Willis Joshua Bailey was a United States Representative

United States House of Representatives

The United States House of Representatives is one of the two Houses of the United States Congress, the bicameral legislature which also includes the Senate.The composition and powers of the House are established in Article One of the Constitution...

 from Kansas

Kansas

Kansas is a US state located in the Midwestern United States. It is named after the Kansas River which flows through it, which in turn was named after the Kansa Native American tribe, which inhabited the area. The tribe's name is often said to mean "people of the wind" or "people of the south...

 and the 16th Governor of Kansas

Governor of Kansas

The Governor of the State of Kansas is the head of state for the State of Kansas, United States. Under the Kansas Constitution, the Governor is also the head of government, serving as the chief executive of the Kansas executive branch, of the government of Kansas. The Governor is the...

.

Born in Carroll County, Illinois, Bailey attended the common school

Common school

A common school was a public school in the United States or Canada in the nineteenth century. The term 'common school' was coined by Horace Mann, and refers to the fact that they were meant to serve individuals of all social classes and religions....

s, Mount Carroll High School, and the University of Illinois at Urbana.
He moved to Nemaha County, Kansas

Nemaha County, Kansas

Nemaha County is a county located in the northeastern part of the U.S. state of Kansas. As of the 2010 census, the county population was 10,178. The county seat is Seneca.- History :...

, in 1879.
He engaged in agricultural pursuits, stock raising, and banking.
Bailey founded the town of Baileyville, Kansas

Baileyville, Kansas

Baileyville is an unincorporated community in western Nemaha County, Kansas, United States. It is located six miles west of Seneca on U.S. Route 36.-History:...

.
He served as member of the Kansas House of Representatives

Kansas House of Representatives

The Kansas House of Representatives is the lower house of the Kansas Legislature, the legislative body of the U.S. State of Kansas. Composed of 125 state representatives from districts with roughly equal populations of at least 19,000, its members are responsible for crafting and voting on...

 from 1888 to 1890.
He served as president of the Republican State League in 1893.
He served as member of the Kansas State Board of Agriculture from 1895 to 1899.

Bailey was elected as a Republican

Republican Party (United States)

The Republican Party is one of the two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Democratic Party. Founded by anti-slavery expansion activists in 1854, it is often called the GOP . The party's platform generally reflects American conservatism in the U.S...

 to the Fifty-sixth Congress

56th United States Congress

-House of Representatives:- Leadership :- Senate :* President: Garret Hobart , until November 21, 1899 , vacant thereafter.* President pro tempore: William P. Frye * Democratic Caucus Chairman: James K. Jones...

 (March 4, 1899 – March 3, 1901).
He was not a candidate for renomination in 1900 to the Fifty-seventh Congress

57th United States Congress

-House of Representatives:*Democratic: 151*Republican: 200 *Populist: 5*Silver : 1TOTAL members: 357-Leadership:-Senate:* President: Theodore Roosevelt , until September 14, 1901, vacant thereafter....

.
Bailey served as Governor of Kansas from 1903 to 1905.
He moved to Atchison, Kansas

Atchison, Kansas

Atchison is a city situated along the Missouri River in the eastern part of Atchison County, located in northeast Kansas, in the Central United States. As of the 2010 census, the city population was 11,021. It is the county seat and most populous city of Atchison County...

, in 1907 and engaged in the banking business.

Bailey was elected a director of the Federal Reserve Bank

Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City

The Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City covers the 10th District of the Federal Reserve, which includes Colorado, Kansas, Nebraska, Oklahoma, Wyoming, and portions of western Missouri and northern New Mexico. The Bank has branches in Denver, Oklahoma City, and Omaha. The current president is...

 of Kansas City, Missouri

Kansas City, Missouri

Kansas City, Missouri is the largest city in the U.S. state of Missouri and is the anchor city of the Kansas City Metropolitan Area, the second largest metropolitan area in Missouri. It encompasses in parts of Jackson, Clay, Cass, and Platte counties...

, in 1914, governor in 1922, and served until his death in Mission Hills, Kansas

Mission Hills, Kansas

Mission Hills is a city in Johnson County, Kansas, United States. As of the 2010 census, the city population was 3,498. The city is a suburb of Kansas City, Missouri, which is adjacent to the east, across the aptly named State Line Road. Mission Hills was originally developed by noted Kansas...

, May 19, 1932.
He was interred in Mount Vernon Cemetery, Atchison, Kansas

Atchison, Kansas

Atchison is a city situated along the Missouri River in the eastern part of Atchison County, located in northeast Kansas, in the Central United States. As of the 2010 census, the city population was 11,021. It is the county seat and most populous city of Atchison County...

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