Benjamin H. Bailey

Bailey was born in Bolton, Massachusetts on July 5, 1829 to Holloway and Lucy Sawyer Bailey.[2] He grew up in Northborough, Massachusetts on his father's farm before attending Bridgewater Normal College, Leicester Academy, and Harvard College, where he graduated in 1854.[2]

Then followed a few years of teaching at Chicopee High School and in Providence.[2] He studied law and then was graduated from Harvard Divinity School in 1860.[2] While living in Dedham he met his wife, Emily F. Sampson, and they married on June 1, 1864.[2][1][lower-alpha 1] They had five children, three of whom died before he did.[2]

He spent the last six years of his life in retirement in Jamaica Plain, Massachusetts.[2] He is buried in Brookdale Cemetery.[1]

Bailey served at the First Church and Parish in Dedham from 1861 to 1867.[3][2] In Dedham, he presided over the funeral of his predecessor, Alvan Lamson[4] and led the service at the 250th anniversary of the church's gathering in 1888 where he delivered an historical discourse.[5]

In 1867, he was called to Portland, Maine where he remained for five years.[2] He then served in Marblehead, Massachusetts beginning in 1872.[2][6] A twelve years pastorate there was followed by a slightly longer one at Malden, Massachusetts from 1884 to 1897.[2] For six years, he served on the Malden School Committee.[2] He then ministered in Westford, Massachusetts.[7][2] While there, he was a member of The Grange.[2]

Beginning in Marblehead, he began teaching as well.[2] Boys would either lodge with his family and study under him, or be taught as day students.[2]

• Smith, Frank (1936). A History of Dedham, Massachusetts. Transcript Press, Incorporated. Retrieved July 18, 2019.