A native of the steel-famed city of Sheffield, England, cutler and swordsmith John Bailey, Esq., was baptized in Trinity Parish, to which St. Paul's Chapel belongs. His marriage to the former Ann Brickstock also took place in Trinity, and at least two children, Jane and James Bailey, were born to the couple. He had operated a shop in nearby Maiden Lane, but after the city fell to the British during the Revolutionary War, he took his family to Fishkill, NY. During the Continental Army's encampment at Fishkill, Bailey forged a sword for the leader of the American forces which came to be known as the "George Washington Battle Sword", now in the collection of the Smithsonian Institution in Washington, DC. By the time of his death at age 78, he had lived to see the young American nation win its independence from Great Britain during the Revolutionary War, as well as retain it during its second great fight with Britain, the War of 1812.
The inscription (see below) on his eroded marble headstone, now illegible, is preserved in the Trinity archives, which give conflicting information as to his age at death. Of the two figures, 78 and 48, the former seems more likely, as an established craftsman and shop owner at the time of the Revolutionary War would not have been a youth in his teens. The bronze plaque at his gravesite was placed there by the New Netherland Chapter of the D.A.R.
The inscription (see below) on his eroded marble headstone, now illegible, is preserved in the Trinity archives, which give conflicting information as to his age at death. Of the two figures, 78 and 48, the former seems more likely, as an established craftsman and shop owner at the time of the Revolutionary War would not have been a youth in his teens. The bronze plaque at his gravesite was placed there by the New Netherland Chapter of the D.A.R.
A native of the steel-famed city of Sheffield, England, cutler and swordsmith John Bailey, Esq., was baptized in Trinity Parish, to which St. Paul's Chapel belongs. His marriage to the former Ann Brickstock also took place in Trinity, and at least two children, Jane and James Bailey, were born to the couple. He had operated a shop in nearby Maiden Lane, but after the city fell to the British during the Revolutionary War, he took his family to Fishkill, NY. During the Continental Army's encampment at Fishkill, Bailey forged a sword for the leader of the American forces which came to be known as the "George Washington Battle Sword", now in the collection of the Smithsonian Institution in Washington, DC. By the time of his death at age 78, he had lived to see the young American nation win its independence from Great Britain during the Revolutionary War, as well as retain it during its second great fight with Britain, the War of 1812.
The inscription (see below) on his eroded marble headstone, now illegible, is preserved in the Trinity archives, which give conflicting information as to his age at death. Of the two figures, 78 and 48, the former seems more likely, as an established craftsman and shop owner at the time of the Revolutionary War would not have been a youth in his teens. The bronze plaque at his gravesite was placed there by the New Netherland Chapter of the D.A.R.
The inscription (see below) on his eroded marble headstone, now illegible, is preserved in the Trinity archives, which give conflicting information as to his age at death. Of the two figures, 78 and 48, the former seems more likely, as an established craftsman and shop owner at the time of the Revolutionary War would not have been a youth in his teens. The bronze plaque at his gravesite was placed there by the New Netherland Chapter of the D.A.R.
Inscription
"In Memory of John Bailey, who deaprted this life 22nd January 1815, Aged 78 years"
Family Members
Children
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