When a man and wife both have very common names it is difficult to determine exactly who they were and which families they came from. This John Bates was born about 1817 in Georgia. His wife, Mary Bates, was born about 1822.

The Census of 1860 listed the household as: John Bates, age 43; Mary Bates, age 38; Green B. Bates, age 18; and Columbus Bates, age 4. They used the post office at Fancy Hill.

Records in the Murray County Courthouse listed John Bates (or Baits), with service that began November 1861. While a member of Company F, 3rd Confederate (Whorton Brigade), Army of Tennessee, was captured at Tullahoma, Tennessee. He was taken to Rock Island Prison, in Illinois and died there while a prisoner-of-war. Confederate Army records listed him as John Baits.

 

Murray County Families