Nancy Ellen Farley Bailey was born September 6, 1903 at Beech Fork, Leslie County, Kentucky. She was the daughter of Charlotte and Harmon L. Farley. Nancy came to Virginia about 1915 with her mother Charlotte and Step-father, Kelly Burkhart. She met John Holbert Bailey at Keokee and they were married on June 3, 1917. A few months after they were married, Nancy's husband, John, was called into service for World War I and served under John J. Pershing. He was wounded in action in the fall of 1918 at the Battle of Argonne Forest, France. He was sent back to the states and spent more than a year in army hospitals in Baltimore, Maryland and Washington DC. Nancy found work so she could live and be near him. After receiving a medical discharge, Nancy and her husband returned to Virginia. Later John enrolled at Berea College, Berea, Kentucky and studied agriculture. They lived there for several years before returning to Virginia and settling at Dryden. John died in 1953, and was buried in the family cemetery at Dryden leaving Nancy a widow for the last 45 years. Their family consisted of ten children, 31 grandchildren, 64 great grandchildren, and 27 great-great grandchildren in her life time. Nancy had one living brother, McCoy Farley, Tazewell, Tennessee and had four living sisters: Myrtle Wells of Martinsville, Indiana; Katie Cicken of Anoka Minnesota; Wanda Yeary of Woodway, Virginia; and Lottie Horton of Fairfax, Virginia. Nancy joined the Seventh-Day Adventist Church in the Spring of 1951. Her strong faith and love in Christ was demonstrated by her kind deeds shown to both family and friends. She shared the love of Jesus with her children and grandchildren through vivid Bible stories. She developed great wisdom from daily reading and studying her Bible. Nancy loved to garden and worked faithfully to harvest the fruits and vegetables for the winter months. She enjoyed raising pretty flowers, making beautiful quilts, raising cattle and taking care of other animals. Up until approximately the last five years of her life, she read her daily newspaper, magazines and books and could do this without wearing her glasses. Two of her favorite books were EDUCATION OF LITTLE TREE and THE OTHER SIDE OF THE MOUNTAIN. One of the great pleasures of being in her home was to listen as she told about her childhood days. There were such topics as horse and buggies, log roads over the mountains, oil lamps, the first cars, the sinking Titanic, the first flight, building of Highway Alt. 58, the Great Depression, and the killer flu of 1918. She was a warm and kind person who welcomed everyone into her home, expecting them to eat and stay the night if at all possible. Her "fried apple pies" was one food no one resisted. She was constantly busy being a happy homemaker and a friend to neighbors. She was the strengh of her family and a loving mother and grandmother. We will miss her. I hope my great granmother's life story has inspired you.