Santa
Clara County
Biographies
WILLARD
C. BAILEY
WILLARD C. BAILEY. Although educated for the medical profession
and the recipient of superior advantages in the clinics of the United States
and Europe, Dr. Bailey has been led to identify himself with the industry
originated by his father, C. P. Bailey, and to the successful
prosecution of which father and sons have of recent years been devoted. Born in San Jose and a graduate of the State
Normal School of this city with the class of 1894, Willard C. Bailey
pursued his studies subsequently in Leland Stanford University, and then
matriculated in the Cooper Medical College, of which he is a graduate, class of
1898. During the two following years he
engaged in the practice of his profession in San Francisco and in 1900 visited
Europe for the purpose of studying under leading physicians and surgeons in the
hospitals of the continent, mainly at Berlin and Paris. While abroad he was requested by his father
to visit Asia Minor and if possible obtain an importation of Angora goats. This was an undertaking of no small
responsibility, for the Sultan had issued an edict prohibiting the exportation
of Angora goats and none had been brought to America from the country for more
than a quarter of a century. However, he proved himself a successful
strategist, for he brought two bucks and two does safely through to America,
thus securing what were the finest specimens ever seen in our country. Descendants of these animals are now
scattered all over the west and to some extent also in the east and middle
states.
From boyhood Dr. Bailey has always
been interested in Angoras and after his return from Europe he relinquished
professional work and took charge of the eastern end of the business, opening
an office in the Live Stock Exchange building at Kansas City, Mo., where much
of his time is necessarily spent, although in the interests of the business he
travels in every part of the east and frequently returns to the Pacific
coast. The sons and father are working
harmoniously and effectively in developing an industry far exceeding the early
anticipations of the latter. Indeed, it
reflects no small degree of credit upon them to state that they have
transplanted a new industry from Asia Minor to California and placed it upon a
profitable basis, thereby encouraging hundreds of others to embark in the
business as a means of livelihood. The
quality of their stock has been repeatedly proved and bears a wide
reputation. A flock has been shipped to
South Africa for breeding purposes, and for the same purpose more than $125,000
worth of goats have been sold in America.
In the New Orleans Exposition they obtained all of the first medals for
Angoras, also at the Columbian Exposition of 1893. Their exhibit of Angora robes at the
Pan-American Exposition of 1901 attracted much attention and won the gold
medal. Ever since they have made
exhibits at the state fairs of Oregon and California, for about thirty years,
they have taken first premiums. It is
their intention to have an exhibit at the Louisiana Purchase Exposition of 1904
in St. Louis, Mo. Worthy of special
mention is the fact that they won nine out of ten of the first premiums, and
both the buck and doe sweepstake premiums, in competition with all of the
leading American breeders at the American Angora Goat Breeders’ Association
show in Kansas City, Mo., in 1901. The
sweepstake buck, an animal of their own raising, sold for $1,050 at auction.
In connection with the raising of
Angoras, the company is engaged, on a small scale, in the raising of Persian
fat-tailed sheep, a new industry in this country and commenced by them at the
solicitation of the government. When Truxton Beal, minister to Persia, returned to the United
States in June, 1892, he brought thirteen head of Persian sheep, which he presented
to the commissioner of agriculture.
These sheep requiring about the same care as Angora goats, it was
decided to present then to Mr. Bailey, with the request that he report the
results of his experiments to the department of agriculture. The peculiarity of these sheep is their
broad, flat tail, weighing from twenty to thirty pounds when the animal is
fat. The Persians consider a baked
sheep’s tail a great delicacy, the choicest part of the mutton. Experiments with these sheep have been
successfully conducted, and it has been found that they thrive in the dry
western climate. Some years ago
Mr. Bailey presented a pair of these sheep to the University of California
and they were placed in the experiment station at Paso Robles.
Few men in the United States are as
conversant with the Angora goat business as the Baileys, father and sons. There is not the slightest detail with which
they are unfamiliar. Their experience
has been long and varied. Their ambition
has been to raise the standard of finely bred animals and develop for special
points, and through their wise judgment they have acquired a flock possessing
qualities superior to the original importations. Resourceful, capable and progressive, they
have been contributors to the development of a vast enterprise and at the same
time have aided prominently in the growth of their home city.
Transcribed by Donna Toole.
Source: History
of the State of California & Biographical Record of Coast Counties,
California by Prof. J. M. Guinn, A. M., Pages 519-520. The Chapman
Publishing Co., Chicago, 1904.
© 2015 Donna Toole.