Cuthbert (Burt) D. Bates was born on June 25, 1880, in Salem, Illinois. In the 1900 U.S. Census, he was recorded as living in Marion Township, Jasper County, Missouri. He married Nellie Rogers, who was born in La Porte, Indiana, in 1913. He died at age 65 on November 26, 1945, and is buried in Pine Lake Cemetery in La Porte, Indiana.
He had a partnership with George F. Ulm, and together they served as agents for Pabst Blue Ribbon Beer. According to the 1913 city directory, they also operated a saloon at 612 Indiana Avenue. See: Ulm & Bates