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sumably to talk over the bride’s outfit, the wedding dinner and the furnishings of the cabin into which she had fared.
Mr. and Mrs. Bates came to the new settlement, February 22, 1822. On the day of their arrival Mr. Bates as first sheriff of Marion County, appointed by Governor Jennings, issued a proclamation for the first election ever held in the New Purchase.
The office of sheriff was the only political office Mr. Bates ever filled although his friends frequently besought him to accept various public offices, he devoted himself to mercantile pursuits; all the important enterprises of the town were aided by his energy and ability. Among these undertakings the Bates House (northwest corner of Washington and Illinois streets), built in 1852, had more than local fame; it was known as one of the most complete and elegant hostelries in the West.
Housing as it did for many years, the distinguished men who came to the city it no doubt considered Lincoln, the first president elect to visit Indianapolis, its most distinguished guest, and his speech from the Washington street balcony the greatest event in its history.
Much excitement, it is recorded, preceded and attended the first election for which Sheriff Bates issued the proclamation.
There were at this time no political parties, no conventions, no caucuses, and the occasion resolved itself into a free fight for all comers. The combatants, it has been reported, were ranged under the titles of Whitewater and Kentucky. The emigration from these two sections was simultaneous and each wished to control the result. It was a state rather than a local contest ; the interest centered in the office of clerk, considered the most important in the county.
James M. Ray, Whitewater’s successful candidate, came to Indianapolis in the fall of ’21.
