Hon. Bethel Bates, son of Timothy Bates, is one of the oldest native residents of Noble County. He was born March 12, 1809, on the same section of land where he still resides, and was brought up in the then thinly settled country after the manner of children of the early settlers, wearing buckskin breeches, his feet covered by moccasins in winter and bare in summer. In his early life he assisted his father upon the farm and in the distillery. Since becoming of age he has followed farming and dealing in stock, and has been very successful in his various undertakings. In 1831 he married Mary Ann Meighen, daughter of John Meighen, an early settler who came from Fayette County, Pa. and lived and died in Seneca Township. They have reared twelve children: Abraham, Hugh, Rebecca, Harriet, Simeon, Lewis, Patrick, Herman, Rosaline, Luana, Susannah and Bethel. All are living except Lewis, who was killed by a boiler explosion in a sawmill at Sarahsville in the spring of 1886. Four of the sons were in the service in the late war - Abraham, Lewis, Patrick and Herman. The descendants of Mr. and Mrs. Bates are very numerous. THey have 111 grand and great-grandchildren. Mr. Bates is well and favorably known throughout the county. He served as township treasurer and member of the school board for many years. He was elected to the legislature in the fall of 1870 and served two winters. He was formerly a Whig and is now an earnest Republican.

When Bethel Bates was a boy he went with his father, his uncle Ephraim and Benjamin Farley, who had discovered some bears in a hollow tree and wished to secure them. Bethel was assigned to the duty of holding a big dog by a strap while the others cut down the tree. The dog was very anxious to get away and when the tree fell the boy let him go. As soon as the tree fell a bear jumped out; the dog attacked it, but the bear soon put an end to his annoyance, striking him a vigorous blow with his paw and knocking him over into a hollow. Ephraim Bates then shot the bear. By the time he he had his gun reloaded another bear crawled out of the trunk of the tree and he also shot it. This took place near Mr. Bates' present home.

The earliest school in the Bates neighborhood was on the creek north of the present residence of Bethel Bates. James Tuttle was an early teacher there.

Timothy Bates' mill and distillery were visited by the early settlers for many miles around. The mill was in operation as early as 1815. People cam twenty and thirty miles to get whiskey from the distillery. The method of hauling it was to harness a horse between two poles, or "skids", one end of which rested on the ground. The barrel of whiskey was then rolled upon the poles, and held in place by wooden pins placed in auger-holes bored through the poles. The improvised vehicle was degnified by the name of cars.

To show the difference between then and now - in 1830, 160 acres of land belonging to Timothy Bates had an assessed valuation of $291. In 1886, 305 acres belonging to Bethel Bates in the same section were valued at $6,260; and thirty six aces in an adjoining section of Marion Township, with the same owner, were valued at $1,020.

Source: History of Noble County, 1887 pg 467-468