Asher B. Bates (May 2, 1810 – June 1, 1873) was a lawyer and politician in the United States state of

Michigan Michigan ( ) is a peninsular U.S. state, state in the Great Lakes region, Great Lakes region of the Upper Midwest, Upper Midwestern United States. It shares water and land boundaries with Minnesota to the northwest, Wisconsin to the west, ...

and in the

Kingdom of Hawaii The Hawaiian Kingdom, also known as the Kingdom of Hawaiʻi (Hawaiian language, Hawaiian:

ɛ ɐwˈpuni həˈvɐjʔi Latin epsilon or open E (majuscule: Ɛ, minuscule: ɛ) is a letter of the extended Latin alphabet, based on the lowercase of the Greek letter epsilon (ε). It was introduced in the 16th century by Gian Giorgio Trissino to represent the pronunc ...

, was an Archipelagic state, archipelagic country from 1795 to 1893, which eventually encompassed all of the inhabited Hawaii ...

Life

His father was also named Asher Bates, so he is sometimes called Asher Bates Jr. Bates was born May 2, 1810, in Le Roy,

Genesee County, New York Genesee County is a county in the U.S. state of New York. As of the 2020 census, the population was 58,388. Its county seat is Batavia. Its name is from the Seneca word Gen-nis'-hee-yo, meaning "the Beautiful Valley".THE AMERICAN REVIEW; ...

. He graduated from

Union College Union College is a Private university, private liberal arts college in Schenectady, New York, United States. Founded in 1795, it was the first institution of higher learning chartered by the New York State Board of Regents, and second in the s ...

in 1828 and came to

Detroit Detroit ( , ) is the List of municipalities in Michigan, most populous city in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is situated on the bank of the Detroit River across from Windsor, Ontario. It had a population of 639,111 at the 2020 United State ...

, in 1831, where he was an attorney, Justice of the Peace, City Attorney, and City Recorder. In 1838, he served as

Mayor of Detroit This is a list of mayors of Detroit, in the U.S. state of Michigan. The current mayor is Mike Duggan, who was sworn into office on January 1, 2014. History of Detroit's executive authority During the earliest part of its history, Detroit was a ...

after the resignation of Augustus S. Porter to run for the

U.S. Senate The United States Senate is a chamber of the bicameral United States Congress; it is the upper house, with the U.S. House of Representatives being the lower house. Together, the Senate and House have the authority under Article One of the ...

.See Lanha
p. 419
He was also an agent for the Protection Insurance Company of Hartford. He married Lucilla Beals October 23, 1832, but she died in 1839. He established the practice of Farnsworth & Bates with

Elon Farnsworth Elon John Farnsworth (July 30, 1837 – July 3, 1863) was a Union Army captain in the American Civil War. He commanded Brigade 1, Division 3 of the Cavalry Corps (Union Army) from June 28, 1863 to July 3, 1863, when he was mortally wounded and ...

. They were joined by Henry N. Walker in 1836, who had studied law in their office. In 1837, Farnsworth left the firm to become chancellor of the chancery court of Michigan and with the addition of Samuel T. Douglass, the firm became Bates, Walker & Douglass. The firm of Walker & Douglass continued after Bates' departure for several years until they were joined by James V. Campbell. Both Campbell and Douglass served terms on the

Michigan Supreme Court The Michigan Supreme Court is the highest court in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is Michigan's court of last resort and consists of seven justices. The Court is located in the Michigan Hall of Justice at 925 Ottawa Street in Lansing, the s ...

See Moor
p. 1291
/ref> and both Farnsworth and Walker served as

Michigan Attorney General The attorney general of the State of Michigan is the fourth-ranking official in the U.S. state of Michigan. The officeholder is elected statewide in the November general election alongside the governor of Michigan, governor, Lieutenant Governor of ...

.See Tuttl
p. 672
/ref> He married Elizabeth Gertrude (or Gilmore) Judd (1810–?) December 6, 1843. At some point he moved from Detroit to

Jackson County, Michigan Jackson County is located in the U.S. state of Michigan. The population of the Counties of the United States, county was 160,366 as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. Its county seat, seat of government is the city of Jackson, Mich ...

, where he ran unsuccessfully as a Whig Party candidate for Justice of Probate in 1844. By July 1848 he had emigrated to the

Hawaiian Islands The Hawaiian Islands () are an archipelago of eight major volcanic islands, several atolls, and numerous smaller islets in the Pacific Ocean, North Pacific Ocean, extending some from the Hawaii (island), island of Hawaii in the south to nort ...

and became a citizen of the

Kingdom of Hawaii The Hawaiian Kingdom, also known as the Kingdom of Hawaiʻi (Hawaiian language, Hawaiian:

, was an Archipelagic state, archipelagic country from 1795 to 1893, which eventually encompassed all of the inhabited Hawaii ...

. Bates was brother-in-law of Gerrit P. Judd, a former American missionary doctor who was then a power cabinet minister. He served from August 21, 1849, to 1853 on the Privy Council of King

Kamehameha III Kamehameha III (born Kauikeaouli) (March 17, 1814 – December 15, 1854) was the third king of the Kingdom of Hawaii from 1825 to 1854. His full Hawaiian name was Keaweaweula Kīwalaō Kauikeaouli Kaleiopapa and then lengthened to Keaweaweula K ...

. On November 1, 1849, he became Registrar of Conveyances until August 3, 1859. Although the office of

Attorney General In most common law jurisdictions, the attorney general (: attorneys general) or attorney-general (AG or Atty.-Gen) is the main legal advisor to the government. In some jurisdictions, attorneys general also have executive responsibility for law enf ...

was not officially part of the cabinet since the resignation of flamboyant but short-lived

John Ricord John Ricord (September 5, 1813 – March 26, 1861) was a lawyer and world traveler. He was involved in cases in Texas, Oregon, Hawaii, and California. Life John Ricord was born on September 5, 1813, in Belleville, New Jersey. His mother, Elizab ...

, Bates served as lawyer for the king. Ricord had help design the executive branch and served as combined Attorney General and Registrar, or chief

Notary Public A notary public ( notary or public notary; notaries public) of the common law is a public officer constituted by law to serve the public in non-contentious matters usually concerned with general financial transactions, estates, deeds, powers- ...

. Bates was succeeded by Thomas Brown who served until 1886. He moved to San Francisco in 1863 to become a bankruptcy judge and died on June 1, 1873.See Duran
p. 296
/ref> of

leprosy Leprosy, also known as Hansen's disease (HD), is a Chronic condition, long-term infection by the bacteria ''Mycobacterium leprae'' or ''Mycobacterium lepromatosis''. Infection can lead to damage of the Peripheral nervous system, nerves, respir ...

contracted while in Hawaii.See Burto
p. 1146

Notes

References

* * * * * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Bates, Asger B. 1810 births 1873 deaths People from Le Roy, New York Mayors of Detroit Michigan state court judges Hawaiian Kingdom politicians Members of the Hawaiian Kingdom Privy Council Michigan Whigs 19th-century Michigan state court judges 19th-century mayors of places in Michigan People from Michigan Territory