John Howard Gates Biography


	This biography appears on pages 371-373 in "History of Dakota 
	Territory" by George W. Kingsbury, Vol. V (1915) and was 
	scanned, OCRed and edited by Maurice Krueger, mkrueger@iw.net.

	This file may be freely copied by individuals and non-profit 
	organizations for their private use. 

	Any other use, including publication, storage in a retrieval 
	system, or transmission by electronic, mechanical, or other 
	means requires the written approval of the file's author.

	This file is part of the SDGENWEB Archives. If you arrived here inside
	a frame or from a link from somewhere else, our front door is at

	http://usgwarchives.org/sd/sdfiles.htm


				JUDGE JOHN HOWARD GATES. 

	Judge John Howard Gates of Sioux Falls, supreme court Judge of 
South Dakota, was born in Waterloo, Black Hawk county, Iowa, October 
26, 1865, a son of John C. and Adelia (St John) Gates. The father, a 
native of Ontario county, New York, was born February 16, 1838, a son 
of Joseph B. Gates, who was born on the old family homestead in the 
Empire state and there spent his entire life. He was a son of Daniel 
Gates, who came from Rutland, Vermont, and whose father took up land in 
the Phelps & Gorham purchase about 1790. There the Gates family 
followed farming and the great-great-grandfather and the great-
grandfather of Judge Gates continued to live there throughout their 
lives. The Gates family are direct descendants of John and Priscilla 
(Mullens) Alden. The great-great-grandfather, Daniel Gates, was the 
second husband of Milcah Ludden, who was born April 7, 1765, and was a 
daughter of Benjamin and Esther (Caper) Ludden. The latter was a 
daughter of John and Ruth (Thayer) Capen, and Ruth Thayer was a 
daughter of Ephraim and Sarah (Bass) Thayer. The ancestry is still 
traced back in the maternal line through Sarah Bass, a daughter of John 
and Ruth (Alden) Bass, the latter a daughter of John and Priscilla 
(Mullens) Alden. 

	John C. Gates, father of Judge Gates, was reared on the old 
homestead in the Empire state and was educated at Genesee College at 
Lima, New York, of which school his wife, who bore the maiden name of 
Adelia St. John, was also a graduate. In fact they completed their 
course in the same year, 1863, and in March, 1864, they were married, 
removing in September of the same year to Waterloo, Iowa. The wife, who 
was born in Newark, Wayne county, New York, February 25, 1841, died in 
Waterloo on the 1st of February, 1873. The St. John family comes of 
French Huguenot ancestry and was established on American soil soon 
after the Mayflower brought its cargo of passengers to the new world. 
The line of descent is traced down through John St. John, who was born 
in Norwalk, Connecticut, in April, 1735. He became a very prominent man 
of notable strength of character and held many important positions of 
trust. He was very prominent in the work of the church, in which he 
filled the position of deacon. At the time of the Revolutionary war he 
served as a captain in the Fifth Connecticut Regiment and he lived for 
some years to enjoy the fruits of liberty, passing away April 16, 1816. 
His son, John St. John, II, was born July 15, 1764, in Wilton, 
Connecticut, and died in Westport, New York, April 26, 1854. His son, 
Josiah St. John, was born February 19, 1792, became a veteran of the 
War of 1812 and resided in Arcadia, New York, his death there occurring 
April 7, 1857. He was the father of Elon St. John, who was born May 9, 
1816, and died September 29, 1893. It was his daughter Adelia who in 
March, 1864, became the wife of John C. Gates. Following their removal 
to Iowa, John C'. Gates was variously employed until he became deputy 
county auditor of Black Hawk county in 1871-2 and in the fall of the 
latter year he was elected clerk of the courts and was continued in the 
office by reelection until he had filled that position for eight years. 
During that period he read law and was admitted to practice. At the end 
of his official term, in 1881, he formed a partnership with Lore Alford 
and conducted an abstract business for many years but finally disposed 
of the abstract business. The law firm, however, continued until 1899, 
when Mr. Alford passed away. The firm then became Gates & Lifring and 
so continues, although Mr. Gates is now practically retired from active 
connection with the bar. He has always taken a deep and helpful 
interest in politics and his opinions have long carried weight in the 
local councils of the republican party, while his efforts have been an 
element in promoting its success at the polls. His life has ever 
conformed to the teachings of the Methodist Episcopal church, of which 
he is a most active, earnest and conscientious member. Only two 
children of the marriage of Mr. and Mrs. John C. Gates lived to adult 
age: Judge Gates; and Fanny C., now dean of the College of Women of 
Grinnell College at Grinnell, Iowa. 

	Judge Gates attended the public schools until graduated from the 
East Waterloo high school with the class of 1882 and in the fall of 
1883 he became a student in the Iowa State University. During the 
periods of vacation, while he was pursuing his college course, he 
worked in his father's abstract office and from September, 1884 to 
September, 1885 he was employed in the First National Bank of Waterloo. 
Resuming his studies, he was graduated with the degree of Bachelor of 
Philosophy in 1888 and during the period of his college days he was a 
member of the Irving Institute, a literary society of prominence, and 
became a member of the Beta Theta Pi, a Greek letter fraternity. in 
September, 1888, he accepted a clerical position with the law firm of 
Bailey & Davis of Sioux Falls, with which he remained for a year, 
although in the meantime a change in the partnership led to the 
organization of the firm of Bailey, Davis & Lyon. For the further study 
of law Judge Gates matriculated in the Columbia University Law School 
of New York city in September, 1889, returning to Sioux Falls in 
August, 1890, after which he was admitted to the bar on the 2d of 
December of that year. It was then that the firm of Davis, Lyon & Gates 
was formed, of which Judge Gates continued as a member until January 1, 
1913, when he was elevated to the bench of the supreme court, having 
been elected in November, 1912 from the second supreme court district. 
In the meantime he had been called to other offices in the line of his 
profession, having served in 1893-4 by appointment as city attorney of 
Sioux Falls. In 1896 he was defeated for the office of states attorney 
of Minnehaha county. On the 16th of August, 1909, he was appointed by 
Hon. J. E. Carland, district judge, as special master in the South 
Dakota railroad rate cases. His report was filed in September, 1911, 
and his action in this matter attracted statewide attention, his 
principal contentions being ultimately sustained by the United States 
supreme court on the Minnesota rate cases. Judge Gates gained an 
enviable reputation through his conduct of these cases and introduced a 
formula for use in apportioning earnings that is used today by the 
state and inter-state commissions. Since the 7th of January, 1913, he 
has sat upon the bench of the supreme court of South Dakota, proving 
himself the peer of the ablest members of that court of last resort, 
his decisions indicating strong mentality, careful analysis, a thorough 
knowledge of the law and an unbiased judgment. His legal learning, his 
analytical mind, the readiness with which he grasps the point in an 
argument all combine to make him one of the most capable jurists that 
has ever graced the supreme court and the public and the profession 
acknowledge him the peer of any member of that highest judicial body of 
the state. He is a member of the American Bar Association, one of the 
charter members of the South Dakota State Bar Association and for many 
years was treasurer of the Minnehaha County Bar Association. 

	On the 13th of November, 1899, Judge Gates was married to Miss 
Mary Edna Carter, a native of New London, Wisconsin, and a daughter of 
Jervis W. Carter, a pioneer of Dakota territory who served as district 
attorney under Judge Kidder in territorial days. Judge and Mrs. Gates 
have three children: Beatrice, John Carter and Hobart Hare. 

	Judge Gates and his family take very active and prominent part in 
the work of the Episcopal church and he has been a chancellor of the 
missionary district of South Dakota for that church for many years. He 
was formerly vestryman and warden of Calvary church at Sioux Falls and 
is now warden of Trinity church in Pierre. He served as a delegate from 
South Dakota to the general convention of the Episcopal church in New 
York in 1913 and he is now a member of the provincial court of review 
of the Province of the Northwest of the Episcopal church. His interest 
in church work has been most keen and has formed tangible evidence in 
far reaching and beneficial efforts for the upbuilding of the cause. He 
is also deeply interested in education and from 1906 until 1908 was a 
member of the board at Sioux Falls, during which period the high school 
building was constructed, a work for which he was largely responsible. 
His political allegiance has always been given the republican party and 
he is a stanch supporter of its principles. In fraternal circles, too, 
he is well known, holding membership in Minnehaha Lodge, No. 5, F. &; 
A. M., of Sioux Falls, of which he is a past master; Sioux Falls 
Chapter, No. 2, R. A. M.; Cyrene Commandery, No. 2, K. T.; El Riad 
Temple of the Nobles of the Mystic Shrine at Sioux Falls; and the Elks 
lodge of that place. He is also a member of the South Dakota Society of 
Sons of American Revolution. His professional prominence, his activity 
in Masonic and church circles and his public-spirited citizenship have 
brought him a wide acquaintance and his record is an honor to the state 
which has honored him.