Fonds F 15 - Bateman family fonds

John Willis Bateman was born in Whitby Township on June 5, 1862. He married Elizabeth Tasker of Manchester, UK in Whitby on December 25, 1888. The Batemans were prosperous famers occupying property on what is now Hopkins Street in Whitby for over 65 years.
John served as Mayor of the Town of Whitby from 1926 to 1928 and at different times between 1910 and 1919 he served as Reeve and Councillor. He belonged to the Whitby Baptist Church where he acted as church clerk and deacon. John was a member of the local Composite Lodge, Keystone Chapter, and served as secretary and president for the Sons of England in Whitby. He died while marching in the Remembrance Day Service parade in 1948.
Elizabeth Tasker Bateman was also a prominent member of the Whitby Baptist Church and she belonged to the local chapter of the Daughters of England. She and John sold the farm in 1939 and retired from farming. Elizabeth died in 1956.
John and Elizabeth had two sons, Ralph, who moved to the United States, and John Gordon, known more commonly as Gordon. He was the manager of the Whitby branch of the Canadian Bank of Commerce from 1946 to 1950 having worked there for 20 years prior. He was transferred to the Grimsby branch in 1950. Gordon married Laura Cook in Belleville on September 2, 1935 and together had one child, John Frederick Bateman. Gordon died in Beamsville, Ontario on June 18, 1991.