The Grogan Brothers, Stedman, Paul and Tommy with J.B. (Jay Bates)

The Grogan Brothers, Stedman, Paul and Tommy with J.B. (Jay Bates) in front of the Grogan Homestead. They all were friends growing up. Tommy became Jay's brother-in law when he married his sister, Vada Bates.

Bates and Grogan Cousins

The Bates and Grogan cousins having fun in front of 625 State Street.  Photographed is Janell Grogan, Katherine Grogan, Barbara Bates with Floyd Bates and Patricia Grogan in the front row. This is after Martha and Fred Bates moved and Vada and Tommy moved in when they moved to Atlanta.

(Sam and Amanda Smith Bates daughter and her husband Hattie and Frank Hester

Frank and Mattie Bates Hester

The Charlton and Nancy Bates Genealogy is Now Available!

Oh, Come Angel Band ~ The Living Genealogy of the Charlton Bates Family authored by Yvonne M. Perry and Jenny Bates Meadows-Sauls is now available on CreateSpace.com

Click to purchase https://www.createspace.com/4419491

The genealogy of the Bates family of Cherokee County, Georgia is traced back to Charlton Bates and Nancy Kelly (O'Kelly) Bates, who are first mentioned living in South Carolina in 1812.

The descending lineage mentioned in this book are David Ward and Nancy Martin, Thomas F. Bates and Sarah Elizabeth Ward, Savannah Bates and Alexander Newton Smith, and Lemuel Harris Bates and Lillian Margaret Smith. Many of the children and extended family members of these family heads are mentioned and more than 200 photos document the journey.

This book also contains some history of the Cherokee and Hall Counties of Georgia as remembered by the Bates family who lived in the area.

Title: Oh, Come, Angel Band ~ The Living Genealogy of the Charlton Bates Family 
Authors: Jenny Bates Meadows-Sauls and Yvonne Perry
ISBN-13: 978-1492269700
ISBN-10: 1492269700
Pub date: December 2013
Retail price: $18.99

Also available on Amazon.com

The Bates Ancestry Book Is Now Available!

Oh, Come Angel Band ~ The Living Genealogy of the Charlton Bates Family authored by Yvonne Perry and Jenny Bates Meadows-Sauls is now available!

Purchase on CreateSpace
Purchase on Amazon.com

The genealogy of the Bates family of Georgia is traced back to Charlton Bates and Nancy Kelly (O'Kelly) Bates, first recorded as living in South Carolina in 1812. The descending lineage mentioned in this book are David Ward and Nancy Martin, Thomas F. Bates and Sarah Elizabeth Ward, Savannah Bates and Alexander Newton Smith, and Lemuel Harris Bates and Lillian Margaret Smith. More than 200 photos and some interesting history of Cherokee County, Georgia as remembered by the Bates family who lived in the area.

 




Request the paperback book at retail stores or your local library using the info below:

Title: Oh, Come, Angel Band ~ The Living Genealogy of the Charlton Bates Family
Authors: Jenny Bates Meadows-Sauls and Yvonne Perry
ISBN-13: 978-1492269700
ISBN-10: 1492269700
Pub date: December 13, 2013

Mary Lizzie and Jesse Suggs

Mary and Jesse Suggs at Will Waters grave in 1947. The old school house where the Bates Family went to school is in the background.

The Bates Genealogy Book is Almost Ready!

The book that the Bates family has been waiting for is almost ready!

Jenny Bates Meadows-Sauls and Yvonne Perry have been working together for more than a year on the genealogy and history of the Charlton and Nancy Kelly (O'Kelly) Bates family.

The interior of the book has been edited, proofread, and formatted. The cover has been created by Rick Chappell. We plan to upload it to the publisher this evening. It will take a few days to get approval before we can release it, but Oh, Come, Angel Band ~ The Living Genealogy of the Charlton Bates Family will soon be on Amazon.com and other online retailers.

You will be able to request it at retails store or your local library by giving the info below:

Title: Oh, Come, Angel Band ~ The Living Genealogy of the Charlton Bates Family
Authors: Jenny Bates Meadows-Sauls and Yvonne Perry
ISBN-13: 978-1492269700
ISBN-10: 1492269700
Pub date: December 13, 2013

Photo from Sweet Apple

Photographed here is Estelle Pruitt Grogan, Vernie Grogan, son of Vada Bates Grogan, Grandma Lillie Bates, Sarah Elizabeth Bates, daughter of J.B. and Lois Bates, and Amos Pruitt, son of Mary Bates Pruitt at Sweet Apple.

Cousins - Vernie Grogan and Sarah Elizabeth Bates

This is a photo of cousins, Vernie Grogan and Sarah Elizabeth Bates. Sarah was like Vernie's big sister growing up.  His mother would always tell Sarah to watch over him.

New Home Baptist Church Members with Preacher Holbrook after a Baptizing

New Home Baptist Church members with Preacher Holbrook after a baptizing.  Photographed are Preacher Holbrook, Ellen Ellis Pruitt, Nita Pruitt Kennedy, and Jewel Pruitt.

Does anyone know who the other children are?

Update on Bates Ancestry Book

Yvonne Perry and her cousin, Jenny B. Meadows-Sauls, have been working for more than a year on a book about their family's history. This genealogy project will include 200 photos and many stories from descendants of a line dating back to the early 1800s. If you are of the lineage of South Carolina-born Charlton Bates (b. 1812) and Nancy O'Kelly (b. 1813) who migrated to Cherokee County of North Georgia, you may be interested in reading the book that is due to be published in about two weeks.

Oh, Come, Angel Band will be available on Amazon.com in 8x10-inch paperback.

Twins, Doris and Dorothy Jackson

Twins, Doris and Dorothy Jackson, were born to Fred and Martha Bates Jackson in 1939. Here is a photograph of them in their little red wagon about a year or two old.  It looks as though one of them is trying to push the other out or saying "move over!" They were born at the Old Sweatman Farm which is where this photograph was taken.

J.B. Bates with Indian Relative

J.B. Bates on the right speaking with an Indian relative on the left. This picture was found in our Grandma Lillie's old pictures. Picture appears to be from the 1920's or 1930's since Jay was born 1913.

Sunlight Baptist Church in 1949

Sunlight Baptist Church located on Highway 92 was established in 1949. The hill was shortened and some of the land was taken in front of the church due to the road expansion in the sixties. The church was remodeled and now has a baptizing pool inside the church and a fellowship house. The property was given to the church by Charlie Stells. The first service was in his chicken house. 

Photographed above are members of the early fifties by the old well.  From left to right, Buddy with his father Dewey Stephens, the husband of  Lois Turner Stephens, and Hugh Lee Lamanac, the husband of Sarah Bates Lamanac. 

Fred and Martha Bates Jackson

Fred Jackson and Martha Bates raised five children in the three-room shotgun house on 629 State Street in Atlanta, Ga.

William Allen Ward, Son of Marion and Phoebe Ward

William Allen Ward May 1890-1948 married Sarah Elizabeth Johnson 1900-1964. They had three children, Owen, Mary and Berdie.  He is the brother of Sarah Elizabeth Ward Bates (Big Granny). Her son Lemuel(Lem) resembles him.

Children of Frances and Mary Bates Pruitt

These are the children of Frances and Mary Bates Pruitt: Nita, Mary, Mildred, Martha, Alfred and Amos Pruitt. They lived in Sweet Apple on the Old Pruitt Farm. 

Brothers, Jack Henry & Luther Calvin Wilson

 

Jack and Luther (also known as Lucious) Wilson were the sons of Cicero and Indiana Ward Wilson. Jack married Linda Fowler. Two of their eight children, Albert Lee and James Odell, drowned in Snapfinger Creek when they were 10 and 11 years old.  Luther Calvin married Margie Mae Henderson. They had four children. One of their children, Marie, died from infected scratches from picking blackberries.

Alfred Gravitt and Ellen Hembree Gravitt

The mother and father of James Elvin and Mildred Gravitt Bates.  Elvin was married to Ethel (Deedle) Bates and Mildred was married to her twin brother Bethel (Buster) Bates.

Newton Alexander and Savannah Bates Smith

It was believed that this picture was taken when Savannah was expecting a child. We do not know who her parents actually were. We have a few theories in the book. We think she was not raised by her birth parents.  We do know that she was a cousin to Lem Bates. In 1891, Savannah married Newton Alexander Smith when she was 14.  We are sure she knew him from childhood.

Sarah Elizabeth Bates Lamanac and her 1st born son, Franklin Lee

Sarah Elizabeth Bates Lamanac is the daughter of J.B. and Lois Sims Bates. She lived with her husband, Hugh Lee, in the little red asbestos covered rental home belonging to Grady Daniel on Sandy Plains Road in 1952. Grady owned the general store in the background. The store had an apartment upstairs and the Daniels living quarters were built on to the store. You can barely see the top of the Rock Store across Highway 92.  The two stores were side by side just across the road from one another. The Rock Store was owned by Tommy Garrett.  It was ran at that time by his daughter and son in law Edith and Gene Erwin. The Garrett family owned about 9 rental houses that the Bates family and their friends occupied at one time or another. The homes were within a mile of each another and within walking distance to the store.

J.B. (Jay) & Lois Christine Sims Bates and Daughter Jenny

This is a photograph of J.B. & Lois Christine Sims Bates and their daughter Jenny standing in front of  Tommy Garrett's old Rock Store with the old Gulf sign.  The store was at the corner of Highway 92 and Sandy Plains Rd, just inside Cobb County in 1949.  It was ran by Mr. Garrett's wife, Ms. Lu, her daughter, son-in-law Eugene and Edith Garrett Erwin, after he passed away. The land was later sold in the sixties and the store was replaced by a Kentucky Fried Chicken and a shopping center with a Public. The Public shopping center took three of the Garrett's rental houses.

Nellie Smith Tilley Whitley

This is Nellie Smith Tilley Whitley and her grandson, Richard, who is the son of  Ralph and Myrtice Tilley Grogan. Nellie is the sister of Lillie Smith Bates. She lived in Roswell in the 1960s.  Nellie cared for children in her home. Jenny Bates Meadows-Sauls's daughter, Jane, was one of them. They all loved to stay with Aunt Nellie.

Jenny is the co-author of a soon-to-be-released book titled Oh, Come, Angel Band ~ The Living Genealogy of the Charlton Bates Family.

New Home Baptist Church 2013

New Home Baptist Church in 2013.  The church is bricked with indoor facilities, Sunday school rooms in back, outdoor covered marble tables for dinner, a baptizing pool on the left side of church,  and a paved parking lot.  The church still believes and worships as our ancestors, preaching from the King James Version of the Bible, and singing the old southern gospel songs along with some new ones. The love and traditions are the same today as they were for our ancestors.

New Home Baptist Church on Highway 92 Woodstock, Georgia in the 1950s

New Home Baptist Church is located at Wiley Bridge Road and Highway 92. This picture was taken in the fifties before the church was turned around and remodeled. This is where the Bates Family went to church and are buried in the New Home Church Cemetery. The 1954 Ford believed to be the Pastor, Rev. Carter Ellis's, and the 1956 Chevy belonged to a Deacon, Glenn Butterworth. They got drinking water from the spring on the property and the outside facilities were in the back down in the woods. It was heated with a pot bellied wood heater. The cemetery was located across the dirt road that ran in front of the church back then. It was turned around facing Highway 92 in the sixties and the church was remodeled with indoor facilities, Sunday school rooms, air conditioning and gas heat.  

The Old Grogan Homestead Wiley Bridge and Cox Road

The Old Grogan Homestead at the intersection of Wiley Bridge and Cox Roads. The home has been remodeled and updated by its new owners in 2013 but this property holds a lot of memories for the Bates family who sharecropped in the area in the early 1900s until about 1950.

Vada Bates and Tommy Grogan

Vada Bates was the daughter of Lem and Lillie Smith Bates. Vada married Tommy Grogan. This is a photograph of Vada with Tommy Grogan and their son, Vernie. This picture was taken at the Old Grogan Homestead located on Old Alabama Road now known as Wiley Bridge Road in Woodstock, Georgia.

Tommy Grogan is the son of Charlie and Leavy Grogan who owned this farm. Charlie died at age 42, leaving Leavy with seven small children. She sold the farm off in pieces until it was all gone trying to support the children. Many of the children were raised by relatives who helped out as much as they could.

Moses Petty and Indy (Endy) Bates Barnfield, with children Adell, Nina and Loyd

This is a postcard sent by Indy (Endy) Anna Barnfield to her parents, Thomas and Sarah Elizabeth Ward Bates. It reads "to my dear old father and mother." The postcard is a photograph of Petty Moses and Indy (Endy) Barnfield with their children, Adell, Nina and Loyd, taken in about 1920.

Endy Anna bates Barnfield came by train to Vernon, Texas in 1904. Her parents, Thomas F. and Sarah Elizabeth Bates, came to Texas for the birth of their grandchildren in 1906 and 1908. Both of those children died the year they were born.

In 1910, Nina Elizabeth was born and the Bates grandparents were here for her birth; however, they never got to come again. After Nina came Loyd Harrison in 1912. Adele was born in 1915, and Hester Lee was born in 1918, and John Bunion (J.B.) was born in 1924. Hester Lee is 97 and still active in 2015.

Petty Moses and Indy (Endy) Bates Barfield

Petty and Indy Bates Barfield with their children showing their new car. Indy is the daughter of  Thomas and Sarah Elizabeth Ward Bates. She is the sister of Lem Bates. Indy married Mr. Barfield at the age of 14 and she only knew him for a few weeks when he came through Georgia. They married on December 26, 1904. They left for Texas and she never returned to Georgia except for only two different occasions. She always wrote letters beginning with Dear Old Maw and shared about her life in Texas. She never returned for her parent's funerals.  She escaped her poor Georgia farm life. A cousin kept some of the letters in an old shoebox.  We found out that she sent money back to Georgia to help to pay off their farm loan.  

Pierce Dobbs Jr. & Pearl Edith Smith

Pierce Dobbs Jr. and Pearl Edith Smith with their children PeeWee, Jerry, and Doris. Peewe had MS and didn't live beyond his teens. They had another child, Kenneth, who was not born at the time of this picture. Kenneth is still living in 2013.

Eugene Mercier and Estelle Pruitt Grogan

Eugene Mercier Grogan and Estelle Pruitt with their three children, Calvin, Janell, and Patricia. They had another child named Larry who was not born at this time (abt 1947). Estelle is the daughter of Frances and Mary Bates Pruitt.

Book Update for September 16

Yvonne made it through the first round of edits and has rewritten sections of the Bates ancestry book as she verified facts. The book is being proofread by Yvonne's mother, Doris Mauldin, to catch as many typos as possible before going to an editor.

Once the editing is complete, the book will go to Jenny, who will have her nephew insert the photos into the manuscript.

Then, it will come back to Yvonne for final formatting before being uploaded to CreateSpace for publishing. We are on target for a late October publishing date. The title will be Oh, Come, Angel Band ~ The Living Genealogy of the Charlton Bates Family by Jenny Bates Meadows-Sauls and Yvonne Mauldin Perry.

The Family of Fred and Martha Louella Bates Jackson

Martha Louella Bates Jackson was born July 16, 1916. She is 97 years old and living with her son in law, Kenneth, and daughter, Doris Jackson Mauldin, in Suwanne, Georgia today. Martha had five children:  Katheryn, Edmond, Dorothy, Fred Jr. and Doris.  Doris and Dorothy are twins. Martha is near the age of her brother, Jay, and was close to him in her youth.  She went everywhere he went. .

Children of Johnny and Viola Pruitt Smith

The five children of Johnny and Viola Pruitt Smith are photographed above.  Lenard, Mamie, Edna, Hubert in uniform and Louise.  Johnny was the only son of Newton Alexander and Savannah Bates Smith.  Johnny was a peddler throughout Cherokee and Cobb counties.  He drove a truck full of fresh vegetables and fruit.  He weighed them on a hanging scale from the truck. He was known by the kids as Uncle Johnny. He always had plenty of bananas and gave the kids one every time he came. He did not know his gift would make a banana sandwich their only lunch that day. Lenard followed in his dad's footsteps.  He had a roadside market near Roswell, Georgia. Viola had a cheerful spirit and everyone loved her. She was the sister of Frances Pruitt who married Mary Bates, daughter of Lem and Lillie Smith Bates.  Lee Pruitt married Johnny's sister, Lessie Smith.

New Home Baptist Church Baptizing of Bethel and Ethel Bates

This is the baptizing of Bethel (Buster) and Ethel (Deedle) Bates by old Preacher Stover in the 1930s.  The men would dam up the creek on the church property with bags of dirt about a week before the baptizing so that the water would be deep enough.  Bethel and Ethel Bates are the twins of Lem and Lillie Smith Bates. 

Luther Calvin Wilson (Always known as Lucious) Son of Cicero and Indiana Ward Wilson

This is a photo of Luther Calvin Wilson and his cousin, Zachery Lee Wilson. Luther is the son of Cicero and Indiana Ward Wilson. He was born on July 25, 1885. Luther lived with relatives and worked on their farms as a child. His mother, Indiana, couldn't keep him due to his father passing at 31 years of age.  Luther was called Lucious and ran his own plumbing business in Atlanta in the twenties. Luther married Margie Mae Henderson and they had four children.

This is the family who Lucious stayed with. Pictured is Luther Calvin (Lucious) Rosa, Epsie, Mattie and Zachary, all cousins of Lucious.

Annie Lou Smith Waters, daughter of Savannah & Newton Alexander Smith.

Annie Lou Smith Waters was born in 1896.  She is the daughter of Savannah Bates and Newton Alexander Smith. In the picture above you will see Jessie Suggs, who is married to Annie's daughter Mary Lizzie, Annie Lou Smith Waters, her daughter Doris and son J.W. These are the children of Annie Lou and her husband Dee Waters who was born in 1897 died in 1947. Annie was a fun loving person. Once she came dressed up to J.B. and Lois's house at Halloween with some of her family at bedtime with stockings over their heads and scared them all to death!  (This was when Jenny was little.)

Ethel (Deedle) Bates Daughter of Lemuel (Lem) Harris and Lillie Smith Bates

This is a photo of Ethel Bates.  She was born on February 27, 1923.  Ethel is the daughter of Lem and Lillie Smith Bates.  She married James Elvin Gravitt.  James is the brother of Mildred Bates who married Bethel Bates her twin. Ethel could play the piano and a guitar, even though she never took a lesson. She played for churches from the thirties to the sixties.  Ethel could cook like her mother Lillie Bates. Eating at her house was like eating at Grandma's. Ethel died September 6, 2010. (Picture was made before she married in the late thirties.)

J.B.(Jay) Bates, son of Lem and Lillie Smith Bates

J.B.(Jay) Bates was born in 1913. J.B. was the son of Lem Bates and Lillie Smith-Bates. This photo was taken in the early 1920's next to a relative's car.  Jay's first car in the thirties was  a T-model.

J.B. married Lois Sims on October 4, 1932.  The couple met in a mule and wagon at New Home Baptist Church. They had 4four children: Sarah, Jenny (the co-author of Oh, Come, Angel Band ~ The History of the Georgia Family Descending from Charlton and Nancy Bates), Jennevy (b. 1939) and Blanche (b. 1941). Jennevy and Blanche both died at birth.

Lillie Smith Bates grandchildren, Katherine Grogan and Jenny Bates

This is a photo of Lillie Smith Bates with her grandchildren, Katherine Grogan and Jenny Bates, in 1947.  Katherine Grogan is the daughter of Tommy and Vada Bates Grogan. Jenny Bates is the daughter of J.B. and Lois Sims Bates.  All the kids were barefoot in the pictures. They only had one pair of shoes a year. They had to pull them off after school and save them for Sunday. Many of the grandchildren grew up close to grandma.