The 1880 US Census shows the couple living in Keene, where Horace worked as a "huckster" (peddler). At the time of his death, Horace was working as a carpenter.
Horace and Estella's children include
- Perely Ball, born Feb 21 1884 in Keene New Hampshire.
- Carlton, born July 29 1892 in Keene, New Hampshire.
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The burial of Elizabeth A. (Williams) Gates in the same Gates family plot as Horace Goss Gates and his father, John Gates, should be considered in the context of historical records, which establish that Betsey (Ayer), not Elizabeth A. (Williams), was Horaces mother. Horaces birth in 1842 (1, 2, gravestone photo here) occurred while Betsey was married to John (1, 3-6). Her 1844 death record specifies that she was married to John (4), and her gravestone inscription is wife of JOHN GATES (5). Horace was born in St. Johnsbury, VT (1, 2, 7), which is where Betsey lived (1-3, 8). Betsey died in the adjacent town of Lyndon (4). Betseys date of birth of June 9, 1807 (1, 4, 5) is consistent with the date of birth of Horace and his full brothers (1). In addition, the Gates genealogy book lists Betsey as his mother, as does his death record (1, 2). The minor misspelling of her maiden name as Ayre and Ayers instead of Ayer in these two records is clearly of no significance when viewed in the context of historical records, which establish Betseys maiden name as Ayer (5, 9). Betsey was part of a large Ayer family group that lived in the St. Johnsbury, VT area in the early 1800s and Horace was named in memory of Betseys Ayer-side 1st cousin, Horace Goss, who died in an accident (5 and sources cited therein).
Horace was simply buried in the same plot as his father.
The phrase in the Memorial Note: Gates family lot: Annie, Leroy, Horace, Elizabeth O, John, Maynard- implies that Elizabeth, not Betsey, may actually have been Horaces mother, and indeed this phrase was accompanied by the listing of Elizabeth as Elizabeth Betsey in the title of an earlier version of Elizabeths Memorial. It is listed this way in several posted family trees. What seems to have happened is that Horace was incorrectly assumed to be Elizabeths son because he was buried in the same plot. And since Horaces mother was known to be Betsey Ayer, Elizabeth, was assumed to be Betsey Ayer, or at least to have gone by the name of Betsey. This is an important issue for correctly identifying family members and for understanding the history of this family (including Johns three marriages).
The following evidence that Elizabeth A. (Williams) was not Horaces mother is in addition to the substantial evidence already described.
Elizabeths maiden name of Williams (10-19) is inconsistent with the known maiden name of Horaces mother. Her middle initial of A. stands for Ann (11, 17, 18), or possibility Abigail (1) if she had two middle names.
Elizabeths date of birth of July 1, 1825 (gravestone photo in 10, 13) is inconsistent with the date of birth of Horaces older full brothers, Harvey, James and George (1). For example, Harvey was born when Elizabeth was one-year-old (1, 8, 20, 21).
Elizabeths marriage record (as Williams, Evans, Currier, Gates and Colby) is inconsistent with Horace being her child (10). This includes the date of her marriage to John, which occurred 19 years after Horace was born. Related evidence is the 20-year gap between Horaces 1842 birth (1, 2, 7, this Memorial) and the births of John and Elizabeths actual shared children, Oscar, Henry and Lydia (1).
Historical records provide no evidence that Elizabeth ever lived in St. Johnsbury, which is where Horace was born. All known records pertaining to Elizabeth indicate that she lived in the Derby/Brighton area of Vermont around that time. Specifically, she was born in Derby in 1825 (12), and was evidently living with her parents in Random/Brighton in 1830 and 1840 (22, 23). She married in Derby in 1845 (11) and gave birth to a child in Derby that year (24). She was living in Wenlock/Brighton in 1850 (25) and gave birth again in Brighton in 1851 (14, 15).
There is no evidence that Elizabeth and Horace ever lived in the same household in Census records or in any other record. The 1850 Census records are the most significant of these since Horace was only 8 years old at the time. Elizabeth is found as Elizabeth A. Currier in Wenlock, VT along with her son from an earlier marriage (25). Horace was not listed there. Instead, Horace lived with John and Eliza Gates in Lyndon, VT in 1850 (26). The age of Eliza Gates in the 1850 Census does not match that calculated for Elizabeth either, but instead is consistent with that of Eliza (Fisher) Gates, Johns second wife (6 and sources cited therein).
Elizabeths Probate Record (as Elizabeth A. Colby) in Cheshire County, NH (27) does not include anything about Horace even though it contains the signatures of her sons, Oscar and Henry Gates (Horaces half-brothers), along with her two Currier sons from her prior marriage. This is a significant omission since Horace lived only a few miles away from her in the adjacent town of Keene, NH (28-30), while his two half-brothers lived in Brooklyn, New York (31-34) near the time of Elizabeths death in Marlborough, NH (13).
The photos of the gravestone for Horace (this Memorial) and for his wife, Estella (as Estella R. Martin Beliveau) (35), are so similar as to suggest that they share the same gravestone, or at least are located near each other and with their children in the same Gates family plot. This would be another indicator that more than one Gates household was buried in this plot. Unfortunately, the plot number for Estella is not listed in her Memorial.
No known historical record lists Elizabeth as Betsey. Similarly, no known historical record describes Johns first wife, Betsey, as Elizabeth. The error in indicating that Elizabeth was widely known as Betsey (referred to as Elizabeth Betsey) is ironic because Elizabeth had evidently tried to distance herself from the names of Johns first two wives, Betsey (Ayer) and Eliza (Fisher). Her contemporary Gates relatives knew her as Abigail (1). She probably did not like the idea of her third husband referring to her by the same name as an earlier wife.
The 1880 US Census shows the couple living in Keene, where Horace worked as a "huckster" (peddler). At the time of his death, Horace was working as a carpenter.
Horace and Estella's children include
- Perely Ball, born Feb 21 1884 in Keene New Hampshire.
- Carlton, born July 29 1892 in Keene, New Hampshire.
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The burial of Elizabeth A. (Williams) Gates in the same Gates family plot as Horace Goss Gates and his father, John Gates, should be considered in the context of historical records, which establish that Betsey (Ayer), not Elizabeth A. (Williams), was Horaces mother. Horaces birth in 1842 (1, 2, gravestone photo here) occurred while Betsey was married to John (1, 3-6). Her 1844 death record specifies that she was married to John (4), and her gravestone inscription is wife of JOHN GATES (5). Horace was born in St. Johnsbury, VT (1, 2, 7), which is where Betsey lived (1-3, 8). Betsey died in the adjacent town of Lyndon (4). Betseys date of birth of June 9, 1807 (1, 4, 5) is consistent with the date of birth of Horace and his full brothers (1). In addition, the Gates genealogy book lists Betsey as his mother, as does his death record (1, 2). The minor misspelling of her maiden name as Ayre and Ayers instead of Ayer in these two records is clearly of no significance when viewed in the context of historical records, which establish Betseys maiden name as Ayer (5, 9). Betsey was part of a large Ayer family group that lived in the St. Johnsbury, VT area in the early 1800s and Horace was named in memory of Betseys Ayer-side 1st cousin, Horace Goss, who died in an accident (5 and sources cited therein).
Horace was simply buried in the same plot as his father.
The phrase in the Memorial Note: Gates family lot: Annie, Leroy, Horace, Elizabeth O, John, Maynard- implies that Elizabeth, not Betsey, may actually have been Horaces mother, and indeed this phrase was accompanied by the listing of Elizabeth as Elizabeth Betsey in the title of an earlier version of Elizabeths Memorial. It is listed this way in several posted family trees. What seems to have happened is that Horace was incorrectly assumed to be Elizabeths son because he was buried in the same plot. And since Horaces mother was known to be Betsey Ayer, Elizabeth, was assumed to be Betsey Ayer, or at least to have gone by the name of Betsey. This is an important issue for correctly identifying family members and for understanding the history of this family (including Johns three marriages).
The following evidence that Elizabeth A. (Williams) was not Horaces mother is in addition to the substantial evidence already described.
Elizabeths maiden name of Williams (10-19) is inconsistent with the known maiden name of Horaces mother. Her middle initial of A. stands for Ann (11, 17, 18), or possibility Abigail (1) if she had two middle names.
Elizabeths date of birth of July 1, 1825 (gravestone photo in 10, 13) is inconsistent with the date of birth of Horaces older full brothers, Harvey, James and George (1). For example, Harvey was born when Elizabeth was one-year-old (1, 8, 20, 21).
Elizabeths marriage record (as Williams, Evans, Currier, Gates and Colby) is inconsistent with Horace being her child (10). This includes the date of her marriage to John, which occurred 19 years after Horace was born. Related evidence is the 20-year gap between Horaces 1842 birth (1, 2, 7, this Memorial) and the births of John and Elizabeths actual shared children, Oscar, Henry and Lydia (1).
Historical records provide no evidence that Elizabeth ever lived in St. Johnsbury, which is where Horace was born. All known records pertaining to Elizabeth indicate that she lived in the Derby/Brighton area of Vermont around that time. Specifically, she was born in Derby in 1825 (12), and was evidently living with her parents in Random/Brighton in 1830 and 1840 (22, 23). She married in Derby in 1845 (11) and gave birth to a child in Derby that year (24). She was living in Wenlock/Brighton in 1850 (25) and gave birth again in Brighton in 1851 (14, 15).
There is no evidence that Elizabeth and Horace ever lived in the same household in Census records or in any other record. The 1850 Census records are the most significant of these since Horace was only 8 years old at the time. Elizabeth is found as Elizabeth A. Currier in Wenlock, VT along with her son from an earlier marriage (25). Horace was not listed there. Instead, Horace lived with John and Eliza Gates in Lyndon, VT in 1850 (26). The age of Eliza Gates in the 1850 Census does not match that calculated for Elizabeth either, but instead is consistent with that of Eliza (Fisher) Gates, Johns second wife (6 and sources cited therein).
Elizabeths Probate Record (as Elizabeth A. Colby) in Cheshire County, NH (27) does not include anything about Horace even though it contains the signatures of her sons, Oscar and Henry Gates (Horaces half-brothers), along with her two Currier sons from her prior marriage. This is a significant omission since Horace lived only a few miles away from her in the adjacent town of Keene, NH (28-30), while his two half-brothers lived in Brooklyn, New York (31-34) near the time of Elizabeths death in Marlborough, NH (13).
The photos of the gravestone for Horace (this Memorial) and for his wife, Estella (as Estella R. Martin Beliveau) (35), are so similar as to suggest that they share the same gravestone, or at least are located near each other and with their children in the same Gates family plot. This would be another indicator that more than one Gates household was buried in this plot. Unfortunately, the plot number for Estella is not listed in her Memorial.
No known historical record lists Elizabeth as Betsey. Similarly, no known historical record describes Johns first wife, Betsey, as Elizabeth. The error in indicating that Elizabeth was widely known as Betsey (referred to as Elizabeth Betsey) is ironic because Elizabeth had evidently tried to distance herself from the names of Johns first two wives, Betsey (Ayer) and Eliza (Fisher). Her contemporary Gates relatives knew her as Abigail (1). She probably did not like the idea of her third husband referring to her by the same name as an earlier wife.
Gravesite Details
Gates family lot: Annie, Leroy, Horace, Elizabeth O, John, Maynard
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