William Bates

NOT THE SAME AS William Bates, of Hanover who married Mary Ball. His father was Thomas.

See Overview>About on William Bates, of Hanover further explanation.

https://www.wikitree.com/wiki/Bates-4749

William Bates

• Born about 1729 [location unknown]
• Son of Joseph Bates and Mercy (Clement) Bates
• Brother of Elizabeth (Bate) Hillman, Johnathan Bates, Martha (Bates) Hunt, Abigail (Bates) Lippincott and Elizabeth (Bates) Braddock
• Husband of Rebecca Tomlinson — married 6 Aug 1741 (to 1756) in Gloucester, New Jerseymap
• [children unknown]
• Died about 1770 at about age 41 in New Jersey

Concerning the Bates of Hanover NJ, Their Ancestry and Some of Their Descendants

by Stephen Bates (from Ancestry.com)

There has been some confusion about the ancestry of the Bates of Hanover NJ, since N. Earl Wharton, a resident of Cambridge Massachusetts, wrote about the Bates of Hanover NJ in The Bates Bulletin of April 1915. He was concerned with William Bates of Hanover, Morris County NJ and some of his descendants, in particular those descended from his son Ephraim Bates, who had been an early settler of Noble County, Ohio. In the article he proposed that William Bates had moved north to Morris County from Gloucester County NJ after marrying Rebecca Tomlinson of Burlington County NJ in 1741. He further proposed that this William Bates was descended from a Quaker named William Bates, who had emigrated from Ireland to Newton Creek in Gloucester County back in 1681. However, Wharton noted that there might be other possible ancestries, and that William of Hanover may not have married Rebecca Tomlinson. He remarked that there was a Solomon Bates in Morristown and a Thomas Bates in Morristown, and hoped that his article would provoke a discussion. No discussion followed, but James Cory wrote about the Bates of Hanover NJ in a four-volume work entitled “The Lineal Ancestry of Captain James Cory” in 1937. He became concerned with their ancestry because of a Rachel Bates, born in 1714, who married Attorney Joseph Kitchel of Hanover, who was an ancestor of Captain Cory. He did an extensive review of the Bates of Hanover NJ, and concluded that Thomas Bates was the father of six children who settled in Hanover: Rachel, John, William, Daniel, Thomas, and David. He then said that the probable father of Thomas was the Solomon Bates of Morristown, who moved from Hempstead NY, to Elizabeth NJ, to Morristown. This Solomon he then traced back to Clement Bates of Hingham MA who emigrated from England in 1635. From my research into the Bates of Hanover NJ, and from my participation in the Bates YDNA Project, I find that the evidence supports Cory’s Ancestry, as far as the Bates of Hanover NJ being descended from a Thomas Bates; however, Thomas Bates is not descended from Clement Bates of Hingham MA as Cory proposes, but rather he is a native of Wales and early settler of Hanover NJ, and this assertion is supported by the genealogical evidence, by family tradition, and by the Bates YDNA Project.

There are four sources for Thomas Bates the forefather of the Bates of Hanover NJ. One early source is the book written by Charles B. Stuart in 1871, the “Lives and Works of Civil and Military Engineers of America”. In Stuart’s chapter on David Stanhope Bates, who had a prolific career as an engineer and judge, he reports that Thomas Bates was his grandfather, was a native of Wales, and an early settler of New Jersey. Thomas was one of ten brothers and two sisters. His brother John was killed during the French and Indian War at Oswego NY, while his other brothers settled in New England. Thomas’ son, David, lived on a farm in Hanover NJ, was a captain in the revolutionary war, and married Phebe Tappan. A second source is in the genealogical collection of Walter Beach Plume held at the New Jersey Historical Society. Mr. Plume was a native of Orange NJ who died in 1911. Within his collection is a type written document entitled the Genealogy of William A. Bates and Charles Francis Bates, and states that Thomas Bates came from Wales about 1716 and about 1720 married Parney Gordon of Hanover NJ. It states their son was David Bates born 1725, elected Captain of the First Company of Hanover, Morris County NJ. Also within this collection are notes in pencil on a legal size pad entitled Bates family. Here again is stated that Thomas Bates married Parney (Parnel?) Gordon, and then notes their children, Rachel, born in 1714, William, Thomas, and David, born in 1725, as well as the children of William, Thomas and David with records of their baptisms. A third source for Thomas is the will of John Blanchard of Elizabethtown NJ dated 1730. In the will Thomas Bates is noted as a debtor. It states: “Part of a bill due from Thomas Bates. 1 pound, 12 shillings”. John Blanchard was a member of the committee for the Associators of Elizabethtown, a group who protected the property rights of the founders of Elizabethtown against the Proprietors of New Jersey. Mr. Blanchard must have been a lender to many in Hanover, as John Johnston of Hanover in his will of 1725 notes John Blanchard as a creditor, as does Thomas Genung of Hanover in letters of administration dated 1725. Thomas Guerin, also of Hanover, is noted as a creditor in John Blanchard’s will. The fourth source for Thomas is a letter held at the North Jersey History and Genealogy Center in Morristown, written by a David S. Bates of San Diego in 1979. In the letter he remarks that he has in his possession a family Bible in which it is written that his ancestor Thomas Bates came from Wales. He further reports that his great, great, great grandfather is David Bates who served in the American Revolution and married Phebe Tappen. In support of these four sources is the testimony of Ephraim Bates’ ancestors, given at a Bates Family reunion held in Caldwell Ohio in September 1913, and organized by his great grandson Dighton Bates. In “The Bates Bulletin” article about the reunion, it is stated that tradition gives his ancestors as coming from Wales. Concerning this Welsh ancestry, it is of note that two of the second generation sons married women of Welsh descent (William to Mary Ball, and Daniel to Elizabeth Griffing); that Ephraim Bates settled among Welsh neighbors in Amwell, Pennsylvania, (David Evans, and Moses Cooper); and that Ephraim’s neighbor in Noble County was his uncle Mathew Ball, also of Welsh descent. From these sources, and other historical records the following history can be reckoned. Thomas Bates came from Wales, and was among the first settlers of Morris County New Jersey in the township of Hanover, and about the year 1713 married Parnel Gordon, a resident of Hanover Township. Thomas was probably a farmer, owning land along the road running north out of Whippany Village toward Troy Hills, as his descendants for many generations continued to farm that land . Though his farm was probably modest, he must have been of good character, as his children married into some of the leading families of Hanover, and his son David became a Captain of the Militia, and an elder at the Presbyterian church. Thomas’ daughter Rachel, born in 1714 married Attorney Joseph Kitchel the son of Abraham Kitchel one of the founders of Morris County. Abraham Kitchel was Lieutenant of the Militia in 1722, Justice of the Peace in 1725, associate judge of the Hunterdon County Court in 1737, associate judge of the Morristown County Court 1741, and one of the deacons of the Hanover Church. Rachel’s son Aaron was later a United States Senator of New Jersey. Her children were Abraham 1736, Sarah 1738, Moses 1739, Grace1742, Aaron 1744, Joanna 1746, Asa 1748, Phebe 1751, Jemima 1754, James and John 1756, the last six children all recorded baptisms at the Hanover Church . Rachel’s brother, William, is the next to have children, but saving him for a later discussion we skip ahead to her brother Daniel, who according to Church records married Elizabeth Griffing. Their first child was Martin 1747, then Abigail 1749, Parnel 1751, and Lydia 1754, all baptized at the Hanover Presbyterian Church. Daniel died young, in 1755, and his widow Elizabeth remarried in Morristown to Benoni Thomas in 1763. In 1768 his son Martin owned 68 acres in Morristown valued at 12 pounds, 10 shillings. By 1777 Martin had moved to Salisbury CT, where he appears on the guard duty roll, and again on the 1790 census. His sister Abigail would marry Colonel Adonijah Strong of Salisbury CT in 1777, and his sister Parnel married her cousin Timothy Griffing of Guilford CT in 1794.. Martin Waltham Bates, his son, was a US Senator for Delaware in 1857. Daniel’s brother Thomas married Eunice. They had six children beginning with Sarah baptized in 1753, Mary in 1755, Hannah 1757?, Rachel 1759?, Eunice 1761?, and Daniel 1763. Thomas, like his brother Daniel, also died young, being thrown from his horse along the Newark Road near the Hanover Church and expiring on November 25, 1766. His son Daniel fought in Morristown during the revolutionary war, serving at age 16 in the Eastern Militia, enlisting three times in 1779, 1780 and 1782. Daniel married Mary Kitchel in 1787, moving to Cincinnati Ohio in 1789, and later remarrying to Sarah Osborne before eventually settling in Green Creek Township, Sadusky County, Ohio. His son David worked for a mercantile business in Philadelphia and was also well known as a poet. His son Harvey was the first sheriff of Marion County, Indiana, the first President of the Branch of the State Bank in Indianapolis, and built the Bates House, where president-elect Lincoln stayed. David, the brother of Thomas, born in 1725, waited until age 35 to marry Phebe Tappan. He was 50 years old when the Colonial war broke out and rose to fame in the township. He was elected a Major at the outbreak of the war, and became a Captain of a company of Minutemen in Morristown during the war. His company marched to Long Island and fought under the command of Lord Stirling in the Battle of Long Island, August 27, 1776 and also in the Battle of White Plains, October 28, 1776. His children were Rachel 1760, Sarah 1763?, Philemon 1766?, William 1768, John 1771, David 1773, Phebe 1776?, Mary 1780? and Ebenezer 1783. He is buried in the Old Whippany Burial Ground on the land of the original church built in 1718. Some of the descendants of David Bates remained in Hanover Township in the Village of Whippany for many generations, perhaps on the original land owned by Thomas. In a map drawn of Hanover Township in 1887 there are two of his descendants a little north of the village on the road between Whippany and Troy Hills, a Walter and a Charles Bates, both Farmers in the 1880 census. David’s son William also became a captain in the War of 1812, and David’s great grandson Charles Francis Bates, born in Michigan, became a colonel in the Army, earned a law degree at Columbia, and wrote several books on the life and career of General George Custer. David’s most famous son was David Stanhope Bates who studied for the ministry under the celebrated Rev. Dr. Witherspoon, President of Princeton College. In 1810 he resettled with his family in Constantia NY to survey and sell a large tract of land in Oneida County. He then studied law, became a Judge, and was hired as the Assistant Engineer on the middle division of the Erie Canal. After completing the Erie Canal he became Chief Engineer for the Ohio Canal linking Lake Erie to the Ohio River. His sons John , Timothy, and David later became distinguished engineers in the service of the State of Ohio. Captain David Bates’ brother John, is the hardest to order in the family as he never married or had children. He may have been the firstborn son with a birth year about 1716. His will proved October 12, 1761 states: “All my lands and effects to be laid out for the maintenance of my mother Abigail Bates, during her life. David Bates, the son of William Bates, my lands and effects.” His Executor is “brother, Joseph Kitchel.” From John’s will we learn that his father Thomas married a second time to Abigail, his first wife Parnel probably passing at a young age. Not coincidentally, Daniel, the first son to have daughters, names his first two daughters after his two mothers, Parnel and Abigail. Thomas’ widow Abigail is buried at the Hanover Graveyard west of the Presbyterian Church. The Will of John Bates provides some of the evidence that John, William, Daniel, Thomas, David and Rachel are all closely related and probably siblings. John names Rachel’s husband Joseph Kitchel as his brother in his Will, and he names William’s son, David, as his heir. Also two of the witnesses to his will are Rachel’s now adult children, Abraham Kitchel and Moses Kitchel. The executor of Daniel Bates’ Will is also Joseph Kitchel, and of course Daniel’s first two daughters are named for their mother’s, Parnel and Abigail. More evidence comes from the Will of Thomas Bates. His executor is Joseph Kitchel, and two of his witnesses are Rachel’s children Grace Kitchel Ford and Moses Kitchel. One of Thomas’ daughters is named for his sister Rachel, and a son is named for his brother Daniel. David who was born 11 years after Rachel, names his first daughter Rachel, who then is married to David Kitchel, the first Rachel’s cousin by marriage. Two of David’s sons are named after his brothers William and John. William who is tied to the family through his brother John’s will, also names his second son for his brother David. John’s brother William I have chosen to discuss last as his history is complicated and somewhat controversial. William was probably born about 1718, and is the first to have children after Rachel. I believe he married Mary Ball about 1742, daughter of Caleb Ball Jr., another of the leading men of Hanover. Caleb Ball was a large landowner, became a part owner of the “old iron works” and also owned a grist mill and a saw mill. The first of William Bates’ children was Ephraim, born May 24th 1773 according to his Revolutionary War pension papers, but baptized at the First Presbyterian Church of Morristown by Reverend Johnes rather than at their church in Hanover, on July 6, 1745. At the baptism the father is noted to be Will Bates of Hanover, distinguishing him as someone from out of town and not a member of that church, the mother is not mentioned, nor is she for any of the other baptisms. William’s next five children were then baptized at the First Presbyterian Church of Hanover by Reverend Green who became pastor in 1746, they were David 1747, Uzal 1749, Caleb 1751, Rhoda 1753 and Mary 1757. By my reckoning William Bates of Hanover then had two more daughters after he moved from Hanover to Pequannock and remarried to a Rebecca. A Martha Bates was baptized at the Presbyterian Church of Morristown 1759, to William Bates and his wife, and in 1767, William Bates of Pequannock names his wife Rebecca and his two daughters, Catherine and Rhoda, in his Will. Evidence for William Bates of Pequannock being the same William Bates that lived in Hanover comes from his son Ephraim registering as a member of the Rockaway Presbyterian Church in Pequannock in 1768, and from his son Uzal being on the Pequannock Tax list in 1778. His sons Ephraim and David are also listed on the Rockaway Church Taxes of 1768 and 1769, and Ephraim mortgaged land near Cranbury Pond, just north of Rockaway in 1771 and 1772. Also, one of the daughters named in the 1767 Will is Rhoda, which is the name of William of Hanover’s first daughter. His will, dated December 8, 1767 in Pequannock Township, was proved September 3, 1770. A renunciation of the will by his wife Rebecca in favor of his friend John Huntington, is dated February 17, 1770. In 1772, William’s eldest son Ephraim moved to what became Washington County Pennsylvania, where he enlisted in the Virginia Militia in 1777 and 1778. He then moved to Belmont County Ohio in 1797, before settling with his many sons in Noble County Ohio in 1809. William’s son Uzal moved by 1788 to Chemung NY, and had settled by 1793, in Sycamore Township, Hamilton County Ohio. Now it will be remembered that N. Earl Wharton suggested that William Bates of Hanover married Rebecca Tomlinson. But the William Bates who married Rebecca Tomlinson in 1741 resided in Waterford, Gloucester County, and Rebecca Tomlinson, who according to the marriage license was a widow, lived in Evesham, Burlington County, both considerably south of Hanover, Morris County, and Hanover, according to historians, was settled from the east, from Newark, Elizabethtown, and Long Island. Though N Earl Wharton boldly states, “William Bates of Hanover NJ in his marriage license, is of Gloucester County, indicating that he was of the family which was founded by William of Newton Creek;” no where is there any evidence that a William Bates of Gloucester ever moved north to Hanover. In fact, when Helen M. Wright, a New Jersey genealogist, tried to investigate this link for a descendent of Ephraim Bates, she reported that the Library staff at the Trenton State Archives thought William of Hanover was not of the Irish line from Gloucester County, as there were several William’s of that line who stayed in Gloucester County. It is likely that the William Bates who married Rebecca Tomlinson is the William Bates of Waterford, Gloucester County, who wrote a will there in 1777. In his will he names nine children including six daughters: Hope, Mary, Elizabeth, Ann, Rebekah and Sarah. Now Rebecca Tomlinson was born Rebecca Wills, the daughter of John Wills of Burlington County. In her father’s will of 1746, he names his daughter Rebecca, and her four children from her marriage to William Tomlinson: Hope, Elizabeth, Anne, and Sarah. Thus William Bates of Waterford, Gloucester County in 1777, names all four of Rebecca Tomlinson’s daughters in his will, and names another daughter Rebecca. This William Bates would seem to be the one who married Rebecca Tomlinson, and not the William Bates of Hanover NJ. Who then did William Bates of Hanover NJ marry? In the Charles Gardiner Collection at the New Jersey Historical Society is a document printed in 1888 by Joseph Harrison Vance of Erie PA, entitled “Descendants to the third generation of Edward Ball”. In this detailed document Mary Ball is noted as a child of Caleb Ball II and said to have married a Bates. Caleb Ball Jr’s will of 1748 in Hanover, Morris County, names Mary Bates as one of his daughters. The only Bates at the First Presbyterian Church of Hanover whose wife is not named is William. William Bates of Hanover’s fourth child is named Caleb and his sixth child is named Mary. Mary Bates married David Cory Jr. of Hanover and moved to Bridport, Addison Co, Vermont. Mary is known to her descendants as Mary Ball Bates. William’s only sons known to have children, Ephraim and Uzal, each name their first daughter Mary. Mary Ball’s younger brother, Mathew Ball, was Ephraim Bates’ neighbor in Noble County, Ohio. From this evidence it seems that the probable wife of William Bates of Hanover NJ is Mary Ball. Perhaps the confusion arose because William of Hanover remarried to a Rebecca when he moved to Pequannock, and because there were no marriage records of members of the First Presbyterian Church of Hanover until 1746. N. Earl Wharton was also unaware of the early immigration of Thomas Bates of Wales to Hanover NJ. In retrospect it seems unlikely that William Bates of Gloucester County, and his wife Rebecca Tomlinson of Burlington County, who were probably both Quakers, would have moved away from their families, to Hanover NJ, and then had their son, Ephraim, baptized in a Presbyterian Church. It seems even more unlikely, that if William Bates of Hanover was a descendant of William Bates the Quaker of Ireland, that William of Hanover’s brothers and sisters, Rachel, Daniel, Thomas, David and John, would have all moved from Gloucester County up to Hanover, and all converted from Quakers to Presbyterians. As noted at the outset of this paper, in the book, “The Lineal Ancestors of Captain James Cory”, Mr. Cory states that the probable father of Thomas Bates is a Solomon Bates from Long Island, who is the great grandson of Clement Bates of Hingham MA, being the son of James, the son of James, the son of Clement. It is this source that has led to the ancestry of Thomas Bates of Hanover being incorrectly recorded on many internet sites. Although Mr. Cory’s tracing of the connection of Clement to Solomon is convincing, the connection of Solomon to Thomas is much less so. His evidence for this is that Solomon Bates moved to Elizabeth NJ and that Thomas Bates owed money to an individual living in Elizabeth NJ. Solomon Bates is also later noted to be a freeholder in Morristown NJ in1752, passing away in 1771, and his wife passing in 1787, but there are no records linking this Solomon with any of the Bates in Hanover NJ. Not one of their numerous children is named Solomon, nor are there any named Clement, though there is one James. Confirming this lack of connection between Solomon and Thomas is the Bates surname project with Family Tree DNA. Four individuals who trace their ancestry to Thomas through his grandson Ephraim do not match the YDNA of the numerous individuals who trace their ancestry to Clement Bates. In summary, the probable forefather of the Bates of Hanover NJ is Thomas Bates of Wales who had six children: Rachel, John, William, Daniel, Thomas and David. His son William married Mary Ball and their eldest son was Ephraim Bates. At a Bates Family reunion of the descendants of Ephraim Bates held in Caldwell Ohio in 1913, it was reported that tradition gives his ancestors as coming from Wales. Almost a hundred years later we have evidence again for this tradition and can remember again what once we knew. Even my father, Harvey Bates Jr., who knew nothing about his ancestry always told his children they were from Wales, and insisted on reading to us at the Holidays Dylan Thomas’ short story “A Child’s Christmas in Wales”.

William died in Gloucester Co., NJ. His will was filed there.