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WEST VIRGINIA BAILEYS
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ANCESTRY DOCUMENTS BAILEY ANCESTRY FAMILY NEWS FREEDA SLOOP MEMORIAL
MEMORIAL PAGE PHOTO GALLERY WW SLOOP TRIBUTE WV CEMETERIES
First of all, I must tell you a little history of our names. Some had nicknames due to being named after relatives, as follows: Tonnie Eugene, was called Buddy, Ralph Daniel was called Danny, Edith Ann was called Edie, and Shelby Mae was called Pebbles, due to the fact that when she was born, she had enough hair to put a bow in, so the hospital staff called her that after the old Flintstone cartoon.
My family came to Ohio from West Virginia in the late 1950's and early 1960's, mainly trying to find work. Mom and Dad made numerous trips to and from the hills, simply because Pearl, Edith and Ralph were born in West Virginia, and the rest of us were born in Ohio.
Times were hard in those days, and my father was a heavy drinker. Stories have
been told that Freeda had to run around town to find him, usually in the local
bar or tavern just to get him to come home. In his defense, I think I would have
been a drunk too, just to put up with all the children. Most of us grew up on
the west side of Columbus, Ohio, known as "Franklinton" or "The Bottoms".
According to Danny, we lived on Yale Avenue first, then we moved to 1073
Cable Avenue (see picture). The house is still there as of 2011. Freeda's Aunt
and Uncle, Edith Edna and James Leonard Hammonds lived in a house on the back of
the lot. I have been told that Aunt Edna took good care of me and treated me
like a prince, always dressing me up and ironing and starching my clothes. One
thing I do remember is Buddy and Danny got in trouble for breaking into
semi-trucks and drinking cough syrup they stole. I don't know how much trouble
they got into but I am sure it wasn't good. I remember going to Chicago Avenue
School for awhile. Our family was separated for a while because Dad was
always drinking and Mom couldn't take care of all of us on her own. Most of his
were sent to live with relatives, for periods of time. The only one
that never had to go was Buddy, because he was Tonnie and Freeda's favorite. Danny didn't
leave much either, but he did spend some time with Tonnie's sister, Midge and
her husband, Dean Steele. Pearl lived with Mom's aunt and Uncle, Rachel and
Arnold Kidd in Charleston, West Virginia in a little house on Bench Road way up on a hill. The
house was built on stilts and you had to go to the outhouse down the hill. This
was until the 1970's. They finally got indoor plumbing in the 1970's, and I can
remember taking a bath in an old cast iron tub. When you sat in it, you felt like
you were going downhill in it. I was always afraid it would go through the wall
and down the hill with you in it. I remember when Aunt Rae, as we called her,
had her gallstones removed, she took them home in a jar and displayed them on
her mantle for the whole world to see. Aunt Rae could make the best biscuits for
breakfast. I have never seen anyone make them like her, although many have
tried. She would get up every morning and make Uncle Arnold a big breakfast
before he went off to work. They were god fearing people and were married over
fifty years before Uncle Arnold passed away. They never had any children but
they had each other and that was all that mattered. Aunt Rae moved to Columbus,
after Uncle Arnold passed and lived with her niece, Freeda, for awhile, then she
moved in with her Great niece Pearl. They eventually moved to Rockbridge, Ohio
where Aunt Rae passed away at home.
Pearl Sue married several times, first to Kenneth Lyons Cox in West Virginia, then to James Eugene Estep in Las Vegas, Nevada and finally to Glenn Frances Xavier Butler, JR. Glenn and Pearl were married on March 3, 1984 in Columbus, Ohio. They lived in Columbus, on the Hilltop, for several years, then bought a house in Rockbridge, Ohio with eight acres on State Route 678. They separated in 2002, and Glenn committed suicide at their home. Pearl moved back to Columbus, Ohio after Glenn's death.
Shelby Mae stayed with Tonnie's sister, Jenny and her family in Bellaire, Ohio for a while. They lived up on a hill in Belmont County. They had five kids, so Shelby had plenty of company. Their oldest son was killed in a car accident at the age of 22. The others still live in the Belmont county area.
Ralph Daniel stayed at Tonnie's sister, Midge's house for some time. They lived in Westerville, Ohio, a suburb of Columbus. We used to visit Midge and Dean alot when we were younger. They lived on Africa road for awhile, then they got a house on Sunbury Road that sat on the banks of Hoover Reservoir. We could go right out the back door and go fishing. Midge, like most of my Bailey relations, was a heavy drinker. But, they lived in Delaware County, which at the time was a dry county, which meant they did not sell alcohol. So, Dean would have to drive down to Franklin County to buy their beer. Dean and Midge had so many dogs, that you couldn't stand to go in the house for all the noise and smell. Dean was the owner of The Columbus Door Closer Company for many years, until he let his two sons get involved in the business and they drove it into bankruptcy. They eventually moved to Martinsburg, Ohio where Dean passed away. He is buried there in the local cemetery in an unmarked grave. Midge stayed by herself for a long time until she could not take care of herself. Her brother, Glenn purchased her house and fixed it up to standards, so Midge could remain there. Eventually she had to be put into a nursing facility in St. Clairsville, Ohio where she passed away. She is buried in the Mt. Zion cemetery in Belmont County, Ohio.
Edith Ann lived in Cleveland, Ohio with Tonnie's half sister, Gypsy Lucille and her husband, Aubrey Roy Fisher. It was said that Aubrey was Edith's real father, but no one alive knows for sure. Freeda let the Fishers keep Edith rather then go through the hassle with them, she had enough to handle with the other children anyways. I have no idea why, but Edith has never really been part of the rest of the family. Edith still lives in Cleveland with her life partner. They have been together for over twenty five years.
I have never really understood why we were all separated from time to time. Dad spent time in the penitentiary when we were young, maybe that is why. Who really knows. But, I assume it was for the best interest for all of us. Tonnie did not want to be a father. All he wanted to do was get drunk. I can't remember a good moment with him. He tried to set the house on Cable Avenue on fire once, while we were in it. I don't know why and don't really care why, all I know is if you have children you should be man, or woman enough to raise them properly, instead of passing on your responsibility to someone else. Nonetheless, we all were better off for it. Mom met a wonderful man who raised us as his own. While we lived on Cable Avenue, Mom met a man named Welsh Sloop at a Spur gas station on the corner of Glenwood Avenue and West Broad Street. We called him Bill. They started to dating and fell in love. For as long as I can remember Bill took care of us. He was the only DAD, I really knew. He used to take us on fishing trips and sightseeing all over Ohio. We went to places like The Sorrowful Mothers Shrine, The Blue Hole, Lake Erie, Presidential monuments and others too numerous to mention. I think that is why I like history so much today. Even today, I can still tell you about things I learned back then. It's kind of funny though, today when you ask the young kids about those things they have no clue what your talking about. Life is so fast paced, with Nintendo games, computers, and cellular phones that kids aren't interested in those things anymore.
Eventually, Bill and Mom bought a house in New Rome, Ohio, on Buena Vista Drive. Mom was so happy to move there. We had a huge back yard. the neighborhood kids always came over to play in our yard. That is when all of our lives started to change. Our teenage years changed everything. Pearl moved back here from Charleston. The 1970's were pretty wild for all of our family. As we got older, we started running around with friends and never were very close. we kind of went our separate ways.
In the early 1980's most of us met our spouse's, got married and moved out on our own. We all still live in the Central Ohio area and most of us haven't moved away long. Ralph married and divorced. Tonnie married his high school sweetheart and divorced. He is living on disability due to a stroke he had. Pearl married 3 times, but now she is single. She works as a custodian for the city schools. Shelby got married and divorced. She has two kids and works for Dish Network. Edith still lives in Cleveland with her partner. I have been married for 25 years now and live in Galloway, Ohio.
The younger Baileys are doing well and living in Columbus, Ohio with the exception of Joseph Eugene, whom lives in Newark, Ohio.
ANCESTRY DOCUMENTS BAILEY ANCESTRY FAMILY NEWS FREEDA SLOOP MEMORIAL
MEMORIAL PAGE PHOTO GALLERY WW SLOOP TRIBUTE WV CEMETERIES