Willis Joshua Bailey (October 12, 1854 – May 19, 1932) was an American politician and Republican

United States Representative The United States House of Representatives, often referred to as the House of Representatives, the U.S. House, or simply the House, is the lower chamber of the United States Congress, with the Senate being the upper chamber. Together they ...

from

Kansas Kansas () is a state in the Midwestern United States. Its capital is Topeka, and its largest city is Wichita. Kansas is a landlocked state bordered by Nebraska to the north; Missouri to the east; Oklahoma to the south; and Colorado to the ...

and the

16th 16 (sixteen) is the natural number following 15 and preceding 17. 16 is a composite number, and a square number, being 42 = 4 × 4. It is the smallest number with exactly five divisors, its proper divisors being , , and . In English speech, ...

Governor of Kansas A governor is an administrative leader and head of a polity or political region, ranking under the head of state and in some cases, such as governors-general, as the head of state's official representative. Depending on the type of political r ...

. Born in

Carroll County, Illinois Carroll County is a county located in the U.S. state of Illinois. As of the 2010 census, the population was 15,387. Its county seat is Mount Carroll. History Carroll County was formed in 1839 out of Jo Daviess County. The county is named for ...

, Bailey attended the

common school A common school was a public school in the United States during the 19th century. Horace Mann (1796–1859) was a strong advocate for public education and the common school. In 1837, the state of Massachusetts appointed Mann as the first secretary o ...

s, Mount Carroll High School, and the

University of Illinois The University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign (U of I, Illinois, University of Illinois, or UIUC) is a public land-grant research university in Illinois in the twin cities of Champaign and Urbana. It is the flagship institution of the University ...

. He married Ida B. Weede on June 9, 1903, and had two stepchildren. Bailey moved to

Nemaha County, Kansas Nemaha County (standard abbreviation: NM) is a county located in the northeastern part of the U.S. state of Kansas. As of the 2020 census, the county population was 10,273. The county seat is Seneca. History Early history For many millennia ...

, in 1879, and became a successful farmer, rancher, and banker. He and his father founded the town of

Baileyville, Kansas Baileyville is an unincorporated community in western Nemaha County, Kansas, United States. As of the 2020 census, the population of the community and nearby areas was 182. It is located six miles west of Seneca on U.S. Route 36. History The ...

in 1880. He served as member of the

Kansas House of Representatives The Kansas House of Representatives is the lower house of the legislature of the U.S. state of Kansas. Composed of 125 state representatives from districts with roughly equal populations of at least 19,000, its members are responsible for craftin ...

from 1888 to 1890. He was president of the Republican State League in 1893. He served as member of the Kansas State Board of Agriculture from 1895 to 1899. Bailey was elected as a

Republican Republican can refer to: Political ideology * An advocate of a republic, a type of government that is not a monarchy or dictatorship, and is usually associated with the rule of law. ** Republicanism, the ideology in support of republics or agains ...

to the

Fifty-sixth Congress The 56th United States Congress was a meeting of the legislative branch of the United States federal government, composed of the United States Senate and the United States House of Representatives. It met in Washington, D.C. from March 4, 1899, ...

(March 4, 1899 – March 3, 1901). He was not a candidate for renomination in 1900 to the

Fifty-seventh Congress The 57th United States Congress was a meeting of the legislative branch of the United States federal government, composed of the United States Senate and the United States House of Representatives. It met in Washington, DC from March 4, 1901, to ...

. In 1902 Bailey won the Republican gubernatorial nomination and the general election and served as Governor of Kansas from 1903 to 1905. During his tenure, construction on the state capitol was completed, railroad commissioners and the office of state printer became elective positions, and a law banning gambling devices was sanctioned. Bailey moved to

Atchison, Kansas Atchison is a city and county seat of Atchison County, Kansas, United States, along the Missouri River. As of the 2020 census, the population of the city was 10,885. The city is named in honor of US Senator David Rice Atchison from Missouri an ...

, in 1907 and engaged in the banking business. He was elected a director of the

Federal Reserve Bank A Federal Reserve Bank is a regional bank of the Federal Reserve System, the central banking system of the United States. There are twelve in total, one for each of the twelve Federal Reserve Districts that were created by the Federal Reserve A ...

Kansas City, Missouri Kansas City (abbreviated KC or KCMO) is the largest city in Missouri by population and area. As of the 2020 census, the city had a population of 508,090 in 2020, making it the 36th most-populous city in the United States. It is the central ...

, in 1914, and then governor of the bank in 1922, and served until his death. Bailey died in

Mission Hills, Kansas Mission Hills is a city in Johnson County, Kansas, United States, and part of the Kansas City Metropolitan Area. As of the 2020 census, the population of the city was 3,594. The east city limits is the Kansas-Missouri state line at State Line ...

, May 19, 1932. He is interred at Mount Vernon Cemetery,

References

External links

*
National Governors AssociationPublications concerning Kansas Governor Bailey's administration available via the KGI Online Library
, - , - , - {{DEFAULTSORT:Bailey, Willis J. 1854 births 1932 deaths American bankers Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City presidents Republican Party governors of Kansas Republican Party members of the Kansas House of Representatives People from Atchison, Kansas People from Carroll County, Illinois People from Nemaha County, Kansas Republican Party members of the United States House of Representatives from Kansas University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign alumni