Dr. William Worth Bailey
1839-1913

Feb 12, 1879 Western Independent Fort Smith News Record Sep 3, 1906 names mentioned: Black, Rogers (Physicians and Medicine in Crawford and Sebastian Counties, Ark. 1817-1976 by Amelia Martin) Dr. Bailey was a physician and surgeon born at Fort Gibson, Indian Territory, the son of Dr. Joseph Hayward and Mary A (Reed) Bailey. He was a charter member of the Arkansas Medical Society (1875) and was a charter member of the Sebastian County Medical Society in 1874 serving as president in 1876 and 1884. Dr W. W. Bailey was married to Miss Lillie Main, the only child of Dr. J. H. T. Main of Fort Smith. They had four children: J. Mayne Bailey, William Worth Bailey, Jr., Isabella, who married Ewell Black of Fort Smith and Katherine, who married J.J. Parker, son of Judge Isaac Parker. More extensive Bio is below the obit. Historical Review of Arkansas: Its Commerce, Industry and Modern ..., Volume 2 By Fay Hempstead DR. WILLIAM W. BAILEY. For nearly half a century William W. Bailey was engaged in the practice of medicine in Fort Smith and the years have told the story of a successful career due to the possession of innate talent and acquired ability along the line of one of the most important professions to which man may devote his energies,--the alleviation of pain and suffering and the restoration of health, which is man’s most cherished and priceless possession. This is an age of progress in all lines of achievement and Dr. Bailey kept abreast of the advancement that has revolutionized methods of medical and surgical practice, rendering the efforts of physicians of much more avail in warding off the inroads of disease than they were even at the time when he entered upon his professional career. Dr. William Worth Bailey was born at Fort Gibson, Indian Territory, now a part of the state of Oklahoma, on the 28th of November, 1839, and he is a son of Dr. Joseph H. and Mary A. (Reed) Bailey, both of whom claimed as the place of their nativity the state of New York. Dr. Joseph H. Bailey received excellent educational advantages in his youth and after preparing himself for the medical profession he served for a long period as surgeon in the United States army. In the early '30s, about the time the Cherokee Indians were settled in Indian Territory, he was assigned to duty as surgeon at Fort Gibson, that territory. Subsequently he was surgeon at Fort Smith, this state, when it was merely a military post, and he also served as army surgeon at various other posts, principally in the south. He was a man of keen intellect and broad humanitarianism and after a long career of distinctive helpfulness he returned to his old home in Putnam county, York, where he passed the closing years of his life and where his death occurred in 1879. Dr. Bailey, of this review, has lived practically his entire life thus far in Fort Smith, with the exception of a period of about fifteen years, during which he was receiving his education. After preliminary training in the common schools of Fort Smith he attended college at Edge Hill, New Jersey and at Newburg, New York. In 1859 he was matriculated in the medical department of the University of Michigan, in which celebrated institution he was graduated as a member of the class of 1861, duly receiving his degree of Doctor of Medicine. Graduating as he did, just at the inception of the Civil war, he showed his intrinsic loyalty to the cause of the Union by joining the Federal army in the capacity of surgeon, and he was assigned to duty with the First Missouri Cavalry. He was in General Steele's army when that distinguished commander entered and occupied the city of Little Rock, on the 10th of September, 1863, and he continued to serve in a medical capacity with the utmost faithfulness until the close of the war. In 1866 he returned to his old home town of Fort Smith, where he initiated the general practice of his profession and where he continued to be actively engaged in the same during the long intervening years. Aside from his professional work Dr. Bailey assumed charge of his father's interests in Fort Smith, the latter having acquired valuable real estate holdings during his early life in this place. Among other property Dr. Bailey is part owner of the Main hotel. Dr. Bailey has gained precedence as one of the able and representative practitioners of his section of the state and he built up and controlled a large practice in Fort Smith and the country normally tributary thereto. He is a valued and appreciative member of the Sebastian County Medical Society, of which he is the only honorary member and he is affiliated with other professional and social organizations of representative character. In politics he has ever been aligned as a staunch supporter of the cause of the Republican party and he has given most freely of his aid and influence in the furtherance of all measures and enterprises tending to enhance the general welfare of his home city and county. In the year 1857 was solemnized the marriage of Dr. Bailey to Miss Lillie Main, who was born and reared at Fort Smith, and who is a daughter of Dr. J. H. T. Main, who was long a friend and associate of the father of Dr. William Bailey. Dr. and Mrs. Bailey have four children, namely,–J. Mayne Bailey, William Worth Bailey, Jr., Isabella, who is now the wife of Ewell Black, of Fort Smith; and Katherine, who married J. J. Parker, of Fort Smith. Goodspeed History of Benton, Washington, Carroll, Madison, Crawford, & Sebastian Counties. W. W. Bailey, M. D., (William Worth) physician and surgeon at Fort Smith, Ark., was born in Fort Gibson, Cherokee Nation November 28, 1839, being the son of Joseph H. and Mary A. Bailey. The father was a native of the State of New York and was a surgeon in the United States Army. The Bailey family were relatives of John Quincy Adams, and on the father's side one of his aunts was an associate and friend of George Washington. Joseph Bailey was a physician, as was also his father, grandfather, and as are also his four sons. Reading, Conn., was owned and named after the Doctor's maternal great-grandfather. The female line on his mother's side were French Huguenots. Dr. W. W. Bailey took his degree of M. D. from Ann Arbor, Mich., in 1861, and during the late Civil War he was surgeon of the First Missouri Cavalry, and was also on Gen. Steel's staff, and surgeon of Gen. John M. Schofield's bodyguard (Gen. Schofield now commands the United States Army, serving in the capacity of surgeon until mustered out in September 1865. It was during this time that he gained such proficiency in surgery, which distinguishes him at the present day. He located at Fort Smith after the war and has been here ever since. He is one of the leading businessmen of the city, as well as the leading surgeon. He owns some of the best property in the city and has in course of erection one of the finest business houses on Garrison Avenue. He is a Republican in politics, and has been Master of Belle Point Masonic Lodge, Fort Smith. His father established the Masonic lodge at Fort Smith. Dr. W. W. Bailey was married to Miss Lillie Main, only child of Dr. Main, of Fort Smith. They have four children: Belle, William, Kate and John Main. Dr. J. H. Main, father of Mrs. Bailey, was born in Frederick County, Md., November 13, 1813; was graduated from Starling Medical College, Columbus, Ohio, in 1836, and from the University Medical College, New York, in 1858. He settled in Fort Smith between 1836 and 1840, and, except during short intervals, has been here ever since. He erected Hotel Main, which bears his name, and many other of the chief buildings of Fort Smith. Dr. Main was married, in Fort Smith, to Miss Isabella Armour, who was born in Pittsburgh, Penn., March 26, 1826.