Starting over on James Robert, it's becoming real discouraging to see so much info that his father was John Coate of Rowan Co. NC. This is incorrect, as this was John Gentleman Coates. We know for a fact that John Gentleman Coates was born 1740 and by DNA he is related to Marmaduke, a cousin or brother. His son was James of Edgefield, who married Elizabeth Scott. We know this because he inherited some acreage from his dad, John Gent, in Newberry Cty. He sold this land to his brother, William, as he was already situated in Edgefield. I thought this was all settled. Our James Robert Coatses father is unknown. The only source of record for this man is a transcribed version of Madison Coatses bible, who was one of his sons. As far as I know, no one has seen a true copy of this record, or maybe it is fragile or indeterminable. We know he married Josephine Elizabeth Webster, but she is listed as Elizabeth on all censuses. This error has been perpetuated for decades, and I hope we can all move past it. John Coats