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- Name: James W Yates Age in 1860: 9 Birth Year: abt 1851 Birthplace: Indiana Home in 1860: Union, Crawford, Indiana Gender: Male Post Office: Grantsburg Household Members: Name Age John Yates 37 Elizabeth Yates 35 Cynthia Yates 11 James W Yates 9 Thomas J Yates 7 Evaline Yates 5 John R Yates 2 Emily E Yates 2
Elisabeth Yates United States Census, 1870 Name Elisabeth Yates Event Type Census Event Year 1870 Event Place Indiana, United States Gender Female Age 47 Race White Race (Original) W Birth Year (Estimated) 1822-1823 Birthplace Indiana Page Number 16 HOUSEHOLD ROLE GENDER AGE BIRTHPLACE Elisabeth Yates F 47 Indiana Willson Yates M 19 Indiana Thomas Yates M 17 Indiana John R Yates M 12 Indiana Emly Yates F 12 Indiana CITING THIS RECORD "United States Census, 1870," database with images, FamilySearch : 17 October 2014), Elisabeth Yates, Indiana, United States; citing p. 16, family 120, NARA microfilm publication M593 (Washington D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration, n.d.); FHL microfilm 545,805.
Indiana, Select Marriages, 1780-1992 Record Image Index-only record Report issue Name: James Yates Gender: Male Spouse: Ellen Ott Child: Ruby Yates; Name: James W Yates Gender: Male Spouse: Mary E Ott Child: Ethel K Yates Or Gates
Name: Wilson Yates Age: 29 Birth Year: abt 1851 Birthplace: Indiana Home in 1880: Grantsburg, Crawford, Indiana Race: White Gender: Male Relation to Head of House: Self (Head) Marital Status: Married Spouse's Name: Ella Yates Father's Birthplace: Indiana Mother's Birthplace: Indiana Household Members: Name Age Wilson Yates 29 Ella Yates 22
Name: James W Yates Age: 48 Birth Date: Oct 1851 Birthplace: Indiana Home in 1900: Sterling, Crawford, Indiana Race: White Gender: Male Relation to Head of House: Head Marital Status: Married Spouse's Name: Mary E Yates Marriage Year: 1879 Years Married: 21 Father's Birthplace: Indiana Mother's Birthplace: Indiana Household Members: Name Age James W Yates 48 Mary E Yates 41 Arthur L Yates 19 Kate E Yates 16 Lillie A Yates 14 Harry E Yates 12 Nellie B Yates 9 Goldie L Yates 6 Edna A Yates 3 Ruby E Yates 9/12
Per Court Documents 28 Oct 1851 is correct date of birth. Certificates filed relative to widow's pension application. In fact, several documents lay out the ages of the children under 16 co-signed by two folks, Emily Roberson and Mahala Yates who swear they were present at each of the births. All very detailed.
James Wilson Yates eventually met his life's companion in the person of Mary Ellen Ott and on Jan. 1, 1879 they were married. Her dad, Greenberry Ott, was an established blacksmith of some reputation in Leavenworth, In. Some years later his grandson Harry E. Yates (my Father) was to become a blacksmith also. I have always thought probably Dad learned his skills while spending time in Grandpa Ott's shop. James W. and Mary had eight children between the years of 1881 and 1899 and six of them lived to adulthood. James was a farmer but also did other work to make ends meet. According to my cousin, Betty Musso, he was a carpenter and for some years she owned a small desk with a lift up lid that he had made. According to cousin Ruth Landers he also worked on the railroad.
It was this job on the railroad, according to Ruth, where he contracted the dreaded disease of smallpox. Of course when he became sick he naturally went home. Then the whole family was exposed to the disease. My father had scars from the disease and so did Aunt Ruby, Betty's mom. Some of the others got it also. Then on September 16th of 1903 he died from the disease. A daughter Nellie also died from the disease, Betty Musso thinks she died first.
A story is told of a very brave man who risked his life and the life of his family to help the Yates's during that time. His last name was Blevins. In looking at the Grantsburg cemetery records I have always thought it was probably William Blevins 1867 to 1954 who helped them due to his age compared to the other Blevins' buried there. The story goes that when he learned of Grandpa's death he told his wife he was going to the Yates's and help the family prepare him for burial. Remember, the family was terribly sick also with smallpox. He told his wife to bring him some articles and leave them on either side of the creek he would cross to go to the Yates place. The articles were: 1. A change of clothes; 2. Soap; 3. A towel; 4. A box of matches. After he had gone to the house and helped Grandma bathe and dress Grandpa for burial he went back down to the creek, took off his clothes, burned them, took a bath in the creek, and returned to his family. Of course we know these days that would not have been enough to protect them from the germ but he did the best he knew.
Uncle Arthur, Wilbur and Imogene's dad was the oldest of the family and so became sort of the head of the household after Grandpa died. He was about 22 yrs old by then. My dad, Harry, was about 15. Now another example of bravery of a different type. Since the epidemic was so rampant and so many had died no one would come near the family. That included the undertaker. Uncle Arthur and Dad had to bury their own father. Dad said they loaded him into the back of the wagon, took him over to the cemetery west of Grantsburg, and buried him. I never knew if someone else dug the grave for them. I have tried to place myself in their position at that time.
It was a privilege two of my cousins and I had the summer of 1997 to visit the site of the Yates farm where this all took place. Wilbur W. Yates, Orville Sarles, and I were taken to the site by the owner Carl Grant (Carl passed away this past year). Carl's father had bought the Yates place while Carl was a boy at home yet. He showed us exactly where the original house stood. Then he showed us a place where a log cabin had stood where the family moved to after Grandpa died in a sort of effort to escape the germ.
I can't describe the almost sacred feeling I had as we stood there where our parents had lived, played, laughed, and cried. I had heard my Aunt Goldie tell how she and her sisters discovered some love letters my Dad had received from a girl. She said Dad chased them all over those hills laughing and threatening. Some of them were older than he and apparently could still outrun him. Those thoughts from memory's lane came back to me.
The family had been moved down the hill to the log cabin for a few nights when one night the house on top of the hill mysteriously burned to the ground. It was always thought someone had torched it in an effort to kill smallpox germs. (source: Jim Yates, son of Harry E. & Georgia (Tingley) Yates, grandson of James Wilson & Mary (Ott) Yates, great grandson of John & Elizabeth (Roberson) Yates. January 22, 2001.)
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Yates and Others
1851 - 1903 (51 years)
