"Obituary.
Died, Saturday evening, after a short illness, at the family residence, four or five miles southeast of this place, Mrs. George W. Gates.
Some two weeks before her death she ran a nail into her foot. The wound, to all appearance was healing up nicely, when lockjaw set in which soon terminated in death.
Funeral services took place Monday, at the Catholic church here, of which the deceased was a faithful communicant. The remains were conveyed to Saint Bernard's church cemetery, near Glenarm.
A husband and seven children mourn the loss of a wife and mother."
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Mary was born in Ireland on March 18, 1837, and eventually made her way, along with her parents and siblings, to Clinton County, Iowa.
William Bates and Mary Kennedy were married on May 8, 1855. William was 28 years old (and claimed 25), and Mary was 18.
William and Mary Bates had perhaps eight children in Iowa: John Bates, Stephen Bates, Margaret Bates, another Stephen Bates, Francis Bates, yet another Stephen Bates, Frances Bates, and Frank Bates.
William Bates was both a farmer and a knave, and apparently he got into serious trouble in Iowa. He and his family then went on the lam and relocated to Sangamon County in central Illinois. William George Bates cleverly told people his name was George William Gates, and Mary and the children simply changed their last name from "Bates" to "Gates."
William and Mary had about five more children in Auburn, Illinois: Thomas Gates, David Gates, Mary Gates, Joseph Gates, and another Francis Gates.
Tragically, Mary stepped on a rusty nail, got lockjaw, and died on September 15, 1888. She was buried under the alias Mary Gates in St. Bernard's Catholic Cemetery in Glenarm, Illinois.
After Mary's death, all of her children except John changed their name from the alias "Gates" to the rightful "Bates."
"Obituary.
Died, Saturday evening, after a short illness, at the family residence, four or five miles southeast of this place, Mrs. George W. Gates.
Some two weeks before her death she ran a nail into her foot. The wound, to all appearance was healing up nicely, when lockjaw set in which soon terminated in death.
Funeral services took place Monday, at the Catholic church here, of which the deceased was a faithful communicant. The remains were conveyed to Saint Bernard's church cemetery, near Glenarm.
A husband and seven children mourn the loss of a wife and mother."
--------------------------------------------
Mary was born in Ireland on March 18, 1837, and eventually made her way, along with her parents and siblings, to Clinton County, Iowa.
William Bates and Mary Kennedy were married on May 8, 1855. William was 28 years old (and claimed 25), and Mary was 18.
William and Mary Bates had perhaps eight children in Iowa: John Bates, Stephen Bates, Margaret Bates, another Stephen Bates, Francis Bates, yet another Stephen Bates, Frances Bates, and Frank Bates.
William Bates was both a farmer and a knave, and apparently he got into serious trouble in Iowa. He and his family then went on the lam and relocated to Sangamon County in central Illinois. William George Bates cleverly told people his name was George William Gates, and Mary and the children simply changed their last name from "Bates" to "Gates."
William and Mary had about five more children in Auburn, Illinois: Thomas Gates, David Gates, Mary Gates, Joseph Gates, and another Francis Gates.
Tragically, Mary stepped on a rusty nail, got lockjaw, and died on September 15, 1888. She was buried under the alias Mary Gates in St. Bernard's Catholic Cemetery in Glenarm, Illinois.
After Mary's death, all of her children except John changed their name from the alias "Gates" to the rightful "Bates."
Family Members
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John William Gates
1856–1939
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Stephen Bates
1857–1860
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Margaret "Maggie" Bates O'Boyle
1857 – unknown
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Stephen Bates
1860–1861
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Francis Bates
1862–1863
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Stephen A. Bates
1864–1880
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Frank Bates
1866–1867
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Frances A. "Fannie" Bates Flattery
1866–1915
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David William Bates Sr
1873–1944
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Thomas Bates
1873–1948
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Mary Bates
1875–1875
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Joseph Leo Bates
1880–1934
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Francis Bates
1882–1883
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