Murray

The Julius Bates Family

Julius Bates was born June 3, 1780, and according to census records his birthplace is listed as both South Carolina and North Carolina. His parentage has not been proven, and there is a family lore story that has been around for many years that one of the Bates ancestors came from Wales when he was 14 years old. Two of Julius Bates' siblings have been proven. They are a brother John Bates, who later became a Georgia State Senator and a Major General in the Georgia Militia, and a sister Elizabeth Bates who later married Thomas Jackson. Julius married Miss Temperence West about 1802 in South Carolina. She was born August 21, 1784, in North Carolina according to census records, and her parentage has also not been proven.

Julius Bates appears only once in the record books of Greenville, South Carolina, as a witness to land sales, Books A-F, in 1802. John Bates buys 100 acres of land on November 17, 1800, from James Bates for $300. Although not proven, James Bates is much more than likely to be a relative. At this time, no other records have been found about Julius or Elizabeth, but there is a record of their brother John Bates marrying Barbary Crenshaw in 1803, in Greenville, South Carolina. Although not proven, the 1800 Greenville Census lists a James Bates with two sons and a daughter, with the right sexes and ages for John, Julius, and Elizabeth. In the 1810 Census for Greenville County, South Carolina, there is a J. Bates, John Bates, and a James Bates listed.

Julius Bates first appears in Georgia, in Jackson County, for the years 1809, 1810, and 1811, on the tax rolls as a tax defaulter. Julius also buys a female slave in Jackson County, Georgia, named Prudence in 1813, for $125. Julius Bates and Isabel McCleskey buy 164½ acres on the North Fork of the Oconee River for $280, on December 2, 1814, Jackson County, Deeds and Mortgages, Book F, page 140. This land lay within the area later cut off for Hall County in 1818. The tax records for Jackson County for 1815-1816, have mostly been lost, and those that remain are largely illegible. It is unknown the exact date when Julius, Temperence and their family moved from South Carolina to Jackson County, Georgia, but they were there by the time their seventh child was born in 1816. William Bates was born February 15, 1816, in Jackson County, Georgia, and later became a Baptist preacher. Julius' brother John sold his 100 acres in Greenville, South Carolina, on February 14, 1815, to Jacob Dillinger of North Carolina for $550, and his first deed of record in Jackson County appears in 1817. Joseph Wilson to John Bates, 143¾ acres on the North Fork of the Oconee River for $250, Deed Book F, page 395, dated April 5, 1817.

In 1818, Hall County was formed, and the part of Jackson County where they lived became Hall County, and all three of the Bates siblings and their families were living there and were enumerated on the 1820 and 1830 censuses. More about Isabel McCleskey, she was living next door to Julius on the 1820 census, and died sometime shortly after that. In 1823, Julius buys her half of the land they purchased together in 1814, from her three sons all with McCleskey surnames. Isabel is old enough to be his mother, an aunt, or a mother in law, but whatever the relationship, she was surely related or they would not be buying land together. On May 4, 1821, Julius receives a land grant for 250 acres in Early County, Georgia, from the Governor of Georgia, John Clark, for his service in "Dickson's Battalion." Since the deed states "Julius Bates of Jackson County, Georgia," it is clear that this service was prior to 1818, it appears this grant was for his service in the Georgia Militia. Julius and Temperence raised thirteen children, three daughters and ten sons, the last child, Thomas Kimsey Bates was born in 1828.

Sometime between 1832 and 1834, Julius Bates and his family moved to Murray County, Georgia, which was formed from the final Cherokee land lottery in 1832. It is unknown how many draws or how much land Julius and his sons received, in the land grants of 1832. The original home built by Julius and his sons is still standing, although it has been modified and a second story and rooms added, the original two rooms with the dog run in the center between them, and the two original fireplaces are still there, and it remains today the oldest standing structure in the area.

Julius Bates Home Place - Murray County Georgia

Julius is enumerated on the 1840, 1850 and 1860 censuses for Murray County, and also on the 1860 slave schedules. Julius Bates accumulates a considerable amount of acreage here, several thousand acres, and by 1860, he is listed on the slave schedules as having ten slaves. Julius Bates wrote his last will and testament on March 11, 1860 and died on February 17, 1864. Temperence West Bates died on June 10, 1868. They are buried beside each other on a small knoll at the old Julius Bates home place off Highway 411, several miles north of Eton, Georgia. There are many other Bates relatives buried in the Julius Bates Cemetery, including two sons of Julius and Temperence, Andrew Jackson Bates, who died in 1844, and John W. Bates, who died in 1849.

After the death of Julius, all of his holdings were sold and equally divided up between his lawful heirs. His estate settlement is first registered March 7, 1864 with McAfee Bates being granted executor. The settlement took about 10 years to complete, with the last recording being August 10, 1874. See the estate settlement for more details. Julius Bates had five sons and fourteen grandsons, and numerous other relatives and kinfolk, who were Confederate Soldiers in the "War Between the States". Click the link below to visit their children.

Children of Julius & Temperence

Website Links Bates in Georgia - Start page for John, Julius, and Elizabeth Bates Jackson Bates Confederate Soldiers - Confederate soldiers relating to the Bates families Murray County Cemeteries - Cemetery listings by Kaye Nicholson John, Julius & Elizabeth Bates Descendants - Roots Web World Connect Project Bates Family of Old Virginia - Homepage for the Bates Family of Old Virginia Freepages at RootsWeb - Free unlimited web space at RootsWeb Julius Bates Family Photographs - Headstones and Children's photographs Jackson Genealogy - Compiled by Buddy Jackson - Related to Elizabeth Bates Jackson