Joseph Bates was born in Rochester, an adjoining town in Plymouth County, Massachusetts, on July 8, 1792 and died in Battle Creek, Michigan, March 19, 1872. He was a sailor who was probably the greatest worker after James and Ellen G. White in building up the early Seventh-day Adventist Church.
During his life as a sailor he came to believe very strongly in several basic Adventist beliefs. He became disturbed by the way the sailors (regardless of their religion) were forced to go to Anglican services; later in life he became adamant that the separation of church and state should be upheld. He also was a strong supporter of abolition. In his every day life as a sailor he noticed the intemperance of the sailors and the resulting side effects. Many of these problems came from poor rations but many more were the result of overindulgence by the men. He became one of the champions of health reform; abstaining from all alcohol, tobacco, and caffeine, even becoming a vegetarian.
Also publisher of a 46-page tract, in New Bedford, Massachusetts. The tract, entitled Seventh-day Sabbath, set forth the Biblical evidence for the sacredness of the seventh day. It convinced James and Ellen White.
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