BAILEY McCONNELL.-Occupying a position of prominence among the native-born citizens of Haddon township, noteworthy for their ability, integrity and enterprise is Bailey McConnell, a practical and progressive agriculturist, actively and successfully employed in general farming. A son of Andrew McConnell, he was born April 9, 1840, in Haddon township, of thrifty Scotch ancestry. His grandfather, McConnell, emigrated from Scotland, the land of his birth, to America in 1805, bringing with him his family. In 1806 he located in Haddon township, becoming one of the original householders of this part of Sullivan county, and on the farm which he improved, lying about two miles east of Carlisle, Bailey McConnell, of this sketch, was born.
Born in Scotland in 1798, Andrew McConnell was but eight years old when he came to Indiana. As soon as old enough to wield an axe or a hoe, he began to assist in the pioneer labor of clearing and improving a homestead, and during his entire life was engaged in tilling the soil, meeting with good success in his efforts. He was a man of strong convictions, earnest in the support of principles which he believed to be right, and while identified with the Democratic party before the Civil war, was a Republican after its close. Andrew McConnell married Nancy Johnson, whose father was an early settler of Haddon township, and the land, situated about three miles south of Carlisle, that Mr. Johnson took up from the government and improved, is the farm upon which Bailey McConnell has lived during the past quarter of a century. Of the union of Mr. and Mrs. Andrew McConnell, nine children were born, as follows: Elizabeth, widow of William Harper, resides in Haddon township; John, of Sullivan; Virginia, deceased; Turner, deceased; Bailey, of this sketch; Margaret, deceased; Sarah Barthenia, deceased; Laura, wife of Ellis Greenfield, of Carlisle; and Mary, deceased.
Reared to agricultural pursuits, Bailey McConnell was educated in the district schools. On July 13, 1862, inspired by true patriotic spirit, he enlisted in Company K, Eightieth Indiana Volunteer Infantry, as a private, but was afterwards promoted to second lieutenant, then to first lieutenant, finally being commissioned captain of his company, a rank that he held until the close of the war. He saw hard service while in the army, his company, which numbered one hundred sound men at the time of enlistment, being reduced to twenty-four when mustered out of service in 1865, on June 28. Mr. McConnell took part in many of the important engagements of the conflict, among them being those at Perryville, Resaca, Knoxville, Atlanta, Franklin, Nashville, and at Fort Anderson, North Carolina. Returning home after receiving his discharge, June 24, 1865, Mr. McConnell resumed farming, and in the pursuit of his independent calling has been exceedingly prosperous, now owning between four hundred and six hundred acres of rich and fertile land. Since 1873 he has resided on his present homestead, which was bought from the government by his Grandfather Johnson. Many valuable improvements have been made on the place by Mr. McConnell, including the erection of his handsome residence, a brick structure, which stands back a few rods from the street, on one of the finest building spots imaginable. He carries on general farming, and buys and feeds considerable stock each year, finding stockraising a profitable industry. He owns stock in the Peoples State Bank of Carlisle, a prosperous institution. In politics he is a Republican, and in social circles is a member of the Grand Army of the Republic, Geo. Rotramund Post, No. 445, at Carlisle.
On September 29, 1870, Mr. McConnell married Jennie O. McDowell, who was born April 29, 1852, in Columbiana county, Ohio, a daughter of Dr. James McDowell. Dr. McDowell was born in Washington county, Pennsylvania, June 19, 1820, a son of James and Catherine (McCarthy) McDowell, and there began the study of medicine with Dr. James Martin. Fitted for a professional career, he located as a physician at Moore's Salt Works, on Big Yellow creek, in Jefferson county, Ohio, where he remained from 1842 until 1854. The following seven years he was engaged in the practice of medicine in Columbiana county, Ohio, after which he returned to Moore's Salt Works, and was there a few years. Coming from there to Sullivan county, Indiana, in 1865, Dr. McDowell located in Jefferson township, and was successfully engaged in his professional calling at Pleasantville until his death, October 6, 1892. He married Carolina Erwin, and they became the parents of five children, namely: Hon. M. M. McDowell, M. D., a practicing physician at Vincennes, Indiana, now serving as state senator; James McDowell, M. D., of Bruceville; L. C. McDowell, M. D., of Freelandsville; Jennie O., wife of Mr. McConnell; and Catherine, deceased. Mr. and Mrs. McConnell have one child, James McConnell, a lumber and grain dealer in Carlisle, of whom a brief sketch may be found on another page of this work. Mrs. McConnell is a woman of culture and talent, having received her education at Farmersburg College under the instruction of Professor Crawford. Both Mr. and Mrs. McConnell are members of the Methodist Episcopal church, and are among its most faithful and active workers.