Rebecca
(Miner) Bateson
(1815-1914)
Rebecca
(Miner) Bateson was
born on April 4, 1815, likely near Sego, Perry County, OH, the
daughter of Frederick and Elizabeth (Sechman) Miner
Sr. She died only a few months before her 100th birthday.
Rebecca married farmer William Bateson (1811- ? ), a native of Perry County. They are said to have resided in Rehoboth, Perry County. Later, sometime before 1850, they moved to Walnut Twp., near Millersport, Fairfield County, OH, in the Buckeye Lake region.
The Batesons' children were Samuel James Bateson, Nancy Jane Warner, Sarah A. Bateson, William H. Bateson and Margaret C. Bateson.
Rebecca was not a member of any particular church, but "was a firm believer in the Baptist doctrine and enjoyed their services whenever possible," said a news article. "She was a good citizen, a kind friend and neighbor and a noble wife and mother."
She is said to have smoked a corncob pipe, but never when her adult children or grandchildren were around.
In 1860, youths named Margaret C. Bateson (age two) and Samuel Yost (age one) resided in their home in Walnut Twp. Their precise relationship to the family is unknown.
In 1869, the Batesons said farewell to their married daughter and son in law, Nancy and Benjamin Warner, who left Fairfield County and ventured westward as pioneers. They settled on a farm near Filson, Douglas County, IL. While the Warners remained in that county the rest of their lives, they maintained contact with their relatives back home in Ohio. In 1932, Rebecca's grandson Fred Bateson visited the Warners in Arcola, IL, and the following year Rebecca's granddaughter Kate Hite attended Nancy's funeral in Arcola.
Tragedy
struck the family in 1884 when son
William accidentally drowned in Buckeye Lake while out hunting and fishing. How
he met his untimely demise was always considered a mystery, and stories of it
were told for many years among family and friends..
Grandson Fred Bateson successfully developed many lots of the family's ancient beachfront property at Buckeye Lake that today is named for the family -- "Bateson Beach."
Later in life, Rebecca lived with her widowed son Samuel at his home at Bateson Beach. Seen at right, she is seen above in front of the sizable house, wearing a dark top, standing between friend Mildred Parian (left) and great-granddaughter Bertha (Bateson) Bugh (right), with son Sam seated. Click here to see an enlarged view of this image.
In
the photo at left, Rebecca is seated in profile, with granddaughters Bertha
Bugh, left, and Stella (Shell) Bateson, right, and two family horses in
front of a trellis of vines.
Rebecca's daughter Nancy Warner told an Illinois journalist in 1933 that living to be quite old is a characteristic of Rebecca's side of the family:
My mother lacked a few days of reaching the century mark, and I well remember her last days. We all wanted to see her reach the century mark and all prayed for that but she was taken away just two days before she was 100 years old. My grandfather, however, lived to be 104 and nearly all of the family on my mother's side lived longer than the average span of life.
Rebecca actually lived to be 99½. Many times before her death, said her newspaper obituary, "she expressed her readiness to leave this world and meet her savior." She died on September 18, 1914 and is buried in an unmarked grave at the Union Baptist cemetery near Thornville. Hymns sung at her funeral included "Asleep in Jesus," "Some Sweet Day" and "It Is Well with My Soul."
Researcher Eugene Podraza at the defaced cemetery entrance in 1994
Rebecca's grave is not marked. Minerd-Minard-Miner-Minor genealogist Eugene Podraza and the founder of this website visited the cemetery while on a research trip in August 1994.
The fates of Rebecca's husband -- and daughters Sarah and Margaret -- are not known.
Copyright © 2000, 2006-2007 Mark A. Miner