This is a Message Board Post that is gatewayed to this mailing list. Author: waroper Surnames: Roper, Gates, Jackson, Lewis Classification: queries Message Board URL: http://boards.rootsweb.com/surnames.roper/500.4/mb.ashx Message Board Post: While looking for something else, I stumbled across the post at the Tennessee GenWeb site by Jonathan K.T. Smith from 1995 showing interments at the Riverside Cemetery, including the family monument of Benjamin Franklin GATES. It is clear from your post above that the grave markers at the Riverside Cemetery were already known to you more than a decade ago. Even so, I thought it might be helpful to others researching this line to have the precise information abstracted by Mr. Smith, together with the additional notes shown, the reliability of which is unknown to me: "LOT 234, GATES No individual tombstones on this lot. One large tombstone in mid-lot, inscribed on south side: BENJAMIN FRANKLIN GATES. On north side inscribed these names: west half: BENJAMIN F. GATES, 1817-1898 ELIZABETH J. ROPER, Wife of B. F. GATES, 1823-1858 MILDRED A. ROPER (Aunt Millie), 1828-1889 ELIZABETH R. GATES, 1852-1873 MARY C. GATES, 1854-1873 ELIZABETH T. COCKE, 1830-1885 ROBERT GATES, 1840-1915 CALEDONIA JANE JESTER, wife of Robert Gates, 1850-1928 east half: CALLIE P. GATES, 1867-1869 EDGAR A. GATES, 1873-1873 SALLIE A. GATES, 1870-1879 JAMES GATES, 1862-1884 NORMAN GATES, 1875-1903 NARCISA NEWSUM, wife of B. F. GATES 1831-1892 WILLIAM C. ESTES, 1874-1874 EMMA H. GATES, 1901-1902 Madison County marriage records show that B. F. Gates was married to Mrs. Narcissa M. Stone, May 4, 1859. Robert Gates' death certificate, Madison Co. gives his dates: May 5, 1841-October 4, 1915." See: http://www.tngenweb.org/records/madison/cemeteries/riverside/mrc7-08.htm * The posted notes cite a biographical sketch of the son Robert GATES appearing within THE NATIONAL CYCLOPAEDIA OF AMERICAN BIOGRAPY, vol. 8 (New York, 1898), page 237: "GATES, Robert, soldier, editor and promoter, was born in Henry county, Tenn., May 8, 1841. son of B. F. and Elizabeth (Jackson) Gates, both natives of Virginia. In 1854 his father moved to Jackson, Madison Co., where Robert grew to manhood, and where he made his home until 1889. ... [much more]" Separately, it is stated amongst Smith's posted notes: "In the sketch about Captain Robert Gates, CONFEDERATE MILITARY HISTORY (1899), Reprint, Wilmington, N.C., 1987, vol. 10-Extended, page 496, is mentioned that "His father, B. F. Gates, Was a descendant of Thomas Gates, governor of Virginia, and his mother, Elizabeth Jackson Roper, daughter of Gen. Fielding Lewis."" Clearly the information in these three sources is inconsistent. It seems to me that the information on the family monument is more likely to be reliable than that appearing in the biographical sketches published later, however it is also unclear to me whether the monument was constructed contemporaneous to the earlier deaths or whether it was constructed much later. * Is it possible that the latter ascription got the generations wrong and that Frances JACKSON was a daughter or connected in some way with a Gen. Fielding LEWIS? A cursory review seems to suggest that this is a specious ascription. Col. Fielding LEWIS (07 Jul 1725, d 07 Dec 1781) is shown by LEWIS genealogists to have had a daughter named Frances (b 26 Nov 1748, d abt 1775-81), seemingly a prior generation. Fielding LEWIS, Jr. (b 14 Feb 1751, d 21 Jul 1803) seems to be about the right generation to have been Frances' father OR the father of the Elizabeth LEWIS who married Robert ROPER. See for example: http://www.kenmore.org/genealogy/lewis/lewis_descendants.html However the younger Fielding LEWIS seems to have been a Captain in the Revolution and LEWIS genealogists seem to have identified his children to the exclusion of any construction suggested within CONFEDERATE MILITARY HISTORY (1899). See: http://www.kenmore.org/genealogy/lewis/fielding_children.html (I have NOT verified ANY of this LEWIS family information.) * * * Have you resolved any of the questions about this ROPER family in the decade since your post? Do you have any additional insights to share with us? Important Note: The author of this message may not be subscribed to this list. If you would like to reply to them, please click on the Message Board URL link above and respond on the board. <br>