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Below is a family biography included in The History of Barton County, Missouri published by Goodspeed Publishing Company in 1889.  These biographies are valuable for genealogy research in discovering missing ancestors or filling in the details of a family tree. Family biographies often include far more information than can be found in a census record or obituary.  Details will vary with each biography but will often include the date and place of birth, parent names including mothers' maiden name, name of wife including maiden name, her parents' names, name of children (including spouses if married), former places of residence, occupation details, military service, church and social organization affiliations, and more.  There are often ancestry details included that cannot be found in any other type of genealogical record.

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John Bates, secretary of the Lamar Abstract and Trust Company, was born in Macoupin County, Ill., on September, 18, 1842, and is the youngest of two children born to James W. and Martha (Will) Bates, who were Tennesseeans by birth, born in 1812 and 1818, respectively. Both the paternal and maternal great-grandfathers served in the Revolutionary War, and the former was born in Ireland, and came to America in 1877, settling in South Carolina. The grandfathers on both sides served under Jackson in the War of 1812, and were early settlers of Tennessee. James W. Bates moved to Greene County, Ill., with his parents, in 1834, and the mother, with her parents, in 1829. They married and spent their lives in that State, the father following farming and school teaching, and died there in 1845. He was an old-time Democrat. His widow still resides in that State. John Bates, the subject of this sketch, only received a few months’ schooling, and, when old enough, was put to the plow. He assisted on the home farm until nearly thirty years of age, but, from the time he was nineteen years of age until he was twenty-nine, he was engaged in teaching school during the winter months. In November, 1869, he was married to Edna J. Johnson, who was born in Illinois, and in 1872 moved to Barton County, Mo., and improved a farm, which he sold for fifty dollars an acre, it being the first one in the county to bring that price. From 1881 to about 1888 he ran a livery stable in Lamar, and now owns 290 acres of land in the county. He is a member of the Union Labor party, and from 1878 to 1882 held the office of presiding judge of the county court. He is a Royal Arch Mason, and he and his wife are members of the Baptist Church.

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This family biography is one of 166 biographies included in The History of Barton County, Missouri published in 1889.  For the complete description, click here: Barton County, Missouri History, Genealogy, and Maps

To view additional Barton County, Missouri family biographies, click here

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