Gater

The family name of Gater is fairly unusual taking the UK as a whole and often gets misspelt!  Americans tend to spell it "Gator" like the beast with jaws.  The young daughter of an American friend once announced  "Mr Alligator has arrived".

Although I live in Hampshire we are not related to the Southampton Gaters evidenced by Gaters Mill and Gaters Hill.

My branch of the family originates in the Stoke on Trent area of England where the name is relatively common.  My ancestors are known to have worked in the local pottery, coal and steel industries but I know nothing of how they came to be there.  From the 1901and 1881 census entry for my Great Grandfather, father Harold's Birth certificate and personal knowledge:

Below is some correspondence on the Gater name. You will see one theory that we were originally gate keepers on toll-roads. 

 I no longer post an email address to avoid spam.  I am thinking suitable methods of concealment.  My telephone number is on the home page.

 Home

Responses So Far:

From  Mark Gater

.[I have just checked Robert's email.  He did not supply a return email or any other contact details.  I will include your message on my website in the hope that he sees it.]

From Jim Gater

"My name is James Earl Gater, and I live in California. I corresponded with a gent with the same name as mine, and he is also from the UK. He did some searching and thinks his ancestors were Celtic and around 1000AD were employed as operators of toll booths along the roads at that early time. They were also known as Gatekeepers. As many folks of the time adopted their names from their work, Gatekeeper was shortened to Gater. It's the best we have come up with. Gater is an extremely rare name in the US."

From Rob Gater

"I logged in yesterday for the first time and did a search for "Gater" not expecting to find much.  So imagine my surprise when I found your home-page. Regarding our shared surname my father was born in Lanbradach, Glamorgan. His family had lived in the region for generations and wed always presumed the name was Welsh.  I was born and bred in Liverpool and only came across two other Gaters in the local phone book.  Regards Rob Gater"

[Rob I have never heard of a Welsh connection.  Curiously I was born and bred in Liverpool.  However there is no family connection other than my parents moving there from Stoke on Trent in 1944 - I missed your E-Mail address please contact me again Philip Gater]

From Ian Gater

"I was interested to read about our family name, my dad originates from Leigh in Lancashire, I now live in Manchester, dont know anymore about where my dads parents were from, my dad died when I was quite young. Great web site! Regards"

[Ian My family roots are from stoke-on-trent. I still have an aunt, cousins and second cousins there. My father died in 1957 and I am his only issue. He had 2 brothers Alfred and Leonard but only the latter had issue.Philip Gater]

From Steve Gater: "just looked up our family name and came across your web page.It was interesting to find you,as I have been looking for other Gaters before.Only last week I had our coat of arms printed up on a computer.I have tried to search before with very little luck.I did know about the name coming from Gate/ gatehouse.My dad came from London, where I was born. His name was John richard,born1924.He served in the RAF and later we moved on to Peterborough.I have a brother David John and a sister Lesley anne.My dad had a brother George.Most of my family lived in Wilsden Green,North east London.After leaving the RAF my dad worked for Marconies in London.My middle name is the same as your first only spelt with two Ls.I am currently serving with the Royal Signals in Germany I am married with three children hope to hear from you very soon today if possible as I am going away tomorrow with the army."

[Steve Many thanks I am receiving more responses and I will post them. My family roots are from stoke-on-trent. I still have an aunt, cousins and second cousins there. My father died in 1957 and I am his only issue. He had 2 brothers but only one had issue. Philip Gater]

From Kevin Short

Dear Philip and family, I'm a bit like your other correspondents in that I have been basically 'playing' with the internet and was somewhat surprised to find a "Gater"website.Although not directly a Gater myself, my mother was - let me tell you the story:
My Great Grandfather, John Gater (1858-1938) immigrated to Australia (New South Wales) as a relatively young man in about 1880 and yes, you guessed it, he came from "The Willows",Jamage Road, Talk Pitts, Stoke-on-Trent. He was the son of Enoch Gater (1832-1915) who was the under manager of Jamage Colliery which I understand was part of the Bignall Hill complex. To my knowledge, Enoch had 4 sons, Daniel born 7/11/1855, John born 10/5/1858,\par Joseph born 25/7/1860 and Frederick born 19/3/1863. John was the only Australian immigrant. Apparently both Daniel and Frederick worked at the same pit as their father. Daniel is mentioned in a report of the 1911disaster in which half a dozen miners died. Back to my Great Grandfather - John married Elizabeth Brindley at Berrima NSW in 1882. Her family came from Newcastle-under -Lyme, as I understand par it, just around the corner. Her sister Martha married a Charles Cork who I understand lived in the same street. Both families resided initially in an isolated valley in the Southern Highlands of NSW called Joadja (now a ghost town). It was a kerosene shale mine. Presumably they had some expertise in the mining industry. Just before the turn of the century, both families (the Corks and the Gaters) moved to a plateau on the escarpment of the Great Dividing range in northern NSW called Dorrigo. If you look on a map of NSW it is about 40 miles (as the crow flies) west of Coffs Harbour. According to my Uncle Bob, Dorrigo was what God had in mind when he created the Garden of Eden. To say its a pretty place is an understatement.Obviously, I could go on with this for a while - suffice it to say Gater is not a common name in Australia. In fact, electoral rolls carry only around 50 Gaters Australia wide. About 10 are directly related to me. Unfortunately, even though John Gater had 5 sons, he had only 3 grandsons and no greatgrandsons. The Gater name therefore disappears in our family tree with the passing of Mum's two brothers, Bob and Terry. My Grand father, John Leslie Gater (1888-1947) spent some time with English relatives whilst convalescing after being wounded a couple of times during the Great War. Unfortunately, our family is unaware if we still have English relatives. Consequently, I would very much appreciate your cooperation - I would be 'tickled pink' if I could 'discover' English Gaters who might be relatives!!!

If you can help, I'd love to hear from you

Regards

[Thank you for a fascinating description of your family history. I am not aware of any link between your great grandfathers brothers and my family but I am a little vauge on that history as my father and his brothers and sisters died quite young before I developed an interest in the subject. I will contact my two cousins, Alan and Stuart, who still live in Stoke-on-Trent, to see if it strkes a chord with them. If I discover anything I will let you know. My grandfather Henshall Gater served in the 1914/18 war par and my father Harold Gater was born in 1913 - Philip Gater].

From Steven Tipping

Mr Gater,   My name is Steve Tipping and I am trying to trace my Gran's (Joan Weatherall nee Gater) family tree and hope that you may be able to help.    She is the youngest of 6 children born in 1936 (she was a teenage bride) to William and Ada Gater who both worked in the pottery industry in Stoke on Trent before their marriage.  Her sisters are no longer with us - Anne, Ada (emmigrated to Montana USA with a WW2 GI and later married a state politician), Jean and Lilley (emigrated to New Zealand) - but her brother William still lives in their childhood home just outside Hanley town centre.  Her father was the son of a well respected foreman (also named William I believe) but was a sickly unattractive man from what I have seen.  Certainly not the strapping Sergeant Major type like his father - and it seems that his fathers status in the 'potbank' held some weight in his choice of bride who was stunningly beautiful.   As you have probably gathered my search is in its infancy and any help that you can give would be aprreciated.   Regards   Steve Tipping

From Penny Oliver

Dear Philip, I was most interested to come upon your 'Gater' site - like most of your correspondents I have been trawling the net trying to get information on the Gaters. Unfortunately my particular Gaters come from the Hampshire area - tracing back to approximately the 1600's to the Bishopstoke, Botley and South Stoneham areas. My grandfather was a Herbert Gater son of John living in the Black House \par South Stoneham. So if there is anyone out there with the same interest in the Hampshire line I would be very pleased to hear from them. Thank you for giving me this opportunity to advertise my quest - I am very green at the game and so am appreciative of any help.In the meantime good luck to all those in search of their 'Gater' ancestors.Yours Penny Oliver Please reply to PennyOliver5@aol.com

[Thank you kindly for your most interesting note. I will include it on my website. Do your branch of Gaters have any connection with "Gater's Hill" near Swaythling?]

Dear Philip, Thank you for your e-mail.  We were rivetted to hear about Gater's Hill and feel it must have  something to do with our Gaters because of its proximity to South Stoneham where a lot of our records originate.  Thank you very much

From: David Gater

Hello Philip my name is David Gater I was just browsing the net and came across your web-site I am also interested in our family name. Philip I live in Australia and was born here in 1964 but my two sisters and three brothers were all born around the Burslem area just near Stoke-on Trent. My fathers name was Reginald Eli Gater he had a sister Kathy, and a half brother Joeseph who also moved to Australia. Idid live in the UK for about three years in the late seventies at Tunstall it would be interesting to see if  we are related in some way. Regards Dave Gater Email adress dgater@pwm.com.au     

[Hi there David.  I suspect that we could be related some generations back. I will include your note on the web site. I am hoping that we will get enough contacts to draw it all together. Might take a few years.]

From Betty

As granddaughter of John Gater (Stoke-on-Trent, Johnson Bros. Pottery, B: about 1865, UK-D:1915, USA) and great granddaughter of Joseph Gater (Burslem, Hammil and Bycars Colliery; B: about 1826l D: Nov. 28, 1869; buried in St.Pauls), I am seeking further information regarding the Gaters of that area. Especially, who was the father or mother of Joseph Gater?. I would appreciate hearing from anyone familiar with related information. Betty

[Thanks for your note. I have no further information but I will add it to my website.  Have you tried the 1901 census?]

Thanks, Philip, for your assistance. 'Haven't tried the 1901 census. Wolstanton may also fit into the picture. The latest census I have found

is the 1881 census. The 1881 census shows a John W. Gater, age 17, (the right age), a potters cup maker, living with his sister and brother-in-law on Flint Terrace in Wolstanton. The brother-in-law's name was John Colclough. John's other sisters lived there, too. Although John W. Gater worked in the pottery, he was also a musician, a pianist, who played in the pubs. He came to the U.S. in 1903 with his sons. The ship's manifest shows John's residence in 1903 as Wolstanton, England. His wife Rachel and other children followed a year later. Betty

[Thanks for your further reply Burslum and Woolstanton are within a couple of miles of each other.  It is likely people migrated from one to the other. My Grandfather Henshall was born in Burslum. Two uncles and two aunts remained within the Stoke on Trent area all their lives.
1901 census: ]

Philip, thanks so much for putting me in touch with the 1901 Census site.

It looks like my Grandfather John William Gater was born in Burslem in the Civil parish of Wolstanton. My Uncle Joe--the oldest son--was born there, too. My mother appears to have been born in Wolstanton. I will have to sort out the information regarding their other brothers and sisters when I can get into the details. As you say, Burslem and Wolstanton are very close.

I wonder how there came to be so many Gaters in the area. Where did they come from? Was there a common root? I would be very interested to know. I am sorry that I didn't have this information when I visited Stoke-on-Trent in 1988 for a short time as part of our driving tour of England, Scotland and Ireland. Driving on the left was quite an experience. Many thanks, Betty

From Paul Gater

HI Phillip My name is Paul Gater, I am the son of Phillip who is the son of the late Hebert and Gwen Gater (nee Fish) My grandfather Herbert came from a large family (I think its twelve ?) and I think they originated from stoke-on trent I was born in Sheffield, my family lived in Dinnington near Rotherham and the family still do , are we related have you any news on this part of the family, I was just interested to know   Keep in touch Best Wishes.  Paul Gater