Betts, Azor

  • From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia: See full biography at: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Azor_Betts
  • Wiki Biography:
    • Azor Betts (September 13, 1740 – September 14, 1809) was an American Loyalist medical doctor who began his practice in the Province of New York before the American Revolutionary War. His staunch defense of smallpox inoculation and support of the Loyalist cause led to his arrest and eventual departure to Canada.
    • Azor Betts was born on September 13, 1740, in Norwalk, Connecticut, the son of Nathan Betts and Mary Belden. He married Gloriana Purdy in 1765 in Rye, New York, and practiced medicine in New York City prior to the Revolutionary War.
    • The events of 1776 that began open hostility between the Continental Army and the British Army in America were tempered by outbreaks of smallpox that began the year previous. General George Washington of the Continentals ordered on May 20, 1776, that no man in his army be inoculated with smallpox, or face serious punishment. Betts first administered smallpox to members of the Continental Army mere days after the order was given, and was placed under arrest by local authorities. 
    • Soon after arriving in Kingston, Betts created isolation wards for those infected with smallpox. He continued this practice, and when the smallpox vaccine was introduced in 1802, he vaccinated local citizens free of charge.
  • United Empire Loyalist listed in Loyalist Directory: https://uelac.ca/loyalist-directory/detail/?wpda_search_column_id=15795
  • Find A Grave: https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/74973833/azor-betts