11/09/2025
J.M. Bailiff Farm Celebrates 150 Years of Family Legacy and Agricultural Heritage
The J.M. Bailiff Farm in Possum Hollow near Dowelltown, Tennessee, celebrates a milestone: 150 years of continuous family ownership. Founded on September 1, 1875 by Confederate veteran James Monroe Bailiff and his wife Eliza Jane Foster, the farm is the cornerstone of seven generations of devotion to farming and community in DeKalb County.
Early Family Roots and Ancestry
The Bailiff family's roots trace back to Thomas Bailiff Sr., a Quaker, born around 1716 in the British Isles with Scottish origins through Ulster, Ireland. He was living in Chester County, Pennsylvania by the 1740's.
His son, Thomas Bailiff Jr., born in 1769, married Elizabeth Baker, a Presbyterian, on June 24, 1790. The couple relocated from Pennsylvania with the Baker family to Orange County, North Carolina, and eventually settled in the Temperance Hall community of Tennessee around 1825. Thomas Jr. died in 1854 at Temperance Hall.
Thomas Isaac Bailiff, son of Thomas Jr., was born February 11, 1808. A skilled blacksmith and farmer, Isaac married Nancy Bates on December 13, 1831. Nancy was the daughter of Isaac Bates and Didama Tubb. Didama Tubb was the older sister of Colonel James Tubb of Liberty, a notable local figure who, despite his family’s slaveholding ties, served in the Union Army during the Civil War. This connection ties the Bailiff family to important local historical narratives and reflects the complexity of regional loyalties during the war.
Isaac and Nancy lived in Temperance Hall where Isaac was a member of the Masonic Lodge. After his death in 1852, Nancy and the children moved closer to Alexandria. Together, they had eight children, including James Monroe Bailiff.
James Monroe Bailiff’s Civil War Service and Family Formation
James Monroe Bailiff was born on December 2, 1845, near Temperance Hall in DeKalb County, Tennessee. He enlisted in the Confederate cavalry on February 25, 1863, serving in Allison’s Battalion, Company A.
During the Battle of Chickamauga on September 19, 1863, he sustained a severe wound when a Union bullet passed through his cartridge box entering his ribs. Left behind in the battle alongside his brother, who was ill with typhoid fever, Monroe was cared for by a local family before being captured and imprisoned. Both brothers were released in spring 1864 and eventually returned home, where Monroe began to rebuild his life.
On October 6, 1865, Monroe married Eliza Jane Foster of the Wolf Creek community. They initially lived near Laurel Hill, having their first three children there before moving to Possum Hollow to establish their farm.
Founding and Building the J.M. Bailiff Farm
On September 1, 1875, James Monroe and Eliza purchased a 52½-acre farm in Possum Hollow, an area then inhabited by only two other families. The land was heavily wooded, prompting the family to clear it using oxen to create tillable fields. An oxen yoke from that time remains in the family. They built a modest one room log cabin with a loft, and later added a frame kitchen. A spring-fed stream named Barnes Branch bordered the property, and a rock springhouse and corral were part of the early infrastructure.
Monroe was an adept blacksmith and cobbler, providing essential expertise within the farming community. He was ordained as a deacon of the Dry Creek Missionary Baptist Church in 1891.
Life on the farm consisted of raising crops such as wheat, corn, and to***co, as well as livestock including cattle, horses, mules, pigs, and chickens. The family also kept bees. Social and religious life was centered around church meetings, community dances, and molasses-making gatherings, often involving the entire neighborhood.
Generational Continuity and Growth
Leslie Dee “L.D. ” Bailiff, born on June 27, 1884, purchased the farm from his parents in 1925. He and his wife Amanda Helen Tramel built the farmhouse in 1923 that continued to serve the family for almost a century. Leslie and Amanda had four children.
Their son, Charlie Bailiff, was born on December 29, 1911. He served in World War II in the 365th Field Artillery, participating in campaigns across Europe and Japan. After his honorable discharge, he married Mary Codean Barrett, and they had a daughter, Sandra Jean Bailiff, born February 3, 1948.
Charlie purchased the farm from his parents in 1950 and also expanded the farm to 70 acres with the purchase of a neighboring tract of land in the same year. Charlie was well known as both a carpenter and dedicated farmer throughout his life.
Sandra Bailiff married Danny Bandy from Smithville in October 1965. She lived briefly in Texas while Danny served in the United States Army at Fort Bliss. Sandra died tragically in an automobile accident at age 25.
Kevin Bandy, their son and the great-great-grandson of James Monroe, took ownership of the farm in 2004 after purchasing it from his grandmother. In addition to living on the farm, Kevin manages an office of a local community bank. He and his wife Brenda Jones have two sons, Zachary and Dawson.
Zachary Bandy married Brooke George, and they have a son, Colsen Bandy, who represents the seventh generation of the Bailiff family in Possum Hollow. The farm has shifted focus in recent years toward timber production while preserving agricultural traditions.
Recognition and Legacy
The J.M. Bailiff Farm was designated a Tennessee Century Farm in 2007 and is one of eleven Century Farms in DeKalb County. It stands as a symbol of enduring family dedication, rural heritage, and the continuity of American farm life through generations.
The farm reflects a rich tapestry of history—from 18th-century Quaker beginnings, through Civil War struggles and Reconstruction, to modern stewardship—anchored by its connection to the social and spiritual fabric of the Dry Creek community.
As it marks 150 years, the J.M. Bailiff Farm honors its forebears and embodies the unbroken lineage of family, faith, and land stewardship that continues to define its legacy in Tennessee.
