Hello fellow Bates listers: Here is part of a message from a cousin (not a Bates) who lives in Batesville Arkansas. I had asked him to write to me about his town for the list, as he is president of the Batesville Historical Society. Hope you can use this info and enjoy it. Jimmy > > Lastly, I can tell you briefly about my town's name. > Batesville was named in honor of James Woodson > Bates. Originally the post office was named Poke > Creek, but when Bates was elected the first > territorial delegate to Congress in 1821, the name > was changed. James W. Bates did not live here at > the time, but moved to his namesake town in 1824 and > practiced law and also served as a territorial judge > until 1830. After his appointment as judge expired, > Bates moved on to Van Buren, Arkansas (just north of > Fort Smith) and was a delegate to the state's first > constitutional convention in 1835. Bates died in > 1846, while residing in Clarksville, Arkansas. His > burial site has been lost to history. My > information states nothing about a family, thus he > may have never married. > > James Woodson Bates was born in Virginia, attended > Yale and graduated from Princeton about 1810. He > had a brother, Frederick Bates, who served as > Secretary of the Missouri Territory in the very > early 1800s. > > Regards, Craig Ogilvie > > > ===== __________________________________________________ Do You Yahoo!? Talk to your friends online with Yahoo! Messenger. http://im.yahoo.com