Bailey, Philip A., 1885-1970

Philip Armine Bailey was born at Royal Oak, Michigan on September 16, 1885. He was the son of Myron Asher and Bertha Sofia Brand Bailey. Philip commenced his professional and literary life at Albuquerque, New Mexico in 1906 when he joined the Santa Fe Railroad as a shop and materials inspector and began collecting lost mine tales from local prospectors. He married Helen Elizabeth Pettit in 1909. Their daughter, Dorothy Helen, was born on July 9, 1910.

The Baileys moved to San Diego, California, in 1911. There, Philip was employed as Statistician and Analyst by the San Diego Gas and Electric Company. He vigorously pursued his avocation by collecting tales from prospectors in the desert region east of San Diego, clippings and notes from California libraries, and correspondence from other folklorists.

The culmination of Bailey's efforts was the publication of an anthology, Golden Mirages, in 1940. He wrote many other unpublished pieces and had these and his voluminous research materials bound together. He continued his research in mining legends and local history until 1965, when ill health hampered his activities. Philip A. Bailey died in 1970.

From the guide to the Philip A. Bailey Papers, 1842-1965, 1906-1948, (Arizona State University Libraries Arizona Collection)