Christopher George Cates

George married Linda Faye Sears. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Notes:

[Broderbund WFT Vol. 7, Ed. 1, Tree #3244]

Roy is buried at Woodlawn Memorial Park. His obituary appeared in the Durham Morning Herald/Sun on 9 Jun 1958. His death certificate listed the cause of death as "Pneumonia due to hemolytic staph aureus" and stated the onset was only three days. He died at Watts Hospital. At the time of his death he'd been living on Shaw Road in Durham. The death certificate also listed his occupation as a bridge foreman for N.C. SH & PWC. Alice's father brought Roy home to clean fish after their fishing trips. Roy and Alice were attracted to each other and wanted to date, but her Dad thought they were too young. Roy was stationed in Va. (working on bridges) and would ride a train to Oxford, spend Sunday at her house, and then ride the train back to Va. to be at work for Monday morning.

Roy would write her exciting letters and her sister, Elizabeth, would get hold of them and wait until company came...then start reading the letters out loud!

Roy and Alice decided to run off to Halifax County, VA to get married at the courthouse by a Justice of the Peace. (She had to have her Mom's written consent because she was only 14 years old.) Wm. Henry Wilson loved Roy like a son, but thought Alice was too young to get married.

Alice said she was so nervous and excited when they got married she exclaimed, "I do! I do!" - even as her knees where knocking! Roy's daughter, Phyllis, remembers his great sense of humor. He once got up on the roof and pretended to be Santa Claus! She said he chased them in the yard and "washed" their faces with watermelon rind - just to be funny! He was a great teaser.

Phyllis recalled his jet black hair and piercing blue eyes. Once when he put on a suit to go to a funeral, she was startled to notice how handsome he was!

Phyllis recalled hog killing day - that is was "interesting". Roy loved to fish and he would go with his father-in-law, who he affectionately referred to as "the old man".

Roy would meet his daughters' dates with his shotgun. He commented that if the dates ran, then they were no good anyway! Phyllis remembers him cleaning the gun a lot.

When Phyllis was about in the 4th grade, she recalls her father taking her coon hunting. Phyllis remembers the respect given to parents at dinner time. The children were expected to be there on time and the parents filled their plates before the children. If there was misbehavior, the offending child was removed from the table. Roy and Alice liked country music.

Roy married Alice Morton Wilson [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Notes:

[Broderbund WFT Vol. 7, Ed. 1, Tree #3244]

Henry was a foreman for the Southern Railroad. His obituary appeared in The Raleigh News & Observer on 17 Oct 1957. It read, "William H. Wilson, Sr., 81, of Varina, died at his home early Wednesday. Funeral services will be held from the Fuquay Springs Presbyterian Church Thur. at 4 pm with the pastor Rev. Charles Parrish, officiating. Burial will be in Montlawn." The survivors were then listed. Henry bought his house in Varina when he retired. Granddaughter Phyllis recalled, "He was about 6'. He worked for the railroad. He brought Dad [Roy A. Cates] home for dinner one night - he worked for Granddad...[Roy] loved him more than any other person, other than his own family, than anyone he ever knew. They used to fish, hunt and talk for hours...Granddad later worked as a furniture salesman after retirement."

In the 1910 Census of Wake County, NC, in the Swift Creek Township, Henry is living with his first wife Artelia. They'd been married 7 years. He was a R.R. foreman at the time and was renting his home. He and Artelia could both read and write. Henry and Bettie were married by D. H. Tuttle. Henry and wife Bettie are buried at Gravesite 1 and 2, Unit C, in Block 4 of Lot 91.

William married Bettie Armistead Burwell on 14 May 1913 in Henderson, Vance County, NC. Bettie (daughter of William Spottswood Burwell and Alice Josephine Morton) was born on 7 Apr 1883 in Oxford, Granville County, NC; died on 23 Nov 1959 in Raleigh, Wake County, NC. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Notes:

[Broderbund WFT Vol. 7, Ed. 1, Tree #3244]

Bettie got asthma when her son, Henry, was just a little boy. She couldn't bake bread anymore because the flour aggravated her asthma. Her nieces used to love to come to her house because they knew they'd get "store bought" bread there!

She died at Rex Hospital and is buried at Montlawn. [Grave site 1 & 2, Unit C, Block 4, Lot 91] Her death certificate states she died of congestive heart failure.

Her daughter Alice said it took Bettie a long time to get married because Bettie's father didn't think anybody was good enough for her!