Bates, Samson

Singer

Collection date: Oct 1911

Area: Shropshire

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Samson Bates at Lilleshall: age 76, 6 songs 27 October and 19 Dec 1911: Miss Kitty Sorby helped Sharp with one of these carols, noting the tune of 'The Little Room' (FT2709). Sharp published two songs in ‘English Folk-Carols’ (1911), namely ‘The Little Room’ p41 and ‘The Twelve Apostles’ p48. In addition he published 3 more of Samson’s songs in Journal of the Folk-Song Society 5 (1914), namely ‘New Year’s Carol’, ‘Diverus and Lazarus’ and ‘The Virgin Unspotted’:

Samson Bates was baptised on 30/10/1836 at Dawley Magna, son of Joseph and Rhoda Bates. Joseph was a collier. Samson followed his father down the mine. He married Elizabeth Hughes April qr 1862 (Newport 6a 1370). They had 7 children and lived initially at Lilleshall, 6 miles N of Telford. Samson became a forge or foundry worker by 1891, living at Trench (4 miles N of Telford). By that time his wife Elizabeth had died and Samson was a widower living with his spinster daughter, when Sharp met him. His date of death has yet to be confirmed.