Sketch XLII
A Somnambulistic Preacher
When the present century had commenced to reel off the second decade, a man living somewhere near Ancaster received a call to preach the Gospel. This man’s name was Bates.[1] The “old settlers” believe that he received a call to preach, but they do not pretend to know just how the “call” was communicated to him, or by what means he was made cognizant of it. It is better so; for if the particulars were known it is more than probable that the foundation would not be sufficiently strong to hold up the story. Suffice it to say this man Bates received a communication in some miraculous manner commanding him to preach, and that he positively refused to obey the divine edict. Just why he refused is another item of information the “oldest settler” cannot furnish. It may be that Mr. Bates considered it a case of mistaken identity, supposing it to be intended for some other Bates, or for some man who resembled a Bates; but, whatever the reason may have been, it is said he refused to obey the call. There was no whale in the woods of Upper Canada to swallow him for his disobedience; and as he did not run away from duty and go to sea like Jonah of old, he escaped the whale. But he did not escape punishment. If he would not preach when he was awake, he would be compelled to preach when he was asleep. While awake he was master of the situation, and might lead his thoughts into by and forbidden channels if he so willed; but when consciousness was lost in sleep, his mind, not being subject to his own will, was let out for “recess” to roam and wander in a state of freedom. When awake it was his privilege to govern his vocal organs with an iron hand, commanding and enforcing silence when and where he would, but when will was led captive by the tyrant Morpheus, his tongue was at liberty to give expression to whatever was impressed upon his mind. It was a sort of warfare between body and spirit. During the hours of wakefulness the body held the mastery; but during the hours of sleep, when the nerve centres were at rest the muscles relaxed, and all the physical forces dormant, the spiritual part asserted itself, acting on the mental faculties and compelling the vocal organs to give audible expression to words which he refused to utter when in conscious wakefulness. That part of man which dies not is never at rest; and thus while we snore in utter unconsciousness of our mortal existence, we behold strange sights and hear wonderful sounds, and sometimes our vocal organs are constrained to give expression to these mysterious mental impressions.
The old people looked upon this strange sleep-preaching as a judgment on Mr. Bates for his disobedience. They saw the hand of Providence in it. Indeed, in our grandfathers’ days, every strange, unusual thing that happened was looked upon as a special act of Providence. If a settler did anything toward saving his crop on a Sunday, and the act was followed by some unfortunate event, it was interpreted as a direct judgment from heaven. They did not realize the fact that the rains descended on the just and unjust alike, although they saw, or might have seen a clear demonstration of its truthfulness all around them in the daily phenomena of life.
When it became known that Mr. Bates preached in his sleep he was induced to travel about the country from one neighborhood to another, in order that the people might hear him preach, and it will not be doing our worthy old pioneers any injustice to slightly intimate that it was a motive of curiosity that brought them together to hear this strange preacher. People came to hear him who seldom went to hear a sensible preacher, but this man who knew not what he was talking about, drew the multitude after him, and his fame went out through all Niagara and the region round about Long Point. In 1813 a meeting was held in the palatial log-house of the old soldier pioneer, Donald McCall.[2] The old log-house was thirty feet long and stood a little west of the spot now occupied by the brick residence of John McCall, on the north end of Lot 18, 4th concession of Charlotteville. About thirty settlers attended this meeting, among whom were Oliver Mabee, Richard Lanning, Abraham Smith, Elder Finch, Titus Finch, Josiah Cromwell, Levi Churchill, Frederick and Jacob Sovereign, and “Uncle Billy” Smith.[3] There was one person at the meeting who was young in years, and he is the sole survivor of that assemblage. He was only eight years old, yet his young shoulders supported an old head, as his after life has clearly demonstrated—the name of that boy was Simpson McCall.
Of course, Mr. Bates had gone to bed and was sound asleep when the congregation assembled. Unlike other preachers, he did not observe regular hours, and his congregation never knew when services were to begin—whether at early candle-light, at midnight, or, as sometimes happened, not at all. On this occasion, however, the sleeper began to groan—an invariable preliminary to the opening exercises—about one o’clock in the morning. After the groaning ceased, the somnambulistic preacher repeated the Lord’s prayer, after which he announced his text, and preached a fifteen-minute sermon.
A few nights after this a meeting was held at another place in the settlement, but it proved a dismal failure, notwithstanding the fact that the sleeping evangelist was prodded with pins and reminded in other ways of his duty. On the other hand, a meeting held in Woodhouse soon after was a “howling” success, as the worldly-minded would express it nowadays. The successful meetings averaged about two a week. Nothing is known of Mr. Bates’ family connections.[4]
[1] The identity of this man was a mystery to me until the biography of his son Dr. Noah Bates was found in Portrait and Biographical Record of Genesee, Lapeer and Tuscola Counties, Michigan, Chapman Bros. (Chicago, IL:1892) p. 252. This descriptive biography noted that his father Joseph H. Bates of Townsend Twp., “ was subject to strange trance conditions and when a boy was affected by catalepsy. Later when in a trance condition he preached most remarkable sermons. He was an hotel keeper, but finally became a farmer.” Concerning the background of Joseph Bates, the biography stated that his father (unnamed) came from England to New Jersey with his parents when a child. Joseph was born in New Jersey and the 1852 and 1861 Censuses of Townsend Twp. place his birth year about 1797. He settled in the area of the village of Boston and married Phila Rogers. The biography mentioned that Phila came from Chenango County, New York with a brother (unnamed). This was probably Orrin Rogers (1803-1891) who settled near Boston in 1823 and married Rachel Smith, daughter of Abraham Smith Jr. Joseph Bates kept a hotel for a time then farmed next to Orrin Rogers.
[2] In the year 1813 Bates would have been aged about 15 years old and Simpson McCall the narrator was aged 5. The event likely occurred at a later date.
[3] Joseph Bates’ religion is not mentioned in this sketch. His 1852 and 1861 Census records stated that he was Baptist and those named at this meeting were also Baptist.
[4] According to Dr. Noah Bates in Portrait and Biographical Record of Genesee, Joseph and Phila Bates had thirteen children, ten of whom lived to be grown. The ten named in the censuses were: James born c. 1825, William born c. 1829, Edward born c. 1831, Peter born c. 1833, Joseph born c. 1835, Noah born c. 1838, Mary, born c. 1840, Hiram born c. 1842, Charles born c. 1844 and Eliza E., born c. 1847. Of these: Edward Bates married Mary Ann Rispin and lived in Townsend Twp. then retired to Brantford, Brant Co.; Peter Bates and his wife Caroline lived in Townsend Twp.; Dr. Noah Bates married Elvira Chapin and lived in Flint, Genesee County, Michigan.