| Other People | Frank J. Bradley | Olive Rambo Cook | Jerry Litton | | |||
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Past and Present of Livingston County Volume 2. Biographies by Major A. J. Roof. 1913 |
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Page 345-346
William W. Bagley is one of the active and progressive farmers and stock-raisers and one of the extensive landowners of Livingston county, his property embracing three hundred and twenty acres on section 27, township 57, range 24. A resident of this county since 1868, Mr. Bagley is familiar with a great deal of its development, for he has been an interested witness of events which have shaped its history, while his business interests have been a strong element in its agricultural prominence, He was born in Putnam county, Ohio, in 1847, and is a son of Nathaniel H. and Jane (Rice) Bagley, the former at one time a prominent and progressive resident of that section. He was well known in local republican circles there, being a stanch supporter of the principles and policies of his party and an ardent admirer of Horace Greeley. He made his public spirit effective through twelve years of service as Justice of the peace, and his death on the 14th of April, 1896, removed from that part of Ohio one of its most representative citizens. He had long survived his wife, who passed away in 1851 and is buried at Pandora, Ohio.
In the acquirement of an education William W. Bagley attended public school in Pandora and after laying aside his books at the age of twenty spent one year assisting his father with the work of the homestead. At the end of that tine he bought his present farm, which he has cultivated ever since, a period of about forty-three years. He has improved the place by erecting a substantial modern residence, good barns, granaries and outbuildings and by installing all the modern accessories and equipment of a model farm. In connection with tilling the soil Mr. Bagley engages extensively in stock-raising, keeping about one hundred and twenty five head of cattle, thirteen horses and seventy swine. In addition he is interested in raising poultry and has several hundred fowl.
Mr. Bagley has been twice married. His first union occurred at Pandora, January 4, 1870, on which date he wedded Miss Mary Exy Reeves, a daughter of Benjamin and Margaret (Clover) Reeves, both of whom have passed away and are buried at Pandora. Mr. Bagley's first wife died February 22, 1891, leaving five children: Carl E., of whom further mention is made elsewhere in this work; Herbert M., a hotel proprietor at Potwin, Kansas; Clifford E., a farmer in Arkansas; William W., engaged in general agricultural pursuits in Oklahoma; and Mamie E., who became the wife of Donald Stephen, a railroad man. On March 6, 1884, Mr. Bagley was again married, his second wife being Miss Annie A. Gay, a daughter of Daniel and Rebecca (Bush) Gay, both of whom have passed away and are buried in Utica. To this union were born two children: Bessie, the wife of Walter H. Wimselt, a farmer of Utica; and Floyd M., who is assisting his father.
Mr. Bagley gives his allegiance to the republican party and is eminently progressive and public-spirited in matters of citizenship. For over ten years he was road overseer and his interest in the cause of education is indicated by the excellent work which he did during his ten years' service as school director. He well merits the success which has come to him in the course of years, for he has labored persistently for what he now enjoys and has made a most creditable record as a prosperous and honorable business man.