Erastus Newton Bates [SEP] occupation
Erastus Newton Bates
Erastus Newton Bates (February 29, 1828 – May 29, 1898) was an American politician and general from Massachusetts. A graduate of Williams College, Bates was an early settler of Minnesota and participated in its first constitutional convention and state senate. He then moved to Illinois, where he served with the Civil War. A longtime prisoner of war, Bates was commissioned a brevet brigadier general. Upon his return from the war, he served in the Illinois House of Representatives and as Illinois Treasurer.
Biography.
Erastus Newton Bates was born in Plainfield, Massachusetts, on February 29, 1828. When he was eight, his family moved to Ohio. After his father died, Bates lived with an uncle, teaching and working to raise money for college. He was accepted to Williams College in Massachusetts, where he graduated in 1853. He first studied law in New York City, New York, but soon moved to Minnesota. There, he was a member of the Minnesota Constitutional Convention of 1856. He was elected