1869 · [Various locations in Georgia and Europe
by [Georgia]. Bailey, Samuel T.
[Various locations in Georgia and Europe, 1869. Very good.. Two bound blank books used as a travel journal: 165; 58pp. Tall folio, in similar suede bindings, totaling approximately 220 pages, and around 75,000 words, plus twenty autograph letters, signed, totaling thirty-six pages and approximately 6,000 words, a quarter-plate ambrotype portrait, passport, and other personal papers and family letters. Expected wear. A very interesting and deeply informative group of manuscript materials written by Samuel Terry Bailey (1796-1870), including his extensive journals documenting his trip to Europe in 1839; twenty letters written mostly in Reconstruction-era Georgia, and other items that further enrich his story like his 1839 passport, a portrait photograph, and a few personal papers. Samuel Terry Bailey was born on September 11, 1796, in Brattleboro, Vermont. He married Martha D. Strong in Macon, Georgia in 1829. Martha was the daughter of Christopher Billup Strong, Bailey’s one-time law partner in Georgia; Christopher Strong became judge of the Superior Court of Georgia in 1850. After Martha died in 1846 in Vineville, Bibb County, Georgia, Bailey was left to care for the couple’s six children. He lived the remainder of his life in Bibb County and Macon, Georgia. In the 1860 census, his occupation is listed as attorney at law. Bailey died on October 6, 1870, in Macon, Georgia, at the age of 74, and was buried in the town’s Rose Hill Cemetery.
The earliest material authored by Bailey here resides in a pair of travel journals recording his adventures in Europe on a truncated version of the Grand Tour in 1839 (a date which is not enumerated in the journal but confirmed in his passport, also present here). Samuel T. Bailey was forty-three years old when he traveled to Great Britain and Europe, where he records his thoughts and observations on several major European cities. Though his handwriting is somewhat difficult to read with speed, Bailey's journals constitute a novel-length record of his personal observations in the major port towns and capital cities of England, France, and Italy. Bailey’s journal was apparently kept with an eye for posterity, to being read by others, given his flair for detail and an interesting and rather learned prose style. The journal opens: "As my purpose was to study the people of Europe, their institutions, their lands & countries, the land on which they live -- the Beast & Birds with which they are familiar, their laws by which they are governed, their want of land by which they are oppressed -- the various systems of Religion by which they are moved & all that distinguishes Europe from America in Laws, Governments, Religion, mode of life, thought & action I shall not dwell on the facetious scene of a sea voyage too often & too well described by other travellers.... I shall therefore begin when I first landed in Europe...." His first landing was made at Portsmouth, England, where he observed the port and its castles, "strongly fortified on every side," and his observations of the British Navy: "It is certainly a great & salutary lesson especially to an American to survey the British Navy & dockyards & more especially this one -- it gives one a more impressive sentiment of the physical & moral power of Great Britain than can be derived or felt by any other means."
Bailey continues to provide observations and descriptions on a wide variety of subjects during his time in England. He expounds on English trees, the difficulty of speaking with English people (which he attributes to "the arrogant pride of the aristocracy & the overgrown wealth of their commercial men"), the prevalence of beggars and the state of the poor, the weakness of Queen Victoria ("she is a female & a weak one & is just as fit to govern an Empire as one thousand of her sex"), the state of freedoms of speech and press in the country, the events of Parliament upon a personal visit (where he was very unimpressed after witnessing Sir Robert Peel deliver a speech and also observes a debate on a bill to authorize British ships to seize Portuguese slave ships), and much more in his narrative, often contextualizing contemporary English life with discussions of historical figures and events.
From England, Bailey takes a steamship to Boulogne-sur-Mer on the northern coast of France, and makes his way to Paris. He provides a long and detailed description of Paris over the course of several pages, often noting the effects of the Revolution of 1830 on the city, and again visits the legislative body of the country he is visiting, in this case the Chamber of Peers. Bailey then travels by train to several cities in France before ending his French adventures in Marseilles. This marks the conclusion of the first volume of Bailey's diary.
The second volume of Bailey's diary wholly takes place in Italy, where he has made his way first to Genoa. He again provides a long and detailed assessment of the city before moving on to other notable Italian towns, mainly Naples and Rome, where he concludes the diary's second volume with a deep discussion of Roman history and law. In each location, Bailey describes the towns, culture, religion, forms of government, important historical accounts, and other information. The overall length of Bailey's travel diary precludes digging deeply into his observations in each place, but suffice to say that his writings bear fruit upon deeper reading. This massive compilation of first-hand observations and reflections by a lawyer from Georgia traveling through Great Britain and continental Europe in 1839 is a wonderful primary source. It merits further study and would be a worthwhile project for a dissertation and/or book by a historian.
The other chief feature of the present archive lies in twenty autograph letters, signed, by Bailey (one by his wife), written to his son, George W. Bailey during the early postwar years and early Reconstruction (1865-1870). Bailey writes mostly from Macon to his son George, who was living in various locations, including Quincy and Chicago, Illinois, and New York. Bailey's early few letters emanate from the northeast, but most of his letters were sent once he returned to Macon. Notably, Bailey's letters describe conditions in Georgia after the war and the problems the white planter class was experiencing at the hands of northern overseers as a result of Reconstruction. Some of his views on slavery are quite eye-opening, but not surprising considering his place as a southern planter. He also writes much on farm management, offering guidance and support for his son who seems to want to follow his father into the farming life. The letters provide an interesting first-hand look at life in Georgia during the years immediately following the Civil War. A handful of excerpts from the letters offer a peek into their content and flavor.
July 17, 1865. Charlestown, N.H.: "I hear nothing from Georgia only that they are in much distress. I hope things will change there. Crops here are unusually fine. David has a great crop on our farm -- you let him have it too cheap but he is a good farmer & takes better care than a shabby one would.... I say we would be glad if they would come and see us. The war has made me too poor to travel." This letter was sent accompanied by another letter to George from his mother, which concerns mostly family news and the farm.
Nov. 13, 1865. Macon, Ga. Here, Bailey discusses agriculture in New England versus the West, noting the superiority of the soil but also that "for a poor young man the West offers vast advantages over New England." He mentions his other sons "are at work on my farm in upper Georgia and I hope are doing well but I fear not for they have been raised with slaves and not to work." Bailey continues: "But there is no better land in all Illinois than the land they work & then the air & water is equal to New England, but all this country has been ruined twice -- first by bringing slaves into it from Africa & secondly by setting them free & having them amongst us. They won’t work enough to raise anything for export & then freedom to Africans meant free to become barbarians morally & physically. Nothing but slavery has ever lifted the Africans out of barbarism or ever will. God says in the Bible 'The Ethiopian cannot change his skin nor the Leopard his spots' any more than the sinner can his heart.... The Negroes of the South are fast indicating they are manifesting the most disgusting licentious and brutal passions & I have no doubt they will have to be exterminated & until this is done free white laborers of both sexes will never emigrate to the South so that for this generation there be no prosperity in the Southern country."
December 2, 1865. Macon, Ga.: "I approve of you doing all you can to make money honestly but would by no means advise you to follow the painter's trade for by inhaling the poison of the lead would shorten your life. I suppose you can follow it a few months with impunity but I should advise you to go to farming or some other healthier employment in the Spring. You say you wish to get money enough to buy you a small farm in New England. You have already a deed to one third of my farm in Charlestown which I intend you shall keep so long as you are so good a boy as you always have been."
September 29, 1866. Macon, Ga.: "The present year has been uncommonly disastrous to the farmer in Georgia. The drought has nearly ruined their crops & Sherman's Army about ruined everything else. The people of the South from being the most prosperous & happy are now the poorest & most miserable people in the world."
August 19, 1867. South Charlestown, N.H. Bailey assesses the sad state of the crops at his Charlestown farm, and comments on the challenging conditions in Reconstruction Georgia, as well: "They are having a terrible hard time in Georgia. More cruel despotism never cursed any people."
December 2, 1867. Macon, Ga.: "I have a dizziness in my head which is aggravated when I study hard so that I fear I cannot practice Law any more.... The world never witnessed more distress than is now overwhelming the Southern people by the actions of a tyrannical Congress." At this point, George's mother adds her portion of the letter. She informs George she is teaching and trying to take in "plain sewing" but "everyone is doing their own in these hard times."
February 24, 1868. Macon, Ga.: "We got your dear letter yesterday & was very glad to hear from you as we ever are but are sorry to see that you are so deceived by the infamous falsehoods of the creatures calling themselves Republicans. You say the South ought to accept the new constitutions that are making for them so as to help elect the next president & defeat Grant & the Radicals. My dear son this proves you know nothing of our enslaved condition. These constitutions are made by the negros & whites that are meaner than negroes & disenfranchise all the virtuous white citizens who are not allowed to vote so that the constitutions are made to suit the Radical Congress that orders them made under the orders & supervision of soldiers of the regular army & if a constitution should be made not putting the negroes above the whites it will inevitably be rejected by Congress so that under these constitutions the South is bound to vote for the Radical candidate for the next president & it was for this purpose alone that the Radicals ordered these negro constitutions to be made so as to help them to elect their candidate for the next presidency. For they know they will be beat in a fair fight with the Northern Democrats alone. Yes my son depend on it, those vile traitors are forging chains for the North as well as the South. They are fixing it so as to perpetuate the power of their party by enabling the southern negros to hold the balance of power & turn the scale in their favor in any contested election. They well know that if the South was admitted into the Union & allowed to vote like freemen the whites would by vast majorities vote with the northern Democrats & to prevent this they are putting negros over us! My dear son I need not ask you if we should consent to go into any Union under a constitution that makes our former slaves supreme over us! As to the policy of doing this so as to invite foreign emigration to help develop the country -- it would have a directly contrary effect for respectable, virtuous whites [who] are not going to settle in any country built & controlled by negros. Yes yes my son never never consent to self-degradation. Better [to] die like Romans rather & hope for a reward at the Resurrection." In his last paragraph, Bailey implores his son to read the Bible for guidance. Again in this letter, Mrs. Bailey adds a page of her own correspondence, which reads, in part: "Money is scarce & it is useless to sell goods on credit for no one thinks of paying debts if they can help it, consequently trade of any kind is very dull & it is an unfavorable time to get into a new business."
May 11, 1868. Macon, Ga.: "We are suffering very hard times now. The Radicals have put us under the negros.... You can have no idea how hard the times are since the war & all the negroes are free."
December 7, 1868. Macon, Ga.: "I now write to urge you to stick to farming, & be steady at it. Do not get in an unsteady, fickle habit going from business to another -- steady & contented work at one thing will make anybody rich after a while -- farming is hard work, but well followed. It always pays & it is an honest business & is a great recommendation. Pardon me my dear son for telling you are too much given to change -- you have been with jobs so long that you have got out of the habit of hard work. You will have to buckle down to it again & not think to live without work. Not one in a thousand can succeed at merchandise & besides it is very apt to lead those that follow it into dishonest habits & thereby lose their own souls. Above all things preserve your integrity & avoid lying & all dishonest practices & profane swearing so that when you come to die as you must in a few years you will not be afraid to meet your God."
January 4, 1870. Macon, Ga.: "I got Brock’s speech you sent me. It is very affable if we were not now having the worst Despotism the world ever saw. Such a speech would tend to check those bullies like the idle wind to such Tyrants."
In addition to Bailey's travel journal and the letters to his son during Reconstruction, the archive contains a few additional personal papers belonging to Bailey. Chief among these is his passport, issued for his 1839 Grand Tour. The passport is contained in a green leather wallet-style case with Bailey's name stamped in gilt on the front flap. Numbering about thirty pages, the passport contains ink stamps from numerous countries, and a handwritten list of entry points indicating Bailey visited France (Marseilles & Paris), Belgium (Brussells), Switzerland, Bavaria, Sardinia, and Italy (Genoa, Naples, Portella, Radicofani, Terracina, Rome, Acquapendente, Tuscany, and Florence). Laid in is a document (visa?) issued by the U.S. Legation in Great Britain for travel to France. The collection also includes a rather roughly-preserved quarter-plate ambrotype purporting to feature Samuel Bailey, as well as a few other personal papers. The latter includes a few letters by Bailey's father-in-law Judge C.B. Strong, written between 1833 and 1850, and power-of-attorney document from the state of Georgia involving repercussions from the Haitian Revolution. Specifically, the document allows Samuel T. Bailey to recover any funds due from the Empire of France as indemnity to the heirs of John Baptiste Magnan as one of the sufferers of the revolution of St. Domingo, commonly called the St. Domingo Indemnity, when white plantation owners were expelled from the country.
A content-rich archive documenting Samuel T. Bailey's travels in Europe as a young man and his later life as a lawyer-planter in Reconstruction Georgia following the Civil War, with much to mine for a variety of scholars. (Inventory #: 5798)
The earliest material authored by Bailey here resides in a pair of travel journals recording his adventures in Europe on a truncated version of the Grand Tour in 1839 (a date which is not enumerated in the journal but confirmed in his passport, also present here). Samuel T. Bailey was forty-three years old when he traveled to Great Britain and Europe, where he records his thoughts and observations on several major European cities. Though his handwriting is somewhat difficult to read with speed, Bailey's journals constitute a novel-length record of his personal observations in the major port towns and capital cities of England, France, and Italy. Bailey’s journal was apparently kept with an eye for posterity, to being read by others, given his flair for detail and an interesting and rather learned prose style. The journal opens: "As my purpose was to study the people of Europe, their institutions, their lands & countries, the land on which they live -- the Beast & Birds with which they are familiar, their laws by which they are governed, their want of land by which they are oppressed -- the various systems of Religion by which they are moved & all that distinguishes Europe from America in Laws, Governments, Religion, mode of life, thought & action I shall not dwell on the facetious scene of a sea voyage too often & too well described by other travellers.... I shall therefore begin when I first landed in Europe...." His first landing was made at Portsmouth, England, where he observed the port and its castles, "strongly fortified on every side," and his observations of the British Navy: "It is certainly a great & salutary lesson especially to an American to survey the British Navy & dockyards & more especially this one -- it gives one a more impressive sentiment of the physical & moral power of Great Britain than can be derived or felt by any other means."
Bailey continues to provide observations and descriptions on a wide variety of subjects during his time in England. He expounds on English trees, the difficulty of speaking with English people (which he attributes to "the arrogant pride of the aristocracy & the overgrown wealth of their commercial men"), the prevalence of beggars and the state of the poor, the weakness of Queen Victoria ("she is a female & a weak one & is just as fit to govern an Empire as one thousand of her sex"), the state of freedoms of speech and press in the country, the events of Parliament upon a personal visit (where he was very unimpressed after witnessing Sir Robert Peel deliver a speech and also observes a debate on a bill to authorize British ships to seize Portuguese slave ships), and much more in his narrative, often contextualizing contemporary English life with discussions of historical figures and events.
From England, Bailey takes a steamship to Boulogne-sur-Mer on the northern coast of France, and makes his way to Paris. He provides a long and detailed description of Paris over the course of several pages, often noting the effects of the Revolution of 1830 on the city, and again visits the legislative body of the country he is visiting, in this case the Chamber of Peers. Bailey then travels by train to several cities in France before ending his French adventures in Marseilles. This marks the conclusion of the first volume of Bailey's diary.
The second volume of Bailey's diary wholly takes place in Italy, where he has made his way first to Genoa. He again provides a long and detailed assessment of the city before moving on to other notable Italian towns, mainly Naples and Rome, where he concludes the diary's second volume with a deep discussion of Roman history and law. In each location, Bailey describes the towns, culture, religion, forms of government, important historical accounts, and other information. The overall length of Bailey's travel diary precludes digging deeply into his observations in each place, but suffice to say that his writings bear fruit upon deeper reading. This massive compilation of first-hand observations and reflections by a lawyer from Georgia traveling through Great Britain and continental Europe in 1839 is a wonderful primary source. It merits further study and would be a worthwhile project for a dissertation and/or book by a historian.
The other chief feature of the present archive lies in twenty autograph letters, signed, by Bailey (one by his wife), written to his son, George W. Bailey during the early postwar years and early Reconstruction (1865-1870). Bailey writes mostly from Macon to his son George, who was living in various locations, including Quincy and Chicago, Illinois, and New York. Bailey's early few letters emanate from the northeast, but most of his letters were sent once he returned to Macon. Notably, Bailey's letters describe conditions in Georgia after the war and the problems the white planter class was experiencing at the hands of northern overseers as a result of Reconstruction. Some of his views on slavery are quite eye-opening, but not surprising considering his place as a southern planter. He also writes much on farm management, offering guidance and support for his son who seems to want to follow his father into the farming life. The letters provide an interesting first-hand look at life in Georgia during the years immediately following the Civil War. A handful of excerpts from the letters offer a peek into their content and flavor.
July 17, 1865. Charlestown, N.H.: "I hear nothing from Georgia only that they are in much distress. I hope things will change there. Crops here are unusually fine. David has a great crop on our farm -- you let him have it too cheap but he is a good farmer & takes better care than a shabby one would.... I say we would be glad if they would come and see us. The war has made me too poor to travel." This letter was sent accompanied by another letter to George from his mother, which concerns mostly family news and the farm.
Nov. 13, 1865. Macon, Ga. Here, Bailey discusses agriculture in New England versus the West, noting the superiority of the soil but also that "for a poor young man the West offers vast advantages over New England." He mentions his other sons "are at work on my farm in upper Georgia and I hope are doing well but I fear not for they have been raised with slaves and not to work." Bailey continues: "But there is no better land in all Illinois than the land they work & then the air & water is equal to New England, but all this country has been ruined twice -- first by bringing slaves into it from Africa & secondly by setting them free & having them amongst us. They won’t work enough to raise anything for export & then freedom to Africans meant free to become barbarians morally & physically. Nothing but slavery has ever lifted the Africans out of barbarism or ever will. God says in the Bible 'The Ethiopian cannot change his skin nor the Leopard his spots' any more than the sinner can his heart.... The Negroes of the South are fast indicating they are manifesting the most disgusting licentious and brutal passions & I have no doubt they will have to be exterminated & until this is done free white laborers of both sexes will never emigrate to the South so that for this generation there be no prosperity in the Southern country."
December 2, 1865. Macon, Ga.: "I approve of you doing all you can to make money honestly but would by no means advise you to follow the painter's trade for by inhaling the poison of the lead would shorten your life. I suppose you can follow it a few months with impunity but I should advise you to go to farming or some other healthier employment in the Spring. You say you wish to get money enough to buy you a small farm in New England. You have already a deed to one third of my farm in Charlestown which I intend you shall keep so long as you are so good a boy as you always have been."
September 29, 1866. Macon, Ga.: "The present year has been uncommonly disastrous to the farmer in Georgia. The drought has nearly ruined their crops & Sherman's Army about ruined everything else. The people of the South from being the most prosperous & happy are now the poorest & most miserable people in the world."
August 19, 1867. South Charlestown, N.H. Bailey assesses the sad state of the crops at his Charlestown farm, and comments on the challenging conditions in Reconstruction Georgia, as well: "They are having a terrible hard time in Georgia. More cruel despotism never cursed any people."
December 2, 1867. Macon, Ga.: "I have a dizziness in my head which is aggravated when I study hard so that I fear I cannot practice Law any more.... The world never witnessed more distress than is now overwhelming the Southern people by the actions of a tyrannical Congress." At this point, George's mother adds her portion of the letter. She informs George she is teaching and trying to take in "plain sewing" but "everyone is doing their own in these hard times."
February 24, 1868. Macon, Ga.: "We got your dear letter yesterday & was very glad to hear from you as we ever are but are sorry to see that you are so deceived by the infamous falsehoods of the creatures calling themselves Republicans. You say the South ought to accept the new constitutions that are making for them so as to help elect the next president & defeat Grant & the Radicals. My dear son this proves you know nothing of our enslaved condition. These constitutions are made by the negros & whites that are meaner than negroes & disenfranchise all the virtuous white citizens who are not allowed to vote so that the constitutions are made to suit the Radical Congress that orders them made under the orders & supervision of soldiers of the regular army & if a constitution should be made not putting the negroes above the whites it will inevitably be rejected by Congress so that under these constitutions the South is bound to vote for the Radical candidate for the next president & it was for this purpose alone that the Radicals ordered these negro constitutions to be made so as to help them to elect their candidate for the next presidency. For they know they will be beat in a fair fight with the Northern Democrats alone. Yes my son depend on it, those vile traitors are forging chains for the North as well as the South. They are fixing it so as to perpetuate the power of their party by enabling the southern negros to hold the balance of power & turn the scale in their favor in any contested election. They well know that if the South was admitted into the Union & allowed to vote like freemen the whites would by vast majorities vote with the northern Democrats & to prevent this they are putting negros over us! My dear son I need not ask you if we should consent to go into any Union under a constitution that makes our former slaves supreme over us! As to the policy of doing this so as to invite foreign emigration to help develop the country -- it would have a directly contrary effect for respectable, virtuous whites [who] are not going to settle in any country built & controlled by negros. Yes yes my son never never consent to self-degradation. Better [to] die like Romans rather & hope for a reward at the Resurrection." In his last paragraph, Bailey implores his son to read the Bible for guidance. Again in this letter, Mrs. Bailey adds a page of her own correspondence, which reads, in part: "Money is scarce & it is useless to sell goods on credit for no one thinks of paying debts if they can help it, consequently trade of any kind is very dull & it is an unfavorable time to get into a new business."
May 11, 1868. Macon, Ga.: "We are suffering very hard times now. The Radicals have put us under the negros.... You can have no idea how hard the times are since the war & all the negroes are free."
December 7, 1868. Macon, Ga.: "I now write to urge you to stick to farming, & be steady at it. Do not get in an unsteady, fickle habit going from business to another -- steady & contented work at one thing will make anybody rich after a while -- farming is hard work, but well followed. It always pays & it is an honest business & is a great recommendation. Pardon me my dear son for telling you are too much given to change -- you have been with jobs so long that you have got out of the habit of hard work. You will have to buckle down to it again & not think to live without work. Not one in a thousand can succeed at merchandise & besides it is very apt to lead those that follow it into dishonest habits & thereby lose their own souls. Above all things preserve your integrity & avoid lying & all dishonest practices & profane swearing so that when you come to die as you must in a few years you will not be afraid to meet your God."
January 4, 1870. Macon, Ga.: "I got Brock’s speech you sent me. It is very affable if we were not now having the worst Despotism the world ever saw. Such a speech would tend to check those bullies like the idle wind to such Tyrants."
In addition to Bailey's travel journal and the letters to his son during Reconstruction, the archive contains a few additional personal papers belonging to Bailey. Chief among these is his passport, issued for his 1839 Grand Tour. The passport is contained in a green leather wallet-style case with Bailey's name stamped in gilt on the front flap. Numbering about thirty pages, the passport contains ink stamps from numerous countries, and a handwritten list of entry points indicating Bailey visited France (Marseilles & Paris), Belgium (Brussells), Switzerland, Bavaria, Sardinia, and Italy (Genoa, Naples, Portella, Radicofani, Terracina, Rome, Acquapendente, Tuscany, and Florence). Laid in is a document (visa?) issued by the U.S. Legation in Great Britain for travel to France. The collection also includes a rather roughly-preserved quarter-plate ambrotype purporting to feature Samuel Bailey, as well as a few other personal papers. The latter includes a few letters by Bailey's father-in-law Judge C.B. Strong, written between 1833 and 1850, and power-of-attorney document from the state of Georgia involving repercussions from the Haitian Revolution. Specifically, the document allows Samuel T. Bailey to recover any funds due from the Empire of France as indemnity to the heirs of John Baptiste Magnan as one of the sufferers of the revolution of St. Domingo, commonly called the St. Domingo Indemnity, when white plantation owners were expelled from the country.
A content-rich archive documenting Samuel T. Bailey's travels in Europe as a young man and his later life as a lawyer-planter in Reconstruction Georgia following the Civil War, with much to mine for a variety of scholars. (Inventory #: 5798)
(203) 479-2507
