Editing Victoria Elizabeth Cunningham Bailey

Victoria Elizabeth Cunningham, March 18, 1842 – March 27, 1896, was the daughter of William Cunningham, Jr. and Mary “Polly” Montgomery Cunningham. She was the youngest of five siblings: Maj. John William Cunningham, 1804–1879; Benjamin Franklin Cunningham, 1831–1853; Nancy Margaret Cunningham, 1835–1916; Michael M. Cunningham, 1836–1862; and Victoria, 1842-1896.

In the 1850 census, Victoria is listed as age 8 and attending school. Head of household is her father, age 45, a farmer; his real estate is valued at $2,000. Her mother is 42. Living at the home are J. W. Cunningham, listed as a school teacher; Benjamin, age 19, listed with occupation as  "student;" Nancy, age 15, and Michael, age 12, both in school.

In the 1860 census, Victoria is listed as age 16 (an error — she was 18), not going to school, and working as a seamstress. Her father, age 55, is listed as a farmer with real estate valued at $7,800 and personal estate valued at $1,975. Living at the home is also her mother, age 51; brother Michael, age 21; and her sister "Margaret Prince," age 25. Margaret, Victoria's sister, had married Baylis Prince at age 16; he died in 1859. Apparently, she moved back home after his death.

It doesn't appear that her father enslaved anyone, but she was surrounded by those who did — including her father's brothers.

In June 1861, at age 19, Victoria started writing letters to her sister Margaret, who had remarried George Washington Sullivan. We have 25 letters from Victoria to Margaret, spanning a decade. The first letter proudly reports that their brother Mike has just headed to war. Later she reports on Mike's death.

In the 1870 census, her father and mother have a single child living with them, A. Belton Cunningham. This was their grandchild, the son of John William Cunningham and Sophronia Caroline Prince (sister to Baylis Prince, who married Margaret). A letter from Victoria to her sister Margaret notes that Belton is attending school; perhaps he was boarding with his grandparents for that purpose.

Victoria became the second wife of William Clark Bailey, a school teacher and retailer; they were married September 19, 1865. In Victoria's letters to her sister, she first denies any relationship with Bailey, and later confesses to her marriage — and explains that Margaret wasn't told or invited because of unmentioned factors that Margaret would understand. Mystery!

Victoria and William Bailey had five children: Henrietta “Etta” Bailey, October 9, 1866 – November 9, 1944, who married W. W. Burgiss; M. Estelle Bailey, July 2, 1869-1876, who died in a fire at age 6; Edgar W. Bailey, 1872-?, who worked at Cannon Mills in Charlotte, NC; his twin Edwin “E.C.” or "Eece" Bailey, 1872-1944, who became president of Greer Bank & Trust; Fannie B. Bailey Smith, 1875-?, who married Thomas Edward “T.E.” Smith; and Victoria E. “Bettie” Bailey Watson, 1878-1940, who married William Norman Watson.

In the Greenville News May 7, 1996, descendant Jean Bailey said she was known as “Miss Vic,” and she was a “brilliant woman” and “fabulous businesswoman.”