Joshua Bates (educator)

Born in Cohasset, Massachusetts, he was the son of Zealous and Abigail Bates.[1][2] Bates graduated from Harvard College in 1800.[1][3] He became a special student in divinity at Phillips Academy, serving as well as an instructor at Phillips Andover Academy.[1] He was licensed to preach by the Andover Association in 1802.[1]

From 1803 to 1818 he was minister at the First Church and Parish in Dedham, Massachusetts.[4][5] He was first called to be the associate pastor with Jason Haven in 1802 and was ordained on March 16, 1803 "before a very crowded, but a remarkably civil and brilliant assembly."[1] Three months later, Haven died.[1] There were some who opposed his call, but Fisher Ames made an eloquent speech of support and this was enough to issue a call.[1] Several members, including Fisher Ames' brotherNathaniel, left the church, however, and became Episcopalians.[1]

During his pastorate, the Lord's Supper was administered every six weeks.[6] On the Thursdays preceding, he would preach the Preparatory Lecture.[6] Students in the nearby school were marched to the meetinghouse to listen to the lecture, and Bates would visit the school on Mondays to quiz students on the catechism.[6] Politically, he was an ardent Federalist while the town and the church were strongly anti-Federalist.[6] His sermons often were intolerant of those whose politics who differed from his own.[6] He believed Thomas Jefferson to be an infidel and that his followers were, at best, doubtful Christians.[6]

In 1818 he asked to be dismissed from the church to accept the presidency of Middlebury College.[6][7] It is assumed that, due to his differing political beliefs and his politically tinged sermons, that many in the congregation were glad to let him go.[6] His last sermon was delivered February 5, 1818.[7]

From 1818 to 1839, Bates was president of Middlebury College. During his tenure, Bates helped to stabilize the struggling institution and oversaw the construction of the Old Chapel, an icon of the college that is on the National Register of Historic Places. He was elected a Fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences in 1834.[8] He was Chaplain of the United States House of Representatives for the twenty–sixth Congress.[9][lower-alpha 1] In 1843 he became minister at Dudley, Massachusetts where he remained until his death, aged 77.[3]

His family still lives on today, all over Massachusetts.

• Worthington, Erastus (1827). The history of Dedham: from the beginning of its settlement, in September 1635, to May 1827. Dutton and Wentworth. Retrieved July 17, 2019.
• Smith, Frank (1936). A History of Dedham, Massachusetts. Transcript Press, Incorporated. Retrieved July 18, 2019.