Person:Jasper Bates (3)

Jasper Milton Bates Jasper Milton Bates was born December 9, 1839 in Murray County, Georgia. Jasper was the first son, born to Rosa Keith and Reverend William Bates <http://freepages.genealogy.rootsweb.com/~juliusbates/revwilliam.htm>. Jasper's grandparents were Temperence West and Julius Bates <http://freepages.genealogy.rootsweb.com/~juliusbates/julius.htm>. He grew up in Murray County, Georgia. At Cohutta Lodge, Number 45, Spring Place, Murray County, Georgia, he was passed and raised to the sublime degree of Master Mason on February 1, 1861. As the "War Between the States" was breaking out, he enlisted in the Confederate Army. He enlisted on February 20, 1861, as a private in Company "C" - First Georgia Regulars, Confederate States Army. In August of 1862 he was wounded four times at the Battle of Manassas, being shot in the arms and thighs. He crawled from the battlefield and was conveyed to the hospital where he was cared for until well, two ounces of lead however being left in his body. He was again wounded in 1864 at the Battle of Olustee, Ocean Pond, Florida, at which time he held the rank of Corporal. No Confederate records for Jasper have been found past 1864. Jasper's brother Reuben Columbus Bates, wrote in his pension papers, that he surrendered with his brother Jasper in Kingston, GA, along with Edmondson's Battalion in 1865. Three of Jasper's brothers were also Confederate Soldiers. William Martin Bates died of disease July 12, 1962, at Knoxville, Tennessee, while serving as a private of Company "A" - 39th Georgia Infantry. Andrew Jackson Bates died of measles while serving in Company "I" - 1st Georgia Regiment, Georgia State Line. Reuben Columbus Bates survived the measles and the war and later received a Confederate Pension in Texas. Reuben was a member of Company "I" - 1st Georgia Regiment, Georgia State Line.

After the war, Jasper returned to Murray County, Georgia and married Mrs. Rebecca Johnson, a widow in July 1865. He farmed in Murray County for several years, and his first two sons William Martin Bates and Robert McAfee Bates were born there. About 1870 he moved to Fort Smith, Arkansas, where he engaged in the mill service business. He was caught in the jaws of gin on December 10, 1873, which practically disabled him for the rest of his life. Jasper and Rebecca's next two sons, E. J. "Jeff" Bates and Horace Bates, were born there. In January of 1875 he moved to Comanche County, Texas, where his father Reverend William Bates had migrated to, and engaged in farming. Jasper's last two sons Reuben Bates and Samuel Bates were born in Comanche County, Texas.

On January 10, 1882, Rebecca Bates died leaving Jasper with a family of four boys, as Horace and Samuel apparently had died. Rebecca is buried at the McDaniel Family Farm in Sydney, Comanche County, Texas. He lived in different parts of Texas and was living in Amarillo, Texas in 1900, with his stepdaughter Mrs. G. A. Griffey (Lettie Johnson), a widow. Sometime after 1900 he moved to Puerto, New Mexico to spend his remaining days with his children, three of them living in New Mexico, and one in Wyoming. Jasper died October 5, 1903, in Puerto, Quay County, New Mexico. He was interred by the Masonic Order attending his funeral at Tucumcari, New Mexico, October 7, 1903 at 6 P.M.

Jasper Milton Bates - Photo taken in Amarillo, Texas

Reuben Jasper Jeff Jasper Milton Bates gravesite is now marked with a Confederate headstone, at Tucumcari Memorial Cemetery. The headstone was installed on April 20, 2001, by Gary E. Bates and Ed Whitted. A Confederate Grave Marker Dedication Ceremony <http://freepages.genealogy.rootsweb.com/~juliusbates/jasperdedication.htm> was held on July 14, 2001.

1. ↑ Jasper M. Bates, in Find A Grave.