James Woodson Bates (August 25, 1788 – December 26, 1846) was an American lawyer and statesman from

Sebastian County, Arkansas Sebastian County is a county located in the U.S. state of Arkansas. As of the 2010 census, the population was 125,744, making it the fourth-most populous county in Arkansas. The county has two county seats, Greenwood and Fort Smith. Sebastian ...

. He represented the

Arkansas Territory The Arkansas Territory was a territory of the United States that existed from July 4, 1819, to June 15, 1836, when the final extent of Arkansas Territory was admitted to the Union as the State of Arkansas. Arkansas Post was the first territo ...

as a delegate to the

United States House of Representatives The United States House of Representatives, often referred to as the House of Representatives, the U.S. House, or simply the House, is the Lower house, lower chamber of the United States Congress, with the United States Senate, Senate being ...

Early life and education

James was born in

Goochland County, Virginia Goochland County is a county located in the Piedmont of the Commonwealth of Virginia. Its southern border is formed by the James River. As of the 2020 census, the population was 24,727. Its county seat is Goochland. Goochland County is includ ...

at his parents'

plantation A plantation is an agricultural estate, generally centered on a plantation house, meant for farming that specializes in cash crops, usually mainly planted with a single crop, with perhaps ancillary areas for vegetables for eating and so on. The ...

known as Belmont. Part of a political family, Bates was the younger brother of Frederick Bates, second governor of Missouri; and older brother of

Edward Bates Edward Bates (September 4, 1793 – March 25, 1869) was a lawyer and politician. He represented Missouri in the US House of Representatives and served as the U.S. Attorney General under President Abraham Lincoln. A member of the influential ...

, who served as

US Attorney General The United States attorney general (AG) is the head of the United States Department of Justice, and is the chief law enforcement officer of the federal government of the United States. The attorney general serves as the principal advisor to the p ...

to President

Abraham Lincoln Abraham Lincoln ( ; February 12, 1809 – April 15, 1865) was an American lawyer, politician, and statesman who served as the 16th president of the United States from 1861 until his assassination in 1865. Lincoln led the nation thro ...

. He was the ninth child of Thomas and Caroline (Woodson) Bates. He started his advanced education at

Yale University Yale University is a private research university in New Haven, Connecticut. Established in 1701 as the Collegiate School, it is the third-oldest institution of higher education in the United States and among the most prestigious in the wo ...

but soon transferred to

Princeton University Princeton University is a private university, private research university in Princeton, New Jersey. Founded in 1746 in Elizabeth, New Jersey, Elizabeth as the College of New Jersey, Princeton is the List of Colonial Colleges, fourth-oldest ins ...

, where he graduated in 1807. He

read law Reading law was the method used in common law countries, particularly the United States, for people to prepare for and enter the legal profession before the advent of law schools. It consisted of an extended internship or apprenticeship under the ...

and then went west.

Career

In 1807, Bates' older brother Frederick was Secretary of the

Missouri Territory The Territory of Missouri was an organized incorporated territory of the United States that existed from June 4, 1812, until August 10, 1821. In 1819, the Territory of Arkansas was created from a portion of its southern area. In 1821, a southeas ...

, based in

St. Louis St. Louis () is the second-largest city in Missouri, United States. It sits near the confluence of the Mississippi and the Missouri Rivers. In 2020, the city proper had a population of 301,578, while the bi-state metropolitan area, which e ...

. James and his younger brother

Edward Edward is an English given name. It is derived from the Anglo-Saxon name ''Ēadweard'', composed of the elements '' ēad'' "wealth, fortune; prosperous" and '' weard'' "guardian, protector”. History The name Edward was very popular in Anglo-Sa ...

joined Frederick in St. Louis, where James began the practice of law (Edward would follow him in this profession). When the

was created in 1819, Bates moved to its capital,

Arkansas Post The Arkansas Post (french: Poste de Arkansea) (Spanish: ''Puesto de Arkansas''), formally the Arkansas Post National Memorial, was the first European settlement in the Mississippi Alluvial Plain and present-day U.S. state of Arkansas. In 168 ...

, to become one of the first lawyers in the new territory. That fall he was elected to be the non-voting delegate for the territory in the

. He served two terms, from December 21, 1819 until March 3, 1823, and chose not to stand for re-election in 1822. While serving in Congress, he had moved to the small settlement called Poke Bayou. When the town plat was laid out in 1821, it was renamed Batesville in his honor. When his congressional term ended, he returned to Batesville and resumed practicing law. He became a local judge in 1824, riding the fourth circuit through the western part of the territory. In 1828 President

John Quincy Adams John Quincy Adams (; July 11, 1767 – February 23, 1848) was an American statesman, diplomat, lawyer, and diarist who served as the sixth president of the United States, from 1825 to 1829. He previously served as the eighth United States S ...

appointed him to the superior court of the territory. Bates served until President Jackson named judge Charles S. Bibb to the post. In 1835 he was a delegate to the constitutional convention for the new state of Arkansas. While serving as a circuit judge, Bates met a wealthy widow, Elizabeth Moore. After they married, he moved to her Moore Farm near Van Buren in

Crawford County Crawford County is the name of eleven counties in the United States: * Crawford County, Arkansas * Crawford County, Georgia * Crawford County, Illinois * Crawford County, Indiana * Crawford County, Iowa * Crawford County, Kansas * Crawford County, ...

. He later served as a probate court judge and a registrar in the land office. He owned slaves.

Death

Bates died in Van Buren, Arkansas, on December 26, 1846. He is interred at a private family graveyard on the Moore farm near Van Buren.

References

External links

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{{DEFAULTSORT:Bates, James Woodson 1788 births 1846 deaths People from Goochland County, Virginia American people of English descent Delegates to the United States House of Representatives from Arkansas Territory Arkansas state court judges Arkansas lawyers Missouri lawyers American lawyers admitted to the practice of law by reading law American slave owners People from Batesville, Arkansas 19th-century American politicians 19th-century American judges 19th-century American lawyers Princeton University alumni