William and Catherine (Cottier) Bate of England and Ontario, Canada
Rebecca (Bate) Buck was my great-great-grandmother. Her husband was Azel Buck. She lived in the Ernestown area of Addington County, Ontario for all of her adult life. For a long time all I knew about her was what I could find in Canadian records, supplemented by family memories and research provided by my mother's first cousin, John Buck. John knew that Rebecca's parents were William and Catherine (Cottier) Bate. With the recent availability of more records on the LDS website at http://www.familysearch.org and others, I have been able to connect her family back to England.
The LDS site gives the marriage of William Bate and Catherine "Cotter" on June 11, 1818 at the church of St. Peter in Church Street, Liverpool, Lancashire, England. The LDS site has both the marriage record and the marriage intention record. There were no parents listed for William, and for Catherine only her mother was named: "Catharine Cotter." The marriage intention record states that William was 21 and Catherine was 19. This website: http://frontierinfo.com/LAN-OPC/Liverpool/ gives the baptism records of their first four children in the same church. Here they are:
1) Mary Bate - baptized May 9, 1819
2) William Bate - baptized Dec. 6, 1821
3) Catherine "Cotter" Bate - baptized Oct. 13, 1822
4) Daniel Cottier Bate - baptized Nov. 13, 1825
In each case, the "abode" of the family was Ainsdale/Ainsdell/Ansdell Street, and William's occupation was mariner. The LDS film numbers used were 1656418 and 1656419. After this it appears that the family started to attend a different church, St. James. The website above does not have the subsequent baptism records for the family. However, Ancestry.com has the baptism records for the remaining children. Here are three records, all from St. James:
5) Ann "Bates" - baptized Sep. 24, 1826 - Croston St., Toxteth Park
6) Catherine "Bates" - baptized Nov. 20, 1831 - Croston St., Toxteth Park
7) Rebecca "Bates" - baptized Nov. 16, 1834 - Upper Mann St., Toxteth Park
The LDS film number for each of the above records was 1468980. In each case, William was listed as a mariner. I think the following is the baptism record for the last known child, John, again at the church of St. Peter as follows:
8) John Bate - baptized Jun. 22, 1842, with date of birth noted as Aug. 29, 1837 - Brick St.
William, again, was a mariner. The LDS film number was 93883.
This was the only baptism record for the family that included date of birth.
In the 1841 England census, the family was living on Ashton St. in Toxteth Park, Liverpool, Lancashire (District 6, page 28).
| Name | Age | Occupation | Whether born in this County | Whether born outside England |
| William Bate | 45 | Mariner | N | [left blank] |
| Catharine Bate | 40 | Y | [left blank] | |
| Ann Bate | 14 | Y | [left blank] | |
| Catharine Bate | 8 | Y | [left blank] | |
| Rebecca Bate | 6 | Y | [left blank] | |
| John Bate | 4 | Y | [left blank] | |
| Mary Accerman | 22 | Y | [left blank] |
Mary "Accerman," age 22, must have been their eldest child. There was no sign of William, the eldest son, but he was old enough to be out on his own at that point. The first Catherine must have died before the second Catherine was born. There was also no Daniel Cottier Bate with the family. He would have been about 16 at this point. He might have died by this time or might have been away from home, possibly with his brother William. I can't see Daniel elsewhere in the census, and I also can't see the eldest son William elsewhere. I believe that William survived and came to Ontario as John Buck has heard of an "Uncle Billy Bate" who was presumably Rebecca's brother. It seems likely that Daniel also survived as there is a story that Rebecca had a brother in Australia and I have found a possible match in a Daniel Bate there.
Catherine (Cottier) Bate's parents were Daniel and Catherine (Egan/Higgin, Churchill) Cottier. Clearly two of William and Catherine's children were named for her parents, and so it seems likely that William's parents were remembered in like fashion. Perhaps William's parents were named William and Mary Bate as the first two children were given those names. However, they may also have been named for William and Mary (Williams) Cottier, apparently Daniel Cottier's relatives. See Daniel and Catherine (Egan/Higgin, Churchill) Cottier for more information. If that is the case, then William Bate's parents' names may be found among the younger children. We know from the above 1841 census that William Bate was not born in Lancashire, but was born elsewhere in England. So far I have not been able to find any more about William Bate's background.
William and Catherine Bate and family moved to what is now Ontario in the late 1840s or very early 1850s. They lived on the piece of land that was deeded to Catherine and her parents in 1810 by William Cottier: part of lot 17 on the first concession of Ernestown Township. See Daniel and Catherine (Egan/Higgin, Churchill) Cottier.
In the 1851 census, I have found William and Catherine with some of their children living in Ernestown (page 25).
| Name | Occupation | Born | Age |
| W Bate | Farmer | England | 58 |
| C Bate | England | 54 | |
| C Bate | England | 18 | |
| R Bate | England | 16 | |
| J Bate | England | 13 |
William and Catherine (Cottier) Bate were in Ernestown for the 1861 census as well. I have not been able to find death records or cemetery records for them. Chuck Martyn, who is related to William Cottier's wife Mary Williams through the Williams family, has found Catherine (Cottier) Bate's will, recorded in the land registry books for Lennox and Addington County. The will was dated July 10, 1866 and left everything to her son, John Bate. It did not mention her other sons and daughters. The only property listed was the northwestern portion of lot 17 on the first concession of Ernestown, consisting of 40 acres. It appears that the will was never probated, but was taken to the land registry office to record the transfer of the land.
The will tells us that Catherine was alive on July 10, 1866, and was of sound mind though weak in body. It also tells us that her husband William died before this date. The will was recorded in the land books on February 6, 1867, so Catherine must have died before that date.
Ancestry.ca has a database called Canada, City and Area Directories, 1819 - 1906. There are very few directories that cover Ernestown Township, unfortunately, but there is one from 1865 that does. The directory is called Mitchell & Co.'s General Directory for the City of Kingston, and Gazetteer of the Counties of Frontenac, Lennox and Addington, for 1865. On page 350 of that book, William "Bates" is listed as living on the first concession, lot 17, Ernestown. I don't see anything to indicate when the data was collected. Assuming that it was collected at some point in 1865 then it must be that William Bate died in 1865 or else in 1866 before July 10, when his wife wrote her will.
Further information on their children: