Frances Bates Wells

Frances Bates Wells, age 94, died peacefully in her Plano home April 6, 2015, with loving family and devoted caregivers nearby. Mrs. Wells was born in Muskogee, Oklahoma, December 1, 1920, while her father was stationed at Fort Sill. She was the daughter of Colonel Charles Francis Bates and Mary George White Bates. She was the granddaughter of George White, who came to North Texas in 1847 as a surveyor and Peters Colonist, and Margaret Ferguson whose family settled in Collin County in 1859.

Frances grew up in the village of Bronxville, Westchester County, New York. In 1942 she graduated from Wellesley College.

On May 6, 1949, Frances Bates married John Dickerson Wells of Plano, Texas. He preceded her in death on September 29, 1992. Mr. Wells was a Collin County farming leader and a pioneer in soil conservation.

When Frances moved to Texas she was keenly aware she was witnessing a way of life that was rapidly disappearing. Her position as a newcomer with deep roots in Collin County gave her a unique perspective. She worked hard to carefully document all the information she gathered for her various historical research projects. Through meticulous historical research she identified new primary sources.

In the early 1970s Frances began working on a history of Plano, which eventually became Plano, Texas: The Early Years. She wrote or contributed to eight of the twenty-one chapters in the book, including “The Farmer’s Song,” her first chapter for the book.

Collin County Historical Research Projects:

• Researched source material for eleven Texas State Historical Markers.

• Secured copies of G. P. Brown Papers and the Wilson Papers. Both of these extensive collections were considered to be

the basic sources for

early Collin County history, but neither had been available in the county itself. Both are now available at W. O. Haggard

Library in Plano.

• Encouraged and made possible the material for Eddie “Sarge” Stimpson’s book My Remembers, a collection of tales

about an African American boy’s life on a Plano farm during the Depression years. This is thought to be the only book of

its kind in Texas.

• Researched, edited and acquired a picture collection for Plano, Texas: The Early Years.

• Acquired and donated an extensive photograph collection of historical interest to the Plano Public Library.

• Collected and donated various miscellaneous papers, letters, and maps of historical interest to the Plano Public Library.

• Collected and donated various miscellaneous papers, letters, and maps of historical interest to the Plano Public Library.

Mrs. Wells is survived by four daughters, Marianne Wells of Plano, Katherine Power of Dallas, Nancy Warder and her husband Marshall of Grand Prairie, and Sarah Macias and her husband Rodney of Austin, grandchildren Erin Davis and her husband Brian of Waco, Jessica Meehan and her husband Connor of Richardson, Kathryn Ketchersid and her husband Kellen of Lubbock, Mathew Sams of Columbus, Ohio, Mary Katherine Macias of San Marcos, Jane Macias of Ft. Worth, John Warder of Los Angeles and Kathleen Sams of Plano. She is also survived by great-grandchildren Jenna, Luke and Garrett Davis, Blake Ketchersid, and numerous nieces and nephews.

Her family extends special thanks and gratitude to her loving caregivers, Clara Davis and Margaret Ngama. The family is also deeply grateful to her dear friends and the staff of the Silverado memory care community in Plano, who became her second family as a result of her daily visits over the course of six years.

A funeral in loving memory of her life will be held at 1:30 pm on April 11, 2015 at Frankford Church, 17400 Muirfield Drive, Dallas, TX 75287 followed by a graveside service at Frankford Cemetery, adjoining the church. The family will receive friends during a visitation on Friday, April 10, 2015 at Ted Dickey West in Plano from 5:00 pm to 7:00 pm. Contributions in her memory may be made to the Plano Public Library System for the Genealogy Memorial Fund.

In 2012 Frances Wells received the Living Legacy of Collin County Award. The program for the award noted the following:

Frances Bates Wells is truly a Collin County history Living Legend. Whenever a history question arises concerning southwestern Collin, Frances is the person people go to her for the answer. Frances married John Wells where they lived on their farm on

what would become Coit Road, near Legacy Drive. After raising her children, she dedicated herself to recording and documenting that early way of life and the history of Collin County When the Friends of Plano Public Library compiled the book Plano,Texas: The Early Years, Frances was on the book committee. She wrote four chapters in the book, including farming and early pioneer life and contributed to four more chapters, about education and the Civil War. Also she contributed several photos Frances was a member of the Collin County Historical Commission for sixteen years.During that time she wrote applications for eleven state historical markers which were awarded for the southwestern Collin County area. Perhaps her most important research was for her first historical maker, the Muncey Massacre in Plano. Her research for the historical makers for the Frankford Cemetery and Frankford Church led her to research for a marker for the Shawnee Tail. The dedication ceremony for Shawnee Trail marker took place in part of Frisco and was part of a four-day wagon train reenactment down Preston Road from the Red River to the State Fair in Dallas. Frances did research for the markers for the oldest Baptist churches in Collin County- Rowlett Creek Baptist Church and the Liberty Baptist Church. Also she did a marker application for the Presbyterian Church of Plano.Frances was interested in the history of the black community in the county. She wrote the historical marker application for Shiloh Baptist Church in Plano. It was while she was interviewing Eddie Stimpson Jr. “Sarge” about the lives of black sharecroppers in Colin County that she realized how unique his speech patterns were and how interesting his story was. She encouraged and helped Sarge with writing and publishing of his book, My Remembers. Frances obtained copies of the George P. Brown papers and the Walter B. Wilson collection for the Plano library system. The George P. Brown papers contain Collin County historic interviews. The Walter B. Wilson collection contains eighty-seven scrapbook and eight diaries on Collin County history. Both collections are in the state library in Austin and neither was available in Collin County. Copies of both collections are now in the Texana section of the W. O. Haggard Jr. Library in Plano. Frances has amassed a large collection of historical photos of southwestern Collin County. The collection contains photos of early Plano businesses, area houses and

people. Some of the pictures include the George House in Plano before it was moved to Old City Park in Dallas and the Renner Baptist Church before it was moved to the Farmers Branch Historical Park. The Frances Wells photo collection contains one

hundred sixty seven historic photos and has been donated to the archive section of the W.O. Haggard, Jr. Library in Plano, along with her research papers and numerous historic papers, letters and maps of local interest. Frances has always been eager to discuss and share the history of Collin County. A visit to her house on Coit Road would include a lively discussion of county history and

was usually followed by invitation to play ping pong in her garage.

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