Surilda[Perkins] Bailey's photo has been taken without permission and added to incorrect sites."Surilda was my g-g-grandmother,on the Bailey side. My parents,as children in Ky,remembered both Surilda and Alfred Joseph, her husband.I was told they were very kind,and good people. I love the photo I have of them in front of their log home in Ky,although my father told me he was afraid of Alfred's whiskers. Surilda was very dark,and my mother told me she was a small woman,and wore moccasins all the time. Although very stern looking, she was one of the nicest people you could know." by William Ashley,a second great grandson. straight black hair , brown eyes, dark mahogany skin tone. She is buried next to her husband, Alfred Joseph Bailey,[1825-1912]. Surilda, [1836-1912], was born in what is now Magoffin Co,Ky,and had 10 children. Only 2 of them lived until maturity, Caroline,and James Franklin Bailey. Caroline died before 1900, James died in 1930,in Ky. Perkins is a common Melungeon name in the Lee co. Wolfe co. Owsley co. Magoffin co area, county lines changed back and forth over the years. Surilda married Alfred Bailey 15 feb 1852, altho he was still married to Peggy. their children, Manum b sept 1852 d 22,Oct 1852 Magoffin co, William b 20 Sept 1852 d 1853, Mary M.-E. b about 1856 d 16 June 1858 of flux, Owsley co. James Franklin b 21 Oct 1858 d April 1930 , Caroline b 1861 died befor 1900. Caroline's descendants are now the Mize family of KY. the 1880 census shows Surilda born KY, father- KY mother-KY. certificate of death shows she was born in Magoffin co, KY. name of father Perkins, maiden name of mother not known. cause of death- apoplexy, age 76, color or race- white, which her picture clearly shows otherwise.so far we have talked with descendants from various branches of this family. some swear that Surilda was Choctaw, and painted her photograph white "to look like the color she really was." others have researched the Chickasaw Nation rolls, and found where Perkins applications were rejected. others swear she was Cherokee. Many descendants have done DNA testing and there is no trace of Native American. what the descendants do all have in common is DNA from the Mediterranian area, from Morocco to Turkey to the Caucasus. Cherokee Grandma Stories from the Appalachian Mountains turn out to be Melungeon. this site may be used for this family's genealogy purposes only. her name was spelled Shrielda Perkins and Sayrilda Perkins also, her name was not coon.