Earthquakes - Part I

     I have spent my entire life in Southern California.  And so I am reasonably accustomed to earthquakes.  Although I must admit that I have never been in a building with significant damage caused by an earthquake. 
    The highest magnitude earthquake that I have felt was the 1952 7.3 Magnitude Tehachapi (Kern County). In Taft, where I lived, the Modified Mercalli Intensity was VII on the intensity scale, although it was much greater in Tehachapi.

Main Street, Tehachapi, after the earthquake of July 21, 1952. The two-story concrete (with wood floors and roof) structure in the background is the Catholic Youth Center. Despite the fact that most of Tehachapi's business section was at least partially destroyed, this building suffered little damage¹. (Photo: World Wide Photo)

     One of the largest quakes after Europeans arrived in North America were the 1811-1812 earthquakes in New Madrid, Missouri.  From information on the USGS website², people as far away as New York and Washington D.C. were awakened by the quake.  The extent of the area that experienced damaging earth motion, which produced Modified Mercalli Intensity greater than or equal to VII, is estimated to be almost 250,000 square miles.  Estimates are that moderate shaking (Intensity V or greater) occurred across one million square miles. Chimneys were toppled and log cabins were thrown down as far distant as Cincinnati and in many places in Kentucky. So it would be safe to assume that my ancestors who lived in Nelson County, Kentucky would have certainly felt the quake and possibly would have seen buildings that suffered damage.  I wonder what they would have thought about the quake.  Was there damage to their property?

My ancestors, who lived in Central Kentucky,
would have experienced an Intensity level of VII during the New Madrid Quake.
http://gsa.state.al.us/gsa/geologichazards/NewMadrid_files/image004.jpg³

At the time of the Tehachapi Quake,
I lived in the region which is labeled with an Intensity VII
http://geology.com/earthquake/california.shtml⁴

1. "Earthquake damage in Tehachapi - California Digital Library." 2008. 15 Aug. 2015 <http://content.cdlib.org/ark:/13030/kt3489q87b/>
2. "New Madrid Earthquakes 1811-1812 - Earthquake Hazards ..." 2009. 15 Aug. 2015 <http://earthquake.usgs.gov/earthquakes/states/events/1811-1812.php>
3.The New Madrid Seismic Zone. 26 Aug 2015 http://gsa.state.al.us/gsa/geologichazards/NewMadrid.htm
4. California Earthquake Map Collection, 26 Aug 2015 http://geology.com/earthquake/california.shtml

Some Things Get Better

     Yesterday, I wrote about how the grave stone of Elisha had deteriorated in the last decade.  But not everything has gotten worse.  

     My grandmother visited St Gregory Cemetery in Samuels, Kentucky around 1950.  Two pictures survive of her visit. The first shows a row of grave stones of her mother and her maternal grandparents.  In 2005 we visited the same cemetery and happened to take a pictures from a similar position.  In the fifties, the cemetery was overgrown with brush and appears to be in disrepair.  Not so now.  

     By examining the following photos, you can see that the community of St. Gregory Church is now maintaining the cemetery in good condition.  A big THANK YOU for all who help maintain the cemetery from this descendant of at least six direct ancestors who are buried here.

1950 photo of grave of Eliza Jane Gates Blandford in the foreground

Similar view from 2005

The first four graves (seen above) from left to right: Eliza Jane Gates Blandford;
 Eliza's brother, Truman James Gates;
Eliza's parents, Elizabeth Mattingly Gates and William R. Gates.

Here is a wider view of the cemetery in 2005 

Photo taken in 2008 (courtesy of Amanda-findagrave contributor #47289435)

A low-resolution picture of my grandmother, Mary Cathering Blandford Armstrong,
 standing next to the grave of her mother, Eliza Jane Gates Blandford. 

Is Peter Gates the Grandfather of Elisha Gates?

     Several of my blog posts have dealt with a great-great-great-grandfather, Elisha Gates.  Some of the posts pertained to his service in the War of 1812 and the Battle of the River Thames.  Some were about his travel between Maryland and Kentucky. 
     Elisha settled near Bardstown, Kentucky and his descendants stayed in that general area for over a century.   Elisha was a leader in his church and so there are numerous records mentioning Elisha and his family.  
     But finding the ancestors of Elisha proved problematic.  I found clues that hinted that Elisha was an orphan child.   It took a trip to the Maryland Archives to find some records that mentioned his parents.  Later I found over forty records pages of records on familysearch.org.  As far as I can tell those records had never been microfilmed, which might explain the reason that no researcher had located those records. In any case these orphan records¹, clearly identify Elisha's parents as James T. and Mary A. Gates.  
    James T. Gates died sometime prior to 1800.  A newspaper article dated 20 Jan 1800, lists Mary Ann Gates as the owner of a parcel of land at Anchovy Hills.  I believe that Mary Ann Gates is the Mary A. Gates who is Elisha's mother because, eventually Elisha sold some a parcel at Anchovy Hills.  Mary Ann Gates died prior to 10 August 1801, since that is the earliest dates shown in the orphan records.

1787 Will of Peter Gates  Prince Georges County, Maryland Liber T page 255-62

    Recently I found  some records that may push back the Gates family about three more generations.  The will of a Peter Gates², leaves property to his oldest son, James Truman Gates.  Could this James Truman Gates be Elisha's father, James T. Gates?   I would like to find some more proof but one hint that it might be is the birth record of James Truman Gates, who is a grandson of Elisha³.

I will continue looking for more records to provide more proof that this is the correct family.



1.  "Maryland, Probate Estate and Guardianship Files, 1796-1940," index and images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/pal:/MM9.1.1/XXFC-PPB : accessed 28 July 2013), Elisha Gates, 01 Jan 1800

2.  "Maryland, Probate Estate and Guardianship Files, 1796-1940." Index and images. FamilySearch. https://familysearch.org : accessed 2014.

3.  Ancestry.com. Kentucky, Birth Records, 1852-1910 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations Inc, 2007.
Original data: Kentucky. Kentucky Birth, Marriage and Death Records – Microfilm (1852-1910). Microfilm rolls #994027-994058. Kentucky Department for Libraries and Archives, Frankfort, Kentucky. (Indexed incorrectly as James Freeman Gates)

Let No Good Deed Go Unnoticed

     Connecting William R. Gates to his father, Elisha was not easy.  My Aunt Jane had recorded them as father-son but we didn't have any bible records. I am sure that she spent many hours quizzing her mother, Mary Catherine Blandford about her family.  Mary Catherine's parents had died before she married Elmer J. Armstrong. Her grandfather, William R. Gates passed away before she was born but she would have known Elizabeth Mattingly Gates, wife of William.  (Elizabeth Gates lived until 1918.)  So Aunt Jane would have had it on good authority that William was the son of Elisha.  
     William was born on Feb 24, 1822 in Nelson County, Kentucky.  The Kentucky requirement for recording births was enacted in 1852 but this was interrupted by the Civil War.  Recording began again in 1911.  There may be church records but nothing yet. 
     Elisha died intestate so not much luck there.  There are some administrative accounts but they have been no help.
     The first census that list the names of children along with parents occurred in 1850 but William and Elizabeth had been married in 1849 and they were not living in the same household with Elisha. . 
     Because I wanted to know where the Gates' land was located I started to look for some land deeds. And there it was.  
      An 1855 deed states “This Indenture made this 10th day of October in the year 1855 between Elisha Gates of the County of Nelson and Commonwealth of Kentucky of the one part and William R. Gates of the County and Commonwealth aforesaid and John G. Gates of the state of Texas of the other part. Witnesseth. that the said Elisha Gates for and in consideration of the natural love and affection he has the said William R. Gates and John G. Gates his children…” 

Nelson County, Kentucky Deeds  

Book 29 page 345  

FHL Film 483138

     

Elisha Gates - War of 1812 Part IV

     My first several articles about the War of 1812 had dealt with the plan of the Kentuckians who were determined to get revenge for the Raisen River Massacre.  Kentucky Governor Shelby had been authorized to raise an army to march north to deal with the British and their Native American allies.  When we last looked at Elisha Gates he had answered the call of Governor Shelby and showed up at Newport, Kentucky on July 31, 1813.  Elisha Gates had answered the call along with three to four thousand other Kentuckians.  Many came unprepared, without rifles or ammunition but ready to fight.   
     As might have been expected it would be quite a task to have that many men fill out the appropriate paperwork (enlisting for three months), to organize the men into proper militia units, to arm all the men, and to obtain and organize provisions for everyone. So the men slowly began their march north through Ohio.  They passed through Fort Hamilton, Franklin, Dayton, and Springfield before arriving at Fort Urbana.  Most of the organization and preparation took place near Fort Urbana. The army didn't leave Fort Urbana until the second week in September.   
  Elisha Gates became a Private in the Kentucky Mounted Volunteer Militia¹. He was assigned to serve in Captain Presley C. Smith's Company, commanded by Colonel James Simrall.  

Two-hundred years ago Elisha Gates traveled through these locations:
On September 9² - the army finally left Fort Urbana and began to march north in earnest towards Detroit.
September 10 - they passed through Bellafontaine camping near the line of Hardin and Logan counties.
September 11 - Near Fort MacArthur
September12 - they reached Upper Sandusky.  As they learned about the victory in the Battle of Lake Eire, plans changed and the army headed towards Lake Eire instead of Detroit. 
September 13 - they reached Fort Ball, near line of Wyandot and Seneca counties.
September 14 - the column reached Lower Sandusky (Fremont). Ammunition was distributed during the march on the 14th.
September 15 - the men reached the Portage River.

Once the army reached the Portage River site, the plan was to leave the horses at that site and take a ship across Lake Erie to Canada. The men took several days building a fence across the narrowest portion of the peninsula to form a horse corral.





1. Clift, G. Glenn. Kentucky Soldiers of the War of 1812. Frankfort, Kentucky: Report of the Adjutant General of the State of Kentucky, 1891

2. Young, Bennett Henderson, The Battle of The Thames, J. P. Morton and Company, Louisville, Kentucky, 1903

William C. McBee: Union Soldier or Confederate Soldier?

     Missouri was one of those states which supplied soldiers to both sides of the Civil War.  Did William C. McBee serve?  If he did serve, which side did he support?  
     There are records of a William C. McBee serving Union Army in Company K, 5th Kentucky Infantry.  There is another William C. McBee serving in the Confederate Army in Company E, 7th Missouri Infantry (later known as the 16th Missouri Infantry).  There is another William C McBee in the 27th Arkansas Infantry.  Additional  William C. McBees show up in North Carolina and Alabama.  Could one of these men be the William C. McBee who was the Great-Grandfather of Garna McBee?  
     Up to this point I have suspected that our William McBee would have sided with the Confederacy.  He was born in Tennessee before moving with his father to Arkansas and then to Missouri.  He named one son, Henry Claydean McBee and another, Robert E. Lee McBee. (Henry Clay Dean was a know opponent of the Lincoln administration who lived in Iowa and later Missouri.)  The William C. McBee in Arkansas is too young.  Alabama and North Carolina would seem to be too far away.   
     But if the records for the William C, McBee in the 7th Missouri Infantry are correct then this can’t be our William McBee.  This William McBee was wounded and captured at the Battle of Helena, Arkansas.  Our William was married in Schuyler County, Missouri on 15 December 1863.  Records show that that this William McBee was a prisoner in Delaware in December 1863.   

Marriage Record

     The William C. McBee who joined the Union Army in Kentucky is possibly our man. Records show that he was wounded (broken leg) at the Battle of Shilo in 1862 and subsequently discharged before December, 1863 because of this injury.  Records show that this William McBee was born in Tennessee. 

     At this time the evidence would seem to support the case for the  William C. McBee who enlisted in Kentucky and fought for the Union as being our William McBee.
     But, why would he have traveled 400+ miles from Schuyler County, Missouri to Louisville, Kentucky?  Was it the 160 acres promised to all men who enlisted in the Louisville Legion?  And why would he name his sons Henry Claydean and Robert E. Lee?

Did Clement Gardiner Need Title Insurance in 1797?

     On July 3, 1797 Clement Gardiner agreed to purchase 380 acres of land in the waters of Coxs Creek in Nelson County, Kentucky¹. The agreed upon price was 342 pounds Kentucky Currency.  The seller was Nicholas Paul alias Powell.  The deed was recorded by the County Clerk on July 9, 1797.

A small portion of the recorded deed
Nelson County, Kentucky Deeds Vol 7 1796-1813 page 191

Now if I was purchasing property from someone and they had an alias, I would think twice before finishing the deal.  In 1797 not everyone could read and write so names were often spelled numerous ways.  (I have seen situations where the same name was spelled several different ways in the same document.)  So this was not uncommon.  But there was a problem because less than two months later a notice appeared in the Stewart Kentucky Herald.

Notice of Bond²

     Nicholas Powell had received a Warrant for one thousand acres from the Commonwealth of Virginia in 1780.  That thousand acres was surveyed and the deed was recorded in Nelson County in 1791.  He may have mortgaged his land in 1792 and then cleared that mortgage about the time of the sale. This may have been at the root of the dispute.  In any case Clement Gardiner lived in Fairfield for the rest of his life.

1.  Nelson County, Kentucky Deeds Vol 7 1796-1813 page 191

2. "Notice", Stewart Kentucky Herald, Sep 12, 1797

Clement Gardiner and Henrietta Boone Gardiner

     Clement Gardiner and Henrietta Boone Gardiner arrived in Kentucky about 1797.   Like many Catholics, they left Maryland because of religious oppression. In the years prior to the revolution, Catholics were double taxed and prohibited from certain professions.  The area around Bardstown, Kentucky was a destination for many Catholics.  
     Clement and Henrietta settled along Coxs Creek in what is now Fairfield. They were generous to the church.  Visiting priests celebrated mass at their house.  Later they donated land for St. Michael's Church and cemetery.  They also donated money to build the church.  (The first church in Louisville started as a mission of St. Michael's.)  Clement and Henrietta wanted a school for girls in the Fairfield area so again they provided land so that could happen.  They had difficulty finding teachers for the school.  The Sisters of Loretto answered the call but after illness took the lives of several sisters the school had to be closed. After the death of Clement Gardiner and the closure of the school, Henrietta moved to Loretto and lived out her remaining days in prayer and solitude with the sisters.  
     Clement's and Henrietta's legacy in the church lived on for many generations.  Numerous descendants joined the religious life.  Son Harry joined the Trappist Monastery although he died young.  At least three granddaughters joined the Sisters of Charity of Nazareth.  A great-grandson became a priest.  This legacy even lived on into my generation as my sister became a Dominican nun.  The parish hall at present day St. Michael Church in Fairfield is named Gardiner Hall.
   
1. "Gardiner Descendants plus Hatton Family and Weire Family Histories", Mary Louise Donnelly, 2004

2. "The Centenary of Catholicity in Kentucky : Webb ... - Internet Archive." 2012. 29 Aug. 2013 <http://archive.org/details/centenaryofcatho00webb>

Ancestors at the Nazareth Academy

   In 1814 the Sisters of Charity of Nazareth founded a girls’ school just outside of Bardstown, Kentucky. The Sisters called the location Nazareth.  Nazareth was about 5 miles from the location of the future home of Elisha Gates and family.     

    My Aunt Jane had told us that several of our ancestors had attended and graduated from the Nazareth Academy.   On a trip to Kentucky in 2005, my sister, my wife and I stopped by the the girls’ school.  The academy has now been merged with Nazareth College and renamed. Some of the building now serve other purposes. The Sisters were wonderful hosts.  They showed us through their wonderful museum, and some of the rooms where our ancestors would have congregated.  The Sisters shared some old records with us.  It appeared that around 1900 someone at the academy had transcribed records of each alumnus onto 3 by 5 cards.   The front of the cards for my two ancestors are shown below.

Elizabeth Mattingly

(1832 - 1918)

Daughter of George Mattingly and Catherine Miles

Eliza Jane Gates

(1853 - 1903)

Daughter of William R. Gates and Elizabeth Mattingly

    As is normally the case, each record that is found opens new questions or areas of research.  Aunt Jane did not believe that these records were accurate.  She had been quite adamant that Eliza Jane Gates and Elizabeth Mattingly were:

1. catholic.
2. graduates of the Academy.
3. longtime students at Nazareth Academy.

Returning to Nazareth Academy is on my list of things to do.  It always seems that shortly after I have visited archives I realize there is a few more pieces of information that I should have looked up.  At Nazareth I should have examined records of some of the siblings and cousins of Eliza Jane and Elizabeth.  These records might have shed more light on the accuracy of all the records.  But at this point I would certainly agree with Aunt Jane that the statement in that first record about the religion of Elizabeth Mattingly.   The Nelson County marriage record of her parents show that they were married by I. A. Reynolds.   The Rev. Ignatius A. Reynolds was pastor at St. Joseph’s Cathedral in Bardstown at the time.  Her uncle, Richard Pius Miles was the Catholic Bishop of Nashville from 1837 until 1860.  I would tend to believe that Elizabeth Mattingly was Catholic.   I also would tend to believe that Elizabeth’s age is incorrect.   She is shown as being 14 years old in 1848.   Her birthyear on her tombstone¹ and her death certificate² is given as 1832. Were these transcription errors? We might get some answers with another visit to Kentucky.

1. "Find A Grave - Millions of Cemetery Records." 25 Aug. 2013 <http://www.findagrave.com/>
2. "Kentucky, Death Records, 1911-1955," index, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/pal:/MM9.1.1/N9LF-6V9 : accessed 25 Aug 2013), Elizabeth Gates, 1918.

The Civil War Ended at Samuel's Depot, Nelson County, Kentucky

     On April 10, 1865 Confederate General Robert E. Lee surrendered to Union General Ulysses S. Grant at Appomattox Court House, Virginia.  But the war didn’t end on that day.   The last men to surrender did so not too far from where William R. Gates resided. William Gates is the second son of Elisha and Christina Gates and my GG-grandfather.   
     During the Civil War groups of men, not officially connected to the Confederate Army roamed the south and border states, raided flanks of the Union Army and stole provisions from wagons and trains.  Among the groups of Confederate Irregulars were Quantrill’s Raiders. Quantrill’’s Raiders started in Missouri where there were atrocities performed on and by both sides.  They were a quasi-guerilla type of unit that fought as far south as Texas and east into Kentucky and Tennessee.  After the official surrender by Robert E. Lee,  the Partisan Rangers (Quantrill’s Raiders) continued making raids throughout central Kentucky.
     On 10th May 1865 William C. Quantrill and some of his men were ambushed by Union soldiers in the vicinity of Bloomfield, Kentucky.  Bloomfield lay in Nelson County not too far from the Gates’ Cox’s Creek residence.  Quantrill was shot and paralyzed while trying to escape.  He died about a month later.  The remainder of his men continued raiding.  They were eventually surrounded and surrendered to Capt. Young, US Army, at Samuel's Depot, Nelson County, KY, on 26 July 1865.  Supposedly they surrendered on the front porch of the Samuel’s general store¹.  Samuels [Samuel’s Depot] is the location of Saint Gregory’s Catholic Church.  Elisha Gates was one of the founders of the church and was buried in Saint Gregory’s Cemetery.  
    Among those who surrendered that day was Frank James, the older brother of Jesse James.  There was a good possibility that the James brothers knew the Samuel family well because their mother had married Dr. Reuben Samuel after her second husband had died.  
     Also surrendering that day was Alexander “Donnie” Pence.  Donnie remained in Nelson County, married Sarah Isabel Samuel,  and operated a 50-acre farm near Samuel’s Depot fairly close to Saint Gregory’s Church.  He became sheriff of Nelson County in 1871². 
     I would have to believe that William Gates and his daughter, Eliza Jane Gates (my great-grandmother) were very aware of the activities that took place in 1865.  At the very least they probably met Donnie Pence in the next few decades especially since Donnie Pence's wife was born about the same time as Eliza Jane Gates.

1. "1865 - Maker's Mark."

2011. 22 Aug. 2013 <http://www.makersmark.com/wax-museum/history/3-1865>

2. "QUANTRELL'S RAIDERS: story, pictures and information - Fold3.com." 2011. 22 Aug. 2013 <http://www.fold3.com/page/1089_quantrells_raiders/>

Engagement Customs

     Last night I attended the engagement party of my niece Ellie and her fiancee Sachi.  Sachi’s family is from India so I experienced some new customs. Sachi's family welcomed us into their home for a wonderful evening.  

     The evening caused me to reflect upon marriage records that I have uncovered for my family.  One of those was a marriage bond.  In the eighteenth and early nineteenth century a marriage bond was required in some states.  It was a guarantee by the groomsman or some close relative that the marriage was legal.  This bond was from 1801 for the marriage of my GGG-grandparents Thomas Miles and Christine Gardiner.  The bond was for the amount of fifty pounds.  This bond was accompanied by a note from Christine's father, Clement Gardiner, giving permission for her to marry Thomas.  

A transcription of the bond follows.

Know all men by these presents that Thomas Miles and James Spaulding are held firmly bound unto his Excellency James Garrard Governor of Kentucky in the full and just sum of fifty pounds current money to be paid to his Excellency aforesaid and his successors to which payment will bind ourselves our heirs exects [executors] admins [administrators of an estate] jointly and separatly[sic] firmly by these presents, sealed with our seals and dated this 5^th day of February 1801

The condition of the above obligation is such that if there should be no legal cause to obstruct a marriage shortly to be solemnized between the above bound Thomas Miles and Christine Gardiner daughter of Clement Gardiner then the above obligation to be void else to remain in full force 

A partial transcription of the note signed by Clement Gardiner:

Clerk, Nelson County

The ???    hereby authorized to issue marriage license for Mr. Thomas Miles and my daughter Christine Gardiner ??????

Feb 6, 1801                       Clement Gardiner      

Witness  Thomas Miles

             James Spaulding

Stills and Spirits

    Most frontier farmers had a difficult time getting their crops to market.  The roads were poor and in some cases non-existent.    The distances were great and there was always the issue of spoilage. They soon found that if they distilled their grain into whiskey that spoilage was a non-issue.  So stills and distilleries were a part of my Kentucky and Pennsylvania roots.  
My Pennsylvania ancestors moved into western Pennsylvania about the time of the Whiskey Rebellion.  The Whiskey Rebellion was a result of of the federal government’s attempt under George Washington to apply a tax to spirits but not grain.  Because of the tax, the frontier farmer carried a disproportional share of the cost of the government and it cut into profits as well.  I know that some of the Hugus ancestors must have been distillers, especially since Jacob Hugus was issued a patent for distilling spirits in 1828 and another issued in 1832 for making wine from cider¹. Hugus Patents
     Distilleries were also an important part of life in Nelson County, Kentucky.   The town of Samuels was named for the Samuels Family which has been distilling spirits for hundreds of years.  Present day Maker’s Mark Whiskey was founded by members of the Samuels family.  Even though we know that John G. Gates worked at a distillery and  there was a Mattingly Distillery near Samuels, we are unaware of any family owning distilleries in Nelson County.  William R. Gates (the second son of Elisha Gates) married Elizabeth Mattingly.  Elizabeth’s brother, Miles P. Mattingly was owner of several distilleries in Owensboro².  There was even a court case as a result of one of his purchases.   Old W. S. Stone Distillery; M. P. M. Distiller, Hand Made Sour Mash Whiskey became a famous brand at the time.³


1.  Ellsworth, Henry-Leavitt. Unites States. Patent Office. Digest of Patents, Issued by the United States from 1790 to January 1, 1839. Washington D. C.: Peter Force, 1840.

2.  The History of Daviess County, Kentucky. Chicago, Illinois: Interstate Publishing Company, 1883. 

3.   Mattingly v Stone, Court of Appeals of Kentucky, 1889 Southwestern Reporter, Vol 12, page 467-69

John G. Gates - Rebel Uncle

    John G. Gates was a bit of a travelin' man.  John was the first born of Elisha and Christina Gates.  Based upon his gravestone he was born in 1819.  At various times his place of birth is listed as Maryland, Kentucky or even Missouri.  I would tend to believe the Maryland birthplace, however I have a hard time figuring the logistics of how that might have happened. (See earlier blog about Elisha traveling to Kentucky and back to Maryland.)  Both John and his brother, William were tall, standing six feet six inches.
     In an 1855 deed, John and his brother, William, were given 153 acres of land by Elisha and Christina for their love and affection.  The deed states that John Gates is living in Texas.  Exactly when and why he went there and why he came back is unknown.   
     In the 1860 census he lived in Owensboro and worked in a distillery.  There were family connections to distilleries in the area.
     There were two John Gates from Kentucky who fought for the Confederacy.  I tend to believe that he is the one who enlisted in 1861 in Company A 5th Kentucky Volunteer Infantry (also known as 9th Infantry Regiment - Orphan Brigade).  If that is the case then about a year later near Jackson, Mississippi, he was deemed incapable of performing his duties because of his varicose veins.  My reasons for believing that this is the correct man are based on his age, place of birth and height.
     He told his brother that he wouldn’t get married until late in life and that he would marry a much younger women.  This prediction came true in 1875 at the age of 56 he married Belle Carrico who was 34 years his junior.  During the next census  he has settled down and owns a farm near his brother in Nelson County.
     John G. Gates died in 1890 and is buried in St. Gregory’s Cemetery near Samuels, Kentucky.

The Gates' Farm

     The Gates' farm was along the waters of Froman's Creek near Coxs Creek.  Elisha probably purchased this land with the proceeds from the sale of the Anchovie Hills Plantation in Prince George's County, Maryland.  The 1850 Census shows the farm valued at $10,000 which was considerably more than other farms in the area.  In 1855 Elisha and Christina gave 153 acres of land to their sons, John and William.  Elisha Gates died during the Civil War but Christina Gates lived until 1869.  William had married Elizabeth Mattingly in 1849.  John did not marry until much later in life.  
     My Aunt Jane, who met some of the Gates family, told about an episode involving Elizabeth Mattingly Gates.  During the Civil War, Union soldiers came through taking all the meat from the farm.  They eyed the nice wool blankets longingly saying, "Wish we were further south, then we'd take these".  Elizabeth Mattingly Gates sat in front of the dresser where their money was hidden but they didn't ask her to move. 

Gates' Family Home near Coxs Creek, Kentucky - May 1905
 from left: Russell Gates; Mattie Gates; Metta Gates Spaulding; Elizabeth Mattingly Gates (wife of W^m Gates)

By comparing this old map¹ with the Google map you can see that the Gates' Farm is close to where Samuels Road (509) turns south.   Zooming makes Froman's Creek visible.  St. Gregory Cemetery is located a little west and south along Mobley Mill Road. (Coxs Creek is also known as Cox Creek or Cox's Creek)

View Larger Map

1. An Atlas of Nelson & Spencer Counties, Kentucky. Philadelphia, Pennsylvania: D. J. Lake & Co., 1882.

Elisha Gates and the Catholic Church in Nelson County

     Fairly soon after the marriage of Elisha Gates and Christina Summers the two of them traveled to Nelson County, Kentucky.  Elisha was able to establish himself in the community rather quickly.  It is probable that he already knew many people in the area.  He had already lived there when he served in the War of 1812 and many of the families could have been neighbors in Prince George's and Charles Counties in Maryland.
      In 1820 he is listed as an elder of the Saint Joseph Proto-Cathedral in Bardstown¹.  The cathedral was being built when Elisha and Christina arrived and priests started holding mass at the cathedral at about that same time.
     About 1836 Elisha helped establish the first Catholic newspaper in central Kentucky¹ - The Catholic Advocate.  Eventually the Catholic newspaper in the area was called The Record.
     Since the Gates’ farm was located about 8 miles from Bardstown, Elisha and many of his neighbors hosted priests to hold mass in the area¹.   Mass was held as early as 1827 at the Gates' house.  Records indicate that in 1852 the bishop confirmed 30 people at the home of Elisha Gates².  Around 1850 some forty Catholic families lived in the area and so they constructed a small brick church, St. Gregory’s Church, in Samuels, Kentucky.   Elisha Gates is one of the parishoners who was given special credit for the erection of the church.
     At the time a cemetery was adjacent to the church.  The present church is a few miles from the cemetery.  Elisha and most of his family area buried in the cemetery.

St Gregory Cemetery

1.  "History of St. Gregory’s Parish." The Record, Nov 26, 1949.

2   Benedict Joseph Webb, The Centenary of Catholicity in Kentucky, (Louisville, Kentucky: C. A. Rogers, 1884), 63; 578.

Elisha - Maryland to Kentucky and Back Again and Again

     How many times did Elisha travel between Maryland and Kentucky?   From records that exist he may have traveled at least three times.  
     Although no birth or baptism record has been found, Elisha's tombstone shows a birth in 1789, most likely in Maryland.  The earliest orphan guardianship record¹ uncovered dates to 1802 in Prince George's County, Maryland with Joshua Mudd as guardian.  By 1804 some of his records seem to be originating in Kentucky with Elisha under the care of Thomas Cambron.  So that might indicate that he traveled once to Kentucky by the time he was about 12 or 13 years old.  
     There is also evidence that he made a trip from Maryland in 1812.  The biography of John Joseph Montgomery²,  states that when John Joseph Montgomery's grandfather "Thomas Montgomery was twenty-one, he joined his cousin, Elisha Gates, in the trek over the 'Old Indian Road'  through Pennsylvania's Cumberland Gap, southwest to Kentucky."  This might have been his second trip.
    After the War of 1812, we know that Elisha traveled back to Maryland because he sold Anchovy Hills Plantation and got married in April 1817³ in Prince George's County.  And 1818 Nelson County records show he purchased some sheep from an estate and paid taxes on land in Kentucky.
     So if our interpretation of these records is correct he made at three roundtrips between Maryland and Kentucky.  Each one-way trip is about 640 miles by today's roads.  They probably averaged less than twenty miles per day but at that rate each one way trip was over 32 days.  On his last known trip he traveled with his new bride, Christina. 
     And don't forget in 1813 he traveled north to Canada to participate in the Battle of the Thames.  Elisha did his share of traveling.



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1.  "Maryland, Probate Estate and Guardianship Files, 1796-1940," index and images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/pal:/MM9.1.1/XXFC-PPB : accessed 28 July 2013), Elisha Gates, 01 Jan 1800

2.  Spearman, Arthur Dunning John Joseph Montgomery 1858-1911 Father of Basic Flying University of Santa Clara, 1967

3.  Prince George's County (Maryland). Clerk of the Circuit Court, Marriage licenses, 1777-1880,  Film #14305  Family History Library,  Salt Lake City, Utah: Filmed by the Genealogical Society of Utah, 1949

Who is that with Elisha?

    Two-hundred years ago Elisha Gates answered the call to go to battle against the British and their Native-American allies.  Is it possible that Elisha Gates was with family and friends while serving in the Kentucky Mounted Volunteer Militia¹?    
     Elisha's name appears on page 166 of the book "Kentucky Soldiers of the War of 1812".  A couple of interesting names appear on page 167. (See below)
     One name of interest is John S. Summers.  Is John S. Summers related to the woman who Elisha married.  In 1818 Elisha married Christina Ann Summers in Prince George's County, Maryland.   In 1827 Elisha and Christina, while living in Kentucky, sold a tract of land called Meadows Resurvey located in Prince George's County to a John G. Summers.  Are John G. Summers, John S. Summers and Christina Ann Summers related?  Ongoing research is a requirement.  
       Another name, 'John Yates' is last on the list.  Whenever I see the name Yates, I wonder if it is Gates transcribed incorrectly.  I have found records where the last name Gates has been misread as Yates.  In the third image on this webpage you can see where the 'G' in Gates looks perilously like a 'Y'.  Handwriting has changed over the years and a capital G used to be open at the top and have a tail below the line.  If the name is John Gates is this John related to Elisha?  Elisha named his first son John so it is certainly a possibility. Some day I would like to find if that name should be 'John Gates'.  The only way to be certain would be to find the original piece of paper.  This might require a trip to the Kentucky Archives in order to see the original.
     Is Henderson Mudd related to the Elisha's first guardian, Joshua Mudd?  Again further research will be required.
     As is normally the case, whenever one locates information about an ancestor, that same information raises more questions than answers.

   

1. Clift, G. Glenn. Kentucky Soldiers of the War of 1812. Frankfort, Kentucky: Report of the Adjutant General of the State of Kentucky, 1891

Elisha Gates - Not the Only Volunteer

Elisha Gates (1789-1863)

     After the Raisin River Massacre, Kentucky Governor Isaac Shelby called for 1500 volunteers to avenge the deaths of the Kentuckians.  On July 31, 1813 over twice as many volunteers showed up near Cincinnati, Ohio.  Some Kentuckian showed up with knives and no guns.  Some were on foot and others on horseback.  
     Governor Shelby had a big task ahead to organize, arm, and feed over three thousand men.  The first few weeks of August 1813 were spent in southern Ohio organizing the army.  The task of organizing and outfitting the militia actual consumed a significant portion of the scheduled enlistment period.
     Elisha Gates became a Private in the Kentucky Mounted Volunteer Militia¹. He was assigned to serve in Captain Presley C. Smith's Company, commanded by Colonel James Simrall.



1. Clift, G. Glenn. Kentucky Soldiers of the War of 1812. Frankfort, Kentucky: Report of the Adjutant General of the State of Kentucky, 1891

Elisha Gates - Answering the Call

     Elisha Gates' tombstone indicates that he was born on June 3, 1789. But the earliest known records are a collection of papers in the Maryland, Probate and Guardianship Files.¹
      These records state that Elisha and his sister, Elizabeth were orphaned around 1800.  Their parents are shown to be James T. and Mary Gates.  The estate maintained ownership of the Plantation Anchovy Hills containing at least 150 acres in Maryland.  By 1806 it appears that Joshua Mudd is their guardian and they are living in Kentucky.  
     In any case Elisha was in Kentucky when the call from Governor Shelby went out for volunteers to avenge the Massacre at the River Raisin. He gathered up his rifle and horse and answered the call. 
     Below is one of the 47 pages in the Guardianship File of Elisha and his sister.

1. "Maryland, Probate Estate and Guardianship Files, 1796-1940," index and images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/pal:/MM9.1.1/XXFC-PPB : accessed 28 July 2013), Elisha Gates, 01 Jan 1800