John Bales (abt. 1817 - aft. 1900)

Born about 1817 in Tennessee

Ancestors

Husband of Mary (Cates) Bales — married 23 Feb 1834 in Ray County, Missouri

Descendants

Died after 1900 after about age 83 in Ray County, Missouri

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Biography

Notes

No known records from his lifetime show him with any middle name or any middle initial.

No known records indicate his parents or siblings. Historically, the family of William Bales and Elizabeth Adamson seems to be the only potential family to which young John Bales could have belonged in the early years of settlement in Ray County, Missouri.

No known records give his precise birthdate. In the 1900 census, his birth month is shown as January 1817. This fits with one other census record (53 in 1870), but not with three other census records (34 in 1850, 44 in 1860, 65 in 1880).

Marriage Record

A marriage record in Ray County, Missouri, shows the marriage on 23 February 1834 of John Bales and Polly Cates by a justice of the peace. ^[1]

I do hereby certify that on the 23rd day of February 1834 I solemnised the rite of matrimony between John Bales and Polly Cates with the consent of their parents both being residents of Ray County Missouri | March 21st 1834 Wm B Martin J. P.

Deed indexes in Ray County, Missouri, show many entries for John Bales.

Deed index through 1865 is here.

Deed index for 1866–68 is here.

Deed index for 1868–72 is here.

Deed index for 1872–77 is here.

Deed index for 1877–82 is here.

Deed index for 1882–86 is here.

Deed index for 1889–91 is here.

Deed index for 1891–93 is here.

Following are two of the earliest deeds involving John Bales.

A deed from Ray County, Missouri, dated 1 November 1841, shows the purchase by John Bales of land in Sections 21 and 22 of Section 52, Range 28.^[2]

A deed from Ray County, Missouri, dated 16 May 1848, shows the purchase by John Bales of 65 acres of land in Section 23 of Section 52, Range 28.^[3]

1850 Census

The 1850 census shows the household of John Bales listed in Ray County, Missouri. ^[4]

John Bales, 34, farmer, born in Tennessee;

Mary Bales, 34, born in Tennessee;

Calvin Bales, 15, laborer, born in Missouri;

Winney Bales, 15, born in Missouri;

Susanah Bales, 10, born in Missouri;

Mary E. Bales, 8, born in Missouri;

Martha Bales, 6, born in Missouri;

Sarah A. Bales, 3, born in Missouri.

1860 Census

The 1860 census shows the household of Jno Bales listed in Richmond Township, Ray County, Missouri. ^[5]

Jno Bales, 44, farmer, born in Tennessee;

Mary Bales, 44, born in Tennessee;

Martha Bales, 16, born in Missouri;

Sarah A. Bales, 11, born in Missouri;

Simon Bales, 3, born in Missouri.

1870 Census

The 1870 census shows the household of John Bales listed in the city of Richmond, Ray County, Missouri. ^[6]

John Bales, 53, ret (retail? retired?) dry good merchant, born in Tennessee;

Mary Bales, 53, keeping house, born in Tennessee;

William Bales, 11, school student, born in Missouri;

Benjamin Cates, 18, clerk dry good [?], born in Missouri.

1880 Census

The 1880 census shows the household of John Bales listed in Richmond Township, Ray County, Missouri. ^[7]

John Bales, 65, farmer;

Mary Bales, 63, wife, keeping house;

William Bales, 22, son, farmer;

Susan Bales, 18, daughter, at home.

Obituary of Wife

The newspaper Richmond Democrat, dated 15 July 1886, included a short obituary for Mrs. Polly Bales. ^[8]

On the 12th inst., at her residence in this city, Mrs. Polly Bales, wife of John Bales. Deceased was about 70 years of age and an excellent woman. The remains were interred at Todd's Chapel Tuesday afternoon at 4 o'clock.

1900 Census

The 1900 census shows the household of John P. Ballard in Richmond Township, Ray County, Missouri. The census page was dated 14 June 1900. ^[9]

John P. Ballard, head, 65, born July 1835, 64, born in Kentucky;

Winnie Ballard, wife, 63, born August 1836, born in Missouri;

John Bales, father-in-law, born January 1817, 83, born in Tennessee.

This census record indicates that John Bales's father was born in North Carolina and that his mother was born in Tennessee.

Sources

1. ↑ Marriage record. Ray County, Missouri. Marriage Records, vol. 1, page 48. Film # 007514080, image 50 of 674. https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:3QS7-9989-9G94
2. ↑ Deed. Ray County, Missouri. Deed Book F, pages 243–44. https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:3Q9M-CSLK-X36H-W
3. ↑ Deed. Ray County, Missouri. Deed Book F, page 245. https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:3Q9M-CSLK-X363-P
4. ↑ 1850 United States Census. Ray County, Missouri. https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:S3HT-DC3Q-GPQ
5. ↑ 1860 United States Census. Ray County, Missouri. https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:33SQ-GBS4-R1T
6. ↑ 1870 United States Census. Ray County, Missouri. https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:S3HT-6W3K-DH
7. ↑ 1880 United States Census. Ray County, Missouri. https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:33SQ-GYBK-FMW
8. ↑ Richmond Democrat. Richmond, Missouri. 15 July 1886.
9. ↑ 1900 United States Census. Ray County, Missouri. https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:S3HT-DCJ9-DDV