William Noah
Gates : Civil War Pension 800415
Form 3-173
filed 19031016 per request of Department of the Interior authored
February 2018
This form (3-173) was mailed to William
N Gates in Middletown, Des Moines County, Iowa in 1903. It concerns
mostly questions about marriages and children. Taken at face value
it is a valuable genealogical document. However after much research
it is more like an approximation than a totally accurate document.
Although he signed the document it appears someone else supplied the
written answers/transcription probably supplied from his memory as a
roughly 70 year old. Corrections and other facts about the family
are being added within this summary.
For example it says he is a currently
married (Elizabeth Sumner) but his first wife, Elvira (Osmon), died
in 1893 in Lawler, Iowa at the home of her daughter. She actually,
by newspaper reports, died in 1896 and her maiden name is not Osborn;
it is Osmon. Her family has recently (2018) been located in early
Census records of Bath, Allen County, Ohio (1850) and subsequently
Wisconsin. He and Elizabeth are living apart.
Many of the first names of the children
are at best nicknames and/or of poor readability. The provision of
geo-location, age, married surname and then corroboration with other
records has been used to get them in some order.
Taking them as provided on Question 4 -
The first mentioned daughter looks like
“Loui-- McDowell”. She is listed as about 30 years old and
living in Osages, Minnesota. The age and geo-location make it much
more likely this is “Loah Gertrude” who married Charles Wesley
McDaniel (verified in Wisconsin Vital Records and newspaper
accounts). They lived mostly in Osages and he was a real estate agent
according to several Census.
The last mentioned daughter is “Ella
McDowell” described as about 32 years old and living in Lawler,
Iowa. This is most likely “Lo Ella” who married George McDowell.
George was involved with different regional newspapers from before
his marriage. Ella's mother Elvira was evidently living with them
when she died in 1896. Ella is the only daughter that married a
McDowell.
The second daughter is identified as
“Retta Gates”. Again, very recently in 2019, Retta's formal
first name has been verified in several records, Census and burial,
as Viretta. She was known as “Retta” when younger and Viretta at
the end of her life. She was probably in Kansas and Montana but by
1940 she was in California. She was married to Edward A Slightam.
He is buried near Yuba City, California near a son and she is buried
in Maryland, FAG #167614996, near a daughter.
Charles Gates and Willie Gates have
their ages reversed. Although William states he does not know where
Charles is residing he was in in southwestern Wisconsin most of his
life except for a period of time in Osages, Minnesota. His daughter,
Dorothy May, and my aunt told this to me. Now knowing that C W
McDaniel was a real estate agent we perhaps have a connection as to
why they were ever in Minnesota. My aunt told me stories of wolves
howling and a disastrous growing season before they returned to
Wisconsin.
Willie Gates has disappeared from the
scene. He may be a cook in Kansas and if so, single.
“Belle Hoff” is said to be 45
years old and living in the State of Washington. She is by age and
other Wisconsin Vital Records most certainly “Lillie L (Belle)
Poff”. If she made it to Washington it was after her husband died
in Sherman County, Kansas. Dr. J M Poff died 18940106, FAG
#187851105. At the time of his death they had two surviving
children, names unknown. Did she remarry a “Hoff”? They lost
their first child as born in Wisconsin and a Clyde Poff is buried in
Sherman County, Kansas, 1887. This county seems to contain a
relatively large number of Poff memorials in FAG.
Ethel Gates, about 22 years, is
reported as in Osages Minnesota. This was verified and that she was
married to first a George Lewis and then later in Ohio to a George H
Norden.
Finally, William Noah failed to
identify Ora Belle, about 26 in 1903 and married to L E Peckham. Two
other daughters died in their infancy.
There are a large number of details
omitted in this recounting but to the best degree possible the
included details should be a better place to start again.
As a final footnote please consider -
In William Noah
Gates obituary it states that he had nine children but of seven
living only Charley was able to be with him at the end. From family
conversations I believe the obituary may have been provided by Sarah
Carver (Charlie's mother-in-law and William's caretaker).
A note from the
Crawford County Journal, 18881210 states that a seventh daughter was
born to the William Gates family (this may have been placed by George
McDowell – check editor).
In the family
of Wm. Gates was recorded last Wednesday morning the birth of a
seventh daughter, and its name shall be finis, so saith the prophet.
The list of
children in this genealogy numbers ten and eight daughters.
The difference
is from including an FAG entry #70970287 and standalone burial stone
of W & E Gates of another young daughter, Elma Gates in the
vicinity of Soldiers Grove.
If she is a
daughter then she would be the seventh. The FAG makes the attrbution
but the image of the stone is not readable and the text entry for her
death begs the question of why she was not listed on the 1880 Census.
So did William
Noah Gates and Elvira (Osmon) Gates have nine children or ten?
