Clara Nettie Bates (December 25, 1876 – November 27, 1966) was an American editor, writer, and clubwoman. She was associated with the

Audubon movement The Audubon movement is a collective name for the more than 500 Audubon clubs, societies, and organizations in North America, all of which take their name from the famous bird artist John James Audubon. Origins Audubon lived from 1785 to 1851, a ...

Michigan Michigan () is a state in the Great Lakes region of the upper Midwestern United States. With a population of nearly 10.12 million and an area of nearly , Michigan is the 10th-largest state by population, the 11th-largest by area, and the ...

and

Florida Florida is a state located in the Southeastern region of the United States. Florida is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the northwest by Alabama, to the north by Georgia, to the east by the Bahamas and Atlantic Ocean, and to ...

, and with the International Sunshine Society. She favored

suffrage Suffrage, political franchise, or simply franchise, is the right to vote in representative democracy, public, political elections and referendums (although the term is sometimes used for any right to vote). In some languages, and occasionally i ...

. Bates died in 1966.

Biography

Clara Nettie Bates was born

Traverse City, Michigan Traverse City ( ) is a city in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is the county seat of Grand Traverse County, although a small portion extends into Leelanau County. It is the largest city in the 21-county Northern Michigan region. The population was ...

, December 25, 1876. Her parents were Thomas Tomlinson and

Martha E. Cram Bates M. E. C. Bates (, Cram; August 25, 1839 – March 23, 1905) was the pen name of Martha Elizabeth Cram Bates, an American writer, journalist, and newspaper editor. She was widely known throughout the Grand Traverse region, and throughout the Stat ...

. Mrs. Bates served as associate editor of the ''Grand Traverse Herald'' since that paper came into possession of Mr. Bates in 1876. There were two other siblings, a brother, George G. Bates, proprietor of the ''American Poultry Journal'' of

Chicago (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name ...

and vice president of the Herald and Record Company; and a sister, Mabel. She spent her childhood in a

wheelchair A wheelchair is a chair with wheels, used when walking is difficult or impossible due to illness, injury, problems related to old age, or disability. These can include spinal cord injuries ( paraplegia, hemiplegia, and quadriplegia), cerebr ...

, and she was educated by private instruction in the home. Bates served as editor for six years of the Children's Department in the ''Grand Traverse Herald'' with her stories and articles for children appearing each week. She conducted the Children's Department of the ''Sunshine'', consisting of 500 active members, representing every State and Canada, and with nearly 10,000 names on the membership list since organization, the largest junior Sunshine Society in the world, affiliated with the International Sunshine Society. She was also a writer of miscellaneous stories and poems appearing in various publications for children. Bates served as vice-president,

Michigan Woman's Press Association Michigan Woman's Press Association (MWPA) was an American professional association for women writers and journalists in Michigan. Founded in 1890, it was active until shortly before World War I, though there was an unsuccessful attempt to revive ac ...

; vice-president, Michigan Audubon Society; director, Michigan State Federation of Women's Clubs; corresponding secretary, 1908–10, and chair of the Bureau of Information, 1910–12; corresponding secretary, Traverse City (Michigan) Bureau of Associated Charities. She was active in local church work, especially the Home Department of the Sunday-school. For many years, she served as the chair, Book Committee, Ladies' Library Association. For six years, she was the corresponding secretary of the Woman's Club. Bates was active locally in the campaign for suffrage in Michigan. In religion, she was a Congregationalist. She was a member of the International Farm Woman's Press Association, Michigan Woman's Press Association, International Sunshine Society, Traverse City Chapter 147

Order of the Eastern Star The Order of the Eastern Star is a Freemasonry, Masonic List of fraternal auxiliaries and side degrees, appendant Masonic bodies, body open to both men and women. It was established in by lawyer and educator Rob Morris (Freemason), Rob Morris, ...

Y.W.C.A. The Young Women's Christian Association (YWCA) is a nonprofit organization with a focus on empowerment, leadership, and rights of women, young women, and girls in more than 100 countries. The World office is currently based in Geneva, Swi ...

, Michigan State Humane Association, Traverse City Federation of Women's Clubs, Traverse City Woman's Club, and the Traverse City Ladles' Library Association. Bates moved to

Fort Pierce, Florida Fort Pierce is a city in and the county seat of St. Lucie County, Florida, United States. The city is part of the Treasure Coast region of Atlantic Coast Florida. It is also known as the Sunrise City, sister to San Francisco, California, the Suns ...

in 1937, where she served as director of the Florida Audubon Society and was a life member of the St. Lucie County Audubon Society. She died in Fort Pierce, November 27, 1966, and was interred at Traverse City, Michigan.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Bates, Clara Nettie 1876 births 1966 deaths People from Traverse City, Michigan 20th-century American newspaper editors Women newspaper editors 20th-century American women writers 20th-century American writers Clubwomen Wheelchair users 20th-century American women journalists