Mary Bates was born in Mohawk, Herkimer County, New York on February 23, 1811. Mohawk was a village in the town of German Flatts, a German Palatine settlement. The Palatines were refugees who fled war and famine in southwest Germany in the early 1700's. Wealthy Englishmen took care of them in England, but eventually sent many to the New World where they lived in work camps along the Hudson River. Eventually, a number of German Palatines were allowed to purchase lands from the Mohawks in Herkimer County. Mary Bates' mother, Mary Crouch, was a descendant of these German settlers. Her father's (Charles Bates) family settled in nearby Edmeston, Otsego County in the early 1800's, arriving from eastern Connecticut (probably Sterling). Three generations prior to Charles, the Bates Family lived 15 miles to the east of Sterling, Connecticut, in Scituate Rhode, Island (a town named for Scituate, Massachusetts, where I believe our line of the Bates Family originated in the US).
When Mary was still a child, her father fought in the War of 1812. Charles Bates' pension application declares that he enlisted at Sackett's Harbor in 1814 and served for four months, acting as clerk under Captain Nicholas Schumacker. In the Fall of 1816, when Mary was five, her parents sold land in German Flatts and, at some point thereafter, moved the family to Hiram, Portage County, Ohio (likely between late 1817 and 1820). The family of Charles and Mary Bates, with three daughters and two sons is listed on the 1820 Census in Hiram along with William Bates and his wife, and four sons. The entire Hiram 1820 Census can be seen below, with William on the first page and Charles on the second. I count just 54 families living in Hiram. Mary, at this time, was just nine years old. Notice the Coles, Youngs, Pinneys, and Judsons; all of these families are already or will, at some point, be related to the Bates Family (the wives of James Young and Seth Cole, for example, were Sarah Colvin's sisters).
Hiram, Ohio is a beautiful place, still left untouched by suburban sprawl. It's a very small town, surrounded by farms and somewhat elevated above the plains to the east. However, Charles and Mary Bates didn't stay there long, but moved five miles to the west to a farm just outside of Mantua, Ohio. In fact, their farm was at the foot of what was at one time called "Bates Hill".
On March 17, 1831, Mary Bates married Noble Rogers, a tanner. Noble and his brother, Noah, had constructed a tannery in Mantua and, then, another just to the south in Shalersville township. Here's a copy of Mary Bates' and Noble Rogers' marriage record:
In 1837, Noble Rogers was baptized into the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (Mormons) along with some of his brothers. There is a detailed history of his brother Noah, here, who became quite prominent in the Mormon faith. According to this history, "Not everyone in the family was pleased with this general conversion of the clan. According to Samuel Rogers Journal: 'Noble Rogers wife, [Mary Bates Rogers,] was opposed to the work, yet she accompanied us to Missouri, and finally to Nauvoo, llinois.'" In the fall of 1838, Noble and Mary Rogers (with the Silas Smith and Chandler Rogers) traveled to settle in Missouri, but were prevented by anti-Mormon mobs. At some point, they settled in Nauvoo (probably before 1840). Mary Bates must have had a change of heart, because she was baptized in 1841 in Nauvoo and joined the Relief Society there in 1842. She received a patriarchal blessing from Hyrum Smith, Joseph Smith's brother, on March 23, 1843 and was endowed in the Nauvoo Temple on December 17, 1845.
Prior to Joseph Smith's martyrdom, it was common practice for Latter-day Saints to be baptized on behalf of their ancestors regardless of gender--men baptized for women and vice versa. Mary Bates Rogers was baptized vicariously for the following relatives:
- Harrison Bates (her cousin, 1843)
- Anna Bates (her aunt, 1841)
- Elizabeth Bates (her sister, 1841)
- John Bates (her great-grandfather, 1841)
- Lawrence Bates (her brother, 1841)
- Mary Bates (her mother, 1844)
- Shelden Bates (her uncle, 1841)
- William Bates (her grandfather, 1841)
- Mary Cole (her great-aunt, 1841)
- Barbary Crouch (her grandmother, 1841)
- Francis Crouch (her grandfather, 1841)
- Dolly Hatten (her great-aunt, 1841)*
- Lawrence Hatten (her great-uncle, 1841)*
- Mary Hatten (her great-aunt, 1841)*
- Cyra Young (her cousin, 1841)
- Hannah Young (her great-aunt, 1841)
- James Young (her great-uncle, 1841)
*The "Hatten's"--Lawrence, Dolly, and Mary--were most likely Harter's, a common Palatine name in the Mohawk Valley. Barbary (Barbara) Crouch's maiden name was Harter or Herter and her brother was Lawrence (or Lorentz) whose wife was Dorothy (Dolly is short for Dorothy). I'm not sure about Mary Herter (Hatton), unless Lawrence was married twice.
The Mormons were driven from Nauvoo in 1846 and began the trek west to the Salt Lake Valley. The trail runs through Monroe County, Iowa where Mary's father, Charles, had settled in 1842. And, that's where Noble and Mary Rogers stayed. They are listed on the 1850 census in Monroe County with five children: Alexander, Sarah, Charles, Henry, and Milton.
More to come . . .
