By Sandy Bates
John Bates of London England died in the Old Newgate prison for not pledging allegiance to the King. In 1665 the great fire of London burned Newgate Prison, ending the life of John Bates, who was a (Friends or Quaker), so he died for his beliefs. The bones of the dead were taken and put into a hole outside the city at a place called Bun Hill Burying Ground.
Our Member Florence Wyland is of this line, and she believes that the remaining Bates Family emigrated to America in 1665 and settled on Long Island, NY.
In the DNA only Florence and one other person matched. This person claims is a descendant of Isaac Bates of VA. round 1800, and by folklore originated in Cape Cod, Mass.
Note from Sandy: What we do know is that they do not match or even near match any of the other Bates Lines, such as Clement, or James, or Edward of Boston or Edward of Weymouth, etc.