Granddaughter of Edward Hastings Ripley Brigadier General 1839–1915
BIRTH 11 NOV 1839 • Center Rutland, Rutland, Vt.
DEATH 14 SEP 1915 • Mendon, VT
Daughter of
Amelie Sybil Van Doren Ripley 1882–1963 (mother)
BIRTH 10 MAY 1882 • New York
DEATH 27 SEP 1963 • Los Angeles, California --Burial Unknown
Raphael Welles Pumpelly 1881–1949 (father)
BIRTH 23 MAY 1881 • Rhode Island
DEATH 16 OCTOBER 1949
Divorced 1942
Daughters
Joan Pumpelly Bates 1936–1971
BIRTH 24 MAY 1936 • New York
DEATH 26 JUN 1971 • Buga, Valle del Cauca, Colombia-
Bess Irmgard Bates
1949–1999 Fayston, Vermont
Amelie Welles Pumpelly was born on May 10, 1910 in New York City. The
oldest child of Raphael Welles Pumpelly and Amelie Sybil Huntington Ripley, she led a charmed young life until the separation and divorce trial of her parents in 1925.
Amelie's parents lived extravagantly and by 1918 managed to get themselves into hot water financially. Amelie's mother reportedly donated a fair amount of money to The Christian Scientist Church. Raphael invested heavily on Samarkand, their spectacular farm in North Carolina.
Raphael and his sister Margaret were members of the Baha'i faith.
Raphael was given custody of his three children after difficult divorce proceedings. Raphael was penniless after the divorce trial and led the children to their next stop. In 1925, he moved "into a cave he and Page (his former business partner) constructed 20 years earlier on Mount Monadnock in New Hampshire. They survived by gathering fruits and nuts and trapping small game." Within a year, Raphael rebuilt his family's fortunes by taking a job as a stockbroker in New York City.
Amelie Pumpelly's met John Henry Bates in Harlem in the 1930's when he was working nights as a bouncer at a Harlem bar and boxing professionally during the day. Bates, African-American, was the son of Addison Bates, a porter, and Grace Brown. John's father died in 1919 when the seven children were still young. The Bates Family had been enslaved in Dinwiddie, Virginia. John's brother, Addison, Jr. "Ad" was a noted carpenter of beautiful furniture, dancer, choreographer, artist, gallerist, CPUSA-led union activist and key player in the Harlem Renaissance.
John boxed in the late 1920s and early 1930s under the name "Brooklyn Johnny Bates." According to daughter Grace Ann Bates, "My father became a carpenter because his boxing career ended after he was in a car accident and had to have his jaw wired. He with his brothers Ad and Leonard had a very successful business in furniture and cabinet design using fine woods."
At the time the two married, marriage of mixed-races was illegal in many states. The Baha'i believe in the "oneness of the human race." They were married in Manhattan on August 1, 1935.
Grace Ann Bates said, "...mother did graphic designs for posters for the labor union. She was an artist-painter. It was at the end of the Harlem Renaissance that they met so many African American artist and writers were their friends."
In New York City, Amelie and John counted among their friends the author Ralph Ellison. Additionally, Amelie's family had purchased a farm in the mountains of Fayston (Waitsfield), Vermont. It was during a stay at the farm when Ellison was inspired with the thought, "I am an invisible man" and began writing the first draft of what would be his best-selling novel.
Regardless of their political affiliation, Amelie and John continued practicing their faith, first in Haiti, where they attempted to build fellowship and then, in the late 1940s, to Mexico City, Mexico. According to the Baha'i newsletters, it seems the pair worked well together on their mission and in life. In 1951, while living in Mexico City with her four daughters, Amelie died of a coronary thrombosis at the age of 41. She was buried in Panteon Jardin de Mexico Cemetery. Along with John, four daughters survived her- Joan, Diana, Grace and Bess.
John lived in Harlem until his death in 1975. He continued his friendship with Ralph Ellison, who at last had published his classic piece of literature, Invisible Man, and won a US National Book Award for Fiction. In the August 25, 1952 issue of Life Magazine, John Bates was the model for the Gordon Parks photo essay on the Invisible Man (pp 9-11). John died in 1975 in New York. Burial is unknown at this time.
(Naomi Snyder contributor) Thank you to Amelie and John Henry Bates' daughter, Grace Ann Bates Miller, for clarification.
BIRTH 11 NOV 1839 • Center Rutland, Rutland, Vt.
DEATH 14 SEP 1915 • Mendon, VT
Daughter of
Amelie Sybil Van Doren Ripley 1882–1963 (mother)
BIRTH 10 MAY 1882 • New York
DEATH 27 SEP 1963 • Los Angeles, California --Burial Unknown
Raphael Welles Pumpelly 1881–1949 (father)
BIRTH 23 MAY 1881 • Rhode Island
DEATH 16 OCTOBER 1949
Divorced 1942
Daughters
Joan Pumpelly Bates 1936–1971
BIRTH 24 MAY 1936 • New York
DEATH 26 JUN 1971 • Buga, Valle del Cauca, Colombia-
Bess Irmgard Bates
1949–1999 Fayston, Vermont
Amelie Welles Pumpelly was born on May 10, 1910 in New York City. The
oldest child of Raphael Welles Pumpelly and Amelie Sybil Huntington Ripley, she led a charmed young life until the separation and divorce trial of her parents in 1925.
Amelie's parents lived extravagantly and by 1918 managed to get themselves into hot water financially. Amelie's mother reportedly donated a fair amount of money to The Christian Scientist Church. Raphael invested heavily on Samarkand, their spectacular farm in North Carolina.
Raphael and his sister Margaret were members of the Baha'i faith.
Raphael was given custody of his three children after difficult divorce proceedings. Raphael was penniless after the divorce trial and led the children to their next stop. In 1925, he moved "into a cave he and Page (his former business partner) constructed 20 years earlier on Mount Monadnock in New Hampshire. They survived by gathering fruits and nuts and trapping small game." Within a year, Raphael rebuilt his family's fortunes by taking a job as a stockbroker in New York City.
Amelie Pumpelly's met John Henry Bates in Harlem in the 1930's when he was working nights as a bouncer at a Harlem bar and boxing professionally during the day. Bates, African-American, was the son of Addison Bates, a porter, and Grace Brown. John's father died in 1919 when the seven children were still young. The Bates Family had been enslaved in Dinwiddie, Virginia. John's brother, Addison, Jr. "Ad" was a noted carpenter of beautiful furniture, dancer, choreographer, artist, gallerist, CPUSA-led union activist and key player in the Harlem Renaissance.
John boxed in the late 1920s and early 1930s under the name "Brooklyn Johnny Bates." According to daughter Grace Ann Bates, "My father became a carpenter because his boxing career ended after he was in a car accident and had to have his jaw wired. He with his brothers Ad and Leonard had a very successful business in furniture and cabinet design using fine woods."
At the time the two married, marriage of mixed-races was illegal in many states. The Baha'i believe in the "oneness of the human race." They were married in Manhattan on August 1, 1935.
Grace Ann Bates said, "...mother did graphic designs for posters for the labor union. She was an artist-painter. It was at the end of the Harlem Renaissance that they met so many African American artist and writers were their friends."
In New York City, Amelie and John counted among their friends the author Ralph Ellison. Additionally, Amelie's family had purchased a farm in the mountains of Fayston (Waitsfield), Vermont. It was during a stay at the farm when Ellison was inspired with the thought, "I am an invisible man" and began writing the first draft of what would be his best-selling novel.
Regardless of their political affiliation, Amelie and John continued practicing their faith, first in Haiti, where they attempted to build fellowship and then, in the late 1940s, to Mexico City, Mexico. According to the Baha'i newsletters, it seems the pair worked well together on their mission and in life. In 1951, while living in Mexico City with her four daughters, Amelie died of a coronary thrombosis at the age of 41. She was buried in Panteon Jardin de Mexico Cemetery. Along with John, four daughters survived her- Joan, Diana, Grace and Bess.
John lived in Harlem until his death in 1975. He continued his friendship with Ralph Ellison, who at last had published his classic piece of literature, Invisible Man, and won a US National Book Award for Fiction. In the August 25, 1952 issue of Life Magazine, John Bates was the model for the Gordon Parks photo essay on the Invisible Man (pp 9-11). John died in 1975 in New York. Burial is unknown at this time.
(Naomi Snyder contributor) Thank you to Amelie and John Henry Bates' daughter, Grace Ann Bates Miller, for clarification.
Granddaughter of Edward Hastings Ripley Brigadier General 1839–1915
BIRTH 11 NOV 1839 • Center Rutland, Rutland, Vt.
DEATH 14 SEP 1915 • Mendon, VT
Daughter of
Amelie Sybil Van Doren Ripley 1882–1963 (mother)
BIRTH 10 MAY 1882 • New York
DEATH 27 SEP 1963 • Los Angeles, California --Burial Unknown
Raphael Welles Pumpelly 1881–1949 (father)
BIRTH 23 MAY 1881 • Rhode Island
DEATH 16 OCTOBER 1949
Divorced 1942
Daughters
Joan Pumpelly Bates 1936–1971
BIRTH 24 MAY 1936 • New York
DEATH 26 JUN 1971 • Buga, Valle del Cauca, Colombia-
Bess Irmgard Bates
1949–1999 Fayston, Vermont
Amelie Welles Pumpelly was born on May 10, 1910 in New York City. The
oldest child of Raphael Welles Pumpelly and Amelie Sybil Huntington Ripley, she led a charmed young life until the separation and divorce trial of her parents in 1925.
Amelie's parents lived extravagantly and by 1918 managed to get themselves into hot water financially. Amelie's mother reportedly donated a fair amount of money to The Christian Scientist Church. Raphael invested heavily on Samarkand, their spectacular farm in North Carolina.
Raphael and his sister Margaret were members of the Baha'i faith.
Raphael was given custody of his three children after difficult divorce proceedings. Raphael was penniless after the divorce trial and led the children to their next stop. In 1925, he moved "into a cave he and Page (his former business partner) constructed 20 years earlier on Mount Monadnock in New Hampshire. They survived by gathering fruits and nuts and trapping small game." Within a year, Raphael rebuilt his family's fortunes by taking a job as a stockbroker in New York City.
Amelie Pumpelly's met John Henry Bates in Harlem in the 1930's when he was working nights as a bouncer at a Harlem bar and boxing professionally during the day. Bates, African-American, was the son of Addison Bates, a porter, and Grace Brown. John's father died in 1919 when the seven children were still young. The Bates Family had been enslaved in Dinwiddie, Virginia. John's brother, Addison, Jr. "Ad" was a noted carpenter of beautiful furniture, dancer, choreographer, artist, gallerist, CPUSA-led union activist and key player in the Harlem Renaissance.
John boxed in the late 1920s and early 1930s under the name "Brooklyn Johnny Bates." According to daughter Grace Ann Bates, "My father became a carpenter because his boxing career ended after he was in a car accident and had to have his jaw wired. He with his brothers Ad and Leonard had a very successful business in furniture and cabinet design using fine woods."
At the time the two married, marriage of mixed-races was illegal in many states. The Baha'i believe in the "oneness of the human race." They were married in Manhattan on August 1, 1935.
Grace Ann Bates said, "...mother did graphic designs for posters for the labor union. She was an artist-painter. It was at the end of the Harlem Renaissance that they met so many African American artist and writers were their friends."
In New York City, Amelie and John counted among their friends the author Ralph Ellison. Additionally, Amelie's family had purchased a farm in the mountains of Fayston (Waitsfield), Vermont. It was during a stay at the farm when Ellison was inspired with the thought, "I am an invisible man" and began writing the first draft of what would be his best-selling novel.
Regardless of their political affiliation, Amelie and John continued practicing their faith, first in Haiti, where they attempted to build fellowship and then, in the late 1940s, to Mexico City, Mexico. According to the Baha'i newsletters, it seems the pair worked well together on their mission and in life. In 1951, while living in Mexico City with her four daughters, Amelie died of a coronary thrombosis at the age of 41. She was buried in Panteon Jardin de Mexico Cemetery. Along with John, four daughters survived her- Joan, Diana, Grace and Bess.
John lived in Harlem until his death in 1975. He continued his friendship with Ralph Ellison, who at last had published his classic piece of literature, Invisible Man, and won a US National Book Award for Fiction. In the August 25, 1952 issue of Life Magazine, John Bates was the model for the Gordon Parks photo essay on the Invisible Man (pp 9-11). John died in 1975 in New York. Burial is unknown at this time.
(Naomi Snyder contributor) Thank you to Amelie and John Henry Bates' daughter, Grace Ann Bates Miller, for clarification.
BIRTH 11 NOV 1839 • Center Rutland, Rutland, Vt.
DEATH 14 SEP 1915 • Mendon, VT
Daughter of
Amelie Sybil Van Doren Ripley 1882–1963 (mother)
BIRTH 10 MAY 1882 • New York
DEATH 27 SEP 1963 • Los Angeles, California --Burial Unknown
Raphael Welles Pumpelly 1881–1949 (father)
BIRTH 23 MAY 1881 • Rhode Island
DEATH 16 OCTOBER 1949
Divorced 1942
Daughters
Joan Pumpelly Bates 1936–1971
BIRTH 24 MAY 1936 • New York
DEATH 26 JUN 1971 • Buga, Valle del Cauca, Colombia-
Bess Irmgard Bates
1949–1999 Fayston, Vermont
Amelie Welles Pumpelly was born on May 10, 1910 in New York City. The
oldest child of Raphael Welles Pumpelly and Amelie Sybil Huntington Ripley, she led a charmed young life until the separation and divorce trial of her parents in 1925.
Amelie's parents lived extravagantly and by 1918 managed to get themselves into hot water financially. Amelie's mother reportedly donated a fair amount of money to The Christian Scientist Church. Raphael invested heavily on Samarkand, their spectacular farm in North Carolina.
Raphael and his sister Margaret were members of the Baha'i faith.
Raphael was given custody of his three children after difficult divorce proceedings. Raphael was penniless after the divorce trial and led the children to their next stop. In 1925, he moved "into a cave he and Page (his former business partner) constructed 20 years earlier on Mount Monadnock in New Hampshire. They survived by gathering fruits and nuts and trapping small game." Within a year, Raphael rebuilt his family's fortunes by taking a job as a stockbroker in New York City.
Amelie Pumpelly's met John Henry Bates in Harlem in the 1930's when he was working nights as a bouncer at a Harlem bar and boxing professionally during the day. Bates, African-American, was the son of Addison Bates, a porter, and Grace Brown. John's father died in 1919 when the seven children were still young. The Bates Family had been enslaved in Dinwiddie, Virginia. John's brother, Addison, Jr. "Ad" was a noted carpenter of beautiful furniture, dancer, choreographer, artist, gallerist, CPUSA-led union activist and key player in the Harlem Renaissance.
John boxed in the late 1920s and early 1930s under the name "Brooklyn Johnny Bates." According to daughter Grace Ann Bates, "My father became a carpenter because his boxing career ended after he was in a car accident and had to have his jaw wired. He with his brothers Ad and Leonard had a very successful business in furniture and cabinet design using fine woods."
At the time the two married, marriage of mixed-races was illegal in many states. The Baha'i believe in the "oneness of the human race." They were married in Manhattan on August 1, 1935.
Grace Ann Bates said, "...mother did graphic designs for posters for the labor union. She was an artist-painter. It was at the end of the Harlem Renaissance that they met so many African American artist and writers were their friends."
In New York City, Amelie and John counted among their friends the author Ralph Ellison. Additionally, Amelie's family had purchased a farm in the mountains of Fayston (Waitsfield), Vermont. It was during a stay at the farm when Ellison was inspired with the thought, "I am an invisible man" and began writing the first draft of what would be his best-selling novel.
Regardless of their political affiliation, Amelie and John continued practicing their faith, first in Haiti, where they attempted to build fellowship and then, in the late 1940s, to Mexico City, Mexico. According to the Baha'i newsletters, it seems the pair worked well together on their mission and in life. In 1951, while living in Mexico City with her four daughters, Amelie died of a coronary thrombosis at the age of 41. She was buried in Panteon Jardin de Mexico Cemetery. Along with John, four daughters survived her- Joan, Diana, Grace and Bess.
John lived in Harlem until his death in 1975. He continued his friendship with Ralph Ellison, who at last had published his classic piece of literature, Invisible Man, and won a US National Book Award for Fiction. In the August 25, 1952 issue of Life Magazine, John Bates was the model for the Gordon Parks photo essay on the Invisible Man (pp 9-11). John died in 1975 in New York. Burial is unknown at this time.
(Naomi Snyder contributor) Thank you to Amelie and John Henry Bates' daughter, Grace Ann Bates Miller, for clarification.
Family Members
Sponsored by Ancestry
Advertisement
Records on Ancestry
Advertisement
