Perhaps ironically, given
the scope of these web pages and their detailing of family
history and genealogy, three of four of the Bates-originating
lines are early dead ends. We know nothing -- literally
nothing -- of the ancestry of Lovina Pelton, Benjamin Robinson,
or of his wife Elizabeth. We don't even know the latter's maiden
name. Moreover, although we can extend the Bates line
itself with relative assurance back to David Bates, George Sr's
father, an extension beyond that is speculative,
as described
below.
Therefore, rather than
extensive histories of each of these lines on separate pages, I will limit
comments to this page and the six known ancestors shown in the above graphic,
and a description of what we know (and what I suspect) regarding
the Bates line.
Lovina Pelton is said to
have been born in Connecticut. At least that's where she
married George Washington Bates, Sr. I have gone so far as
to look at every Pelton family for which Ancestry.com has
records where the marriage took place in Connecticut before
1801, to no avail. (None of the Ancestry.com records show
any variance from the last name, "Pelton"; the first name is
also found spelled "Levina.") Here's what the "Blue Book"
--
Families of LaMott & Amanda Bates -- says:
[George Washington
Bates, Sr.,] moved to New London, Connecticut where in 1818
at the age of 21, he married Lovina Pelton. They moved to
Norwich, Connecticut for seven years and had, while there,
four children, Lucy, David, George Jr. and Harriet.
.... In 1825 they moved to Liverpool, Medina
Co., Ohio into an almost unbroken wilderness where hardships
were many. Two more children were born in Liverpool, Ann and
Louisa.
On July 12, 1831 at age 34, the father died, leaving a widow
with six children under the age of 13 and no financial
resources; moreover, the physician who had cared for her
husband, in lieu of his fee, took away their only cow.
....
Seven years later, Lovina Pelton Bates
re-married Andrew J. Linman of Brunswick, Ohio and sub-sequently
bore him three sons, Andrew, Albert, and Alfred. In 1850,
they moved to Duplain, Clinton County, Michigan and later to
Elsie where, in time, Mr. Linman died on June 11, 1878 and
Lovina on 12/6/1885 at age 84.
That's all there is!
(Liverpool, Ohio, is just across the
Ohio-Pennsylvania border, and only about 30 miles from
Pittsburgh, where another of David Bates's sons, Giles, lived,
from at least 1860 until his death in 1889.)
Emily Robinson, Her Father Benjamin
Robinson, and His Wife "Elizabeth"
Only one sentence in the "Blue Book":
"On 11/11/1846 [George Washington Bates, Jr.,] married Emily
Robinson, age 17, born the youngest of eight children in Ripley,
Chautauqua Co., N.Y. to Benjamin and Elizabeth." We
do have photographs of Emily, included in the
Robinson subset.
Thanks to some saved correspondence and
photographs, we know a little more about Emily, Benjamin and
some of his children. First, we have a
photograph of Abby (Robinson) Baldwin, Emily's sister, but although we know
the names of her five children (Darius, Albert, Malona, Mary and
Eunice), we don't know her husband's first name. Second,
we have what purports to be
a photograph, or a photograph of a drawing, of "Elizabeth,"
Emily's mother. Then there is the correspondence:
-
A niece (name perhaps
Emma or Eunice Warner, although family records don't show
such a person -- genealogy does show a Lucinda and Lovina
Warner, each of whom would have been in her twenties at this
time, to whom Emily Robinson would have been an aunt)
writing Emily Robinson on 7-21-1862, with comments about
the Civil War, "traitors" where she was living, and family
news.
-
Another niece,
"Mattie," writing Emily on 10-25-1863, with some family
news and perhaps news of other relatives engaged in the War.
-
Emily's husband,
George Washington Bates, Jr., writing her from Elsie on
9-18-1878, at a time when Emily must have been visiting
a relative somewhere else, perhaps in Ohio.
-
Thanks to another letter
saved, that from Enoch Barkdull to George Washington Bates,
Jr., below, we know another of Emily's siblings, her sister
Olive. That accounts for five of the purported eight
children in Benjamin's family.
The Bates Line
The Bates Line is presented in three parts:
1) what we know; 2) saved correspondence; and 3) what we don't
know but what might be an extension of our ancestry.
Our Bates ancestors, descending from the
oldest assured male, are David Bates (abt.
1769-1813), George
Washington Bates, Sr. (1797-1831),
George Washington Bates,
Jr. (1823-1901), and LaMott
George Bates (1847-1939).
We believe David Bates
was born in 1769 somewhere in Rhode Island. Some evidence
points at North Kingstown, which also explains our problem:
Most genealogical records in North Kingstown were
destroyed or
damaged in a fire in the late 19th century. Were it not
for that, someone among David's far-flung descendants by now
would have ferreted out his ancestors. Nothing can be
found on the Web, and except for the information handed down
within the Bates family, no separate documentation. He is
said to have
died in the War of 1812, but even for that conflict no
primary documentation may be found.
Interestingly, we have a much, much better
pedigree for David's wife, Nancy Locke. In her paternal
line, we go back to Nancy's great great grandfather, John Locke,
born in London in 1622 and who arrived in New England we may
presume sometime before 1654, since records show his eldest
child, Elizabeth, born in New Hampshire in that year.
(Nancy's pedigree goes back to a common ancestor with the great
British political philosopher, John Locke, who is my 1st cousin,
10x removed.)
Other surnames among Nancy's ancestors found
in America:
Acres, Arnold (a link making the infamous Benedict Arnold my 2d
cousin, 8x removed), Berry, Blake, Carpenter, Dalton, Dodge, Hermins, Mansfield, Nixon, Porter, Rathbone, Redway, Searles,
Westcott (another common grandparent linking my parents' ancestry), Whipple, and Wilbore.
Information regarding
George Washington Bates,
Sr., is of a slightly better caliber. George was born
in Rhode Island and died young -- in Liverpool, Ohio.
From the "Blue Book," to repeat in part what was
written above:
He moved to New
London, Connecticut where in 1818 at the age of 21, he
married Lovina Pelton. They moved to Norwich,
Connecticut for seven years and had, while there, four
children, Lucy, David, George Jr. and Harriet.
In 1825 they moved to Liverpool,
Medina Co., Ohio into an almost unbroken wilderness
where hardships were many. Two more children were born
in Liverpool, Ann and Louisa.
On July 12, 1831 at age 34, the
father died, leaving a widow with six children under the
age of 13 and no financial resources; moreover, the
physician who had cared for her husband, in lieu of his
fee, took away their only cow.
Even though the Bateses were
one of the early settler families in Medina County, nothing is
found on the web regarding their time there. (An
interesting footnote learned during my research, however:
Emma Louise Button, the third great granddaughter of my 5th
great grandfather Peter Button, married another "George
Washington Bates," born 1863 in Norwalk, Connecticut. I
can find no relationship between us.)
Because of his father's premature death,
George Washington Bates,
Jr., had a difficult childhood, again as recounted in the
"Blue Book":
Because of her
financial plight, George Jr., then age eight, was taken
by his mother through the woods three miles and given
over to a Reverend Shaler who was to bring him up. He
was placed up on the horse, back of the saddle, and rode
then for 15 more miles to West Richfield, Ohio. The
minister was kindly but his wife was not. Indeed, she
was cruel even to the point of depriving him of
sufficient food. After a year, she said one day to
nine-year-old George, “I wish you were back where you
came from.”
“Can’t I go?” he eagerly asked.
“I don’t care” was the answer, so he
quickly grabbed his little hat and set off down the
18-mile road toward his mother.
Rev. Shaler shortly returned from a
pastoral call and, being apprised of the situation, set
off in pursuit and soon found George seated on a stone
beside the road, crying in despair.
The poor lad was taken then to the home of Captain and
Mrs. Bigelow in Richfield where he received a kindly
welcome and was treated as one of the family until he
was 22 years old. To his children he subsequently
referred to them as “Grandpa and Grandma Bigelow.”
One photo handed down the
generations is the Bigelow home where George lived for fourteen
years:
Continuing:
George Washington
Bates, Jr., learned to be a harness maker while living
with the Bigelows. On 11/11/1846 he married Emily
Robinson, age 17, born the youngest of eight children in
Ripley, Chautauqua Co., N.Y. to Benjamin and Elizabeth.
Their first born, LaMott
George, was born in Richfield on 10/13/1847. When he
was five, they moved to Oberlin, Ohio where a girl,
Lizzie (“Aunt Tipp”) was born.
For all of those years, George Jr.
had kept in touch with his mother, Lovina Pelton Bates
Lin-man, now residing in Duplain, south and east of
Elsie. Upon her urging, he determined now to move his
family to a homestead near her. ....
Upon the family’s arrival October
12, 1855, little LaMott and Lizzie with Mother Emily
stayed with Grandmother Linman while George, Jr. set
about clearing his 80-acre homestead and building a log
cabin in Fairfield Township, Shiawassee County about
three miles north and east of Elsie.
Thus did the Bates family
arrive in Elsie.
The other side of the Bates history belongs
to LaMott's wife, Hannah Amanda Sickels, and
her forebears. The only
remaining items are two letters written to George Washington
Bates, Jr.:
-
A letter
from Enoch Barkdull from New Orleans dated 8-30-1870.
Barkdull had married George's sister-in-law, Olive Robinson,
and in fact this letter permitted us to identify Olive.
The letter discusses some complicated (and unfortunate)
estate matters affecting the Robinsons. Given that
Barkdull was from Ohio and was in New Orleans in 1870, I
had wondered if he played some role in Reconstruction following
the Civil War. Whatever his reasons for moving there,
he stayed, dying there in 1890, eighteen years after his
wife died (Olive died in 1872).
I did find
this:
Enoch J. Barkdull
identified himself with the south factor in Republican
politics during and after the reconstruction period. His
early life had been passed as a merchant in Akron and
Massillon, Ohio, and he embarked in business at Jackson,
Louisiana. He went south in 1858 in New Orleans at the
age of seventy-two years of age [actually, his age would
have been 40]. His birthplace was in Ohio and his
ancestors were of German blood. The names of Barkdull,
Barksdale and Barkdoll are all from the same origin, the
change in the spelling occurring to suit the fancy or
taste of some careless and indifferent member of the
family.
Enoch J. Barkdull married Olive Robinson, born in
Montpelier, Vermont, in 1820, and died in New Orleans in
1872. Their children were: Emma, who died in Henrietta,
Texas, in 1892 as Mrs. George Goodwin; Laura, now Mrs.
Everest Blanc, of New Orleans; Augustine and Enoch, Jr.,
of Chicago; Olive, who died as Mrs. W. F. Faulkner, of
Fort Worth; Lucien H., of Chicago; Charles R. and John
W., of New Orleans.
I've spent some time
researching Enoch for two reasons: first, hoping that
he might lead to more information about his wife, Olive, and
her Robinson ancestors; and second, because it is one of the very few
instances of a family member who settled in the South, even
after the Civil War, and even if due to following a spouse.
If Barkdull was a Republican and involved in Reconstruction,
I question the statement he moved to New Orleans in 1858 --
I suspect that's a typo and "1868" was meant.
-
A
9-6-1874 letter from Benajah Clark Davis, Jr., George's
first cousin, telling him news of family illnesses and
deaths, and a report on crops in George's original hometown,
Liverpool, Ohio. In the letter I found this curious
statement: "Therefore it makes no difference when wee
go if we have got on the Wedding garment. Alethia got
the garment while she was sick and died happy." A
little research showed this to be related to
strong Christian beliefs with which I at least was
unfamiliar:
Contrary to what is
commonly taught in the religious world today, the
wedding garment, which is what is required in order to
enter Christ’s kingdom (Matthew 22:11-14), is not simply
a nominal faith in Christ’s death on the cross. It is a
holy character, purified by the blood of Christ, and
filled with His graces, as Ellen White makes abundantly
clear in this beautiful and concise statement.
This is not heresy, as some might imagine. It has been
taught by other well-known preachers of the past. Read
this paragraph from Spurgeon’s sermon #976, preached in
1871, and titled, “The Wedding Garment”:
…the wedding
dress is a holy character, the imparted
righteousness which the Holy Spirit works in us, and
which is equally necessary as a proof of grace. If
you question such a statement, I would remind you of
the dress which adorns the saints in heaven. What is
said of it? “They have washed their robes and made
them white in the blood of the Lamb.” Their robes
therefore were such as once needed washing; and this
could not be said in any sense of the righteousness
of the Lord Jesus Christ; that was always perfect
and spotless. It is clear then that the figure is
sometimes applied to saints in reference to their
personal character.
Holiness is always present in those who are loyal
guests of the great King, for “without holiness no
man shall see the Lord.” Too many professors pacify
themselves with the idea that they possess imputed
righteousness, while they are indifferent to the
sanctifying work of the Spirit. They refuse to put
on the garment of obedience, they reject the white
linen which is the righteousness of saints. They
thus reveal their self-will, their enmity to God,
and their non-submission to his Son. Such men may
talk what they will about justification by faith,
and salvation by grace, but they are rebels at
heart, they have not on the wedding dress any more
than the self-righteous, whom they so eagerly
condemn.
Here are photographs we have
of other Bates/Robinson relatives senior to LaMott:
In 1986-88 Frances Hendricks
(my first cousin, 1x removed) herself performed or commissioned
some genealogical research trying to trace David Bates's
ancestry. Her efforts, shared with my mother, yielded a
line which is temptingly persuasive, so I am including it here
(as well as in my Ancestry.com family tree) -- with suitable
caveats and cautions -- so that the fruits not be lost.
You can take it or leave it, depending on your desire to work
with hard facts. Here is the line traced:
Francis Bates, born in
England before 7-13-1627, married Anne Oldham, born in England
in approximately 1634. Francis and Oldham probably
emigrated separately to Massachusetts, him in 1648, her in 1652.
They married in 1661 in Massachusetts, and sometime thereafter
moved to Rhode Island, where both died, he near North Kingstown
(recall the discussion of David Bates, above).
Francis and Anne had four
children, the youngest of whom was also named Francis.
Francis, Jr., born in Massachusetts on 1-8-1668, married Mary
Burges, born 1670 in North Kingstown, RI. They had ten
children, the oldest of which was Daniel, born about 1687,
probably in North Kingstown.
Daniel married a "Hannah,"
about whom we know nothing, and they had six children, the
youngest of whom was David, born when Daniel was 53 (this is a
weak link, since David's next older sibling, John, was born 31
years earlier; however, David was possibly result of an unknown
second marriage). David also was born in North Kingstown,
in 1740 (some records say 1711, which would place him more
securely near birthdates of his siblings, but that would make
him 100 at his date of death -- six of one, half-dozen of
another).
The link therefore is
between this David and "our" David who, being born in 1769,
could easily be the elder David's child. Arguments
favoring the parentage include:
-
It was common practice
in those years to have father and son of the same first
name;
-
The North Kingstown link
is persuasive; and
-
The dates of birth and
death are plausible.
So, speculative as it is, at
this time this is the sole possible extension of the Bates line
back to pre-Revolutionary times.
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