John Roger Bates II (1668-1722)

Birth: December 22, 1668
Chelmsford, Middlesex, Massachusetts Bay

Death: May 22, 1722
Boston, Massachusetts, US

Cause of Death: Smallpox

Place of Burial: Forefathers Burial Ground, Chelmsford, Middlesex County, Massachusetts, United States, Plot FF/FIS-3-1

Father: John Roger Bates, I
Mother: Mary Farwell
Siblings: Mary Bates, Elizabeth Bates, Lydia Bates, Sarah Bates, Rebecca Bates

Spouse: Deborah Spaulding
Children: Deborah Bates, Edward Bates, Hannah Bates, Mary Bates, John Bates, Jonathan Bates, Robert Bates, Elizabeth Betty Bates

Relation to Author: 8th Great-grandfather

*The contained narrative is the combined works of many sources. Please review the sources and citations bellow.*

John Jr. married Deborah Spaulding in 1693. They had eight children, Deborah, Hannah, Mary, Betty, John, Jonathan (whos son John is on the Chelmsford Memorial), Robert and Edward. In 1702 they bought land at what is now 26 Worthen Street and built a house which stood until 1915.

Tragedy struck in 1722 when smallpox spread through the family, killing many of them. The town record of April 23, 1722 makes explicit the understanding of contagion: ordering the quarantine of the family, building a wall across the road leading to their property, and posting a warning.

“April the 23, 1722 it is Ordered by the Select-men That in as-much as the small-pox is in John Bates his family and it is to be feared the infection will spread if some due Care be not rather speedily [taken] to prevent the same: That the Country Road be stopt with fencing across by sd Bates Cider-mill and by Ebenezer Spauldings Orchard and that notifications be sett on the sd fence at each stopage to inform passengers of the occasion that thereby they may be prevented from taking any infection “

To a perticular Warrant to notifie Bates familie to prevent the spreading of the small pox £00.02.00 for Returning the precept 00.05.00 for one Day to hire a nurce to nurce at Bates 00.02.00 for fencing the high-way to prevent the spreading of the small pox 00.03.00″

The devastation of the family can be seen in the dates of many of the Bates graves in Chelmsford. John Sr. and John Jr. died within a month of each other as did several others. Presumably the quarantine of the family succeeded as there is no record of an epidemic in the town at the time.

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