Henry Clay Bates (January 29, 1843 – March 12, 1909), frequently known as H. C. Bates, was a Vermont lawyer and politician who served as the 42nd lieutenant governor of Vermont and as a judge of the Insular Government of the Philippine Islands.
Early life Henry Clay Bates was born in Derby Line, Vermont on January 29, 1843.Biography of the Bar of Orleans County, Vermont, by Frederick W. Baldwin, 1886, pages 241 to 243Who's Who in New England, by Albert Nelson Marquis, Volume 1, 1909, page 85 He was educated at Derby Academy, taught school in Vermont and Maine, and studied law in Derby and Charleston before enlisting for the Civil War.
Military service Bates served as a member of Company C, 4th Massachusetts Heavy Artillery.The New England Magazine, America Company Publishers, Boston, Volume 33, (September 1905 – February 1906), 1906, page 746Herringshaw's National Library of American Biography, published by American Publishers' Association, Chicago, Volume 1, 1909, page 261 After the war he was an active member of the Grand Army of the Republic.Journal of the National Encampment, published by Grand Army of the Republic, pages 21 to 23, 1887, page 27
Early career Bates resumed his legal studies after leaving the Army, attained admission to the bar in 1866 and practiced law in St. Johnsbury.The town of St. Johnsbury, Vt.: A Review of One Hundred Twenty-five Years to the Anniversary Pageant of 1912, published by The Cowles Press, St. Johnsbury, 1912, pages 441 to 442 A Republican, he served in numerous local offices, including Superintendent of Schools of Guildhall and Town Meeting Moderator of St. Johnsbury.Vermont School Report, published by Vermont Department of Education, 1872, page 186
Bates also served as Caledonia County State's Attorney from 1880 to 1882 and 1892 to 1894.Gazetteer of Caledonia and Essex Counties, Vt. 1764-1887, compiled and published by Hamilton Child, 1897, page 54Journal of the Senate of the State of Vermont, published by Vermont General Assembly, 1881, page 465 From 1886 to 1890 Bates was a member of the Vermont Senate and served as Senate President.Journal of the Senate of the State of Vermont, published by Vermont General Assembly, 1886, pages 5, 328
Bates served in the Vermont House of Representatives from 1896 to 1897.Successful Vermonters: A Modern Gazetteer of Caledonia, Essex, and Orleans Counties, by William Hartley Jeffrey, pages 54 to 56 In 1898 he won election as Lieutenant Governor and served until 1900.Vermont Historical Reader, by Edward Conant, 1907, page 166
He participated in numerous county and state Republican conventions, and was a Delegate to the 1900 Republican National Convention.Newspaper article, The Republican League, New York Times, February 16, 1888Official Proceedings of the Republican National Convention, published by the convention, 1900, page 78
Territorial judge In 1901 Bates was appointed a judge for the 9th district of the Court of First Instance, Manila, a position within the Insular Government of the Philippine Islands.Albany Law Journal, published by Albany Law School, Volumes 63-65, (January 1901 to January 1902), 1902, page 166 He served until his 1907 resignation, afterwards living in retirement in Berkeley, California.War Department Annual Reports, published by United States War Department, 1909, page 616
Death and burial Bates died in Berkeley on March 12, 1909, after having been ill as the result of his service in the Philippines.Newspaper article, Work on Islands Fatal to Jurist, San Francisco Call, March 13, 1909Law Notes, published by Edward Thompson Company, Volume 13 (April 1909 to March 1910), 1910, page 35Newspaper article, An Eminent Son of Vermont, Boston Evening Transcript, March 15, 1909 He was buried at Smithland Cemetery (Little Sioux Township Cemetery) in Smithland, Iowa, where his wife's family resided., Soldiers credited to, born in, or buried in Derby, VT, accessed December 4, 2011
Family In 1866, Bates married Laura E. Jenness of Morgan, Vermont. They were the parents of one son who lived to adulthood, attorney Jerry Dickerman Bates (1869-1952), who was usually referred to as J. Dickerman Bates.
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