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Many archives
give the
impression that
none of Cate's
children lived
long enough to
have children
of their own.
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As I detail in one of my Blog entries entitled
“My Motives & Motivations for Writing The Bell
Witch Unveiled Book,” the archives all indicate
that she only had two sons and one daughter,
none of whom lived to have children of their
own. It turns out that those three were actually
her nephews and niece by an In-Law. On my
second research trip to Adams, Tennessee, I
personally met three of her direct
descendants. The wife of a 4th direct
descendant never admitted her connection;
however, she was the one who hooked me up
with one of those three who introduced me to
the other two. I found out that Cate Batts
actually had five daughters and one son who
lived into their majority. Think about it. If your
mother was accused of witchcraft back in the
early 1800s, what chance did you have to
make a good marriage or any kind of
marriage at all? Her oldest daughter, Rebecca
Batts, was the 2nd wife of Solomon James. She
married before all this business of the false
accusations and superstition got started. She
either had 12 or 13 children by Solomon. It was
difficult to know for certain the exact number
as all three of his wives had the first name of
Rebecca. Cate’s youngest daughter, Nancy
Batts, never married nor had children. Cate’s
other three daughters, Mary, Sarah, and
Rhoda, had several out-of-wedlock children
between them. Eventually, Sarah married a
man 39 years her senior. Mary and Rhoda
never wed at all. Cate’s son, John, moved to
Illinois when he became an adult,
disassociating himself totally from the entire
dramatic, traumatic situation.
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