[2] Boys would either lodge with his family and study under him, or be taught as day students.[2]
Notes
References
- ^ a b c d Slugger O'Toole, File:Gravestone of Rev. Benjamin H. Bailey.jpg, Wikimedia Commons
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q The Unitarian Register. American Unitarian association. 1919. p. 670. Retrieved September 7, 2019.
- ^ Smith 1936, p. 87.
- ^ The New England Historical and Genealogical Register. New England Historic-Genealogical Society. 1865. p. 91. Retrieved September 7, 2019.
- ^ First Parish, Dedham, Mass; First Congregational Church (Dedham, Mass.) (1888). Commemorative Services at the Two Hundred and Fiftieth Anniversary of the Gathering of the First Church in Dedham, Mass: Observed November 18 and 19, 1888. Joint committee of the two churches. pp. 112–.
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: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link) - ^ "Marblehead, MA (1873)". Celebrate Boston. Retrieved September 7, 2019.
- ^ "Westford's Civil War Monument". The Westford Historical Society & Museum. May 31, 2010. Retrieved September 7, 2019.
Works cited
- Smith, Frank (1936). A History of Dedham, Massachusetts. Transcript Press, Incorporated. Retrieved July 18, 2019.
- Clergy from Dedham, Massachusetts
- People from Marblehead, Massachusetts
- People from Westford, Massachusetts
- People from Jamaica Plain
- People from Bolton, Massachusetts
- People from Northborough, Massachusetts
- Clergy from Portland, Maine
- People from Malden, Massachusetts
- Bridgewater State University alumni
- Harvard College alumni
- Harvard Divinity School alumni
- Leicester Academy alumni
- American Unitarian clergy
- 1823 births
- 1919 deaths
- 19th-century Unitarian clergy
- 20th-century Unitarian clergy
- Burials in Massachusetts
- National Grange of the Order of Patrons of Husbandry
- Burials at Brookdale Cemetery