Henry County AlArchives Biographies.....Oates, Ephraim January 27 1826 - living in 1893
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Ann Anderson alabammygrammy@aol.com May 27, 2004, 1:57 pm

Author: Brant & Fuller (1893)
    EPHRAIM OATES, one of the most successful farmers and business men of Henry
county, was born January 27, 1826, in Sampson county, N. C. He was one of the
thirteen children born to Stephen and Elizabeth (Shipps) Oates, the former of
whom was born in North Carolina in 1787, grew up and was married there at the
age of sixteen. He was a farmer and stock raiser, and became a man of wealth. He
died in 1830. The latter was also born in Sampson county, in 1788, grew up
there, attended school, and married in her fourteenth year. She became the
mother of fourteen children, and after her husband's death did not marry again.
Believing her opportunities would be better for making a living in Alabama, she
removed to this state in 1839, bringing her family and settling in Henry county.
Here she bought a farm and lived thereupon until her death, which occurred in
1866, when she was in her seventy-eighth year. Ephraim Oates began life as a
farmer's boy, came with his mother to Alabama, and assisted her to manage and
work the farm. His education was thus necessarily to a great extent neglected.
In 1849 he was married to Miss Mary Ward, an aunt of J. B. Ward, whose sketch
appears elsewhere in this work. She was a daughter of James and Melinda Ward.
Her father represented Henry county in the legislature, both in the house and in
the senate, for many years. He died in 1859, and his widow died in 1839. The
wife of Ephraim Oates grew up in Henry county, in which county she was born in
1822. She was married at the age of twenty-six, was the mother of four children,
and died in 1882. Her children were as follows: Melinda A., widow of Dr. T. C.
Solomon; Wyatt S., married to Miss M. A. Reynolds, of Headland, Ala.; James E.,
married to Miss M. A. Harper, and resides in Henry county; Margaret J., wife of
Edgar Lindsay, of Henry county. Mr. Oates married Miss Lucy J. Saunders, sister
of E. A. Saunders, whose sketch appears elsewhere in this work. To their
marriage were born four children, of whom three survive, Ephraim L., Elizabeth,
and Lucy J. The subject engaged in farming early in life, and he has always been
successful in this calling. In 1855, he engaged in merchandising, continuing for
one year, when he sold out his stock of goods, and purchased 560 acres of land.
To this he has added, from time to time, until at the present time he owns some
5,000 acres. He has continued a farmer until the present time, and is one of the
most successful, as well as one of the largest farmers in Henry county. His
father is a cousin of Hon. William C. Oates, member of congress, from the third
Alabama district. He has never aspired to political honors in his life. He has a
remarkably strong and vigorous constitution, and with a recent exception or two,
he has never been sick a day in his life. Mr. Oates and his wife are members of
the Missionary Baptist church, and he is a member of the democratic party, and
is one of the most popular and highly respected citizens of the county.



Additional Comments:
from "Memorial Record of Alabama", Vol. I, p. 1112-1113
Published by
Brant & Fuller (1893)
Madison, WI

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