On the Family of Leland C Gates and Eunice A (Landphair) Gates

On the Family of Leland C Gates

and Eunice A (Landphair) Gates

authored January-February 2019

Leland C Gates is the youngest son surviving to adulthood of Ashbel William and Phebe Morgan (Reed) Gates. Phebe and Ashbel had ten other children. Leland is among three brothers who lived, fought and survived the Civil War.

When I began to go over the records for Leland and Eunice I had no idea how complicated sorting out where they lived, when their children were born, or how long any of them survived. My goal was to build out his family and their descendants. Other genealogists have provided pieces that help immensely to which I will provide reference for the curious but urge caution that they always require substantiation. I have not examined court or land records. Leland is my great-uncle and brother to William Noah Gates, my great-grandfather.

Long ago I acquired what I believe is a subset of Leland's Civil War Pension (#11008096) records from the National Archives. In addition in early 1999 I acquired two transcripts of family Bible records. I believe Bible records attributed to Ashbel and Phebe (source: Don R Gates) were later copied and maintained and extended by Jane (Gates) (Senter) Landphair (source 2009 - Linda1954@aol.com: Linda (Gates) Sharpe). In turn I theorize that Eunice Landphair may have used one or more of these sources and entered them into a Bible presented to her and Leland by her father when she married Leland C Gates.

Leland was born in Michigan (1842) and when a young child came with his siblings and parents to Rockford, Illinois. Later the family resided in Warren, Jo Daviess, Illinois and seems to have also resided in Gratiot, Lafayette, Wisconsin. By his own words he was 18 when he enlisted in the Illinois Volunteers, was transferred to the US Navy (Gunboat Service – served on Admiral's Flagship USS Benton), discharged due to injuries and after two years re-enlisted in the Illinois Volunteer Cavalry. He married Eunice Landphair in 1863, the eldest step-daughter of his sister Jane.

Leland's Pension records provide evidence that his family lived in Illinois, Wisconsin and Iowa and again Wisconsin (Viola) before migrating to Arkansas in roughly 1887. The family can be found in US Census records for 1870, 1880 (as Gale), 1900, 1910 and 1920. Eunice reportedly died in 1919 and Leland in 1930 as a resident of the Western Branch, National Home for Disabled Volunteer Soldiers, Leavenworth, Kansas. He is buried in the Leavenworth National Cemetery (FindAGrave.com - FAG #687841).

There are two documents in the Pension collection that record details about their children. Census records are many times problematic in spelling variants and family nicknames, plus ages generally being estimates so these pension records are indispensable and considered primary sources. I have also noticed that handwriting appears to be the same person on many documents requiring a signature and filled out by a respondent – it appears to be that of Leland C Gates. In addition the names of children on both documents are listed chronologically such that I believe another source, such as a Bible, was being consulted simultaneously. The Pension collection has a document notarizing a Bible ...

These statements are from the Pension document dated 18971202. Six living children: 1,182,551: Addressed to Mr. Leland C Gates, Perryville, Arkansas. This is the earliest document provided from Leland's Pension file. Leland evidently filled it out and returned it by December 30, 1897.

It must have been preceded by other queries to the Department of the Interior, Bureau of Pensions. It is organized by five questions which the respondent fills in. The hand writing is consistent throughout the document including the style and formation of letters in the signature; another way of saying Leland could read and write (it is also consistent with other documents among the Pension records).

Somewhat paraphrased.

#1. Are married, etc. Ans. Yes and to Eunice A Landphair.

#2. About details of marriage. Ans. March 27, 1863. Town of Gratiot, Lafayette County, Wisconsin. By Norman Richardson, J.P.

#3. Marriage record. Ans. Certificate lost. Recorded at Shullsburg, Wisconsin.

#4. Previously married? Ans. No and first wife is living and we are living together.

#5. Have you any living children? Please provide names and dates of birth.

Ans. Six.

Harlow A. Gates, 18640312.

John H Gates, 18651107.

Francis A Gates, 18700522.

Ell A Gates, 18780106.

Emma R Gates, 18810227.

Milton George Gates 18850524.

Dated Dec. 22nd, 1897 Signed: Leland C Gates

That completes the form. Several other later documents identify family members; this is the earliest - none are quite as legible and easily read as this one. Leland was 55 years of age.

A Deposition dated 19110925 states he and Eunice had nine children and all are dead except Harlow A and Milton George.

The next Pension document providing data about all their children is from Form 3-389 (darkened facsimile copy), dated 19150326 and states that he and Eunice had nine children but only two survive, Harlow A and George Milton. Names and dates of birth are provided chronologically on the form (readability is a challenge). It is assumed that three were already deceased by 1897 (Pheby Hannah, Charles Leland and Nolan Wallace). Place of birth has been added with notes consistent with other sources.

Name Birth Place Status Note

Harlow A Gates, 18640312. IL Always single

John Henry Gates, 18651107. IL Dead.

Pheby Hannah Gates, 18680216. IL Dead. Ever Married?

Francis Adel Gates, 18700522. Dead. IL or I.O?

Married Brown (WI?)

Married Anderson (AR)

Charles Leland Gates, 18760622. Dead. Year?

E A Allen Gates, 18780102. WI Dead. Initials?

Emma Rosella Gates, 18810227. IL Dead. Roselle?

Milton George Gates, 18880524. WI Year – favor 1885?

Always single

Nolan Wallace Gates, 18900721. AR Dead. Wallace?

At this point Census records and administrative “Marriage” records are available for additional family construction. In the case of Leland and Eunice some details are sad but useful and others add confusion. Ideally we would know about the marriages of all his children and then find the grandchildren.

Among the daughters, Pheby Hannah and Francis Adel we only have evidence that the latter married. The record is silent about Emma Rosella.

Submission MM6C-CGC (LDS) makes the inference that Pheby Hannah Gates married some unknown individual with the surname Barrett. This is most likely incorrect although she may have married the record is silent. The Smith Anderson and Francis Adel household is enumerated in Maumelle, Pulaski County, Arkansas 1900 Census – there are six members; two younger children are (Rena and Louis B) are identified as Andersons. There are two older children identified as Browns (Vernie age 12 and Alice age 6) and step-children of Smith Anderson. So it seems that Francis Adel has the two older children by a previous partner. Searches of Illinois and Wisconsin records were silent about a previous marriage for Francis Adel.

Arkansas marriage records exist for Francis Adel Gates and (H S) Henry Smith Anderson. The records confuse the marriage date but it could be as early as 1894 or as late as 1896 (the latter is more likely). Her brother, E A Gates (as signed) is one of the bond signers as is H S Anderson the principal.

Fortunately, as already mentioned, the Anderson household in 1900 Arkansas makes it most likely that Francis Adel had a previous family of two children: Vernie (b 1887) and Alice (b 1894) and their surname is Brown. Their father, Mr. Brown was born in Wisconsin, they were born in Arkansas. She now has two children by Henry Smith Anderson: Rena (b 18950400 ) and Louis B (b 18971000). All but Vernie are living with the grandparents, Leland and Eunice, in 1910 Arkansas Census. Alice (age 17), the presumed daughter of Francis Adel, has a relationship/married a Barrett, been widowed, and has a child of age 2, living with her: “L Barrett”. This begs the question as to what happened previously to Mr. Brown, to Henry Smith Anderson and Francis Adel (Gates) and also what happened to Mr. Barrett.

There are some possible Vernie Browns in the Arkansas records but not conclusive.

Leland's Pension records again enter into the story. When I acquired the Pension records there were some documents that made no sense to me until now (2019) as I went through them rebuilding the family and examining Census records. There was a record in 1938 claiming Leland's possessions from Leavenworth, Kansas by a grand-daughter, Jewel Bryant. There was another document signed by her mother “emancipating” Jewel. It was signed by Alice Bryant. There was enough other information to locate Census records for these two women.

Jewel, in fact, is a great-grand-daughter of Leland and Eunice. Alice is first a Brown, then a Barrett and finally a Bryant, it would seem. These conclusions represent reasonable inferences from the record that does exist – however the record would ideally be more complete.

In the 1920 Census, the Bryants are enumerated on the 20^th of March in Louisiana, Richland County, Ward No 2. The head of household is identified as Floyd Bryant and they have three children (Beulah, Jewell and Franklin).

In 1930 they were residents of Louisiana, Claiborne County, ED 14-12 and J P Bryant was head of household and there are additional children (3 born in Louisiana). Are Floyd and J P the same man. In 1940 they were residents of Louisiana, Webster County, ED 60-17 and Alice is the head of household. The household includes two Bryant nephews. Jewel Bryant (age 24) is in a nearby household (Cox) as housekeeper. Sorting this out will have to wait until another day.

Now turning to the sons of Leland and Eunice.

Two sons, Charles Leland and Nolan Wallace, did not survive to adulthood. Two other sons, who survived the longest evidently remained single their entire lives and stayed with their parents. Harlow A died in 1926 and Milton George died in 1944.

John Henry and E A Allen may both have had their own families, especially John Henry, as eldest, but no specific records have been located to suggest definitively if either did.

There are two pieces of very confused 1920 Houston, Perry, Arkansas Census (hand numbered 772) enumeration that suggest a Gates grandson may exist by the initials P L (second enumeration version). Within the microfilmed Census one page refers to another page as to information being copied (in the margin) from it to the other. The potential grandson appears on these pages but only by initials and they are inconsistent between the pages. On the originating page the initials are quite illegible.

The enumeration has been done out of order (but error preserved on second version) and appears inconsistent by virtue of parents birth – both born in Arkansas. Leland and Eunice male adult children were not born in Arkansas. This kind of inconsistency is not unusual as it so depends on who is reporting.

Leland and Eunice and their family members leave so many questions unanswered and perhaps unanswerable. Why did the family move from Viola, Wisconsin to Arkansas. How many times did Francis Adel marry? Who is Mr. Brown? Are Floyd and J P Bryant the same man? Who was Mr. Barrett? Whatever happened to Jewel Bryant? How did so many in the family die? Who was the mysterious twenty-year-old who married Leland in 1920? What happened to the Gates grandson and who was his father.

Thus I conclude, knowingly incomplete, a very small part of a very large story.