Summery

LINE - John Ernest Cates, Robert, John, Robert, Samuel, Robert, Samuel, Joshua, Edward, James (b. abt 1624 in England)

This Cates family tree can be divided into 4 major groups for study. The groups are as follows:

1. Decendents of John Jason Cates. Around 1880 John left Cutler, Maine and settled down in the Lowell / Lawrence, MA area.

2. Ancestors of Agnes Rebecca Graham. This is the smallest of the groups. She was born in 1866 to Christopher Graham and Rebecca McKim in St. John, NB, Canada. Both of her parents were born in Scotland. I normally wouldn't have considered this a branch of significance , however surprisingly, other then Germaine St Laurent, this is the only branch that stems from an immigrant.

3. Ancestors of Robert Cates. Robert - Samuel - Robert Three generations are buried in Cutler Maine. The first Robert is credited along with two others as being the founders of Cutler. The earliest Cates line can be traced to the CATE family of Portsmouth, NH in the late 1600s. The first was a James Cate b. abt. 1624 who is thought to have traveled with several of his brothers to the New World. I've confirmed the first three generations were carpenters and ship builders. The 1860 census states Robert was a ship carpenter - amazing!

4. Ancestors of Abigail Drew. It is through Abigail Drew's line that the family's lineage can be traced to Richard Warren and Elder William Brewster, passengers on the Mayflower. Click here for the Descendants of Elder William Brewster to John Ernest Cates The line mainly consists of early eastern Massachusetts natives and easily goes back to colonial America - early settlers from England.

  Ancestors of John E Cates
  Surname List
  Index of Names
  Sources (Bibliography)

One interesting note:

The 2008 May's issue of The Maine Genealogist has an outstanding article on Samuel Cates.
Let me sum up the article: The evidence is strong that Edward Cate and Jane Jose are NOT the parents of Samuel. There is a much greater indication (though not conclusive) that Joshua Cate (son of Edward/Elizabeth son of James) and Anne Frost are Samuel's parents. I've read the article many times now and feel that the research was thorough and accurate. In my opinion the facts do seem to point strongly towards Joshua to be Samuel's father.

Send E-mail to ancestry@eagleswind.com