Family research, stories, and photos provided by many family members. Collected and posted by Lewis Bailey Steppe Jr.

• Margaret's Tree (15 KB)
  This is my wife's tree.
• Bailey Steppe Tree (419 KB)
  The tree contains over 2150 family members.

• Family Servicemen (37 KB)
  Revolutionary War: GGGGGrandfather Benjamin Hughes, joined the Virginia troops at age 16, served 3 years in several battles, and at the siege of Yorktown. War Between the States: GGFather John D Stepp, Virginia Heavy Artillery, taken POW with brother Nathan at Saylor's Creek. GGFather Benjamin Franklin Waller, Virginia Cavalry, permanently disabled by ball in thigh. GGGFather Allen German Bailey, Virginia Infantry, member of J. E. B. Stuarts brigrade, died at Drury's Bluff. WWII: Two brothers and twenty-three first cousins of my dad served. One cousin died in France.
• Cleveland and Kate Steppe Family (64 KB)
  Front: Mary (Sis), Ruth, Clyde. Back: Daniel, Gordon, Lewis (my father)
• Girls at the Spring, Summer 1929 (138 KB)
  Down the hill behind great-grandfathers house was a shaded spring. These cousins have decided to cool off by walking to the spring. The large rocks serve as a place for the little one to sit. The central girl is my mother Shirley Waller. Behind to the left is sister Iris and to the right is cousin Irma Waller. The other girls are probably half cousins, grandchildren of Ben F Waller by his first wife.
• My Mother (72 KB)
  Shirley Waller (Shacks), a typical teenager, is eager to show everyone her new dress.
• My Grandparents as Teenagers (60 KB)
  Top: Kate Bailey and Cleveland Steppe. Bottom Margaret Lane and Lemuel Waller. The photos are about 100 years old.
• BENJAMIN F WALLER CO H 3 VA CAV CSA (30 KB)
  Great Grandfather Ben was at the Appomattox surrender. He was released at Lynchburg the next day and walked to his home in Halifax County.
• Christmas 2000 (51 KB)
  We sent this picture along with a recording we made of "We Wish You A Merry Christmas" as our Christmas card for Dec 25, 2000
• Grandma Kate's Family (98 KB)
  Seated: Martha Virginia Moses=Bailey=DePriest (Grandma DePriest) and second husband Lewis E DePriest. The children are John L, Oscar (Bud), Ocea, and Kate, my grandmother, all by first husband John P Bailey. Martha remarried after John P died and this photo was taken about 1898. Martha, John P, and Lewis are burried in the Bailey cemetary. Milton Bailey says that Lewis DePriest is a descendant of the sister of George Washington.
• Lem and Meg Waller Family (40 KB)
  Oris, Shirley (my mother), Vivian, Iris, and Raymond. Son Harry missed the photo.
• Two Great Grandfather Grave Markers (60 KB)
  All over Virginia, behind country churches and in family graveyards, there are markers like these. Here are the weathered gravestones of two of my great grandfathers. At the top of each gravestone is a circle containing the Southern Cross of Honor for members of the Confederate States Army.
• Great Grandmother Obituaries (100 KB)
  I vaguely remember these great grandmothers. When they died I was one of the 68 enumerated great grandchildren. Grandma Steppe was the 'Woman in black". I took my first steps while staying with 'Grandma DePriest".
• Dad as a Cowboy (67 KB)
  Dad always said he had been a cowboy. He had wandered out west after his father fell from the bridge. I don't know if this is true, but here is a photo of dad with a ten-gallon hat looking mean as he can. His right hand holds back his coat to reveal his pistol in holster just inches away from his hand. His left hand is concealed so that the oponent can think about he might be holding with it.
• Eliza Jane Stevens Lane and Three Granddaughters (44 KB)
  Eliza had thick black hair and plain looks; traits inherited by grandaughters Betty, Rubye, and Shirley (my mother). Rubye was a US army nurse in China, tragically dying there in 1933.
• Our Wedding Photo (102 KB)
  The day Margaret and I got married, 10 Dec 1987. We went to a JP, Preston Saywer, during our lunch break. Then we went back to work.
• Photo of Harry Waller (69 KB)
  Uncle Harry and Aunt Betty. They were first cousins, she was a daughter of his mother's sister. This intermarriage had happened several generations and some believe it caused the death of their infant boys.
• My Children, Moninna and Lewis (113 KB)
  They share a birthday, June 23, two years apart. Seventy years ago Uncle Daniel stood here with a hogleg in his belt http://baileysteppe.homestead.com/StoryPage.html . Lewis continues the family tradition.
• Only Great-Great-Grandparent Picture I Have Seen (32 KB)
  Elizabeth Drinkard , born 10 July 1822, wife of James Layne and mother of Emma Haskins Layne. Elizabeth was a daughter of Archibald Drinkard and Judith Pendleton. The picture was provided by Cathy Day, wife of my third cousin Buddy Day.
• My Sisters and I as Children (63 KB)
  This photo was taken about 1942. The children are Sylvia, Bailey, and Margaret.
• Grandma DePriest (130 KB)
  Martha Moses Bailey DePriest. She raised several batches of children: her own, her daughter's including my father, and her brother's; maybe not in that order. She will not let any of them forget who is in charge, even at a family gathering years later.
• The bridge that grandfather fell from (82 KB)
  I believe that grandfather Cleveland Steppe is the man standing at the right of the pier. The trees are bare in this photo. He fell to his death in the summer and I have pictures of work on the roadbed which would come after the piers we completed.
• Margaret (37 KB)
  Margaret at the seashore
• My Grandsons (79 KB)
  Zachary and Daniel Steppe with me. Bryan Wood.
• Margaret's Grandson (17 KB)
  Margaret's favorite of Jeremy.
• My Great Grandparents (116 KB)
  Top: John and Emma Steppe, John and Martha Bailey. Bottom: Ben and Cath Waller, Jennings and Eliza Lane.
• Alonza Waller's Family (157 KB)
  Alonza Waller, wife Lota Blanks, and daughter Irma.
• Linda and Larry, Oct 2000 (56 KB)
  My cousin, Linda Smith Keeling, lost her battle with cancer this March 2001. Cousin Stevie had this to say in an e-mail: "It is so very hard to believe that she is no longer with us. In my memory, I still see her as the vibrant young girl who loved to laugh".
• James Ferdinand Waller (52 KB)
  Son of Ben F Waller by his first marriage to Fanny Brown

• Family of John P and Martha Bailey (11 KB)
  A list of the children and grandchildren of John Pleasant Bailey and Martha Virginia J Moses.
• Battle at Saylor's Creek (13 KB)
  My Great Grandfather, John Dabney Steppe, was at the Battle of Saylor's Creek. Here is an account of the battle.
• The Lewis E DePriest household in the 1900 census (33 KB)
  The typical home of a country constable, there are a variety of relatives living under one roof.
• Battle at Drury's Bluff. (11 KB)
  My Great-Great Grandfather, Allen German Bailey, died at the Battle of Drury's Bluff. Here is an account of the battle.
• Family of Benjamin Franklin Waller (21 KB)
  A list of the children and grandchildren of Ben and Fanny Waller and of Ben and Cath Waller.
• Family of Jennings and Eliza Lane (11 KB)
  A list of the children and grandchildren of Jennings Thornton Lane and Eliza Jane Stevens. The four lists show that my parents had over 134 first cousins between them.
• Family of John D and Emma Stepp (15 KB)
  A list of the children and grandchildren of John Dabney Stepp and Emma Haskins Layne.

• Cathy Day's Steppe Page
• Justin Steppe's family page
• Bailey Steppe Web Site

Bailey Steppe
baileysteppe@msn.com

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