Ionia County MI Archives Obituaries.....Bates, Philo T. 1905
************************************************
Copyright.  All rights reserved.
http://www.usgwarchives.net/copyright.htm
http://www.usgwarchives.net/mi/mifiles.htm
************************************************

File contributed for use in USGenWeb Archives by:
Sandy Heintzelman sheintz@iserv.net July 14, 2011, 11:28 am

Ionia Standard, 13 Feb 1905

The death of Philo T. Bates, on Sunday morning at 11 o’clock, is another mark 
of the rapid passing of the old residents.  Mr. Bates was a pioneer child of 
the county.  The father of decedent, whose name was also Philo, came here with 
Deacon Wm. Babcock in 1835, and located land in Ionia township, on which they 
settled the next spring.  Philo T. was born Sept. 5, 1837, being as near as can 
be ascertained the first white child born in Ionia township, and he was also 
the first child baptized in the Presbyterian church of Ionia.  

Philo T.’s whole life was spent in Ionia county, with the exception of about 
six years.  He went to Cincinnati in 1855, and was there until 1860, when he 
came to Jackson, this state, where he remained a year or two, and then returned 
to Ionia, where he has been in active business since, his principal line being 
coal and wood, in which he built up a thriving business.

His health has never been of the best, in spite of his aggressively energetic 
disposition that often impelled him to exertion which would have appalled the 
average man. For the last year there have been evidences of breaking down which 
were alarming to the friends, and he spent some time at Grand Lake, Presque 
Isle county, where he had landed interests, and he made a trip to California in 
the hopes that rest and change might be of benefit.  But such a thing as rest 
was so foreign to his disposition and habits that it is probable that the 
exertion which he made to see all that was strange and noteworthy overbalanced 
the benefit of change, and he returned home without permanent benefit, and soon 
after suffered a stroke of paralysis, from which he never completely rallied.

Mr. Bates was married at Jackson in 1865, to Miss Ione Knauer, who survives 
him.  No children were born to this union.

Philo Bates the elder was married three times, and left children by each.  The 
second and third were sisters and daughters of Deacon Wm. Babcock, who had a 
family of 15 children.  Thus the subject of this sketch was related to many of 
the prominent families, and leaves a large number of friends here, more or less 
closely connected by ties of consanguinity.  He is something more than a half-
brother to Wm. S. Bates, their mothers being sisters.  Mrs. Arthur Tibbitts of 
Lansing is a half-sister.  Mrs. E.M. Harter of this city is an aunt.  He also 
had cousinly relations with the descendents of Levi Taylor and others.

Mr. Bates has always been a staunch supporter of the Presbyterian church, being 
for many years a member of the board of trustees, of which by virtue of term of 
service and activity he was the head at time of his death.

His aggressive nature made some sore spots in his long business career, but he 
held the general respect of the community, and his positiveness was warmed by a 
glow of sympathy leading to numberless acts of charity to the poor and needy, 
of which the general public had no conception.  These were the acts on which he 
set the seal of silence with strong will, but many will feel a more than usual 
sense of personal loss in his taking away.

Funeral services at residence, 227 East Front street, at 10 a.m. Wednesday.  
Remains were taken to Jackson, on 11:25 Pere Marquette train in care of S.B. 
Gorham and Will Knickerbocker; Mrs. Bates, whose health has been delicate for 
many years, being prostrated and unable to make the trip.


File at: http://files.usgwarchives.net/mi/ionia/obits/b/bates14686nob.txt

This file has been created by a form at http://www.genrecords.net/mifiles/

File size: 4.0 Kb