Sarah A. TATE

Sarah married Jahaziel TATE 18 Oct 1839, Tennessee. Jahaziel (son of Major James TATE and Ruth Davidson) was born 09 Mar 1813, Warren Co. TN; died 04 Aug 1888, Kaufman Co. TX; was buried , Camp Ground Cemetery, Terrell, Kaufman Co. TX. [Group Sheet]

1. James Eglan TATE was born 08 Apr 1841, Pulaski Co. KY; died Jun 1841, Pulaski Co. KY.
2. Martin Van Buren TATE was born 18 Feb 1843, Pulaski Co. KY; died 18 Oct 1919, Safford, Graham Co. AZ; was buried , Thatcher Cemetery, Thatcher, Graham Co. AZ.
3. Mary Jane TATE was born 27 Sep 1845, Pulaski Co. AR.

Other Events:

• _UID: 9E3B14D9E58D4BDCB04E4DB833D083301861

Notes:

Excerpt from Tate Families of the Southern States, Volume II, 1984, by Laura W. Mentzel & Ethel S. Updike

Aaron Tate had several land grants in Warren County, TN and lived for some time adjoining his brother Robert H. Tate who sold his home place on January 12, 1819. He lived on Wannamaker Branch, a tributary of the Collins River in Warren County, TN, a planter. In 1820 they had a large family but we know they didn't marry until 1810, consequently it is thought that on their help was counted on the Census. By 1840 they migrated to Dekalb County, AL. They lived near Fort Payne, Dekalb County, AL for many years. He died and was buried near the same.

Warren County, TN land grants, Dekalb County, AL Deed Book F, page 554, 567. Marriage Record, SAR Lineage number 199606.

Notes from the Estate Files of Aaron Tate, Sr., John Tate, Elizabeth Connelly Tate, and Maben Dock Tate, all late of Dekalb County, Alabama, by Roland Tate, descendant.

AARON TATE:

A personal note is as follows; many of the documents one would expect to find in these estate files are missing, and may never be recovered. In the course of trying to arrange and flatten these files for a forthcoming microfilming, I found that the papers had been misfiled between folders and some were difficult to read from their mishandling and abuse over the years, as well as poor penmanship and some illiteracy on the part of the initiators. For my part, I will hit the high points for the purpose of genealogy.

I found no documents requesting assignment as Administrator for the Estate and no document where the Bond was signed for the Estate. Aaron's date of death has been given as June of 1862, but I found no confirmation of that. It is clear that by January 12, 1863, Elizabeth Connelly Tate and Elias Killian were the Administrators, because they made application on that date to sell most of the lands of the Estate to Daniel Killian for $900.00. This would include the NE ¼ of the SE ¼, of Section 14, the NE ¼ of the NW !/4, the SE ¼ of the NW ¼, the W ½ of the NW ¼ , and the W ½ of the SW ¼ , excepting the SW ¼ of the SW ¼ (Description not included - all in Section 13, Township 7 South, Range8 East of the Huntsville Meridian).

On January 20, 1863, Elizabeth signed her consent to sell her Third part dower in the lands above. At some point in time, an apprenticeship Bond was entered into the Estate settlement. This Bond was made for the apprenticeship of Thomas Cunningham, a Sixteen year old minor (Born - 16 October 1622), and was signed July 14, 1838.

On March 25, 1864, John N. Franklin, Probate Judge, issued citations for the Court to be held the 2nd Monday in April. Summoned were: Elizabeth Killian, wife of Elias Killian; Maburn Tate; Aaron Tate; Robert Tate; Elizabeth Little, wife of William Little; John K. Hoge, Guardian ad Litem of the minor heirs " William Tate (a space) John Tate, Elizabeth Little wife of Thomas Little - decd."

Here, is the explanation for a number of things. Ethel Updike had a family chart that listed the Eleven children of Aaron Tate, but in view of the numbers found in the old census records changed it to Fourteen. She likewise indicated that no trace could be found of William. In her Book, Tate Families of the Southern States - Vol. II, she brings in the statement of Hood Tate that Stephen that died at Shiloh was a nephew of John and not a son. Here, I can but draw one conclusion. William Tate was married and had Three children; Elizabeth Louise who married Thomas Little, Stephen who died at Shiloh, and John, who married Elizabeth Weaver and died before May 06, 1863. William and his wife probably both died early on while the children were quite young.

On March 02, 1870, the court issued a citation to Elizabeth to file the account for final settlement. Again there are missing documents. A document confirming that James Cunningham and Susannah Cunningham had signed Power of Attorney to J. H. Davis, relating to this Estate, was signed in Comanche Co., Texas May 08, 1871, and was entered in this file.

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James Striegel Tate Papers, Tennessee State Library and Archives 1742 - 1980

Aaron lived on Wanamaker's Branch very near the future Grundy County line. After his last child was born in Warren County, Tennessee, in 1833, Aaron moved his family into the newly opened "Indian lands" that are now in DeKalb County, Alabama with which he is hereafter associated.

Aaron married Elizabeth (Becky) Connelly. Elizabeth was born 24 Jun 1781, Guilford Co. NC; died 22 Dec 1871, DeKalb Co. AL. [Group Sheet]

Notes:

Becky's father was Capt. Henry Connelly, born May 2, 1752 in Chester County, PA, died May 7, 1840, Oil Springs, Floyd County, KY. He was Captain of the North Carolina Calvary in the Revolutionary War. He married Ann McGregor in 1774. She was born February 14, 1756 in Guilford, Guilford County, NC, died 1830, Oil Springs, Johnson County, KY.

Other Events:

• _UID: 31403E22DA074CBEA16CB0DCF9B5787EF9F2

Notes:

DAR ID Number 149364 has Robert's DOD as 1832.

Robert Tate
Date: Nov 21, 1792
Location: Augusta Co., VA

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Tate Families of the Southern States, Volume II, by Laura Mentzel and Ethel Updike, 1984

Robert Tate was not as active in civic affairs and less is known of him.

Robert Tate Sr. received a land grant of 174 acres in Fincastle, County, VA on December 13, 1774 on Big Moccasin Creek, North Fork of Holston River. On April 20, 1784 he received a land patent of 250 acres in Washington County, VA on both sides of Big Moccasin Creek on a spur of Clinch Mountain on the Holston River some three miles from Col. John Tate. In 1781 he and his brother, John swore allegiance to the United States in Washington County, VA. In 1781.

In Nov. 1781, John Tate, Robert Tate, William Huston and John Wood were appointed to appraise the estate of Francis Fugate deceased, who was killed by a fall from his horse.

The following legal petition was filed in 1785 and signed by several Tates.

This is a petition asking the House of Delegates of VA to place a line "fixed along Clinch Mountain and Montgomery line to the Carolina line" to separate them from Washington Co. These inhabitants include those of Clinch River, Moccasin Creek, Powels Valley, north branch of Holstein River, and "others." Dated Dec. 9, 1785. Washington Co., VA, is in the far southern section of VA, just before the border into TN and not far from NC. Signers of this petition are: John TATE, Thomas TATE, Robert TATE, Jr., Rober TATE, Sr.

He was an Ensign of the Militia in 1786, while his brother, John was a Lieutenant.

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MISCELLANEOUS INFORMATION

Sources: Fincastle County, VA, Deed Book, page 80, 81; Russell County, VA will Book 2, page 132; Deed Book 5, pages 537, 539; History of Southwest VA, by Lewis Summers, page 389, 843; David Faris; Leland B. Tate letter; April 1783 to View Road; May 1786 Robert Appointed Ensign or 2nd Lieutenant of Militia; April 1787 Appointed Full Lieutenant.

Robert Tate was a contemporary with and associated in many court affairs with Col. John Tate. Robert Tate's will did not mention that most of his children were minors, but they were. On October 10, 1816, John Tate and wife Dicey, James Tate and wife Ruth, Robert Tate and wife Susannah, Alexander Tate and wife Delilah, Aaron Tate and wife Betsey and Marady Price and wife Polly, all of Warren County, TN, of the first part to Joseph Tate of Russell County, VA, the home place. The same land this Robert Tate acquired in 1774 and 1784, adjacent to Richard Davis and Hullams, witnessed by John Rodgers and Reuben Berryman. All of the males signed, and Mary (Polly) Tate signed her right of dower to her son Joseph Tate.

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Source: Excerpts from Rebels, Saints and Sinners, An Ancestral History of the Southern States, by Dennis Armfield Tate, 2000

He received a land grant of 174 acres on December 13, 1774 on Big Moccasin Creek, North Fork of the Holston River in Fincastle County, VA. It begins near Hansonville and is a long valley extending to near Big Moccasin Gap in Scott County, VA. The Valley is paralleled by Clinch Mountain on the South and Moccasin Ridge on the North. Moccasin Valley adjoins Washington County, VA at the top of Clinch Mountain and Scott County, VA to the South. Big Moccasin Creek extends the entire length of the valley flowing into the north fork of the Holston River near Big Moccasin Gap. The story is told that early settlers coming through the valley found Indian moccasin footprints in the soft mud on the banks of the creek. This, the name Moccasin Creek and later Moccasin Valley. The naming of the creek has been attributed to Daniel Boone in about 1769.

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Sources: Annals of Southwest Virginia 1769-1800 by Lewis Preston Summers, Page 843; Copies of Washington County, VA court minutes, Minute Book 1, pages 113, 144 and 188.

Robert Tate, who, resided in Washington County, VA, assisted in establishing independence while acting in the capacity of a Surveyor of the Road and as a member of a Jury, qualifying him for service as a patriot in the Revolutionary War. He was a Surveyor of the Road from May 14, 1781 until April 16, 1783. He service on a Jury in 1782.

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Source: Heritage of Russell County, VA 975.5755 D3h

It is also probable that Robert served with the "Kings Mountain Men" a group of militia formed in his area, however we have not yet found documentation to support this. The Daughters of the American Revolution (DAR) has a concise application on Robert Tate and list all of his sources regarding his service. Descendants have been admitted into the association.

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Brand of Robert Tate's livestock:

Ordered that Robert Tate's mark for his livestock a crop in the right ear and crop of the left ear be recorded. Washington County, May 16, 1782.

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LAND RECORDS

On Dec. 13, 1774 surveyors for Fincastle County Virginia surveyed a tract of 174 acres on Moccasin Creek in what is now Russell County, Virginia This tract was granted to Robert Tate.

On May 1, 1782 Washington County Virginia issued land grants of 250 acres to Robert Tate and 100 acres to John Tate, both on Moccasin Creek. On February 20, 1793 William Tate bought 145 acres on Moccasin Creek adjoining the 424 acres granted to Robert Tate.

Moccasin Creek was located in Botetourt County prior to 1773; in Fincastle County from January 1773 to January 1777; in Washington County from 1777 to May 1786; in Russell County May from 1786 to present.

August 19, 1799 - Robert Tate - 68 ac - part of Treasury Warrant 2398 dated January 26, 1798 - on the Laurel Fork of Grassy Creek, part of the waters of Clinch River - near the head spring of said fork [Russell County, Surveyors Book]

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WILL, ESTATE, AND PROBATE RECORDS

Source: This probate record was originally published in "Chronicles of the Scotch-Irish Settlement in Virginia, 1745-1800. Extracted from the Original Court Records of Augusta County" by Lyman Chalkley.

Remarks: John Tate's will--Third son, John; oldest son, Thomas, tract to John and Isaac Tate, sons of James, deceased, his grandsons; daughter, Eleanor Stuart; son, Robert Tate; son Robert and son-in-law Benj. Stewart, executors.
Description: Executor
Book date: CC1-41,
Prove date: 1 April, 1801

Robert Tate
Date: Apr 1, 1801
Location: Augusta Co., VA

Remarks: Robert Tate, executor of John Tate, bond.
Book date: CC1-81

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WILL OF ROBERT TATE
Russell County, Virginia
Will Book 2, Pages 122-123
Executed 03 Feb 1807

Be it remembered that I Robert Tate of the county of Russell in the state of Virginia being in a very weak and infirm state of body but of sound mind and desirous of settling my worldly affairs do make this my last will and testament giving and bequeathing as follows, viz:

Imprimis,
1st I do give to my wife Mary Tate one negro woman named Luce and one negro boy named Jim and also one negro boy named Sulas and also four cows and calves two two year old heifers one two year steer and also two bay horses and one gray horse, and also all my household furniture and also all my stock of hogs and also the land I now live on and also all working tools thereto belonging except that piece or parcel of land lying on the south west side of the mill dam Beginning at the big spring thence with the dam to the saw pit thence to the cave by the big sink hole thence to the line where it crosses Ovaltons road and also do give to my wife Mary Tate one still and the complements thereto belonging and also all my flock of sheep and also one yearling steer to hold during her natural life or widowhood then at her death or marriage to be divided between my son Joseph Tate and my son Alexander Tate and my son Aaron Tate and my daughter Polly Tate reserving to my wife Mary Tate her third part only in case she should marry.

Item, I give to my son John Tate and my son James Tate that piece or parcel of land above mentioned lying south-west of the mill dam and bounded as above directed, only that my son John Tate and my son James Tate do pay my son Robert Tate a ten pounds horse each at the time they receive the land.

Item, I give to my son Robert Tate one negro girl named Ryah and also one mans saddle.

Item, I do direct that the above mentioned part of my estate except the land be appraised but not sold and also do except the negro girl named Ryah which I gave to my son Robert Tate.

Item, I do direct that one mare and colt and one two year old mare, three steers, one two year old heifer and four of the ____ size of the big barrows to be sold to discharge my debts.

Confirmed and subscribed by me this twentieth day of July one thousand seven hundred and ninety _____.

Robert X Tate (Seal)

Test: Robert Tate junr.
Isaac Tate
John Tate

At a court held for Russell County the third day of February 1807.
This instrument of writing was exhibited in court as and for the last will and testament of Robert Tate dec'd and proven by the oath of John Tate one of the witnesses thereto and the hand writing of Robert Tate junr. another of the witnesses proven by the oath of the said John Tate and William Fugate and thereupon ordered to be recorded. And on motion of Mary Tate who made oath according to law and together with Richard Davis and Colebird Fugate her securities entered into and acknowledged their bond in the penalty of $2,500 conditioned as the law directs administration with the will annexed is granted her on the said decedents estate in due form.

Teste Henry Dickenson C.R.C.

Sources: Virginia Historical Magazine, Page 194 states that Robert Tate, (died on July 29, 1806) beneficiaries, wife, Mary; children, Joseph, Alexander, Aaron, Polly, John, James, Robert executors (none) (Mary Tate, administratrix); Testator signed by mark, witnessed, Robert Tate Junr., Isaac Tate, John Tate, Probated February 3, 1807, Page 132, Abstracts of Wills of Russell County, Virginia from 1803 to 1850 by Elihu Jasper Sutherland Will Book B1.

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ESTATE INVENTORY

On Page 148 of the Russell County, VA Will Family History Library 33826, An Inventory of the Personal Estate of Robert Tate, deceased dated March 5, 1807 appears:

One Stud horse, 36 pounds sterling; one brown mare, 24 pounds sterling, total 60 pounds sterling. One bay gelding, 36 pounds sterling; one brown jack horse, 24 pounds sterling, total 60 pounds sterling; one sorrel two years old, 12 pounds sterling; one bay filly 3 years old, 15 pounds sterling; one dun colt 7 y, total 18 pounds sterling, 12 shilling; one still, one worm, and one funnel 9 pounds sterling; six wash tubs, 1 fleakabout, 1 barrel and 1 keg, 2 pounds, 13 shilling; 1 large kettle and scale 6 oz., 1 pot and 1 cale ly 3 pounds and 12 shilling; five cows 1 calf, 18 pounds, 5 head of 2 year old cattle, 10 pounds, total 28 pounds; two iron pot racks, 1 pound, 4 shilling; one cutting knife, steel screws and box, 15 shilling; one mulatto girl named Janet, 60 pounds, one set of smith tools, 11 pounds and 2 shilling, twenty head of sheep, 9 pounds, 1 Negro boy named Jack 75 pounds, total 84 pounds, 4 yearlings 3 pounds 6 shilling, one corn harrow, 1 pound, total 4 pounds, 6 shilling. One drag harrow 1/2 belonging to Joseph Tate, 18 shilling, two carshars ploughs #1 clevis, 3 pounds; 4 pair of gears, 5 pounds, 8 shilling; total 8 pounds and 8 shilling. One pair stretchers and one pair double trees, 1 pound, 4 shilling; One big wheel, 15 shilling, one hand saw and one foot auger, 24 shilling, total 1 pound sterling and 19 shilling, one fros?, one iron wedge, 1 inch auger & 1 drawing knife, 17 shilling.

Two chisels, 1 gauge, 1 claw hammer and one round shavs, 12 shilling; three cast boxes, two jack planes and one ford plane total 1 pound sterling and 4 shilling; one sang hoe, 1 twisted link, 1 gig, 2 bells and bell collars, 10 shilling; one old chest and old iron lumber, 6 shilling; four stirrup irons, 1 scythe anvil, 1 inshars and one chisel, 10 shilling, 6 pence, one scythe and cradle, 3 grass scythes and hangings, 2 pounds sterling and 6 pence, two yearling skins 1 y two mash tubs total 1 pound sterling, 4 pence; one wagon, 12 pounds, one log chain, one crowbar, 3 1/2 lbs of iron and two clevises, 13 pounds sterling, 10 shilling and 15 pence; three axes, one mattock, four weeding hoes, one shovel plough, and one sledge hammer, 3 pounds sterling, 6 shilling; two men's saddles and two bridles, 4 pounds sterling and 16 schilling, one side saddle and bridle 6 pounds, four iron pots, 3 dutch ovens and 3 pair of pot hooks, 3 pounds, 15 schilling; one iron pot rack, one pair fire tongs and one fire shovel, 1 pound sterling and 4 schilling, one loom, three slays, one quill wheel dividing bars, 2 pounds sterling and 8 schilling. Total 409 pounds sterling, 17 schilling 2 1/4 pence

/s/ Joseph Sampson, Jonathan Wood and John Wood, witnesses

The foregoing inventory continued March 20, 1807, one whip saw and filings, 2 pounds, 2 schilling; one broad axe 15/total 2 pounds sterling, 17 schilling; one flat iron 4/6, 4 sickles 1y, 1 pair saddle bags 15y, total 1 pound 9 schilling 6 pence; two pewter dishes, 3 casons, eight plates and 25 spoons, 4 pounds, 10 schilling, two coats, 1 waist coat, 1 pair shoe buckles and one small trunk, 3 pounds 12 shilling, two pair old cotton cords and pair wool cords, 13 shillings 6 pence, one pair tow cords 16, razor and strap 6, nine books 18/total 1 pound, 1 schilling 6 pence; one coffee mill and coffee pot 6/ two hackles 10/ total 16 schilling; two bottles 3/ 1 bottle with camphor 4/6; one jug owl 2/9 schilling 6 pence, one large delf dish, 2 plates and 2 earthen crocks, 16 schilling, six punch bowls 11/ two pitchers 6/ total 17 schilling, eleven saucers, eight tea cups, one cream jug, seven tea spoons and one pepper box 7 schilling; three tea pots, 1 sugar pot and one half pint mug, 8 schilling; one vinegar cruet, one have gill glass and one half pint tumbler, 3 schilling.

Inventory of Tate's Estate continued: One fire glass and one pair candle snuffers, 1 schilling, one pewter 9, 1 small tin bucket and 1 tin skimmer, total 11 schilling; half a dozen tin cups, 1 tin quart, 1 tin humpet and strainer, total 7 schilling, 6 pence; 4 3/4 blue cotton yarn 24, 4 vials 2/ one pair shears, 1 pound 6 schilling 6 pence; three spinning wheels and one check reel, 2 pounds 11 schilling, one lindsey hunting shirt, 1 lady shirt and 1 waist coat, 6 schilling; one looking glass 6/; 7 chairs and table 16/ ; 1 large trunk, total 2 pounds 6 schilling, two beds, steads, and furniture below stairs 12 pounds sterling, three beds steads, cords and furniture above stairs, 18 pounds; one woman's saddle and surcingle, 1 pound, 4 schilling; seven knives and nine forks, 6 schilling; 12 lbs feathers 36/; 1 pair steelyards 24/; 1 man;s had 2/; 3 pounds 2 schilling; one small sorrel mare, 17 pounds; 1 Negro girl names Riah; 100 pounds; total 117 pounds; twenty three out hogs, 8 pounds 17 schilling 6 pence, 2 in the pen 19/6 total 9 pounds, 12 schilling; two barrels, one churn, one dye tub, one vinegar cag, one honey cag and one can total 18 schilling; one middle 16, one meal sifter 16, one santhern, 6 pence, total 3 schilling, 6 pence; one ball scythe and one candlestick 7 schilling 6 pence, Total of this page 188 pounds 2 schilling.

/s/ J. Sampson, John Wood, Z Fugate /witnesses/

The foregoing Inventory still continued October 31, 1807; one bay mare and colt; bell and collar, 21 pounds, one small filly one year old, 9 pounds; 1 old sorrel horse, 12 pounds, total 21 pounds; one bay filly two years old, 16 pounds, 10 schilling, Total 58 pounds and 10 schilling plus 188 pounds 2 schilling and 4909 pounds 17 schilling and 2 1/2 pence for a total amount of 655 pounds 9 schilling 2 1/2 pence. We the underneath commissioners being first duly sworn for that purpose do certify that we have appraised the personal estate of Robert Tate deceased, and find the same to be as above stated. Given under our hands this third day of November 1807.

/s/ J. Sampson, John Wood, Z Fugate, Mary Tate Administratrix. At November court 1807, this inventory and appraisement of the estate of Robert Tate, deceased was produced in court and ordered to be recorded, Testa: /s/ Henry Dickenson C R C.

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James Striegel Tate Papers, Tennessee State Library and Archives 1742 - 1980

"I have wondered why there was so much time (over six months) between Robert's death and the processing of the Will for probate. My own belief is that a number of the heirs were in Tennessee looking for place to which they would migrate.

At some date, after February 3, 1807, Robert's widow, Mary and all their children, except Joseph, moved to Warren County, Tennessee. They were all listed on the tax rolls of Warren County TN for the year 1812.

On October 14, 1816, all of the children sold their inherited interest in 177 acres of land to their brother Joseph, who stayed on the family home place in Virginia. Their mother relinquished her dower rights on the same date. This action is the last record we have a Polly Tate and her husband, Meredith Price and of Mary Tate, their mother. The remaining children, Alexander, Aaron, John, James and Robert (H.) Jr., all continue to appear in the public records of Warren County, Tennessee and of Grundy County, Tennessee that was founded from Warren County in 1844."

Robert married Mary 1774, Rockbridge, VA. [Group Sheet]

Notes:

Excerpts from Tate Families of the Southern States, Volume II, by Laura Mentzel and Ethel Updike, 1984

There were several families of the name Tate in southwestern Virginia before the Revolution and some were not related. There was an early Robert Tate, in Washington County, VA, who was probably the ancestor of the Col. John Tate, Robert Tate, Jr. and William Tate who settled in Washington County, VA, in 1772. This Robert Tate estate was taxed in 1794, indicating that he had passed on prior to that date.

Augusta County, VA was formed in 1738 and comprised a great part of Virginia. Botetourt County was formed in 1769 and Fincastle County was formed in 1772. Washington County was formed in 1776 and Russell County was formed in 1785, where they eventually found themselves living. Robert Tate Sr. died prior to 1794, however his son, Robert Tate, Jr., continued to be called "Jr." In November 1804, in Russell County, VA, a power of attorney was granted by Sarah Hanley to her friend Robert Tate, Jr. to "receive rent due me" on land in Orange County, NC; witnessed by Richard Davis, Robert Tate, Jr., and Aaron Tate. Robert Tate and Aaron were brothers, thus it seems there were several generations of Robert Tates in the area. This early Robert Tate was probably the father of Col. John, Robert Jr. and William Tate.

UNSURE PARENTAGE

Some researchers have his parents as John Tate and Sarah Beaty. Other researchers has his parents being Robert Tate born 27 FEB 1691 in New Kent Co. VA and died 1759 in St. Paul's Parish,Hanover Co. VA.

Hopefully DNA testing will clarify some of these lines.

ULSTER SCOTS/SCOTS-IRISH HISTORY AND HERITAGE

Robert Tate is documented ancestor of this line. Based on my DNA results, he most likely is of Scots-Irish heritage.

The terms Scots-Irish / Ulster-Scots refer to those Scots (mainly of Presbyterian stock) who settled in Ulster (the location of modern-day Northern Ireland) from the early seventeenth century. From these 200,000 original settlers, many are still in Ulster but over 2 million of their descendants eventually reached America, Canada, Australia, New Zealand & South Africa among others.

Many Ulster-Scots (Scots-Irish) are descended from Border Reivers, the lawless clans of the border between Scotland & England, where a lifestyle of raiding and marauding was the only way to survive. Tait/Tate/Teet is a Border Reiver name. However, Tates were also found in the area around Peterhead, Aberdeenshire, Scotland so it's unclear where our Tates originated in Scotland.

Owing to their geographical position the Border Reivers were frequently harassed by passing armies who, at the very least, would require provisioning, often without payment, but who were more often hell bent on destroying everything before them and causing as much damage and misery as they could. Crops were destroyed, homesteads burnt and the people murdered or dispersed.

It is no coincidence that these people, having their crops regularly destroyed and their livestock stolen, looked for other means of sustaining themselves and their families... They took to reiving.

For over 400 years between the 13th & 17th centuries, warring families from both sides of the lawless border valleys would carry out deadly raids on each other. These skilled warrior horsemen would live a life of looting, arson, murder & rustling. The life of the Border Reiver was not necessarily ruled by his allegiance to the English or Scottish Crowns, but more likely by his allegiance to a family surname. The history of the Border Reivers has many similarities to that of the American Wild West. It produced its share of outlaws and broken men, corrupt officials, greed, misery and struggle for survival.

In 1603 James VI of Scotland became James I of England. He immediately set about unifying the two countries and started by bringing the Reivers under control. Many Reiver families were faced with the choice of hanging or accept exile across the Irish sea to the wild badlands of Ulster as part of James' Plantation project to bring the Irish natives under control.

For King James it presented him with a problem and an opportunity. As a man and a king he was no more sympathetic to Gaelic traditions and culture than his Tudor predecessors on the English throne. While still King of Scots he had been preoccupied with the problems posed by his own minorities in the Highlands and Islands, whom he once described as "utterly barbarous."

The first large-scale migration of Scots into Ulster in written history was the Hamilton & Montgomery Settlement of May 1606. That saw the trickle become a flood, tens of thousands of Lowland Scots poured into Ulster. It was in Ulster that Celtic Ireland had made its last stand against a foreign invader, ending the Nine Years War. It had been a particularly bitter struggle, and Ulster had been devastated.

Scottish lairds Hamilton & Montgomery aquired lands in Counties Antrim & Down from An Irish chieftain, Con O'Neill. James Hamilton was a university don and a spy; and Sir Hugh Montgomery, his partner, was an Ayrshire laird. Together they helped Conn O'Neill escape from Carrickfergus Castle, where he had been imprisoned for rioting, and offered to obtain a royal pardon for him in return for a share of his substantial estates in Antrim and Down.

The northeastern counties of Antrim and Down, within sight of the coast of Scotland, are described by contemporary writers as "all waste and desolate." Hamilton & Montgomery set about encouraging a re-population on their new lands, which had been depopulated due to the English/Gaelic wars. The resulting large migration was not a plantation, not an invasion, nor a conquest but a settlement.

Hamilton & Montgomery did not wrest a fertile, cultivated and prosperous region from Gaelic proprietors. They came instead to a country devastated by war and famine, they created the bridgehead through which the Scots were to come into Ulster for the rest of the century.

Having seen the successful settlement of Scottish families in counties Antrim & Down by Hamilton & Montgomery, King James I was inspired to attempt another. He hoped the planting of loyal subjects would stop the threat of rebellion. The king was also worried that if a Spanish army invaded Ireland they would find support among the native Irish. The king was now in possession of vast underpopulated territories in six counties in Ireland when other Irish earls fled. Scottish and English families were encouraged to re-locate to Ulster. James now had a way of driving a Lowland, Protestant and English-speaking wedge into the heart of a Gaelic and Catholic world.

To Scots the North of Ireland was only a three hour boat ride away. Many had heard about the success of the Hamilton and Montgomery settlement and had hopes they would find new and better lives. Some saw the opportunity to acquire their own estates. Farmers hoped to build new and bigger farms & landless laborers hoped to acquire their own small piece of land for farming. They were ordinary Scottish families, seeking a new life. They were mainly Presbyterian in faith and outlook, and overwhelmingly Scots-speaking in language.

This was just the beginning as these first Ulster-Scots settlements were built upon over the following centuries, through constant fresh migrations which both increased the size of the Ulster-Scots community and enriched their heritage and traditions.

Land hungry Scots crossed the North Channel in ever increasing numbers. What they found would have daunted all but the hardiest spirits: "for in all those three parishes [Glenabbey, Donaghadee and Newtonards] thirty cabins could not be found, nor any stone walls, but ruined roofless churches, and a few vaults at Grey Abbey, and a stump of an old castle in Newton, in each of which some gentlemen sheltered themselves at their first coming over." But the land was good and largely unfarmed, as the native Irish economy had been pastoral rather than arable. Land was granted to men known as "undertakers," who pledged themselves to bring over settlers from England and Scotland. Settlers were also encouraged by the promise of long leases, far better than the unfavorable terms in their native Scotland, where short leases acted as a disincentive to good husbandry and improvements. Plantation, the Scots were soon to show, could be made to work, especially when it was supported by adequate military force.

Native Irish chieftains, deeply resentful of their changing circumstances, took to the wilds as outlaws, and as "woodkernes" represented a real threat to the more isolated settlers, many of whom were wiped out in midnight raids. The descendants of the Scots migrants were later to face a similar threat on the American frontier. While the Irish raiders were tough, the Scots were even tougher.

Despite the woodkerns, and the wolves, the Plantation survived and prospered. In 1634 Sir William Brereton, in a journey through Ayrshire noted that: "Above the thousand persons have, within the last two years past, left the country wherein they lived and are gone for Ireland. They have come by one hundred in company through the town, and three hundred have gone on hence together, shipped for Ireland at one tide?" By 1640 it is estimated that as many as 100,000 Scots had settled in Ulster compared with some 20,000 migrants from England.

The Scots brought a strict Calvinist doctrine, which by the late 1630s was taking a firmly Presbyterian shape, as opposed to the Anglican church favored by the king. Later in the century an Anglican opponent of the puritans had an impact of Scottish Presbyterianism on Ulster. Charles I, James' son and successor, attempted to force Scotland to accept the English forms of worship, took a path that led directly to the Civil Wars. This had a profound effect on the Protestant settlers in Ulster. Although the Scots had originally been made welcome by the English Lord Deputy in Dublin, their enthusiasm for Presbyterianism made them politically suspect. Confronted by official hostility they faced an even greater threat in 1641 when the native Irish rose in revolt, venting years of frustration on the bewildered and badly frightened settlers.

During the wars the Ulster Scots had played a full part, assisting, among other things, in the famous siege of Londonderry. Among their rewards they could expect, at the very least, a measure of religious toleration: after all, the revolution settlement had at last conceded the right of Scotland to a Presbyterian church after years of Stewart persecution. But the Ulster Presbyterians were in caught in a paradox: though the reign of William of Orange brought a measure of calm, they were still subject to a religious establishment in Dublin, which remained strictly Anglican in outlook. During the reign of Queen Anne the Presbyterians, though part of the victorious Protestant party, were to find themselves just as outcast as their despised Catholic neighbors.

The successive wars had the effect of once again depopulating the fields of Ulster as many of the original settlers had been killed or had returned to Scotland for their own safety. Adding to the troubles in Ulster was a series of terrible harvest failures in the 1690's in Scotland caused by a volcanic eruption in Iceland resulted in hundreds of thousands of famine refugees fleeing their homeland.

An appeal was made for fresh settlers, with twenty-year farm leases being held out as bait. Thus began the last great wave of Scots migration to Ulster. In the decade up to 1700 up to 70,000 of these refugees from all over Scotland migrated to Ulster. This was to be the biggest single influx of Scots into Ireland. The permanent Scots imprint on Ulster is crystal clear and this last wave was among the most significant, especially for the future of America and the creation of that unique outlook that was in time to be known as Scots-Irish.

By 1707, the year that the Scottish parliament merged with its English cousin, the Protestant colony of Ulster was a hundred years old. The differences that had existed between the original settlers, whither Scots or English, had largely ceased to exist. It is now possible to discover a distinct Protestant Ulster identity. Religion provided the common bond, rather than race, uniting dissenters of differing faiths, though it is also true to say that the Scots settlers had acquired a cultural domination over their English counterparts. Though loyal to the crown, they were a people who, through decades of adversity, had become self reliant, and never quite lost the feeling that they were surrounded by a hostile world: "They learned from hard experience," one commentator noted "that one must fight for what he has; that turning the other cheek does not guarantee property rights; in short, that might is right, at least in the matter of life and land ownership." In the early years of the eighteenth century they found themselves once again under attack, though this time from a totally unexpected direction.

In 1704 the government of Queen Anne, dominated by the Anglican High Church party, passed an act that had a direct bearing on the Ulster Scots. All office holders were obliged to take communion in the Established Church, a measure which at a single stroke virtually wiped out much of the civil administration in the north of Ireland. It was even seriously suggested that Presbyterian ministers could be brought before Anglican church courts, charged with fornicating with their own wives. The worst features of the new legislation was removed by the Toleration Act of 1719, but the damage had been done, and full discrimination against the Presbyterians was not finally ended until the middle of the nineteenth century.

The Ulster Presbyterians had endured-and survived-past waves of religious discrimination, and would most likely have continued to thrive in the face of official hostility. But in the early years of the new century they were faced with an additional challenge, one that threatened the whole basis of their economic existence in Ireland. By 1710 most of the farm leases granted to the settlers in the 1690s had expired; new leases were withheld until the tenants agreed to pay greatly increased rents, which many could simply not afford to do. Rather than submit to these new conditions whole communities, led by their ministers, began to take ship for the Americas: a new exodus was about to begin.

It looks like Robert Tate may have been in that first wave of Ulster Scots immigration. It's unclear if was born in Ulster Ireland or Augusta County, VA. More than likely he was born in Ulster. We don't know if his parents immigrated with him, stayed, or had already died before he left. Based on the history of the Ulster Settlement we know why he came.

As the years passed thousands of people crossed the Atlantic from Ulster, just as their ancestors had crossed the North Channel from Scotland a century or more before. However, by 1750 the pace of migration began to slow, as relatively normal conditions returned to Ulster after years of economic dislocation. The period of calm was all too brief. In 1771 a fresh wave of migration began, once again induced by the greed of the landlords, which was arguably to have serious consequences for the security of the British Empire in North America. Faced with a fresh series of rent hikes, local people at first mounted some resistance, gathered together in an organization known as the Hearts of Steel; but the landlords had the law and the army on their side. In the short period left before the outbreak of the American Revolution a further 30,000 Ulstermen left for the colonies, joining some 200,000 who had already made their homes there earlier in the century. The contemporary image of the Ulster Protestant is most commonly that of the Orangeman, with all of his exaggerated loyalty to Britain and the Crown. For the dispossessed of the 1770s the opposite was true: they had lost everything, and came to America with an intense hostility towards all things British.

For the original Quaker and Puritan settlers of the thirteen colonies, largely English in origin, the emigrants of Ulster, an increasingly common sight, were usually described as "Irish." To counter this misconception the newcomers adopted the older description of ?Scots?. It was in this semantic exchange that a new breed took shape: they were the "Scots-Irish."

For many years these people had lived on a frontier in Ireland, and it seemed natural for them to push on to a new frontier, where land was both plentiful and cheap, introducing a new urgency and dynamism into a rather complacent colonial society. Before long these "backwoodsmen," distrustful of all authority and government, had established a hold on the western wilderness, fighting Indians and wolves in much the same way that they had once fought wolves and woodkern.

The Ulster-Scots did make it to the America colonies via other ports through-out the 17th century. However it was in the early 18th century that the Scotch-Irish of Ulster really began arriving in the new world in massive numbers. There were five great waves of 18th century Ulster emigration to America: in 1717-18; 1725-29; 1740-41; 1754-55 and 1771-75. In 1717, the year ships were officially chartered for 5,000 men and women to head to Pennsylvania, a severe drought completely destroyed crops on the Ulster farmlands. The 18th century Scots-Irish emigrants sailed to America from the ports of Belfast, Londonderry, Larne, Newry and Portrush, the ships arriving on a regular basis at Philadelphia, New Castle (Delaware), New York and Charleston. It's estimated up to a quarter of a million Scots-Irish emigrated across the Atlantic from the north of Ireland through the 18th century.

Most Scotch-Irish immigrants were educated, skilled workers. Even though many paid for their emigration by becoming indentured servants they were well equipped to lead successful, independent lives when their period of servitude ended. Many easily blended into American life.

The Scotch-Irish settled in the middle colonies, especially in Pennsylvania where the city of Philadelphia was a major port of entry. Over subsequent decades, the Scotch-Irish migrated south following the Great Philadelphia Road, the main route used for settling the interior southern colonies. Traveling down Virginia?s Shenandoah Valley, then south into the North Carolina Piedmont region, they reached South Carolina by the 1760s. Settlers here often became frontiersmen and Indian fighters. These hardy resolute emigrants became first citizens of American frontier lands, opened up in the movement from the eastern seaboard regions of the New World.

With the outbreak of the Revolution in 1775 the Scots-Irish, in interesting contrast to many of their Scottish cousins, were among the most determined adherents of the rebel cause. Their frontier skills were particularly useful in destroying Burgoyne?s army in the Saratoga campaign; and George Washington was even moved to say that if the cause was lost everywhere else he would take a last stand among the Scots-Irish of his native Virginia. Serving in the British Army, Captain Johann Henricks, one of the much despised "Hessians," wrote in frustration "Call it not an American rebellion, it is nothing more than an Irish-Scotch Presbyterian Rebellion." It was their toughness, virility and sense of divine mission that was to help give shape to a new nation.

Twenty-five of the American generals were of Ulster descent as was up to half of the revolutionary army. One famous force of regular soldiers was the Pennsylvania Line and it was composed almost entirely of Ulstermen and the sons of Ulstermen. The turning point in the war was the Battle of King's Mountain in South Carolina on 7 October 1780. A body of American militiamen defeated a British force twice its size and took 1,000 prisoners. The five colonels in the American force were all Presbyterian elders of Ulster stock and their men were of the same race and faith.

When the Scots-Irish emigrated to the colonies, they brought with them their tradition of making whiskey and fighting authority. By 1776, over 250,000 Ulstermen had come to the colonies.

In 1791 the federal government imposed a tax excise on whiskey. The tax levvy was higher for small family run distillers than it was for bigger mass producers. This angered the mainly Scots-Irish farmers as it effectively eliminated any profit from the sale or barter of an important means of income and became the lightning rod for a wide variety of grievances against the new federal government. The settlers in Pennsylvania refused to pay and the uprising that followed was to be known as the Whiskey Rebellion.

The settlers of Western Pennsylvania whom refused to pay broke out in armed rebellion. At some times, the rebellion had a force of seven thousand armed militia troops. To restore order to the ensuing Whiskey Rebellion, George Washington sent the Continental Army. The 13,000 federal troops sent to the western Pennsylvania area was the first test of the power of the new United States government.

Although the army was successful in temporarily ending the rebellion the political problem remained. To avoid further troubles with the tough and stubborn Scotch-Irish settlers, and break up their center of resistance to taxation, Washington made a settlement with them, giving incentives for those who would move to western Virginia.

Pioneers were offered sixty acres of land in Kentucky (at that time a western part of Virginia). To gain the land all the settler had to do was build a permanent structure and raise "native corn." No family could eat sixty acres worth of corn a year and it was too perishable and bulky to transport for sale. The Scotch-Irish in Pennsylvania knew well how to make whiskey, and they used the rye of Pennsylvania to make the beverage. By switching the base of the beverage to corn, the problem of getting rid of a bulky grain that was too expensive to ship was solved.

Bourbon County, Kentucky, became a primary shipping port for this new corn whiskey and distillers such as Reverend Elijah Craig began shipping their whiskey in charred oak barrels which gave it a mellow caramel colour. Soon all corn whiskey which was aged in charred oak barrels and shipped from this port became known as "Bourbon" whiskey.

The Scotch-Irish character traits such as loyalty to kin, extreme mistrust of governmental authority and legal strictures, and a propensity to bear arms and to use them, helped shape the American identity.






Birth:
possibly Ulster, Ireland or Augusta Co. VA