There were Bayou/Baiiu families living in Seldovia before 1900. It is likely that the original Russian Bayou came to Kodiak in the 19th century and married an Alaska Native woman, as their descendants are sometimes listed as Creoles in census records.
In 1893 when Russian Orthodox priest Aleksandr Iaroshevich visited Seldovia, Nikokai Baiu was the zakazchik (second in command), while Feodor Berestov was the toion (leader) and Zakhar Balashov was the church warden. The village did not have a song leader so the priest advised Mikhail Balashov and Nikolai Baiiu to come to his place in Kenai for the winter to be instructed, and they agreed. When the priest returned to Seldovia in 1898 he stayed with Nikolai Baiiu wh served both as a songleader and zakazchik,, and he “put so much effort into teaching people proper singing.” Nikolai was also the record-keeper for the Seldovia St. Theodosius Brotherhood, whose duty it was to maintain the church and cemetery, provide a school and provide for the needy. In 1898 Nikolai provided written consent to turn his personal house into a school. Father Bortnovsky reported that his house was “quite neat and appropriate for the purposes of schooling…the major advantage of this donated house is its location near the chapel, the most convenient place in the whole village.” Other villagers offered to help him build a new home.
Wassilii Bayou was born in 1873 in Alaska. Most census records claim that both of his parents were born in Alaska. He and his wife, Christina were living in Seldovia with 3 children and he was listed as a laborer. In 1910, the family was in Ninilchik with 4 children and he was listed as a shop keeper. In 1920 they were back in Kachemak Bay where he was a logger at a pile camp. Christina died not long after that and Wassilii married Eva Odoyiah Hunter on September 22, 1925. Wassilii was a trapper in Seldovia at the time of the 1930 census. He died May 10, 1937 and is buried in Seldovia City Cemetery, Plot # 91.
EVA BACKOFF Bayou b. 1882, d. 1937, first married William Hunter. After Hunter’s death she married Wassilii Bayou and they were living in Seldovia with her children in 1930. She is buried in Seldovia City Cemetery, next to Wassilii in Plot #90.
Martha Gussoff Bayou b. 1902, d. June 10, 1938; buried in Seldovia City Cemetery. Martha was the daughter of Theodore “Fred” Gussoff who lived in Seldovia in 1930 as a widower with a son Mike Gussoff. She married Alfred Wassilii Bayou on March 28, 1919 in Kenai, Alaska. Alfred may be a son of Wasillii. He was living in Seldovia in 1920. Alfred and Martha had three sons, Paul, William and Philip. She is buried in the Seldovia City Cemetery, Plot #109. After her death, Alfred first married Katie Toko and then Dora Malchoff Anahonak. He is buried in Anchorage Memorial Cemetery.