John Valentine Gates, son of Patsy Rossen and Valentine Gates was
born in Georgia about 1791. Family trees found on the internet state that John
was born in Interence, Georgia. Where the heck is Interence? I've never heard
of it. I tried to Google it without success.
Nor was it listed on the GeorgiaInfo place names list. So where was John born? According to John’s 1812 military
record, he was born in Jefferson Cty, Georgia. [1]
Tax records available on Ancestry.com show that John’s
father Valentine paid taxes in Jackson County, in Northeast Georgia in 1798,
1799, and 1801. [2,3]
Georgia, Property Tax Digests, 1793-1892 about Valentine Gates
|
Georgia Tax Index, 1789-1799 about Gates, Valintine
|
Around 1812, John married Martha Jane Hampton who was born
about 1793 in North Carolina. She is said to be the daughter of John Wade Hampton
and Joyce Malone.
Most family trees state the couple was married in Tennessee. I believe the couple was married in Georgia. I was unable to locate a marriage record in Tennessee or Georgia but my guess of the location of their marriage is based on the following clues:
1) John and Martha met in Jackson County. Tax records show
the Hampton family was living in Jackson County, near the Gates family. [2]
Georgia, Property Tax Digests, 1793-1892 about John Hampton
|
2) John enlisted in December 1813 in Jackson City, Georgia. [1]
3) Their daughter Martha Polly Gates (Dean) was born about 1814 in Georgia. [4,5]
At war with Napoleon Bonapart's French Empire since 1793, Britain claimed the right to
intercept American ships on the high seas, seize their cargoes, and search their crews for British navy deserters. By 1811, the British Royal Navy had impressed at
least 6,000 mariners who claimed to be citizens of the United States. In
addition to impressments, Americans were dismayed by British agitation of the
native population on the western frontier. In 1812, the United States declared war against Great Britain. [6]
War of 1812
On December 23, 1813 in Jackson City, Georgia, John
Gates an “18 year old farmer” enlisted as a private in the 43rd Georgia
Volunteer Infantry Regiment under Captain Edward Tattnall. He is described as 5’9”
tall with dark hair, dark eyes, and a dark completion.
In the winter of 1815, the Regiment was defending Fort Peter located on Georgia's marshy coast near the town of St. Marys. On January
15, 1816, 600 British troops landed at a plantation on Cumberland
Island. They overwhelmed the small American force, and took Point Peter easily.
John enlisted on December 23, 1813 in Jackson City, Georgia. John an
“18 year old farmer” enlisted as a private in the 43rd Georgia Volunteer Infantry Regiment under Captain Edward Tattnall. The record lists his physical description as 5’9” tall, dark hair, dark eyes, and dark
completion.
On January 15, 1816, 600 British troops
landed at a plantation on Cumberland Island. They overwhelmed the small
American force, and took Point Peter easily. As they headed for the town of St.
Marys they encountered 160 American soldiers which included the 43rd Infantry
Regiment headed by Tattnall. A skirmish ensued before the badly outnumbered Americans
retreated. The skirmish at Point Peter happened almost a month after the peace
treaty had been signed. John was discharged at Ft.
Moultrie, South Carolina on Sept. 16, 1815.
Sometime after making his way back to his family, John and Martha packed up their belongings and moved to Tennessee. While living in Tennessee, Martha gave birth to a son named Hampton about 1816 and a daughter names Mary Ann (Hawkins) about 1817.
When Tennessee was admitted to the union, 40% of the land belonged to the Cherokee and Chickasaw nations. An 1818 treaty with the Chickasaw nation secured western Tennessee for settlers. The family moved to Madison County shortly after the treaty was signed. Their son William Norwood was born in Jackson, Tennessee in 1818.
Perhaps the Gates family was affected by the Panic of 1819. During the War of 1812, American manufacturers found markets in Europe for cotton, tobacco, wheat and corn. The soaring prices led to prosperity that fueled a speculative land boom in the South. When the hostilities ended crop yields in Europe reduced demand for American farm products. Prices plunged, and banks in Europe and America reduced credit. By early 1819 credit was unavailable to many Americans, banks and businesses failed. Sales of public lands plummeted.
Sometime between 1818 and 1820, the John Gates family again packed their meager belongings and moved to Russellville, Alabama. On the 1820 Alabama State Census, the John Gates family
was enumerated in Franklin County.
1 Male > 21 (John 25)
2 Males < 21 (Hampton 4 & William 2)
1 female > 21 (Martha 27)
2 females < 21 (Martha 6; Mary Ann 3)
0 Slaves
While living in Russellville,
Martha is said to have given birth to the following children: Francis Caroline
(Sanders) about 1820, Bartholomew James about 1823, Joseph Hampton about 1825, Abner
Valentine about 1827 and John Jr. about 1829.
Sometime after John was born, the family moved west.
Family tradition says the family moved to Natchitoches Parrish, Louisiana and
lived there until 1854 when they immigrated to Texas. I was unable to locate
the family in the 1830 census. Where was the family? Did they paint “G.T.T.” (Gone to Texas) on their door?Gone to Texas
In 1821, Mexico gained their freedom from Spain.
Virtually bankrupt and unable to control their borders, Mexico encourage
settlement in the sparsely populated northern states. The first Anglo settler colony
was established by Stephen Austin in 1822. As news of his success spread, the rush to Texas was on.
In 1824, the Mexican government
invited foreigners to become Mexican citizen. If they would swear allegiance to
Mexico and their laws, embrace the Catholic religion, occupy and work the land
for six years, the immigrants could claim up to 4,605 acres at a cost about
four cents an acre ($184) payable in six years. Comparable land in the United States was running $1.25 an acre payable in cash. People packed up everything they owned and headed for the wide open spaces of Texas; they wrote G.T.T. on the doors and fence posts of the abandoned property. [9]
In 1825, the Legislature of Coahuila and Tejas passed a state colonization law which authorized Empresarios to act as land agents for the government. In 1826, Joseph Vehlein, a German merchant, obtained a contract to settle 300 families near Nacogdoches in eastern Texas; John Gates was recruited as settler by Vehlein.
The area that John settled in was wooded; timber was available to construct a cabin. Perhaps he raised livestock. According to the Guide to Texas emigrants there was a good market for cattle, mules, hogs and tamed mustangs in New Orleans. Immigrants who brought slaves to Texas planted cash crops of cotton and tobacco. Although slavery was prohibited, many immigrants ignored the law. There is no record of John bringing slaves to Texas. He could have planted less labor intensive crops of maize, beans, sweet potatoes, oats, barley, flax, rye, and hemp. Wild honey was plentiful and the native grapes were cultivated as well. [12]
John’s neighbors were mostly Anglos. Between 1821 and 1834, the number of Tejanos (people of Mexican heritage living in Texas) who mostly worked as ranchers and small farmers numbered 4,000. In 1830 the number of Anglo settlers, including slave-owning plantation owners numbered 10,000. By 1834, the number of white Anglo settlers had jumped to 20,700. As more Anglos settled in Texas, tensions increased. [13]
John settled in the Tenaha district in east Texas (near current day Shelby County, Texas) where the family was enumerated in the 1835 census of Tenaha, as follows: [14] (estimate birth year added by author)
In 1825, the Legislature of Coahuila and Tejas passed a state colonization law which authorized Empresarios to act as land agents for the government. In 1826, Joseph Vehlein, a German merchant, obtained a contract to settle 300 families near Nacogdoches in eastern Texas; John Gates was recruited as settler by Vehlein.
John’s neighbors were mostly Anglos. Between 1821 and 1834, the number of Tejanos (people of Mexican heritage living in Texas) who mostly worked as ranchers and small farmers numbered 4,000. In 1830 the number of Anglo settlers, including slave-owning plantation owners numbered 10,000. By 1834, the number of white Anglo settlers had jumped to 20,700. As more Anglos settled in Texas, tensions increased. [13]
John settled in the Tenaha district in east Texas (near current day Shelby County, Texas) where the family was enumerated in the 1835 census of Tenaha, as follows: [14] (estimate birth year added by author)
1835
Mexican Census - Teneha
Gates
|
John
|
Farmer
|
47
|
1788
|
Gates
|
Jane
|
Wife
|
46
|
1789
|
Gates
|
Hampton
|
Son
|
19
|
1816
|
Gates
|
William
|
Son
|
17
|
1818
|
Gates
|
Fanny
|
Daughter
|
15
|
1820
|
Gates
|
James
|
Son
|
12
|
1823
|
Gates
|
Valentine
|
Son
|
10
|
1825
|
Gates
|
John,
Jr.
|
Son
|
8
|
1827
|
Gates
|
Samuel
|
Son
|
6
|
1829
|
Gates
|
Sarah
|
Daughter
|
4
|
1831
|
Gates
|
Susan
|
Daughter
|
2
|
1833
|
Luroy Gates age 23 from Tennessee was enumerated in the
Teneha district in 1835. He is listed as a son of John Gates in many of
the family trees found on the internet. Perhaps this is why most people say John and Martha were married in Tennessee. [15]
In 1828 the Mexican government sent a team to
investigate the status of the Texas colonies. In a report of their finding the
diarist wrote: “the spark that will start the conflagration that will deprive
us of Texas, will start from this colony.” The expedition concluded in January
1829. [16]
Responding to the warnings,
in 1830 the Mexican government cracked down on Texas. It ordered Texans to end
slavery. It halted further American immigration. It required Texans to pay
taxes for the first time. They sent Mexican troops to Texas to enforce
collection of customs duties.
In 1832, blood was spilled. At the
Battle of Velasco, Anglo insurgents
attacked Fort Velasco. The conflict ended when the Commander was forced to
surrender due to lack of ammunition. The troops were allowed to return to
Mexico City.
In 1832 and 1833 the Anglo
settlers petitioned for reforms and requested a separate state for Texas. [17,18] Stephen
Austin went to Mexico City to present the requests. President Santa Anna agreed to
repeal the immigration restrictions, but he refused to grant statehood. Frustrated,
Austin wrote an inflammatory letter advising the settlers to proceed without
permission of the central government. The letter was intercepted and Austin was
arrested. He was freed by a general amnesty law in July 1835 and returned to
Texas.
Amid these tensions, John
submitted paperwork in 1835 to obtain a deed for land in Texas. He signed the
document on May 28, 1835 in Nacogdoches.[19]
In order to be eligible for land, a settler had to provide proof of good character. Character certificates were issued by local authorities in Nacogdoches to settlers who intended to petition for land grants. Two character certificates were found in the Texas General Land Office (GLO) for John Gates. The first one was written in English. [20]
Free state of Coahuila and Tejas,
Municipality of San Augustine
I certify that John Gates, a
native of Georgia of the United States of America is a man of family consisting
of seven persons, and a man of good moral habits industrious and a good citizen
and friendly to the laws and religion of the country given at the instance of
the party interested.
May 26th, 1835 John Chumley Alcalde interim
To the honorable Radford Berry,
Mayor of this town and its municipality
I certify that the foreigner John
Gates is a man of high morals standards, an adherent of the constitution and
laws of the country and the Christian religion; he is married with a family,
and been in this area from 1829 until now. It has been proven by witness and
oral declaration at the Town of Nacogdoches on 9 Nov. 1835.
G. Pollite Alcalde in Tenna
In 1835, Santa Anna overthrew the
constitution of 1824 and appointed himself dictator. He ordered the military to
disarm state militias. Soldiers were sent to Gonzales, Texas to repossess a cannon
provided to the residents for defense against Indian raids. On October 2, the
Texans loaded the cannon with scrap iron, and fired at the troops. Outgunned the
soldiers retreated. War had begun.
The colonists formed an ad hoc
Army and marched to San Antonio de Béxar where they laid siege to the garrison
housing 1200 troops under the direction of General Cos. After about 2 months,
the stalemate ended when Col. Ben Milam appealed to the Texans "Who will
go with old Ben Milam into San Antonio?"
Before dawn on December 5, Milam and
300 volunteers attacked the town. Milam was killed by a sniper during the house-to-house
combat. After four days of fighting, General Cos signaled a truce. In exchange
for the parole and return of Cos and his men to Mexico, the Texans gained controls
of the public property, guns and ammunition in San Antonio.
John’s 17 year old son William
Norwood joined Ben Milam in the storming of San Antonio. In William’s pension
application he described his service as follows:
“I was at San Antonio with Col. Milum when he fel and then after whiping
Coss out of the alamo I returnd home I belonged to Baly Anderson Company I got
home in January 36 I was in the battle of San Antonio yours truly, W.N. Gates”.
After the battle William returned
home to his family (near current day Shelby County, Texas). William was
credited with service to the Republic of Texas for which he received a Bounty
Warrant No.179 for 320 acres of land.
In February 1836, Santa Anna led the
Mexican Army into Texas to put down the rebellion. The troops arrived in San
Antonio on Feb. 23. The Texans defending San Antonio took refuge inside the
Alamo. After a thirteen-day siege, Mexican troops stormed the Alamo and killed
all rebel fighters sparing only a few women and slaves.
Santa Anna and his troops then
continued east. General Jose Urrea marched additional troops up the Texas coast.
Houston retreated leaving the settlers unprotected. Fearing Santa Anna’s policy
of taking no prisoners, Texans fled their home and took refuge in Louisiana.
On April 21, 1836, the Texans
defeated Santa Anna's army at the Battle of San Jacinto; Santa Anna was
captured the following day. The Mexican army retreated back to Mexico City,
ending the Texas Revolution.
It appears the Gates family was among the Texans who
fled to Louisiana. John settled in Natchitoches Parrish, Louisiana. A land
patent show John Gates acquired 160 acres in Township 10N, Range 10W, southeast
quarter section 29. [25] According to the BLM tract books, John bought 159.90 acres at $1.25 per acre on
February 5, 1939. [26] Natchitoches
Parrish contained vast cotton and tobacco plantations. It is likely that the
family farmed the land growing cash crops of cotton or tobacco as well as
garden crops to feed the family.
Family tradition states John died in 1837 in Natchitoches
leaving behind his wife Martha Jane and several under age children. Based on
the land records, John’s death was after Feb. 1939.[27] The patent for
John Gates was recorded on April 1, 1843. The deed may have been recorded when
the property was sold or divided to satisfy John’s estate.
It is possible that after John’s death, Martha married
a second time. An entry found on a message board posted by Jane Skjothaug May 22,
2002 stated:
Martha
Gates, widow of John Gates, married James Maxwell between 1840 and 1842
probably in Natchitoches Parish. Need to know when. In a law suit filed against
her Dec. 1842 by Geo. Fuller in Natchitoches Parish it states that "Martha
Gates, widow of John Gates, newly married to James Maxwell, is leaving the
state of LA forever". She signed the note for a loan under the name Martha
Gates.
James and Martha moved to Hopkins County, Texas before
1847. The last known location of the couple was Hopkins County, Texas where
they were living when the 1850 census was taken.
John and Martha’s children must
have requested assistance in obtaining land bounty based on their father’s
Mexican land grant. On February 3, 1860 An Act for the relief of the heirs of John
Gates was passed by the Texas legislature. This act cancelled the title
issued to “John Gates as a Colonist in Vehlin’s Colony” and issued a
certificate to his heirs.
Paper work dated 1878 listed his
heirs as: W.N. Gates; A.V. Gates, Mary Hawkins, Avarilla Gates (widow of
Bartholomew), Caroline Sanders, and Joseph Gates. [30] At least one sibling who was still living was not included as an heir, Samuel
who was living in Florida; perhaps he had lost touch with his siblings.
Researchers credit the following children to the
couple:
Name
|
Birth
|
Death
|
Leroy
|
1812
TN
|
|
Martha
Polly (Dean)
|
1814
GA
|
1862
MS
|
Joseph
Hampton
|
1816
TN
|
after
1878
|
Mary
Ann (Hawkins)
|
1817
TN
|
abt
1900 IL
|
William
Norwood
|
1818
TN
|
1903
TX
|
Francis
Caroline (Sanders)
|
1820
AL
|
1876
TX
|
Bartholomew
James
|
1823
AL
|
1860
LA
|
Abner
Valentine
|
1825
AL
|
1916
TX
|
John,
Jr.
|
1827
AL
|
|
Samuel
|
1830
TX
|
1890
FL
|
Sarah
|
1831
TX
|
|
Susan
|
1833
TX
|
|
Martha
Emaline (Parsons)
|
1837
LA
|
1855
TX
|
[2]
Ancestry.com, Georgia, Property Tax Digests, 1793-1893. Georgia Tax
Digests [1890]. 140 volumes. Morrow, Georgia: Georgia Archives.
[3]
Ancestry.com, Georgia Tax Index, 1789-1799
[4] 1850 United States Federal
Census, Summerfield, Dallas, Alabama, Martha Dean born abt 1813 in GA
[5]
1860 United States Federal Census, Summerfield, Dallas, Alabama,
Martha Dean born abt 1814 in GA
[7] Ancestry.com, Alabama
State Census, 1820-1866, Franklin County, John Gates
[10] The Laws of Texas 1822-1897:
Volume 5, Chapter 87, Page 98 (Google eBook) An Act for the Relief
of the heirs of John Gates, Legislature of the State of Texas, Feb. 3, 1860
[11] Empresario Contracts
in the Colonization of Texas 1825-1834, Sons of DeWitt Colony Texas
website
[14] 1835 Census of
Tenehaw (Shelby
County), Shelby County Historical Society Museum & Library, Shelby County,
Texas
[15] The First Census of Texas,
1829-1836, Special Publication of the National Genealogical Society, 1962, Page
8
[19] Texas General Land Office Land
Grant Search, John Gates, Unfinished Titles, file number SC 000060:29 - Page 11, Petition #394 - John Gates
[20] Texas General Land Office Land
Grant Search, John Gates, Character Certificates, file number SC 000067:8
[21] Texas General Land Office Land
Grant Search, John Gates, Character Certificates, file number SC 000087:53
[25] Bureau of Land Management,
Natchitoches, Louisiana land office, Patentee John Gates, Document number 260
[26] Bureau of Land Management Tract
Books, 1820-1908, Louisiana, Vol. 19 Image 36, Familysearch.org
[27] Natchitoches - Family History
& Genealogy Message Board, Ancestry.com, posted Posted: 22 May 2002
by JaneSkjothaug
[28] 1850
United States Federal Census, District 8, Hopkins, Texas, Martha Maxwell born
abt 1795 in North Carolina.
[30] Texas General Land Office Land Grant Search, John Gates
(Heirs), Hemphill County, Bexar 1st file 001900
