Thomas Oats

Their Story



Estimated birth year:1809
Birthplace:England
Age:41
Sex:M
Marital Status:Y
Property:
Real Estate Value:0
Value of Personal Estate:0
Occupation:Miner
Family Number:156
House Number:156
Household Members:
 Thomas Oats   41
 Fanny Oats   41
 Henry Oats   31
 Jane Oats   26
 William H Oats   12
 Thomas Oats   7
 Joseph Oats   5
 Susanna Oats   5
 Elisabeth Oats   3
Story:

Thomas was born August 17, 1808 in St. Agnes, Cornwall, England and was baptized at St. Agnes Church on December 15, 1808. This church record listed his parents. We do not know his mother's maiden name. He married Fanny Sampson about 1837 and they had four sons = William Henry, b. 1840, Thomas Huntington , b. 1842, Joseph Carleton, b. 1844, and Charles Sampson, b. 1852. They lived for a time in St. Agnes, but left either Chasewater or Liskeard on July 22, 1846 for America with the 1st three children. They were accompanied by Fanny's two sisters, their husbands and families, a party of 19. They sailed from Plymouth and their passage was on the SS Victoria, where they cooked their meals and did their washing on deck. They were 6 weeks making the crossing and came directly to Shullsburg, where they arrived in October via Galena in wagons. Colonel Elijah Townsend personally helped some of the folks from the wagon, so he told my [Elon's] brother Ern. In a short time Grandfather [Thomas II] bought a farm about 2 mils southwest of town, where he built a stone house and raised his four sons. They secured their education at the old Mullen school, which was later destroyed, and Grandfather collected taxes for the school district. He died February 8, 1866, aged 57 years, 5 months, and 21 days, and is buried in Evergreen Cemetery. The house and farm were later owned by Mrs. Boyle, mother of Lizzie Boyle who married Charlie Baker, and their son Joe lived there until recently [I don't know when Uncle Elon wrote this. 1933?], in the old house. [He then includes other Oates who were married at St. Agnes, but he doesn't know if/how they are related]. -- William Walter Ward, III, whose mother was Eunice Olga Oates Ward, said that Thomas II mined for a short time before buying the farm. Elon does not mention it in his writing. The following information is about the children of Thomas and Fanny Sampson Oates. This is just a guess, "Soldier" Sampson was probably named William or Henry. Thomas Oates was probably a miner for a very short time in Shullsburg, then a farmer & tax collector for the school district in there. -- Also,Eunice Oates Ward said this about Cornwall & about Thomas, Thomas H., her parents, and her life growing up in Shullsburg. "In most of England, in those early days, the only industry of importance was mining. Unless one inherited land or estates, most men were miners. The Oates men worked in the mines in Cornwall, which is a rocky, mountainous S.E. corner on the rocky shores surrounding that peninsula. This is why Thomas Oates & Jenkins brought their families over in the early 1800s, they looked for a lead-mining country. Almost every pasture and small farm [in Shullsburg] are full of these diggings. They were covered up for safety sake when I was a child. I remember going over into the pasture, hilly & small rocks & stones, & playing & having these covered up mines all over. The farmer, Grandpa Oates [her grandfather was Thomas H., BUT, his father, Thomas, was also a farmer, so when she says her father stayed at his grandparents, that would be the first Thomas, who was HER great grandfather], owned 80 acres. On it was a stone house & my dad [Fred Oates] stayed with his grandma for a time when a baby. Whenever the farmer needed anything he'd go out on his own farm and dig lead and sell it for cash or whatever. They were all church going people, all their lives. As a matter of course we were raised to attend every Sunday, Sunday School, & stay to church when older. Dad joined a mens Sunday School class & mama [Edith Simpson Oates] taught a girl's class. We all walked a mile or more to & back from church to a delicious roast beef dinner, which had been slowly roasting in the wood stove, or coal burning stove, all morning. Dad never chopped wood on Sundays & mother never sewed on Sundays. It was a rest day. Often, when older, we & friends would attend evening services at two different small churches near home. We loved the songs they sang & preachers talked down more to our level than the Congregational Church." Eunice Oates Ward's father, Frederick Oates, also wrote that he was born in that two-story rock house on the 80 acres which was 1 1/2 miles southwest of Shullsburg. William Henry Oates was the first child born to Thomas and Fanny. He was b. 8/1/1838 in St. Agnes, Cornwall, England. He m. June 5, 1859 to Mary Green in Shullsburg, & d. in Shullsburg March 5, 1901. He was treasurer for the Village of Shullsburg from 1875-1877. Mary Green Oates b. July 14, 1836 in England & d. March 22, 1914. Both are buried in Evergreen Cemetery. William was a farmer. Their children: 1) William Thomas "Clink" b. 9/12/1860 Shullsburg, m. Susan Ann Trezona 9/15/1881, Shullsburg, d. 4/9/1947. Susan b. 1855 & d. 12/19/1937. One child: Florence Irene m. Will Jeffrey [he committed suicide in 1936], their chilren: Doris m. Wollenbert, Marjorie & Margaret (twins, latter d. age 2 1/2) & Mary Elizabeth, d. 10 months old. 2) Ralph b. ca 1862 died infant 3) Elizabeth Ellen "Ella" b. 4/24/1864, m. John R. Miller 10/11/1890, d. 11/18/1958 Oshkosh, WI, buried Madison, WI. John b. 1855 d. 1911. CHilden; Hary Irl and Charles D. [I have more info on this line] 4) Charles I b. 1865, d. infant, 5) Charles Henry b. 11/2/1866, m Jenie Osborn 12/24, 1888, I don't have death date for him. He & Jennie divorced and he m. Isadora Smith. 6) Annie I b. 1868, d. infant, 7) Alice b 1870 d. infant, 8) Annie Sampson b 4/2/1875 m Frank Shreenan 2/21/1900, d. Chicago, no date. [I have a bit more info] Thomas Huntington Oates b. 11/22/1843 St. Agnes, Cornwall, England, d. 5/19/1887 of TB in Darlington, WI, he m. 24 May 1866 Louisa Jenkins in Shullsburg. Louisa b. 1/16/1845 in Shullsburg, d. 2/26/1925 Shullsburg, both buried Evergreen. They lived on Oates Street in the Oates house. Family said that, except when she went away to school, she spent her entire life on the site where she was born. This indicates that the property on Oates Street belonged to Jenkins first. In a letter that written by T.H. to his daughter, Elizabeth (which was sent to her in Shullsburg in care of Wm Simpson), it sounds like she is living with him in Darlington, while he is Clerk of Circuit Court there, SO, this probably is not entirely true. He was a farmer, secretary of the IOOF Lodge, & a Clerk of the Circuit Court for Layfayette County. He served in the Civil War, on the Union side. During that service, he was at Vicksburg, MS, in AR, MO, etc., & in TN the soldiers woke up with 6 inches of snow covering them . According to that record, he was 5'10", light skin, dark hair, & blue eyes.They were Primitive Methodists. Eunice Oates Ward said she heard that the name Huntington came from an employer, that someone was a groundskeeper for at a large estate in England owned by Lady Huntington, so they used the name. She also said that Oates Street was named for T.H. Oates. Their Children: 1) Frederick James , m. Edith Simpson, & had children Bernice, Eunice , Clarice, & Willard. 2) Thomas Ernest "Ern" m. Etta Hutchinson & had child, Helene. [I was said that Ern & Etta didn't have a lot of money, so Ern's sister, Elizabeth, took Helene & raised her & sent her to private schools, etc.] 3) Elizabeth Louise m. Oscar Miller, they had no chidren of their own. 4) Fannie Ellen never married. It was said that she took care of her parents in the house on Oates Street. There is a "Property for Sale" notice from the newspaper regarding settling her estate. It lists for sale a residence off South Judgment St., & the Mercantile Building on Water Street. She had some rental property, so this might be part of that. 5) Clara Ada m. Albert Neff & had childen: Harold Albert, Willard LaFollette, (Dorothy) Frances, Vada Louise, & Iola Celeste. 6) Elon Eugene never married. He came to CA and lived for awhile with Wm. W. Ward, who came to CA from Montana. That's how the family ended up CA. 7) Eulalie Garfield m. Dr. Julian Johnson who, it is said was a Navy doctor & womanizer & they divorced because of it. She never remarried. 8) Charles Orrin, died at about 1 1/2 years old of TB. Joseph Carleton Oates was the 3rd child of Thomas and Fanny Sampson Oates. He was b. in St. Agnes, Cornwall, England 6/26/1845, m. Elizabeth Jane Jenkins [sister of Louisa] 2/3/1869-70. He d. 12/19/1926 in Shullsburg. She b. 6/2/1847 in WI, d. 4/9/1926. Both are buried at Union Grove Cemetery, Darlington, WI. Joseph became the Clerk of the Circuit Court after Thomas H. Oates died. Joseph was a wagonmaker. He was about 1 years old when he came to America. He was secretary of the IOOF. His wife is listed as "Jennie" in the census records, a nickname for "Jenkins"? Their children were: 1) Howard Albert m. Lulu Wonderlin. 2) George Francis m. Minne Marvin. 3) Estella "Stella" Jane m. Robert L. Wood. They had Ruby Lucille. 4) (Charles) Lewis never married. 5) Clarence J. never married. 6) Arthur Raymond . Phoebe Hitt & had daugher Margarite. Phoebe died in childbirth and he & 2nd Kathryn Jones, Phoebe's cousin. He was a minister. Charles Sampson Oates, 4th child of Thomas & Fanny, b. 1852 in Shullsburg, m. Elizabeth Thompson, had children: One source says Alvin & Effie. Another says Howard A., George F., Jennie, & Charles L, all born in Shullsburg.

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