John Melville Bayless
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Happy 164th Birthday John Melville Bayless! John Melville Bayless was born December 19, 1851, in Greene County, Tennessee, the second son of Daniel Deakins and Sarah Brunner Bayless. When he was about one year old, John and his family left Tennessee (Nov. 8, 1852) floating down the Tennessee River to Cairo, Illinois. From there they traveled along the Mississippi River and up the White River to Arkansas where John’s father worked on various farms. Earning enough to buy his own farm, the family settled in Barry County, Missouri (September 1857). When John came of age, he returned to Tennessee for college attending Cane Creek Academy first, then Hiwassee College where his uncle, Dr. John Hamilton Brunner, was president. Three years later, after graduation (1875, A.B. degree), John Bayless returned to Barry County, Missouri, and settled in Cassville. There he taught school and planned to settle down. He chose to wed Frances Arabella McCary June 10, 1877, and to them was born, Frances Josephine. Sadly, Frances Arabella died, leaving an infant daughter and widowed John Bayless. Two years later John wed Mary Melissa Stubblefield (May 22, 1879) and moved into the home that is still standing on West Ninth and Townsend streets, Cassville. To them were born Grace (who died in infancy), Guy Orlando (1881), Earl Grantham (1883), Bland Brunner (1885), Ross Raymond (1890), Bourke Hamilton (1893) and Wayne Winton (1895). John worked hard to provide for the needs of his growing family. He ran a mercantile in Cassville; established banks in Monett and Cassville, Missouri, and Sulphur and Claremore, Indian Territory. The Claremore Messenger describes him as, "one of the heaviest capitalists of the southwest…He has always taken a great interest in Claremore and many of the most substantial improvements of the town have been of his building." (1) He built the Cassville & Western and other railroads. He also built great buildings - the Barry Hotel in Cassville, the Bland and Artesian Hotel in Sulphur, Indian Territory; the Sequoyah Hotel, Windsor Opera House, and Athletic Association in Claremore, Indian Territory. He invested in land wherever he established his banks and like Solomon of Israel, every endeavor he touched turned to gold. As a gifted banker, builder, land developer, businessman and real estate agent, he became an extremely wealthy man. Again the Claremore Messenger states, " He is heavily interested at other points being principal owner of five banks, has 5000 acres of Freedman land in the Indian Territory, 5000 acres of Missouri land and is also owner of the Cassville & Western Railroad." (1) February 21, 1907, the Bayless's sold their family home in Cassville, Missouri, and planned to move to a beautiful mansion in Claremore, Indian Territory, that John started to build. Unfortunately, tragedy struck and John Bayless became ill from an appendicitis attack and died. (June 2, 1907). His family and many people across several cities mourned the death of this man who had done so much to "upbuild" the fledgling cities of the west. Though John Melville Bayless passed away and is buried in the Woodlawn Cemetery, Claremore, Oklahoma, his entrepreneur spirit and legacy live on through the preservation efforts of the Rogers County Historical Society who cares for and shares his magnificent home, the Belvidere Mansion, and his story. ~ by Christa Rice Journal of John Melville Bayless. Ancestors Unlimited Quarterly. Special Edition. Volume 11, Number 4. November 2000. Barry County Genealogical and Historical Society. Cassville, Mo. (1) Williamson, F. E., editor. The Claremore Messenger. (Claremore, Indian Terr.), Vol. 11, No. 20, Ed. 2 Friday, May 19, 1905, Newspaper, May 19, 1905; (http://gateway.okhistory.org/ark:/67531/metadc178054/ : accessed December 03, 2014) Oklahoma Historical Society The Gateway to Oklahoma History, http://gateway.okhistory.org/; crediting Oklahoma Historical Society, Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. http://www.claremoreprogress.com/…/article_c0e7c064-8116-5b… http://wc.rootsweb.com/cgi-bin/igm. cgi… https://sites.rootsweb.com/~mo…/barrycogen/bayless.htm Bayless-Campbell, Mary. "Bayless". The History of Rogers County, Oklahoma. Claremore College Foundation, Copyright 1979. Selection 32. Submitted by Louise Horner who shared Rogers County Historical Society's on Facebook, Barry County Places and Things Remembered |