Frederick Bates (June 23, 1777 – August 4, 1825), was an American attorney and politician. He was elected in 1824 as the second governor of

Missouri Missouri is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. Ranking List of U.S. states and territories by area, 21st in land area, it is bordered by eight states (tied for the most with Tennessee ...

and died in office in 1825. Before that he had served as a justice of the Territorial Supreme Court for

Michigan Territory The Territory of Michigan was an organized incorporated territory of the United States that existed from June 30, 1805, until January 26, 1837, when the final extent of the territory was admitted to the Union as the State of Michigan. Detroit ...

, was appointed by

Thomas Jefferson Thomas Jefferson (April 13, 1743 – July 4, 1826) was an American statesman, diplomat, lawyer, architect, philosopher, and Founding Father who served as the third president of the United States from 1801 to 1809. He was previously the natio ...

as Secretary of the Louisiana Territory and started to build his political base 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 ...

Early life and education

Born in 1777 into the planter class 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 incl ...

, Bates was schooled privately at his family's Belmont plantation by tutors. Later he went to college and read the law with an established firm. He settled in Detroit in 1797 and became its first postmaster in 1803. He was a member of the Bates family along with his brothers

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-Sax ...

and James Woodson Bates.

Career

After working as an attorney, Bates started his political career when appointed as a justice of the Territorial Supreme Court for

Detroit, Michigan Detroit ( , ; , ) is the largest city in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is also the largest U.S. city on the United States–Canada border, and the seat of government of Wayne County. The City of Detroit had a population of 639,111 at th ...

. He received a significant promotion when the Aaron Burr conspiracy was uncovered. In February 1807, while Bates was in Washington, President

appointed him to be Secretary of the

Louisiana Territory The Territory of Louisiana or Louisiana Territory was an organized incorporated territory of the United States that existed from July 4, 1805, until June 4, 1812, when it was renamed the Missouri Territory. The territory was formed out of the ...

, as well as a recorder of land titles. He held this position in

until 1812. Bates helped determine whether conflicting French,

Spanish Spanish might refer to: * Items from or related to Spain: **Spaniards are a nation and ethnic group indigenous to Spain **Spanish language, spoken in Spain and many Latin American countries **Spanish cuisine Other places * Spanish, Ontario, Can ...

, and American land claims in the territory would be upheld, as it had been subject to three differing political systems. Jefferson had already decided on the returning explorer and fellow Virginian

Meriwether Lewis Meriwether Lewis (August 18, 1774 – October 11, 1809) was an American explorer, soldier, politician, and public administrator, best known for his role as the leader of the Lewis and Clark Expedition, also known as the Corps of Discovery, with ...

as governor of the huge new Louisiana Territory, which approximately equaled the size of the existing United States. Bates preceded Lewis to St. Louis and became a powerful political force in the new territory; he was a political rival of Lewis until the latter's death while traveling from St. Louis to Washington on business in 1809. Later, as Secretary of the newly formed

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 southe ...

(1812–1821), he became acting governor in the frequent absences of Territorial Governor

William Clark William Clark (August 1, 1770 – September 1, 1838) was an American explorer, soldier, Indian agent, and territorial governor. A native of Virginia, he grew up in pre-statehood Kentucky before later settling in what became the state of Miss ...

. In the August 1824 election, Bates was elected the second governor of

. He died in office in August 1825 in

Chesterfield, Missouri Chesterfield is a city in St. Louis County, Missouri, United States. It is a western suburb of St. Louis. As of the 2020 census, the population was 49,999, . The broader valley of Chesterfield was originally referred to as "Gumbo Flats", derived ...

, due to a short illness thought to be

pneumonia Pneumonia is an inflammatory condition of the lung primarily affecting the small air sacs known as alveoli. Symptoms typically include some combination of productive or dry cough, chest pain, fever, and difficulty breathing. The severit ...

. Bates was buried at the family cemetery on the Thornhill estate near St. Louis.

Marriage and family

In 1819, Bates married Nancy Opie Ball (1802–1877), daughter of a wealthy Virginia colonel. The couple had four children, Emily Caroline (1820–1891), Lucius Lee (1821–1898), Woodville (1823–1840) and Frederick Jr. (1826–1862). During his time in

, Bates acquired nearly 1000 acres (4 km²) of land, which he called Thornhill. He had built a Federal-style home with high ceilings for summer ventilation, fine woodwork and a sophisticated floor plan; all this would have been familiar to Bates from his childhood home, Belmont, in

. The Thornhill estate still exists today and can be viewed by the public. It is located in Faust County Park in

Legacy and honors

Governor Bates is the namesake of Bates County, Missouri.

References

External links

*
National Governors Association profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Bates, Frederick 1777 births 1825 deaths People from Loudoun County, Virginia Missouri Democratic-Republicans Missouri Territory officials Governors of Missouri Michigan postmasters People from St. Louis County, Missouri Justices of the Michigan Supreme Court Democratic-Republican Party state governors of the United States 19th-century American judges 19th-century American lawyers