[1] Gates came to the United States in 1919 and attended The Hill School in Pottstown, Pennsylvania for three years.

In 1926, he graduated with honors from Princeton University and continued his studies under a Rhodes scholarship at Balliol College in Oxford.

They raised four children: Caleb Jr., Betsy Ann, Mary Ellen, and Gwynne.

In 1943, Gates took a leave of absence from the university to join the army during World War II, with the rank of major.

In 1955, he married Mable Ridge and relocated to Santa Rosa, California, to operate the Cedar Shake Guest Lodge.