Articles

  • The Bates Family Celebrates Christmas 1912

    The Bates Family Celebrates Christmas 1912

    In December 1912, the Santa Ana Register ran an article describing a Christmas celebration at the home of my grandparents, Gilbert and Beatrice [Lockwood] Bates.  Of the twenty-two attendees, at least twenty-one were close family members who had moved from Michigan to California.

  • Grandma Honors Veterans With Service Banner

    Grandma Honors Veterans With Service Banner

    Near the end of World War II my grandmother, Beatrice (Lockwood) Bates created a service banner to honor those in her community that served in World War II.  The banner is now on display at the local history museum in Valley Center, California.

  • Highlighting My Bates Lineage

    Highlighting My Bates Lineage

    This article provides an overview of my Bates lineage.  It covers the four generations of the Bates family that I have been able to trace so far, starting in 1795.  I have included a brief biographical sketch about each generation and listed other family names connected to the Bates family tree.

  • A Memorial Book By Otto S. Lewis

    A Memorial Book By Otto S. Lewis

    This article is about a book written by Otto S. Lewis after his wife and two children perished in the shipwreck of the SS Columbia in 1907. Titled ‘In Memory of My Beloved Wife Mabel B. Lewis and Children Florence and Ray’, it is one of those rare finds that provide both an in-depth look…

  • The Shipwreck Of The SS Columbia

    The Shipwreck Of The SS Columbia

    In this article, I take a look at events surrounding the 1907 shipwreck and sinking of the SS Columbia as reported in various newspapers of the time.  Stories of the disaster claimed the front pages of West Coast newspapers for several days as details of the event became known.  Particular attention is paid to the…