The proprietor of the Ottawa livery, feed and sale stable, J. B. Bailey is one of the native sons of LaSalle county, and has spent his whole life within its boundaries. He is well and favorably known, not only in Ottawa, but in various parts of the county, and bears an excellent reputation as a business man and worthy citizen.
The father of the above-named gentleman was a native of Ireland, born in April, 1812; but he left the land of his birth when he was a youth of about sixteen years, and in 1828 sailed for America, the land of promise. For some time he lived in Oswego, New York, after which he proceeded to Illinois. Arriving in this state in 1835, he settled in LaSalle county, and years afterward he took up his residence in Ottawa. In 1836 Mr. Bailey served on the committee which built the first Catholic church erected in Ottawa.
J. B. Bailey was born in 1854, during the period that his parents resided in LaSalle county, and when he had reached a suitable age he commenced attending the common schools. Industry and economy were among the lessons which he thoroughly mastered in his youth, and these principles carried out in his later life were the foundations of his present prosperity. Many years ago he embarked in the livery business, and within his spacious stables can be found a large assortment of horses and vehicles, including carriages, both single and double, hacks, picnic wagons, etc. In political matters Mr. Bailey is a Democrat, and fraternally he is associated with the Woodmen of America.
When he was a young man of about twenty-three years, in 1877, Mr. Bailey married Miss Catherine A. O'Conner. This estimable couple have a very nice family, comprising five sons and three daughters, whose names, m the order of birth, are as follows: Christopher R., Elmer E., James B., Mary L., Catherine E., Alice Estella, William Francis, and Edmund Joseph Robert.
Extracted by Norma Hass from Biographical and Genealogical Record of LaSalle County, Illinois published in 1900, volume 1, pages 190-191.
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