Field Notes

Researching Family History One Record at a Time

Ancestors / Bates

Robert Webster Bates

b. 3 Aug 1901 · Eldorado, Jackson County, Oklahoma – d. 15 Jun 1995 · Payson, Gila County, Arizona

Active
Black-and-white cropped portrait of a young Robert Webster Bates standing in work clothes — a dark button-front shirt and lighter trousers — in front of a tall, layered sandstone rock formation. He holds an unidentified tool in one hand.
Robert Webster Bates, cropped from a larger photograph showing him standing before a rock outcropping, holding an unidentified tool. From the family photo collection of Shannon's father; scanned by Shannon. Undated, and the location has not been identified.

Vital Facts

Event Date Place Status Source
Birth 3 Aug 1901 Eldorado, Jackson County, Oklahoma Proven 1a,1b,1c,1d,1e,1f
Marriage 5 Oct 1922 Harmon County, Oklahoma Proven 2
Death 15 Jun 1995 Payson, Gila County, Arizona Proven Sources conflict on the exact date: NUMIDENT1d records 15 June 1995; his funeral program1c records 27 June 1995, a 12-day discrepancy. Place and month/year are corroborated by both; the specific day is unresolved pending a Gila County, Arizona death certificate.

Family

Parents

Spouse

  • Esta Delia Helms — m. 1922 , Harmon County, Oklahoma (Proven) — Shannon's grandmother. Robert and Esta had twelve children together — see Esta Delia Helms's page for the full family record. (Robert had one additional child outside this marriage; see below.)

Children

  • [name withheld to protect the privacy of his descendants] (b. 1945) — A son born in 1945 outside Robert's marriage to Esta Delia Helms. He is open with his own family about his parentage, and is loved and embraced as family by Shannon and her relatives. His name is withheld here only to protect the privacy of his children and grandchildren, who have not consented to inclusion on this site.

Timeline

  1. 3 Aug 1901 Born, Eldorado, Jackson County, Oklahoma. 1b
  2. 1910 Age 8, living in his parents' household, Looney Township, Harmon County, Oklahoma. 1a
  3. 1919 Listed in the Jackson County school census, Altus R.1, Bethel Township, with his father W. W. Bates as parent/guardian. 1b
  4. c. 1917–1922 Family accounts describe Robert serving a manslaughter term, taken in place of his brother Jesse after a death at a bare-knuckle betting match staged by their father. Predates Robert's 1922 marriage. No court or prison record yet located — see Open Research Questions.
  5. 1920 Serving in the Coast Artillery, stationed near Tacoma, Washington. 3
  6. 1920 Enumerated in his parents' household, Jackson County, Oklahoma — recorded here as age 20 and born in Texas, inconsistent with his proven 1901 Oklahoma birth; likely enumerator error. 4
  7. 14 Dec 1921 Military date recorded in the VA Master Index; residence given as Amarillo, Texas. 1e
  8. 5 Oct 1922 Marries Esta Delia Helms, Harmon County, Oklahoma. 2
  9. 1926–1930 Family account holds that Robert served a term for 'armed robbery.' A Harmon County burglary case, Bates v. State (1930 OK CR 50), affirmed on appeal 15 Feb 1930, is a possible match but remains unconfirmed pending primary-source verification — see Open Research Questions.
  10. 16 Feb 1942 Registers for the WWII-era draft, Portales, Roosevelt County, New Mexico. 1f
  11. 1995 Dies, Payson, Gila County, Arizona. Sources conflict on the exact day — 15 June (NUMIDENT) or 27 June (funeral program) — see Vital Facts. 1d,1c

Open Research Questions

  1. Which death date is correct — 15 June 1995 (NUMIDENT) or 27 June 1995 (funeral program)? A Gila County, Arizona death certificate would likely resolve this.
  2. The 1920 census gives Robert's age as 20 and birthplace as Texas, inconsistent with the 1901 birth date and Oklahoma birthplace established by five other sources. Likely enumerator error, but documented here rather than silently corrected.
  3. Family accounts describe two separate prison terms: one for 'armed robbery' (possibly the Harmon County burglary case affirmed in Bates v. State, 1930 OK CR 50, though this is unconfirmed pending primary-source verification) and an earlier manslaughter term taken in place of his brother Jesse, predating Robert's 1922 marriage. Neither is yet backed by a located court or prison record; see Journal for the family narrative.

References

  • 1a. ↩ 1910 U.S. census, Harmon County, Oklahoma, population schedule, Looney, p. 8B (written), dwelling 136, family 138, Florence R Bates; image, Ancestry.com (http://www.ancestry.com : accessed 22 June 2020); citing NARA microfilm publication T624.
  • 1b. ↩ “Jackson County, Oklahoma, School Census Records,” database with images, FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:3Q9M-CSM9-F441-3 : 15 July 2026), Robert Bates in household of W. W. Bates (parent/guardian), Altus R. 1, Bethel Township, b. 3 August 1901; citing Jackson County (Oklahoma) Superintendent of Schools, Image Group Number 007762400.
  • 1c. ↩ Funeral program, “In Loving Memory of Robert W. (Bob) Bates,” b. 3 August 1901, Jackson County, Oklahoma; d. 27 June 1995, Payson, Arizona; graveside service 1 July 1995, Rev. Herbert Bergstrom officiating; interment, Portales Cemetery, Portales, New Mexico; digital image provided to Shannon by a family member who attended the funeral.
  • 1d. ↩ “United States, Social Security Numerical Identification Files (NUMIDENT), 1936–2007,” database with images, FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:6KWF-D9QB : accessed 15 July 2026), Bob Bates, b. 3 August 1901, Eldorado, Oklahoma; d. 15 June 1995, Payson, Gila County, Arizona.
  • 1e. ↩ “U.S., Veterans Administration Master Index, 1917–1940,” database, Ancestry.com (http://www.ancestry.com : accessed 15 July 2026), Robert W Bates, b. 3 Aug 1901; military date 14 Dec 1921; residence Amarillo, Texas; citing Veterans Administration Master Index, 1917–9/16/1940, NAI 76193916, Record Group 15, National Archives at St. Louis.
  • 1f. ↩ “United States World War II Draft Registration Cards, 1940–1947,” New Mexico, database with images, FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:3Q9M-CSS1-9SWJ-Y : 15 July 2026), Robert Webster Bates, Portales, Roosevelt County, New Mexico, registered 16 February 1942; citing National Personnel Records Center (St. Louis, Missouri), Image Group Number 101688607.
  • 2. ↩ Harmon County, Oklahoma, Marriage Records, book pages 588–589, R.W. Bates and Esta Helms, application filed 4 Oct 1922, license and certificate of marriage, married 5 Oct 1922 at Louis, Oklahoma, by Sidney C. Henderson; "Oklahoma, County Marriages, 1890-1995," database with images, Ancestry.com (http://www.ancestry.com : accessed 16 Jul 2026).
  • 3. ↩ Photograph, “Uncle Bob & his buddy. Coast Artillery stationed near Tacoma, Wash. 1920,” captioned by unidentified family annotator; scanned from original in the collection of Shannon's father.
  • 4. ↩ 1920 U.S. census, Jackson County, Oklahoma, population schedule, Baucum, p. 1A (written), dwelling 8, family 8, Minnie Bates in household of William W Bates; image, Ancestry.com (http://www.ancestry.com : accessed 22 June 2020); citing NARA microfilm publication T625.