Bailey Anderson
These are excerpts from Daughters of Republic of Texas - Vol I, also sent by Ken.Bailey Anderson I, was born in Virginia in 1753 and died in Texas in 1840. He came to Indiana by rowboat from Kentucky around 1803. He was the first known white man in Warrick County, arriving with a gun for food and protection from wild animals and an ax for clearing. He built a log cabin in this wilderness and made a hammock in a large tree. His task completed, he returned to Kentucky for his family and friends. This tree is recorded in history as "Bailey's Roost." The settlement, located about two miles from Newburgh, was named "Darlington," his pet name for his wife, Mary Wyatt. The first and continued government of the area was conducted in Bailey's cabin. He made friends with the Indians, learning their language, and became a spy to the unfriendly, thus saving many from brutal deaths.
Other people came and after a time, disputes arose, causing him to seek new territory in Texas and form a wagon train. His beloved Darlin died on the trail. A large tree was made into a coffin and Bailey mourned for one month before proceeding to Texas.
Some of the family remained in Indiana, including his son, Pinckney. His daughter, Elizabeth, married Ratliff Boone. Bailey's close political friend, whom the Warrick County seat, Booneville, was named after. Ratliff was Indiana's first lieutenant governor and first governor.
Evansville, one of Indiana's large citirs, attracted new settlers. Darlington ceased to exist, but Alcoa's largest aluminum plant is located there and has a plaque placing "Bailey's Roost."
Captain Bailey Anderson Jr. born Feb 25, 1788, in south Carolina, was one of 11 children of Bailey and Mary (Wyatt) Anderson. He received an education, but learned law from his father - a representative in the Kentucky legislature.
Bailey Jr. marries June 4, 1811, in Warren County, KY, to Elizabeth, born July 13, 1790 in South Carolina (daughter of Samuel and Lucy McFadden). They had 11 children.
He enlisted in the War of 1812, Sept. 11, 1812, at Vincennes as a private in Capt. Thomas Spencer's 4th Indiana Militia as a Mounted Rifleman. He commanded a company, from San Augustine, TX, at the battle of Nacogdoches in 1832, offering the terms of surrender to Col. Piedras. His most heroic service was at the siege of Bexar Dec. 1835 - Capt. Anderson, with 30 picked men, captured Col. Don Antonio Navarro's house in the heart of San Antonio.
He was Alcalde of Ayish Bayou District, June 5, 1824, and trustee of Marshall University in Harrison County, 1842.
They moved from Warrick County Indiana to San Augustine, TX, arriving Jan. 1, 1819; Indian Territory - Red River County in 1819; back to San Augustine in 1821; Harrison County in 1837; and McLennan County in 1853. He died July 14, 1865, and Elizabeth died Dec. 4, 1866.