Gates Family in Early Maryland: Peter Gates ( -1787)

Peter Gates, son of Robert Gates; grandson of Robert Gates and Dorothy Hunt

     Joseph Gates is listed as the guardian of his nephew, Peter Gates, in the 1733/34 will of Robert Gates.  Peter Gates inherited a portion of a tract of land from his father in 1733 in that will.  He purchased land in 1756 from Francis and Elizabeth Capshaw.   
     It appears that between 1757 and 1759, Peter sold his interest in his land holdings in Charles County.  In 1757 he sold his share of the tract of land in Charles County called Loving Brothers.  In 1759 he sold the land he had purchased from the Capshaws.
     In 1760, while still a resident of Charles County, he purchased a tract of land, called Anchovy Hills¹, in Prince George's County. (His grandson, Elisha, sold Anchovy Hills about sixty years later.)

Peter Gates' will² was written on April 23, 1783. He names twelve children.  The will was recorded in Prince George's County on Nov. 5, 1787 so he probably died shortly before that date.  Peter names his wife, Jane, and son, James Truman Gates, as executors of the estate.

The twelve children of Peter Gates and Jane _______ are:

1)  Mary Ann (Harrison)

2)  Dorothy (Brion)

3)  Sarah (Gibbons)

4)  Elizabeth (Gibbons)

5)  Henrietta (Queen)

6)  Catherine (Spaulding)

7)  James Truman

8)  Vinson

9)  Walter

10) Ellenor

11) Lucy

12) Jane

1. Maryland State Archives  http://mdlandrec.net Prince George's County Court (Land Records) 1759-1763 RR, p. 0037 MSA CE 65-18 

2. "Maryland, Register of Wills Books, 1629-1999." Images. FamilySearch. http://FamilySearch.org : accessed 2014. Citing Prerogative Court. Hall of Records, Annapolis. Prince George's County, Liber T page 255-256

Gates Family in Early Maryland: Robert (1686-1733/34)

Robert Gates, son of Robert Gates and Dorothy Hunt

     The second generation of the Gates family in Maryland consisted of six siblings, including Robert Gates.  This Robert Gates was born on Feb. 13, 1686 in Charles County, Maryland.  He was about twelve years of age when his father passed away.  
     Robert Gates wrote a will¹ on Jan 16, 1733/34 and mentioned sons, Robert, Joseph and Peter.  The will was recorded Feb 4, 1733/34 in Charles County.  Robert was the oldest son and it appears that he was the executor. Robert's brother, Joseph, was made the guardian of Peter and Joseph.  Robert did not mention any other children, although, according to Mary Louise Donnelly, he had several.  He also does not mention his wife, so she probably preceded him in death.  In his father's will, Robert and his brothers were left a tract of land called Loving Brothers to share.  

Robert's will was written on 16 Jan 1733/34 and recorded on 4 Feb 1733/34
This document is typical of many old documents.  Parts have faded and the ink from previous and subsequent pages has bled through making it difficult to transcribe.

Children of Robert²  (At this time his wife is unknown) 
1) Robert
2) James died prior to 10 Aug 1758 when Robert sold his share of the land
3) Margaret
4) Peter
5) Joseph died without issue in 1772
6) John


1. "Maryland, Register of Wills Books, 1629-1999." Images. FamilySearch. http://FamilySearch.org : accessed 2014. Citing Prerogative Court. Hall of Records, Annapolis. Wills 1704-1733 Vol. 3 page 266 Image 160 of 166
2.  Donnelly, Mary Louise, Charles County, Maryland My Colonial Ancestors Plus Others, Published by Mary Louise Donnelly, 2000, page 112

Gates Family in Early Maryland: Robert (1543-1598)

    Robert Gates was born in England about 1643¹.  He was transported to Maryland in 1655 as an indentured servant and was obligated to Robert Cole for a period of nine years. From records it appears that Capt. Benjamin Cooper transported Robert Gates at about twelve years of age to Maryland and then sold his rights to Robert Cole.  Both Benjamin Cooper²  and Robert Cole³  stated that they had transported our Robert Gates.  He served at St. Clement’s Manor, a plantation in St. Mary’s County.  Robert Cole had several parcels of land so Robert Gates also spent time at another plantation, Benedict Hundred, in Charles County Maryland.    

     In 1664, his period of servitude was up and he began his private life as a planter and carpenter.  As is common today with ranches and farms, early settlers named their plantations  and tracts of land.  Robert Gates patented 100 acres called Gates His Hope in 1668; 60 acres called Gates Purchase in 1672; and 193 acres called Gates His Swamp in 1688.  In addition to the the land he patented, he purchased additional acreage and by the time of his death in 1698 he owned 1567 acres.  He served in a minor office as the overseer of highways in Charles County.  
     Sometime before 1676 he married Dorothy Hunt, the daughter of John and Dorothy Hunt.  He and Dorothy had six children together, three boys and three girls.  Robert Gates’ will⁴ was written on Feb 5, 1694 and probated June 6, 1698, so he probably died in early 1698. His children are named in his will.  

The years of their births are listed in a book written by Mary Louise Donnelly⁵

Katherine  b. 1676

Susannah b. 1678

John      b. 1681  

Robert  b. 1686

Anne    b. 1690

Joseph   b. 1693

1. Carr, Menard, and Walsh, Robert Cole’s World Agriculture and Society in Early Maryland, University of North Carolina Press, Chapel Hill, 1991
2. Maryland State Archives  St. Mary's County Circuit Court Land Survey, Subdivision, and Condominium Plats  MSA S1598: Volume 17 Page 475 
3. Family History Film 13064, "Patents series of the Maryland Land Office,1640-1658, St. Mary’s County  Volumes 5, Liber Q,  Page 18”
4. "Maryland, Register of Wills Books, 1629-1999." Images. FamilySearch. http://FamilySearch.org : accessed 2014. Citing Prerogative Court. Hall of Records, Annapolis. St. Mary’s County, Volume PC1 page 89-90
5. Donnelly, Mary Louise, Charles County, Maryland My Colonial Ancestors Plus Others, Published by Mary Louise Donnelly, 2000, page 112

Gates Family in Early Maryland

     For the last dozen years or so I have been chasing and researching the ancestry of Elisha Gates.  We first met Elisha Gates in Nelson County, Kentucky where he owned land, raised a family, died, and is buried.  He served in War of 1812 while living in Kentucky.  We quickly found his marriage record in Prince George's County in 1817 to Christina Ann Summers.  From there the trail ran cold.  Mary Louise Donnelly had researched members of the Gates family in Charles County but neither Elisha nor his father were mentioned in her books.  As we found out later that was because Elisha and his parents were a couple miles and two counties away in Prince George's County.  Robert Cady Gates published Records of the Gates Families of America From Colonial Period to 1860 (3rd Edition) follows thousands of people with the surname Gates. He fails to connect Elisha to his parents but in truth his book is a compilation of known records and one could not expect him to connect these dots.  His book was a massive project. There are over two dozen men with the name Elisha Gates mostly in Connecticut and other parts of New England. Any connection with our Maryland family would probably be in England prior to settling in the colonies if there is any connection at all.  
   After joining the Prince George's County Genealogical Society, I purchased a CD-Rom containing back issues of their newsletter.  This turned out to be a good purchase because buried deep inside a reference mentioned an orphan record for Elisha Gates.  Unfortunately, the only known copy of this record was in the Maryland Archives in Annapolis.  It took me about seven years before I made it to Annapolis but while there I found a couple records that stated that Elisha was the son of James T. Gates and Mary A. Gates.  
     Eventually more records about Elisha and his sister, Elizabeth, showed up on family search.org.  These records had not been filmed before this and these 42 pages firmly connected Elisha to a James Truman Gates and Mary Ann Gates.
     By examining land records and wills, I was able to show that James Truman Gates was the son of Peter and Jane Gates.  Once this relationship was established we were able to connect to several more generations.
     Over the next few blog posts we will establish the following relations in the Gates family.  We will also list known siblings of the direct ancestors.  The Gates family lineage includes the following generations 
1)  Robert Gates married Dorothy Hunt 
2) Robert Gates married ____________
3) Peter Gates married Jane _______
4) James Truman Gates married Mary Ann _______
5) Elisha Gates married Christina Ann Summers

     These families lived in St. Mary's, Charles, and Prince George's Counties.  Even though they lived in three counties the various land holdings lay within a few miles of each other.  

An image from Google Maps showing the portions of three counties in Maryland where five generation of the Gates family lived.

     The documents that have helped me trace these relationships include guardianship records, land deeds and probate records found on familysearch.org as well as Family History Library microfilms.  I also used Land records found on MDLANDREC.NET, an Archives of Maryland Online Publication. As I said before, I also made a trip to the Maryland Archives and later contacted an archivist for an additional record.  In addition, two books that helped tremendously were Robert Cole’s World Agriculture and Society in Early Maryland, which I uncovered on Google Search and Charles County, Maryland My Colonial Ancestors Plus Others.  Both books are now in my library.