3 Wives of Thomas Jefferson Bates - THE BATES FAMILY

THE BATES FAMILY

History of Thomas Jefferson Bates & His 3 Wives

Recorded and researched and still researching by his Great Grandson Richard Bates Dated/Distributed this day 02/25/2020
Need archived precinct map/location info & more research on 1880, 1900, & 1910 time frame (Panola County 1900?)./RB

Starting Point of Historical Research begins in 1830 Tennessee:
Thomas Jefferson Bates’ (written as TJ from now thru this document) father John C (born in 1813) lived with his father James (born in 1785) in or around Gibson Tennessee with 4 sisters and one brother. John C was about 17 years old. Andrew Jackson had just been elected the 7th President of the United States.
1840 Tennessee:
Note: Before 1850 the US Census just listed the name of the head of household with a count of males and females and there approximate age living in the household so extra research was required to find out names of the wife and siblings.
James still lives in the area in 1840 and had 11 children total but now John C and the oldest girl have disappeared from his household leaving only 9 kids at home.
John C would be about 27 years old at this time and shows up married in the 1840 Census living in the same Gibson Tn area with wife Mary (Polly) Bowers Bates and 3 children. The oldest TJ (1836), followed by Elizabeth (1838), and Elisha or Elihu (1839). James would be born later in 1843.
1850 Tennessee:
John C has disappeared. He does not show up on the 1850 Census and presumed dead although I have no concrete evidence of his date of death (other family trees found show date of death 1844 but I think that is because they knew he was alive for James’ birth in 1843). Mary and her 4 children are now listed by their names in the 1850 US Census with Mary as head of household in the same Gibson Tn area. TJ would be about 14 years old at this time.
1860 Texas:
Mary has left Gibson Tennessee and moved to Washington County Texas along with her family (The Bower Family) probably in between 1856 and 1859. I actually went to Trenton Tennessee a few years ago on a research mission (their Court House has all the old records from Gibson County) and found old documents which I got a copy of that shows Polly Bates still owning land in the Gibson Area in 1856 showing a valid Land Grant ID. She establishes a household close to the Bowers in Texas and the 1860 Census shows Mary with her children but TJ as Head of Household. TJ would be about 24 years old. I can colorfully imagine the family in a covered wagon pulled by a team of horses traveling from Tennessee to Texas. It makes me wonder how they got here and what conditions they endured, even the Chisolm Trail for cattle drives all the way from San Antonio Texas to Abilene Kansas did not start until 1867. The Census also shows a 20 year old female (Eliza) and a child less than 1 year old. Research will show this to be Eliza Herndon, TJ’s first wife, and Mary Nancy his first child (named after his mother). I found a record of his marriage to Eliza Herndon 09-18-1859 in Fayette County Texas Archives (close to Washington County) and the birth of Mary Nancy 09/06/1860 (entered in the Bates Bible). I also found record of Eliza’s death in 1861 but just another family tree record with no concrete evidence (I assume she probably died from complications during child birth).

1861 The Civil War:
Abraham Lincoln at age 51 was elected our 16th President in 1860 and conflicts that had been going on for more than a decade ultimately resulted in the start of the Civil War in 1861. Research shows that TJ and his two brothers Elihu and James all served. They enlisted in the Confederate Sixteen Infantry of Texas (Seventh Infantry Flourney’s Infantry) at the start of the war and served until it was over. They were all of age between 18 and 25 years old in 1861. From what I can find it appears that only Elihu was promoted to Corporal. TJ and James went in as privates and as far as I can tell finished as privates. Elihu went on to become a pastor and probably had a church in the Burleson County Texas Area which is close to Washington County so maybe the war had something to do with the path he chose. I think that he could have performed the marriage ceremonies for both of his brothers after he became a pastor as they both were married in Burleson County.

1865 TJ’s Return:
Records show his marriage to Latitia Daniels 09/05/1864 in Burleson County Texas Archives and that he would have 2 more children before 1870, Eliza Jane born 07/17/1865 and James Franklin born 11/03/1868. His First Born Mary Nancy looks as if she is being raised by her Grandmother Mary in another residence but TJ, Latitia, Mary, and Family still live in the Washington Texas area.
1870 TJ and the 1870 US Census:
The 1870 US Census shows TJ, Latitia, and 2 children living together in the Washington County Area but not Mary Nancy and not James Franklin. The Census shows Eliza Jane 5 years old and a sister Sarah less than 1 year old with TJ and Letitia. Infant mortality was not uncommon in those days so James Franklin might have died somehow. Another son is listed in the Bates Bible as Elihu Walker born 03/26/1872 but I have no other mention of him. Mary Nancy, however, shows up living with her Grandmother Mary and TJ’s youngest brother James. They all still live in the Washington Texas area. I can make a guess that Latitia might have died because of complications with child birth to Elihu Walker in 1872 because she is not mentioned after the 1870 Census and TJ remarried in 1874.
1874;
Records show TJ married Eliza Mayfield 12/30/1874 and that they had a child William Thomas (my Grandfather) born 12/24/1875. TJ was about 39 years old when my Grandfather William was born. They were married in Burleson County Texas so they still lived in the Washington Texas area. The Family Bible also shows another baby born 11/16/1877 but I can not make out the name (L..ar ?)
1880 TJ and the 1880 US Census ??:
Nothing found and that is a problem. That would answer a lot of questions I have not answered.
1890 US Census lost to fire:
Really bad because that timeframe would also answer a lot of questions.
1900 US Census: Need more research….??
Nothing conclusive found yet. No record of TJ or his third wife Eliza or his mother Mary (Polly) being dead or alive. Nothing found on William Thomas neither. There is a TJ and Edna listed in Panola County Texas (Carthage is in the center of the county). His age, birth in Tennessee, and years married (26) matches my research and Panola County could be considered East Texas which is where William Thomas ends up living most of his life. Interesting that this Census shows Edna had two children by TJ so that could explain the baby born 11/16/1877 (L..ar ?) listed in the Bates Bible. The “Turn of the Century” would be a cool time to find out something about where they lived and what they were doing. TJ would be about 63 years old and William Thomas would be about 24 years old at the start of the 20th century.
1910 US Census: Need more research….??
The US Census was taken 04/30/1910 before William Thomas was married. The Census shows him single living in Nacogdoches County “Precinct 1” working as an employee on a farm. Records show that William Thomas married Maybell (May Belle?) Grayson 10/23/1910 in Nacogdoches County. She was 16 years old and William was 34. Their first child was Claude and he was born 07/27/1911.They would go on to have 9 sons and 1 daughter living to adulthood. The Bates Bible shows ?..oert born 04/04/1917 and Dorthy Lamule born 04/18/1931 but no record of the two of them on any census I found.
Children I found record of are Claude (1911), Lucille (1913), Aultes (Bosie) (1915), Jimmy D (1918), T.J. (Doc) (1920), William Franklin (Rassie) (1922), Earl (1924), Floyd Alton (Happy) (1927), Willie (Junior) (1931), and Melton Lafayette (Fate).
1918 World War I:
No records from this war. William Thomas would have been too old to serve and his kids too young.
1920 US Census:
William Thomas is still married to Maybell with 4 children 3 boys and a girl living in Nacogdoches County “Precinct 8”.
1930 US Census:
William Thomas is still married to Maybell with 10 children 9 boys and a girl. He does not show up on the 1930 US Census but my records show that he bought 97.86 acres of land in Shady Grove from L.B. Mast on 08/30/1925. I think that all 9 of the 10 kids born by 1930 probably still live at home. Claude and Lucille are not listed in his 1940 Census but the other 8 sons are.

1930 Start of the Great Depression
Interesting fact that my friend Greg Sowell researched and found for me is that William Thomas (obviously having a little money problems in the late 20’s) sold 50% of the mineral rights on his Shady Grove land in the late 1920’s to a dealership in Nacogdoches County. I bet he needed a good truck or some other kind of equipment to help farm his land and used that money to do so. What he did not and could know is that later in the early 21st century Natural Gas would be found in the area paying all the Mineral Rights Holders lots of money in Royalties. I currently have 2/3 of 15 acres left of the 97 original acres and get Royalties to this day but not very much money and 50% of 10 acres is nothing compared to 100% of 97 acres. But that is history as it is written and hindsight is 20/20.

1940 US Census:
The 1940 Census shows Melton LaFayette Bates was born 08/02/1933 in Nacogdoches County Texas. He would be the youngest of 10 children. William Thomas was about 57 years old when my father Melton was born. As I mentioned above Lucille and Claude are not listed in his 1940 Census but the other 8 sons are and still living at his home in Nacogdoches County “Precinct 3”.
1941 World War II:
Records show that William Thomas would have 4 sons between the ages of 19 and 26 in 1941. I don’t have any research in regard to their rank but I have Bosie, Jimmy D, Doc, and Earl’s Serial Numbers showing they enlisted during the war. Earl did not enlist until 1945 and was 20 years old. He had 1 year of high school and would have been around 16 years old in 1941. I can’t find any record of Rassie enlisting even though he was of age. From what I heard over the years growing up I think Doc was promoted to a higher rank than private because he was the only one with 1 year of college. All the other sons of age except for Earl just had grammar school education and Jimmy D had one bad hand because of a farm injury as a youth.
1950’s Korean War:
I don’t know much about our family and the Korean war. The 3 youngest sons would have been between the ages of 17 and 23 in 1950. I know that Willie (Junior) was a 20 year career Army man and would have served. I know my father Fate also served in 1952-53 range but only in the states because of his one blind eye (his right eye). I am not sure about Happy. The 1950 US Census is not out at this time but research shows he married Aunt Ellen 12/24/1946 so he would have been low priority on the Draft List.
1953:
On January 31, 1953 19 year old Melton LaFayette Bates marries 16 year old Patsy Ruth Koonce and the rest as they say is History. They had 7 children together Carol Ann (1953), Melton Lynn (1956), Richard Dale (1960), Karen Sue (1964), Pamela Denise (1966), Thomas Kent (1969), and Cherrie Eileen (1972).
Sincerely and earnestly researched and written,
Signed Richard Bates

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