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 20th
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.
