Bates, Joseph, 1792-1872

Mariner, reformer, Advent preacher, and one of the founders of the Seventh-day Adventist Church. Joseph Bates was born July 8, 1792 at Rochester, MA. He became a sailor at age 15 and retired as a captain in 1828 (the voyage on the Empress was his final one). During his seafaring years, he experienced shipwreck and imprisonment by the British Navy during the war of 1812. After retiring from the sea, he settled in Fairhaven, MA and dealt with local affairs and a variety of reforms, such as temperance and antislavery endeavors. In 1839, he became active in the Millerite Movement preaching and organizing conferences. By the mid 1840's he was one of the primary leaders, along with James and Ellen White in the embryonic Seventh-day Adventist Church. His energies and enthusiastic support were expended in church activities in the years to come as writer, preacher, and organizer. He moved from Fairhaven to Monterey, MI in 1858 and this continued to be his base of operation until he died in 1872.

From the description of [Journal of a voyage on the bark Empress of New Bedford] / kept by Captain Joseph Bates, August 9, 1827 - June 16, 1828. 1827-1828. (Saint James Parish Library). WorldCat record id: 33823117

Epithet: Lieutenant; RN

British Library Archives and Manuscripts Catalogue : Person : Description : ark:/81055/vdc_100000000983.0x000200

Born in Rochester, Mass., in 1792. Went to sea, in 1807, as a cabin boy aboard the ship Fanny bound to Europe on a merchant voyage. On his second voyage, Bates was impressed into the British Navy in 1810, where he served for two and a half years. With the outbreak of the War of 1812, he was made a prisoner of war for an additional two and a half years at Dartmoor Prison, finally gaining release in 1815. In 1821, he became captain of the ship Talbot of Alexandria, Va., and sailed for the South American market with a vested interest in the cargo. He spent the rest of his seafaring years until 1828 in this market. He served from 1824 as captain of the brig Empress of New Bedford, Mass. After retiring from the sea, he spent the next several years organizing temperance reform and anti-slavery work in Massachusetts. He later became involved in forming the Seventh Day Adventist Church and moved to Michigan where he continued to preach his beliefs and formally organized his church in 1863. He died in Michigan in 1872.

From the description of Joseph Bates letter book, 1824-1833. (Old Dartmouth Historical Society Library). WorldCat record id: 299573926