Period: 1765-1842

 1) James Oates (1757-1815) and Mary Ann (Wyatt) Oates lived here [ZOOM IN]
 3) Jethro E. Oates' (1758-1823) land
 2) Piney Grove Freewill Baptist Church (estab. 1844)  [ZOOM IN]
 4) John Oates' (1775-1826) home 
 5) Old Oates Cemetery (unmarked graves)
 
First cousins,  Jethro E.  Oates (1758-1823)  and James Oates (1757-1815) were only one year different in age.  Their fathers, Jethro and James were brothers. No doubt, Jethro E and James, as children,  played and fished together along the banks of Young Swamp (see note below). 

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Depicts the locations where James Oates and Mary Ann (Wyatt) Oates lived in Sampson Co. From this marriage descended the Stephen Oates and Elizabeth (Shipp) Oates family, among others.

In 1834, James' grandson, James Seavy Oates (1809-1863), son of Stephen and Elizabeth Shipp Oates,  would marry his third cousin Mary Maria Oates (1815-1885), daughter of Jesse Oates and grand-daughter of Jethro E. Oates. In 1842, James Seavy and and wife, Mary would leave Sampson County to settle in Alabama.  

In 1842, Elizabeth Shipp and her children began their pioneer journey to settle in Henry County, Alabama.  At that time, the local church was the Piney Grove Free Will Baptist Church, which was organized probably before 1823.  In 1841, church minutes show a membership of 118.    It is assumed that Elizabeth Shipp (widow of Stephen Oates) and her children attended the FWB Church around 1840, near their home in the Hoe Swamp area of Sampson County. 

In 1844, the church changed to Missionary baptist.  A new church building was built in 1856.  Today, a new church, Piney Grove Baptist Church serves the community where Stephen and Elizabeth lived. The church cemetery is adjacent to the church.  Shipp Road is nearby. It is not known if this is where Elizabeth Shipp was reared. 

Note: As late as the 1950s, "Redfins", as they were locally called, were still plentiful in Young Swamp. It was there that I learned from my cousin, Ralph "Butch" Coley, also a gggg-grandson of Jethro Oates, how to sit patiently with a cane fishing pole and wait for the "Redfins" as they meandered south through the clear  waters of Young Swamp.  One can only wonder if Jethro E. and James experienced that same feeling, as children.  webmaster.