Creator of modern circus entombed in Woodlawn
REPRINTED FROM 11-10-2011
James Anthony Bailey, father of
the modern circus.
BRONX TIMES REPORTER, DECEMBER 2 BTR 1-27, 2018 73
BY BILL TWOMEY
The name James Anthony
Bailey probably means nothing
to you. But when I mention
Barnum and Bailey,
your ears are likely to perk
up. Everyone loves a clown
and one place where you’re
sure to find many is at the
circus. That’s where James
A. Barney spent his entire
life,
He was born James Anthony
McGuinness on the
4th of July, 1847 and was
orphaned when only eight
years old. During his teen
years, he managed to find
a job as a bellhop where he
met Fred Bailey, a nephew of
Hachaliah Bailey. Hachaliah
bought an elephant circa 1815
to work his fields in Somers,
New York but soon found out
that people were willing to
pay him just to see the elephant.
It gave him the idea
of purchasing other exotic
animals and a decade later,
the circus was born.
In the interim, McGuinness
changed his name to
Bailey and was hired by the
circus. James proved to be
a great promoter and after
joining forces with James E,
Cooper, he became the manager
of the Cooper and Bailey’s
Circus. He was only 25
years old at that time and
now was fully acquainted
with all aspects of running
a circus including the purchase
of exotic animals and
acquiring qualified trainers.
They traveled throughout
the United States, Australia
and South America
and their fame was growing.
Phineas Taylor Barnum
was, by this time, well known
in the entertainment fi eld
and had a life-time of experience
in dealing with the public.
It was he who promoted
“General” Tom Thumb and
Swedish opera singer Jenny
Lind (1820-1887) on her tour
of America in 1850. Barnum
netted about a half million
dollars from her appearances
while she earned about
$350,000 which she donated
to various charities. Barnum
was also very much involved
in Connecticut politics and a
strong supporter of the 13th
amendment. He served in
the Connecticut legislature
representing Fairfi eld and
also was once the mayor of
Bridgeport. He is most remembered,
however, for joining
up with James E, Bailey
to form the Barnum and Bailey
circus.
Phineas T. Barnum died
on April 7, 1891 and James
Bailey continued to take the
circus on tours throughout
the United States and Europe.
When Bailey died in
from an acute streptococcus
bacterial infection, the
Ringling Brothers began negotiating
to acquire it. Negotiations
were successful
and Ringling Brothers took
over ownership the following
year. They ran the Ringling
Brothers Circus and the
Barnum and Bailey Circus
as two separate entities until
merging them in 1919. At that
point it became known as The
Ringling Brothers & Barnum
and Bailey Circus. It was
sold to Irvin Feld in 1967. He
sold it to Mattel in 1971 and
repurchased it in 1982 and is
now run by Ken Feld and has
about 750 employees.
When James A. Bailey
passed away in Mount Vernon,
New York on April 11,
1906, he went down in history
as the creator of the
modern circus. He was entombed
in a private mausoleum
in Woodlawn Cemetery
here in the Bronx. Look for
it in the Larch Plot and say
a prayer for the man who
brought a smile to thousands
of young faces.