| Life Story
|
Bessie (Owen) Baillie worked at the TKWM Co in Salem, Oregon. Her husband George T. Baillie and her sister Lizzie also worked at the mill. They were possibly there as early as 1896. Bessie worked alongside her sister Lizzie until 1920 when they moved to CA.
Bessie Owen was born on 25 Feb 1863, to Matthias “Matthew” Owen and Sarah (Cooper) Owen, in Lancashire, England. Her father died in 1867 when Bessie was four and her mother died in 1877 when Bessie was fourteen. Bessie had four sisters and a brother. One of her sister’s was Elizabeth “Lizzie” Owen who was 11 months younger than Bessie.
In their early 20’s the sisters left their siblings. From High Crompton, England they boarded a ship called “Catalina” and arrived in Boston, MA on or around the 7th of November 1887. Bessie’s USA Declaration of Intention described her with fair complexion, 5 ft. 2 in. tall, 110 lb. with brown hair and blue eyes.
The sisters were next to be found in Leicester, Massachusetts where they worked in a woolen mill. In 1895 Bessie married George Baillie who was from Scotland. They may have met at work; George was a wool sorter and Bessie was a weaver at the mill in Leicester. I would assume sister Lizzie was working there as well.
George T. Baillie filed his Declaration of Intention in Salem on 30 Nov 1896. George, Bessie and sister Lizzie had arrived in Salem, OR. No other relatives were found in Oregon so maybe they chose it for the mills that were in the area, or for the beauty of the area. George had health issues which could be another reason the trio came west.
By or before 1900 Bessie and Lizzie were weavers at the TKWM and George was a wool sorter. George and Bessie purchased a house on the corner of 19th and Lee streets, 2092 Lee. George passed away there on 22 Jul 1901 from stomach cancer. George and Bessie were only 39 years old when he died. No children came from this marriage.
In 1902 Bessie and Lizzie purchased property in the Capital Park addition in Salem. In 1903 Bessie purchased another lot in the Capital Park addition for $500. In 1905 Bessie purchased land in the Roberts addition for $2600. The sisters continued working as weavers at the TKWM and lived together. Lizzie married in 1907, but the marriage was brief, and she was once again living with her sister Bessie by 1909.
In 1917 the women employees of the Thomas Kay Woolen Mill sent a delegation of women weavers to appear before the Governor of Oregon in Portland. They were there to protest the efforts of the Welfare Commission to cut their hours. Bessie and her sister Lizzie were most assuredly at that protest. They were very independent and had no husbands to bring in wages, so this was very important to them.
Bessie and Lizzie continued to work at the mill until they put their home up for sale in April 1920. The 6-room house at 156 N. 13th street was listed for $4200. By June of that year Bessie was having a big auction sale! Her add in the newspaper listed all kinds of “High Class Furniture.”
Bessie and Lizzie packed up what they wanted and moved to Long Beach, California. They loved the area and purchased a property there, receiving the deed in April 1923 and would live out their lives at 625 E 11th St.
Bessie and Lizzie both worked as housekeepers for a private family in California until they retired. They were listed as servants in census records.
Bessie passed away at her home, 625 East Eleventh St at the age of 71, leaving her sister Lizzie and four other siblings in England. She died 9 Jan 1935; funeral services were conducted at the Patterson & McGuilkin Chapel. She was entombed at the Sunnyside Mausoleum.
Bessie’s sister Lizzie would live out her life at their East 11st St home. Lizzie passed away 7 Jan 1947 in a Los Alamitos sanitarium at the age of 81. She is also entombed at the Sunnyside Mausoleum, now called Forest Lawn Memorial Park in Long Beach, CA. The two sisters are together forever. |
| Salem City Directories (unless otherwise noted) |
1905 – Baillie Mrs Bessie, weaver TKWM Co, res Lee sw cor 19th –
(sister Lizzie Owens also listed as a weaver, bds Lee sw cor 19th )
1908 – Baillie Mrs Bessie, weaver TKWM Co, res 2092 Lee
1909 – Bailie Bessie, weaver Thomas Kay Woolen Mill Co
1913 – Baillie Mrs Bessie, weaver TKWM Co, res 156 N 13th
1915 – Baillie Bessie Mrs, weaver TKWM Co, res 156 N 13th
1917 – Baillie Bessie Mrs, res 156 N 13th
1921 – Baillie Bessie (wid Geo), h 625 E 11th, Long Beach, CA
1928 – Baillie Bessie (wid G T), h 625 E 11th, Long Beach, CA
1931 – Baillie Bessie (wid Geo), h 625 E 11th, Long Beach, CA |
| Census Records |
1900 – Bessie Baillie – Age: 38, Birth Date: Feb 1862, Birthplace: England, Home in 1900: Salem Ward 4, Marion, Oregon, Ward of City: 4 (Part Of), Race: White, Gender: Female, Immigration Year: 1887, Relation to Head of House: Wife, Marital Status: Married, Spouse’s Name: Geo T Baillie, Marriage Year: 1895, Years Married: 5, Father’s Birthplace: England, Mother’s Birthplace: England, Mother: number of living children: 0, Mother: How many children: 0, Years in US: 13, Can Read: Y, Can Write: Y, Can Speak English: Y. Household members: Geo F Baillie (37), Bessie Baillie (38).
1910 – Bessie Bailey – Age in 1910: 44, Birth Date: 1866, Birthplace: England, Home in 1910: 2092 Lee St, Salem Ward 4, Marion, Oregon, Race: White, Gender: Female, Immigration Year: 1889, Relation to Head of House: Head, Marital Status: Widowed, Father’s Birthplace: England, Mother’s Birthplace: England, Native Tongue: English, Occupation: Weaver, Industry: Woolen Mill, Employer, Employee or Other: Wage Earner, Home Owned or Rented: Own, Home Free or Mortgaged: Free, Farm or House: House, Able to read: Y, Able to Write: Y, Enumeration District Number: 0224, Out of Work: N, Number of Weeks Out of Work: 0, Enumerated Year: 1910. Household members: Bessie Bailey (44), Lizzie Lord (42) – sister, Susan Carpenter (49) – servant.
1920 – Bessie Baillie – Age: 55, Birth Year: abt 1865, Birthplace: England, Home in 1920: 625 East 11th, Long Beach, Los Angeles, California, Residence Date: 1920, Race: White, Gender: Female, Immigration Year: 1893, Relation to Head of House: Head, Marital Status: Widowed, Father’s Birthplace: England, Mother’s Birthplace: England, Native Tongue: English, Able to Speak English: Yes, Occupation: Servant, Industry: Private Family, Employment Field: Wage or Salary, Home Owned or Rented: Owned, Home Free or Mortgaged: Free, Naturalization Status: Naturalized, Able to read: Yes, Able to Write: Yes. Household members: Bessie Baillie (55), Lizzie Owen (53) – sister.
1930 – Bessie Baillie – Birth Year: abt 1864, Gender: Female, Race: White, Age in 1930: 66, Birthplace: England, Marital Status: Widowed, Relation to Head of House: Head, Homemaker?: Yes, Home in 1930: 625 East 11th, Long Beach, Los Angeles, California, Home Owned or Rented: Owned, Home Value: 3000, Radio Set : No, Attended School : No, Able to Read and Write: Yes, Father’s Birthplace: England, Mother’s Birthplace: England, Language Spoken: English, Immigration Year: 1887, Naturalization: Alien, Able to Speak English: Yes, Occupation: Servant, Industry: Private Home, Class of Worker: Wage or salary worker, Employment: Yes. Household members: Bessie Baillie (66), Lizzie Owen (64) – sister. |
| Digital Newspapers
|
Oregon Statesman 27 Apr 1899, p. 8 – Announcement Extraordinary, Friedman’s New Racket
The Capital Journal 22 Jul 1901, p. 4 – Died: George T. Bailey, Obituary
Oregon Statesman 23 Jul 1901, p. 2 – Woodmen Attention: Calling members to George Baillie’s funeral
The Capital Journal 25 Jul 1901, p. 3 – Card of Thanks
Oregon Statesman 19 Jul 1902, p. 3 – Deeds Recorded
The Capital Journal 26 Sep 1903, p. 3 – Real Estate Transaction
Oregon Statesman 20 Apr 1909, p. 8 – Real Estate Transfer
The Capital Journal 6 Mar 1916, p. 7 – Women at Woolen Mill Object to Efforts of Welfare Commission
The Capital Journal 8 Apr 1920, p. 9 – House for Sale (Bessie’s)
The Capital Journal 28 Jun 1920, p. 8 – Big Auction Sale
Press-Telegram (Long Beach, CA) 13 Apr 1923, p. 21 – Deed Transfer to Bessie Baillie and Lizzie Owen
Press-Telegram (Long Beach, CA) 9 Jan 1935, p. 11 – England Native Here 19 Years Called by Death
The Long Beach Sun (Long Beach, CA) 10 Jan 1935, p. 3 – Bessie Baillie Funeral Services |
