Re: Robert Bailie, Ireland, circa 1790
-
In reply to:
Re: Robert Bailie, Ireland, circa 1790
12/12/99
"The son of Sir William Baliol was said to be Sir William Baillie of Hoprig who,according to many historians, was the first Baillie whose name appears in known records. The first appearance was as a juror in a 1311 (or 1312) inquest regarding forfeit lands in Lothian. In 1315 he was a witness to a charter by John de Graham, Lord of Albecorn. He was knighted in 1357 & received a royal charter to the Barony of Lamington (sometimes called Lambiston).
The Bailies of Ireland were said to originate when a son of the Lamington, Lanarkshire line emigrated & dropped an "L"
in the spelling of his name."
When the Bailies, Baillies, and Bailey's came to America, the name was recorded in many different versions.This was due to the fact that many of the earliest Bailies, Baileys, Bayleys, etc., were not literate.When they gave their name to a record keeping official they really didn't know how their name should be spelled.So, the record keeper just wrote it down phonetically.One can imagine the different spellings or variations, such as -- Baily, Baley, Bayly, Bayley, Bailie, Baillie, Baly, Bayless, Bailess and many others.So, when doing research one shouldn't rule out a person just because his or her last name doesn't exactly match one's perceived spelling of the surname.