Henry Clay Bates (January 29, 1843 – March 12, 1909), frequently known as H. C. Bates, was a

Vermont Vermont () is a state in the northeast New England region of the United States. Vermont is bordered by the states of Massachusetts to the south, New Hampshire to the east, and New York to the west, and the Canadian province of Quebec to ...

lawyer and

politician A politician is a person active in party politics, or a person holding or seeking an elected office in government. Politicians propose, support, reject and create laws that govern the land and by an extension of its people. Broadly speaking ...

who served as the

42nd 4 (four) is a number, numeral and digit. It is the natural number following 3 and preceding 5. It is the smallest semiprime and composite number, and is considered unlucky in many East Asian cultures. In mathematics Four is the smallest c ...

lieutenant governor of Vermont The lieutenant governor of Vermont is elected for a two-year term and chosen separately from the governor. The Vermont Lieutenant Governor's main responsibilities include acting as governor when the governor is out of state or incapacitated, presi ...

and as a judge of the Insular Government of the Philippine Islands.

Early life

Henry Clay Bates was born in

Derby Line, Vermont Derby Line is an incorporated village in the town of Derby in Orleans County, Vermont, United States, slightly north of the 45th parallel, the nominal U.S.-Canada boundary. The population was 687 at the 2020 census. The village is located o ...

on January 29, 1843. He was educated at Derby Academy, taught school in

and

Maine Maine () is a state in the New England and Northeastern regions of the United States. It borders New Hampshire to the west, the Gulf of Maine to the southeast, and the Canadian provinces of New Brunswick and Quebec to the northeast and ...

, and studied law in Derby and Charleston before enlisting for the

Civil War A civil war or intrastate war is a war between organized groups within the same state (or country). The aim of one side may be to take control of the country or a region, to achieve independence for a region, or to change government policies ...

Military service

Bates served as a member of Company C, 4th Massachusetts Heavy Artillery. After the war he was an active member of the

Grand Army of the Republic The Grand Army of the Republic (GAR) was a fraternal organization composed of veterans of the Union Army (United States Army), Union Navy (U.S. Navy), and the Marines who served in the American Civil War. It was founded in 1866 in Decatur, Il ...

Early career

Bates resumed his legal studies after leaving the Army, attained admission to the bar in 1866 and practiced law in St. Johnsbury. A

Republican Republican can refer to: Political ideology * An advocate of a republic, a type of government that is not a monarchy or dictatorship, and is usually associated with the rule of law. ** Republicanism, the ideology in support of republics or agains ...

, he served in numerous local offices, including

Superintendent of Schools In the American education system, a superintendent or superintendent of schools is an administrator or manager in charge of a number of public schools or a school district, a local government body overseeing public schools. All school principal ...

Guildhall A guildhall, also known as a "guild hall" or "guild house", is a historical building originally used for tax collecting by municipalities or merchants in Great Britain and the Low Countries. These buildings commonly become town halls and in som ...

and

Town Meeting Town meeting is a form of local government in which most or all of the members of a community are eligible to legislate policy and budgets for local government. It is a town- or city-level meeting in which decisions are made, in contrast with ...

Moderator of St. Johnsbury. Bates also served as Caledonia County State's Attorney from 1880 to 1882 and 1892 to 1894. From 1886 to 1890 Bates was a member of the

Vermont Senate The Vermont Senate is the upper house of the Vermont General Assembly, the state legislature of the U.S. state of Vermont. The senate consists of 30 members. Senate districting divides the 30 members into three single-member districts, six two-m ...

and served as

Senate President President of the Senate is a title often given to the presiding officer of a senate. It corresponds to the speaker in some other assemblies. The senate president often ranks high in a jurisdiction's succession for its top executive office: for ex ...

. Bates served in the Vermont House of Representatives from 1896 to 1897. In 1898 he won election as Lieutenant Governor and served until 1900. He participated in numerous county and state Republican conventions, and was a Delegate to the

1900 Republican National Convention The 1900 Republican National Convention was held June 19 to June 21 in the Exposition Auditorium, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The Exposition Auditorium was located south of the University of Pennsylvania, and the later Convention Hall was constr ...

Territorial judge

In 1901 Bates was appointed a judge for the 9th district of the Court of First Instance, Manila, a position within the Insular Government of the Philippine Islands. He served until his 1907 resignation, afterwards living in retirement in

Berkeley, California Berkeley ( ) is a city on the eastern shore of San Francisco Bay in northern Alameda County, California, United States. It is named after the 18th-century Irish bishop and philosopher George Berkeley. It borders the cities of Oakland and E ...

Death and burial

Bates died in Berkeley on March 12, 1909, after having been ill as the result of his service in the Philippines. He was buried at Smithland Cemetery (Little Sioux Township Cemetery) in

Smithland, Iowa Smithland is a city in Woodbury County, Iowa, United States. It is part of the Sioux City, IA– NE– SD Metropolitan Statistical Area. The population was 181 at the time of the 2020 census. History Smithland is one of the oldest settl ...

, where his wife's family resided.

Family

In 1866, Bates married Laura E. Jenness of

Morgan, Vermont Morgan is the easternmost town in Orleans County, Vermont, United States. The population was 638 at the 2020 census. The town contains two villages: Morgan and Morgan Center. History The town was named for John Morgan, a landholder. The first s ...

. They were the parents of one son who lived to adulthood, attorney Jerry Dickerman Bates (1869-1952), who was usually referred to as J. Dickerman Bates.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Bates, Henry C. 1843 births 1909 deaths People from Derby, Vermont People from St. Johnsbury, Vermont Politicians from Berkeley, California People of Vermont in the American Civil War Vermont lawyers State's attorneys in Vermont Republican Party members of the Vermont House of Representatives Republican Party Vermont state senators Presidents pro tempore of the Vermont Senate Lieutenant Governors of Vermont United States federal judges appointed by William McKinley Burials in Iowa Lawyers from Berkeley, California