Bailly Cemetery, Westchester TownshipIndex of Bailly Cemetery burials . . . .

The Bailly Cemetery is located approximately three-quarters of a mile north of the Joseph Bailly Homestead in Westchester Township, at the base of a sand ridge in the center of the northeast quarter of Section 27 [click here for detailed historical information concerning Bailly Cemetery]. It is the oldest white burial ground in Porter County. It has been recorded that Joseph Bailly buried his son, Napoleon B. "Robert" Bailly, here in 1827. It has also been recorded that Native Americans first used the site for the burial of their dead. Though skeletons have been uncovered at the cemetery site on numerous occasions, they have always been reburied without a determination of their race. Hence, it has not been conclusively determined whether the Bailly Cemetery was originally a sacred Indian burial ground.

After Napoleon B. "Robert" Bailly's burial in 1827, the site essentially became a family graveyard, although burials of individuals unrelated to the Bailly's are numerous. For instance, it is known that several Swedish residents of the area are buried in the cemetery in unmarked graves. In addition, eight tombstones have been found outside and adjacent to the present cemetery walls; four of these tombstones contain date inscriptions preceding Napoleon B. "Robert" Bailly's date of burial in 1827. Given this evidence, it appears likely that Joseph Bailly buried his son in a preexisting cemetery rather than establishing a new cemetery site.

In 1866, Rose (Bailly) Howe, Joseph Bailly's granddaughter, enclosed the cemetery area with a wooden fence. She specifically requested that her neighbors, mostly being Swedish immigrants, to discontinue using the cemetery for burials and to remove their dead relatives. Few neighbors reportedly complied with her request. In fact, during Rose (Bailly) Howe's absence on an extended trip with her daughters to Europe between 1869 to 1874, at least three Swedish immigrants were interred in the cemetery.

Reportedly distressed by the fact that her neighbors did not comply with her requests concerning burials in the cemetery, Rose (Bailly) Howe had a six-foot limestone wall constructed on the site in 1885, topped with iron spikes. The inside of the wall included stations of the cross placed inside wooden cabinets mounted in limestone, as well as an altar at the southeast corner.

In 1914, Frances Rose Howe, sister of Rose, had Theodore Stephens of nearby Chesterton erect a concrete block wall around the 1867 wall to control entry into the cemetery. At this time stairs were erected on the north side of the cemetery and an ornamental railing installed on the original 1867 wall. The plaques installed in 1867 were moved from inside the wall to the outside of the wall, and the interior of the enclosed wall area was filled with sand. During the 1914 renovations and construction, numerous graves were uncovered and reportedly moved just outside of the new construction.

The chain of title ownership of the land upon which the Bailly Cemetery is situated is as follows:

Note that the information concerning burials in Bailly Cemetery is quite fragmented and very likely to be incomplete and incorrect. The burial information provided below originates from a variety of sources, including newspapers, National Park Service information, published records of the Northwest Indiana Genealogical Society, among others.

Three excellent sources of detailed historical information concerning the Bailly Cemetery are the following [click link to access]:

        Clemenson, A. Berle, Kenneth W. Bennett, and Catherine H.
        Blee. 1976. Historic Structure Report, Bailly Cemetery:
        Historical, Architectural, and Archeological Data, Indiana
        Dunes National Lakeshore, Indiana. United States Department
        of the Interior, National Park Service, Historic Preservation
        Division. Denver, Colorado: United States Department of the
        Interior. 85 p.

        Stephens, Theodore. 1956. Bailly Cemetery - Roman Style.
        Duneland Historical Society, Living Biographies 2(4):1-6.

        Sullivan, James R. 1958. Historic Site Survey: The Bailly Homestead,
        Porter County, Indiana. Philadelphia, Pennsylvania: United States
        Department of the Interior, National Parks Service, Region
        Five. 40 p.

NOTE: If you have information that you like to add to this database, including corrections, then please contribute it to Steve Shook.

BAILLY, Joseph
Birth: April 8, 1744, in Quebec, Canada
Death: December 21, 1835, in Chesterton, Indiana
Note: "Honore Gratien de Messein"; tombstone located on south wall of 20-foot by 20-foot elevated area

BAILLY, Marie (LaFevre de la Vigne)
Birth: 1783
Death: September 15, 1866, in Chesterton, Indiana
Note: Aged 83y; tombstone located on south wall of 20-foot by 20-foot elevated area; when Marie (LaFevre) Bailly died on Sept 15, 1866, Mrs. Emma Persson prepared her body for burial while Emma's husband, Carl Persson, drove the ox-cart which brought Marie's remains to "Bailly Hill" where she was laid to rest by the side of her husband

ERIKSON, Peter [or Erickson]
Birth:
Death: November 1862
Note: Civil War veteran; burial mentioned in report prepared by C. W. Nelson in 1949 [The Bailly Cemetery. Manuscript in Reed Folder, Indiana Dunes National Lakeshore Park.]

HOWE, Frances Rose
Birth: February 4, 1851
Death: January 20, 1917
Note: daughter of Francis and Rose (Bailly) Howe; never married, but did adopt Emma Cecilia Bachmann in Chicago, Illinois, on September 26, 1904, when Emma was 23 years old

HOWE, Francis
Birth: January 8, 1811, in New Haven, Connecticut
Death: August 23, 1850, in Porter County, Indiana
Note: husband of Rose Bailly; tombstone located on south wall of 20-foot by 20-foot elevated area

HOWE, Rose (Bailly)
Birth: February 25, 1813, in Michigan Territory
Death: May 15, 1891
Note: daughter of Joseph Bailly; wife of Francis Howe; tombstone located on south wall of 20-foot by 20-foot elevated area

HULT, Florinda
Birth:
Death:
Note: Aged 3m, 15d; daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Otto Hult; burial mentioned in report prepared by C. W. Nelson in 1949 [The Bailly Cemetery. Manuscript in Reed Folder, Indiana Dunes National Lakeshore Park.]

HULT, Wilhelm
Birth:
Death:
Note: Aged 5y; son of Mr. and Mrs. Otto Hult; burial mentioned in report prepared by C. W. Nelson in 1949 [The Bailly Cemetery. Manuscript in Reed Folder, Indiana Dunes National Lakeshore Park.]

LUNDEEN, Female Child
Birth:
Death:
Note: daughter of William Lundeen; burial mentioned in manuscript prepared by Theodore Stephens and published in 1956 "While I was working outside the north wall, Mr. William Lundeen, who was standing nearby, pointed to a grave near the foot of the stairs and said it was his little girl's grave, a young child of three or four years. I didn't say anything at the time but later, I had the men tear up the weeds, put a concrete low wall around the little plot and stood the tombstones up straight in cement bases. He later said he was very glad I made it so nice but the stone is now broken." [Stephens, Theodore. 1956. Bailly Cemetery - Roman Style. Duneland Historical Society, Living Biographies 2(4):1-6.

MICHAELS, Frederick
Birth: April 27, 1829, in Bresslau, Germany
Death: December 23, 1884, in Porter Station [Porter], Indiana
Note: Obituary published in January 1, 1885, issue of The Tribune [Chesterton], states that "He [Frederick] has a fine family vault in the Baillytown cemetery, value about $1,000. . . . the remains of Frederick Michael were laid in the family vault at the Bailly cemetery."

NORTEN, Augusta Charlotte (Peterson)
Birth: September 16, 1878, in Sweden
Death: January 8, 1902, in Porter County, Indiana
Note: wife of Samuel Constans Norten, who is interred at Pine Lake Cemetery in LaPorte, LaPorte County, Indiana

STEPHENS, Magdelene
Birth: 1842
Death:
Note: burial mentioned in report prepared by Theodore Stephens in 1956 [Stephens, Theodore. 1956. "Bailly Cemetery - Roman Style," Duneland Historical Society, Living Biographies 2(4):1-6.]

Other Bailly Family Burials

There are reportedly an additional twelve Bailly family interments in the cemetery, but no tombstones can be found for these burials.

BAILLY, Napoleon B. "Robert"
Birth: April 1816, Drummond Island, Canada [now Chippewa County, Michigan]
Death: September 1827
Note: In a book published by Frances Rose Howe [The Story of a French Homestead in the Old Northwest, 1907, pp. 68-69], it is stated that "He [Joseph Bailly] had chosen a spot for a cemetery on a sandy knoll, about three-quarters of a mile from the house. there he had buried his son [Robert] and had raised a huge cross of oaken beams as a landmark. In front of this cross, he erected a little log building where the only opening was a rather wide door, facing the cross. This building was not a chapel, but merely a shelter for those who went to pray at the foot of the cross, as did all the household on Sundays and Holy Days." In a book published by John O. Bowers [The Old Bailly Homestead, 1922, p. 6], it is stated that "In 1827, while attending the Carey Mission school, near Niles [Michigan], Robert Bailly, the son, then 10 years old, became sick with typhoid fever and died. His grave was the first in the family cemetery, located a half a mile north of the old homestead."

de la VIGNE, Mary Therese
Birth: October 13, 1808
Death: December 17, 1867
Note: Daughter of Marie (LeFevre de la Vigne) Bailly by her first marriage. This burial is enumerated in the National Park Service's Historic Structure Report, Bailly Cemetery: Historical, Architectural, and Archeological Data, Indiana Dunes National Lakeshore, Indiana, prepared by A. Berle Clemensen, Kenneth W. Bennett, and Catherine H. Blee and published in December 1976. The report states that Therese de la Vigne died in 1843, though no source is provided as evidence. However, David Frederick, a Bailly descendant, has provided ample evidence to show that Mary Therese de la Vigne was buried in Uniontown Cemetery located in Willard, Shawnee County, Kansas. He reports the following: "She [Mary Therese de la Vigne] used several names in her lifetime. Her birth name was Mary Therese Lavigne, her Pottawatomie name was Terrez. In her early years, she most often used the name Therese Bailly. Contrary to her portrayal in Francis Howe's book and other accounts, she attended Carey Mission longer than any of the other Bailly children and was an outstanding scholar. At the mission, she was given the name Martha Shields. She attended Worthington College in Ohio. In 1830, she married Peter Nadeau, with her mother Marie Bailly serving as witness. The name given for the marriage record was Mary Rousseau. She and her husband took over Joseph Bailly's trading concession with the Nottawasseppe Pottawatomie village near current Mendon, St. Joseph County, Michigan. They had two sons and two daughters. A notarized affidavit by her son Eli G. Nadeau is in the collection of the Oklahoma State Historical Society which asserts that the small Nadeau children spent a great deal of time with their grandmother at the Bailly homestead. She and her husband sold their Michigan land in 1836 and returned to Indiana. Mary Therese was a full member of the Pottawatomie of the Prairie tribe, and accompanied, or was part of, the "Trail of Death" forced march from Indiana to Kansas in 1839. She traded with the Pottawatomie in association with her brother-in-law John H. Whistler and his brother-in-law Robert A. Kinzie (his sister's husband). She was already living at the town site of Uniontown, Shawnee County, Kansas when the town sprung up in the 1840's. The town faded rapidly, but she remained; dying on December 17, 1867. Her daughter Mary L. Bourassa, three grandchildren, and her daughter's stepson are also buried in Willard Cemetery."

HOWE, Eleanor
Birth:
Death:
Note: Infant daughter of Francis and Rose (Bailly) Howe. This burial is enumerated in the National Park Service's Historic Structure Report, Bailly Cemetery: Historical, Architectural, and Archeological Data, Indiana Dunes National Lakeshore, Indiana, prepared by A. Berle Clemensen, Kenneth W. Bennett, and Catherine H. Blee and published in December 1976.

HOWE, Frank
Birth:
Death:
Note: Infant son of Francis and Rose (Bailly) Howe. This burial is enumerated in the National Park Service's Historic Structure Report, Bailly Cemetery: Historical, Architectural, and Archeological Data, Indiana Dunes National Lakeshore, Indiana, prepared by A. Berle Clemensen, Kenneth W. Bennett, and Catherine H. Blee and published in December 1976.

HOWE, Infant Daughter
Birth:
Death:
Note: Infant son of Francis and Rose (Bailly) Howe. This burial is enumerated in the National Park Service's Historic Structure Report, Bailly Cemetery: Historical, Architectural, and Archeological Data, Indiana Dunes National Lakeshore, Indiana, prepared by A. Berle Clemensen, Kenneth W. Bennett, and Catherine H. Blee and published in December 1976.

HOWE, Infant Son
Birth:
Death:
Note: Infant son of Francis and Rose (Bailly) Howe. This burial is enumerated in the National Park Service's Historic Structure Report, Bailly Cemetery: Historical, Architectural, and Archeological Data, Indiana Dunes National Lakeshore, Indiana, prepared by A. Berle Clemensen, Kenneth W. Bennett, and Catherine H. Blee and published in December 1976.

HOWE, Rose
Birth: 1842
Death: 1879
Note: Daughter of Francis and Rose (Bailly) Howe. This burial is enumerated in the National Park Service's Historic Structure Report, Bailly Cemetery: Historical, Architectural, and Archeological Data, Indiana Dunes National Lakeshore, Indiana, prepared by A. Berle Clemensen, Kenneth W. Bennett, and Catherine H. Blee and published in December 1976.

WHISTLER, Mary Esther (Bailly)
Birth: July 27, 1811, Michilimackinac, Michigan Territory
Death: January 29, 1842, in Baillytown, Indiana
Note: There is no known tombstone to exist for Mary Esther (Bailly) Whistler in the Bailly Cemetery. In a book published by her niece Frances Rose Howe [The Story of a French Homestead in the Old Northwest, 1907, p. 148], it is stated that "I remember that Aunt Hortense died when I was about five years old, and that her remains were brought here [Baillytown] from Chicago, to be laid beside Aunt Esther." However, it is believed by Bailly family descendants that Aunt Hortense was buried in Chicago, Illinois, which would suggest that Mary Esther (Bailly) Whistler was also buried in Chicago. In the same book mentioned above, it is stated [pp. 136-137] that "The next time she [Rosene Marie Victoire (Bailly) Howe] entered her old home, just a few months later, it was to see her dear sister Esther laid in a grave at the foot of the old oak cross. Uncle Whistler was wild with grief and could not endure to remain, where everything reminded him of his bereavement. He had a good opportunity of beginning life anew in Kansas, and taking his four boys with him, went there, severing himself entirely from all that could recall to mind the days of a vanished happiness."

WICKER, Josephine Hortense (Bailly)
Birth: Circa 189, Michilimackinac, Michigan Territory
Death: 1855, in Chicago, Cook County, Illinois
Note: There is no known tombstone to exist for Josephine Hortense (Bailly) Wicker in the Bailly Cemetery. In a book published by her niece Frances Rose Howe [The Story of a French Homestead in the Old Northwest, 1907, p. 148], it is stated that "I remember that Aunt Hortense died when I was about five years old, and that her remains were brought here [Baillytown] from Chicago, to be laid beside Aunt Esther." However, it is believed by Bailly family descendants that Aunt Hortense was buried in Chicago, Illinois.

UNKNOWN
Birth:
Death:
Note: Two nephews of Francis and Rose (Bailly) Howe. These two burials are enumerated in the National Park Service's Historic Structure Report, Bailly Cemetery: Historical, Architectural, and Archeological Data, Indiana Dunes National Lakeshore, Indiana, prepared by A. Berle Clemensen, Kenneth W. Bennett, and Catherine H. Blee and published in December 1976.

The McDonald Tombstones

The 1876 plat map of Porter County indicates that Henry R. McDonald owned at least 900 acres of land in the Furnessville area of Westchester Township. Henry married Martha (Wilson) McDonald in 1830 and settled in the Furnessville area around 1832. Henry and Martha were the parents of Charles, Martha, Fanny, Lynn, Abbie, Henry, Mary, Sidney, and Elixa. The tombstone for Eliza and Sidney were discovered on the back of the McDonald farm and reportedly removed to Bailly Cemetery.

McDONALD, Eliza
Birth:
Death: July 16, 1864
Note: Aged 9y; daughter of H. D. and Martha McDonald

McDONALD, Sidney
Birth:
Death: March 4, 1862
Note: son of H. D. and Martha McDonald
 

Tombstones Warehoused by National Park Service

The following tombstones are reportedly in storage at the Indiana Dunes National Lakeshore warehouse at the park headquarters. It is believed that these tombstones represent individuals interred in the Bailly Cemetery.

BERGSTROM, F. Louisa (Johnson)
Birth: January 10, 1829, Sweden
Death: January 10, 1873
Note: Aged 43y, 3m, 9d; wife of Frank Bergstrom

CARLSON, Peter
Birth: April 11, 1814, in Sweden
Death:
Note: bottom half of tombstone is missing

DEMPSEY, Lewis
Birth:
Death: February 25, 1854

SCHELLINGER, Isaac
Birth:
Death: August 1811
Note: Aged 67y; year of death may be 1841 or 1844

SCHELLINGER, Rhoda
Birth:
Death: October 1816
Note: Aged 61y; year of death may be 1846

SPEER, Thomas B.
Birth:
Death: June 30, 1817
Note: Aged 3y, 6m; son of J. and E. Speer; year of death may be 1847

UNKNOWN,
Birth:
Death: February 6, 1875
Note: tombstone broken and pieces missing


The following article concerning the Bailly Cemetery appeared in the June 12, 1913, issue of The Chesterton Tribune, Chesterton, Porter County, Indiana [Volume 30, Number 12, Page 1, Column 2]:

A HISTORIC SPOT.
Remains of Early French Days Attract Considerable Attention

Michigan City News: Anent the old French chapel and graveyard near Porter, visited this week by St. Cecelia's Guild of Trinity cathedral, as mentioned by The News, the Gary Evening Post says:

Very few people living in Gary are aware that within twelve miles of Broadway is one of the most historic spots in the middle west. It is the old French-Indian village and burying ground, used by the mission explorers, and is older than Chicago.

Situated upon a steep ridge overlooking the old Detroit trail and within a few hundred yards of the South Shore interurban line, two miles northwest of Porter is the old cemetery, surrounded by a high stone wall and filled with a profusion of vines and other forest growth. In niches around the inside wall are many pictures of saints, which are in a good state of preservation, but the tombstones are falling down and many of them are covered with fallen leaves that have accumulated for years. Nearby is the old log French chapel used by the early fathers when they passed through the country on their journeys from Detroit to the French settlements along the Illinois and Mississippi river.

The old burying ground is said to have been used for the same purpose by the Indians long before the white man penetrated the wilderness.

The oldest tombstone in the stone-walled cemetery records the date of the death of a white man in 1812, which was one hundred and one years ago.

The old cemetery is difficult of access. A representative of the Evening Post scrambled up the hill through a jungle of undergrowth to find the cemetery gate barred and overgrown with vines and briars. He found himself in the past - a past that spoke of dim Indian trails, of mission fathers, of the times when the French flag floated over the great lakes region and when few white men, aside from the French missionaries had set foot in the region around the foot of the lake.

Several of the rude stones mark the last resting place of mission fathers of the church. Here they worked among the Indians and here they died, martyrs to the cause they loved. One was tempted to recite the couplet by Robert Louis Stevenson:

"Round about the grave or martyrs the whaups are crying;
My heart remembers how."

Michigan City folk have also discovered the old cemetery in the sand dunes and wilderness.

Bailly Cemetery data prepared by Steven R. Shook

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