Last week, we looked at the settlers Thomas and Sallie Richardson Gates and John and Lucy Richardson Gates and their son, William Benjamin “Billy” Gates, a Primitive Baptist elder from Ararat, Virginia. This week, we will take a look at Billy’s first cousin, John Wesley Gates.
John Wesley Gates was born in the county of Halifax on the 11th of February 1817; he was the oldest of three children born to Thomas and Sallie Gates. Sometime around 1830, John Wesley moved with his parents, siblings, uncle, aunt, and first cousins to Patrick County and settled in the Jack’s Creek area.
John Wesley Gates was appointed as constable for Patrick County on the 13th of September 1838. He was required to post a $200 bond and his sureties were Martin Cloud and his future father-in-law William Ayres (from the Gates Family of Patrick County, VA by Carol Leonard Snow).
On the 11th of October 1839, John Wesley married Miss Iwanowna Ayers, the daughter of Colonel William Ayres and Frances Davis of Rock Castle. It may look like Ayres is a typo, but in old records of the county, the family surname is spelled Ayres. I am not sure when families in the area began spelling it Ayers. Also, keep in mind that the entire Woolwine community was called Rock Castle until the name was changed to honor the local postmaster in 1872.
Iwanowna (1821-1888) was also the oldest child in her family; her younger siblings were Louise Elizabeth Ayres Price (1823-1861); Pinkney Green Ayres, Sr. (1827-1858); Reed Ayres (1829-1860); Mentoria Ayres DeHart (1832-1920); Texas Ayres Martin (1836-1877); Davis Ayres (1838-1919); Iowa Ayres Grant (1840-1871); and William Harrison Ayres (1842-1913).
John Wesley and Iwanowna’s first child, Thomas Virgil, was born in 1845; followed by William in 1847, and James Reed in 1849. In the 1850 census, the family was still living in the Rock Castle area and John Wesley’s occupation was listed as merchant. I am not sure exactly where the family lived, but in 1847, John Wesley purchased 114 acres on Sycamore Creek for $300.00 from William Hanner and wife Catherine; the witnesses were John Tuggle, Sr.; James C. Moir; and William Ayres. In 1849, John Wesley also purchased three acres for $225.00 from Shadrack Turner; James C. Moir; Lewis Pedigo; and Spotswood Tinsley.
In 1852, fourth son Henry Nebraska Gates was born, followed by John Franklin in 1855; and Francis Marion in 1858. By the 1860 census, the growing family was living in Ararat. From 1852 to 1857, John Wesley and Iwanowna had purchased 55 acres on Snow’s Branch, 440 acres on Doe Run, and 330 acres on the Ararat River (from the Gates Family of Patrick County, VA by Carol Leonard Snow).
Tragedy struck on the 2nd of February 1862; seventeen-year-old Thomas Virgil Gates died from a bowel obstruction. Thomas had enlisted with the 50th Virginia Infantry, Company K, the previous June. A time for celebration came the following year when John Wesley and Iwanowna’s son, Davis Beauregard Gates was born on the 13th of September 1863. The following year, forty-seven-year-old John Wesley Gates enlisted in the Confederate Army at Petersburg, Virginia and was assigned to the 10th Virginia Cavalry, Company E.
After the war, John Wesley returned to Ararat and continued to run his dry goods store. When he got old enough, Francis Marion helped his father manage the business. In March of 1882, John Wesley Gates was appointed the Chairman of the Patrick County Board of Supervisors.
Sixty-seven-year-old Iwanowna Ayres Gates passed away on the 7th of September 1888. According to the Patrick County Death Records, she died of a “tumor of the side.”
John Wesley Gates remarried on the first of October 1891 to Miss Fannie Martin of Nelson County, Virginia; he was seventy-four and she was twenty-seven. In 1892, their daughter, Martha Frances was born, followed two years later by their son, George Dodson Gates. John Wesley Gates passed away on March 24, 1898; he was eighty-one years old.
Next week, we will conclude our study on the Gates family with a look at John Wesley Gates’ grandson, beloved doctor Arthur Marion Gates. Woody may be reached at rockcastlecreek1@gmail.com or (276) 692-9626.
