To my fellow list members, I am researching (for years) the origin of my Gates line in America and their slow but sure western migration. By the beginning of the civil war my line is living in Lawrence Co MO. I am also a member of a MO Civil War mail list. I joined this list looking for help. I have found answers to many questions...most all but one. What happened to my 3rd great grandparents as they disappear from the face (seemingly) of the earth by the end of that war and the 1870 Federal census. I would appreciate it if you would read on. This is a copy of a post that I recently made to the civil war mail list. Perhaps some of you will have an idea that would provide me with a clue or a thought on where next to look. I have pursued ancestry.com, the LDS site and Family History Centers, I have requested records from every conceivable place I can think of , etc...I would love to learn what happened to Micheal and Catherine. Perhaps you can help me? "All the discussion about Order # 11 has me in deep thought about what may have become of my great great great grandparents. Micial/Mikel/Michael Gates, born abt 1811 in KY, and his wife Catherine Ann Cline lived at Mt Pleasant, Lawrence Co MO in the 1960 Federal census and at the outbreak of the war. They had grown sons, S.F. Gates (my great great grandfather) and John Wesley Gates, in addition to many others who lived in the same vicinity. When all was said and done, 13 of the Gates men were with the MO 6th Cavalry, Co H. They never owned a slave, and prior to this list, and despite growing up in the south...I did not really understand why they fought for the southern cause. After subbing to this list and reading each and every post...I began to understand why they did what they did. I am certain they knew before hand what the reaction would be to their decision to fight for the south. I understand that life became very dangerous for them and their families. There is a Michael Gates that is listed among the men in the regiment above. I believe him to be my 3rd gr grandfather Michael. I can not prove this as my Michael (however it was spelled) it was not an uncommon name....but, in the book, Shelby And His Men, there is mention of numerous Gates men, all of the same family, one in particular as "old man Gates" also the family "Patriarch Gates" and "Roman Gates". There is also the mention that there were 11 or more of Old Man Gates sons, nephews, etc in this same unit. I believe they are referring to Michael, my 3rd great grandfather. I have applied for and received copies (that still exist) of their military records. No where do I find mention that Michael was killed or died while in service. Others were wounded, or taken prisoner, but in the end all w! ere accounted for. By the 1870 Fed. Census I find S.F. "Frank" Gates and his brother John Wesley, as well as practically every other Gates that had previously lived in Lawrence Co MO...now living in Randolph Co AR. But no where do I find a trace of Michael Gates or his wife Catherine "Caty Ann" Gates. No death record, no burial site, no census records, nothing to help me understand what might have become of them. They simply vanish. I know that Lawrence Co is not among the counties listed for Order # 11...but is it possible that this may have something to do with the disappearance of Michael and Catherine? I simply do not know where else to turn in my search for them. If anyone has a clue I sure would like to hear from them. Thank you..." Gena Gates Lally AZ