Person:John Tate (30)

http://www.genealogy.com/users/t/a/t/Johnnie-L-Tate/FILE/0001page.html

A. John Tate (c1670, Ulster, Ireland)/Beaty, Sarah (1687, VA)(6 children)(my 7th G’Grandparents-cjd)(“Tates….#A, p.169)

(“Tates…p.169) The progenitor of this family was a member of the covenator Creed, his parents left Scotland and settled in the North of Ireland. He was born c1670 in Ulster, Ireland, was wounded in the siege of Londonderry Apr. 1689 and suffered ill effects the remainder of his life, though he did not die young. He married Sarah Beaty, sister of Francis and John Beaty. One John Tate had land in Beerley Manor, Augusta Co., VA in 1749 and lived near Francis Beaty who had land in both Beverley Manor and Bordens surveys of Augusta Co., VA. It is not known by us (but proven by other Tates after the printing of this book) if the above mentioned John Tate was father of John Tate of Bedford Springs, PA whose family is mentioned by several writers of Augusta Co., VA. John Tate, of this sketch was brother-in-law of Francis Beaty. On 10 Oct 1769 Francis Beaty Gent. Of Mechlenburg Co., NC Power of Attorney to John Tate, brother-in-law, of Augusta Co., VA to sell land belonging to Francis Beaty, including land purchased of John Kerr on Flat Spring Branch, adjacent to other land where I last lived before moving to NC. Also 200 acres adjacent to Charles Berry. Wit: Robert Gray, John and James Beaty. Ref: “Chronicles of Scot-Irish in Virginia”, by Lyman Chalkley, Vol. 3, p.501; Mecklenburg Co., NC Will Book “G”, p.81; Kershaw Co., SC Will book “C”, p.20; Book “1”, p.31. Mrs. Edwina Epperson Muff.

CHILDREN BORN IN IRELAND:

1. Tate, John (Robert Sr.-) (b. 1710, No. Ulster, Ireland/3-1801, Augusta Co., VA)/Doak, Mary (1710-24,PA) m.1743(8 children) (my 6th G’Grandparents)

2. Tate, James (b. 1716, No. Ulster, Ireland)/Campbell, Nancy

3. Tate, Robert b. (1718, No. Ulster, Ireland)

4. Tate, Samuel (b. (1720, No. Ulster, Ireland)/unknown

5. Tate, William (b. 1721, No. Ulster, Ireland)

6. Tate, Elizabeth (b. 1722, No. Ulster Ireland)/McConnell, William

7. Tate, Sarah (b. 1724, No. Ulster, Ireland)/Mitchell, James

• (note: not sure if Robert is son, believe that the name Robert is middle name of #1. Above)

http://www.genealogy.com/users/t/a/t/Johnnie-L-Tate/FILE/0001page.html

Caution (may contain errors or family tradition information):

Origin of the “TATE” Family surname:

         We may properly credit the Romans with originating our modern system of names, but we may equally blame the demise of this intelligent practice on the barbarians who swept across Western Europe between the 3rd and 5th centuries A.D.  During the Dark Ages (following the fall of Rome) most Europeans were known first only by their given name, and later occasionally by their given name prefixed to their place of birth.

         The advent of the 11th century, however, saw the cultural, social, and economic conditions in Europe grow more complex.  Populations increased dramatically; the rise of deudalism and the early stirrings of mercantilism supplanted the simple communal life of the country village.  All these developments forced people into ever-growing towns and cities.  Communication, the handmaid of commerce, became more efficient.  Under such conditions, the use of a single name caused increasing confusion, and soon, the hereditary surname (a last name, bequeathed to each generation of children in the same or similar form) found growing acceptance.

         Perhaps the most notable instance of this development was the introduction of feudalism into England with the Norman Invasion of 1066. Within the space of three generations, the French worked an almost total transformation of English culture.  In particular, the Anglo-Saxon and Celtic language was merged with, and in some cases was replaced by, the native tongue of the new Norman rulers.  In the course of time other modifications followed and hereditary surnames achieved a clearly defined order previously unknown.  Beginning in the 17th century, this system was transferred virtually intact to the American colonies.

         The family name Tate is an interesting example of the evolutionary nature of this system.  Like many surnames, it has several possible origins.  It may derive from a personal name such as the Old Norse name “Teit”, or the Anglo-Saxon “Tata”.  “Teitr” was an Old Norse word for merry and may also have been a source for this family name.  Although the British are generally thought of as an Anglo-Norman people, Northern Britian was widely settled by Norse people.  Their contribution to the English language is still evident today.  PLEASE NOTE: Norse & Norman original meaning were Viking/Northman.

         After the Conquest, Norman domination caused many significant changes in Britain, including the adoption of hereditary surnames.  It is possible that at least one branch of the Tate family name developed from the Norman French word for head, “tete”, which was sometimes spelled “tait”.  This may indicate an origin as a nickname.  Alternately, it may have evolved from a local place name such as “atte rivers tait” (at the river’s head).

         The English system of naming, previous to the 12th century was rather informal.  The Anglo-Saxons generally picked one name for each child, which was often created from a compound of nouns and adjectives to form a “Theme” name unlike any other name.  Descriptive information, such as place of birth, occupation, relationship (son of), or nicknames was often added to the persons Christian name.  When the British began following the Norman custom of repeating simple names such as William, Robert, Walter, or Ralph, hereditary surnames became a necessity to avoid confusion.  Consequently, many persons who were known locally by such names as “William, atte (at the) tate”, or “Rob, son of Godfrey”, found it convenient to call themselves William Tate and Rob Godfrey and retain these names as hereditary. 

Due to its several possible origins, the surname Tate belongs in at least two and possibly three of the four general classes of name origin presently in use by genealogists. These classes in order of size are: place names (Hill, Rivers), relationship (Robertson, Walters), occupation (Mason, Miller), and nicknames (Longfellow, Turnbull).

         Because of the evolutionary nature of name development, it is virtually impossible to pinpoint the exact date of the formation of any new name. Tate, of course, is no exception.  However, some of the ancient records of the English nation, including the famous Hundred Rolls, give evidence of early forms of the name and show usage as early as 1273.  The names listed below are excerpts from these records.

                   Nicholas Tate – County Cambridgeshire – Hundred Rolls, 1273

               William Tate – St. Dionis Backchurch Marriage Records, 1635
         The surname Tate is most abundant in the English county of Durham (See Durham Family through my father’s mother’s Menasco family) and is also found in Northumberland.  By the time of the 1st Census in America in 1790, many Tate families had settled in this country.  The average Tate Household had 5.5 members and census records indicate that there were more Tate Heads-of-Households living in Pennsylvania, South Carolina, and North Carolina than in any other part of America.  Official United States records compiled in 1974 indicate that in that year Tate was the 440th most frequently occurring surname in the nation.  Today, (at the printing of this book in 1978), there were approximately 62,200 adult Americans named Tate.

         The question of rightful ownership of coat armor does not pertain in this country, and just a  few families have legitimate claim to specific insignia.  Heraldry is instead highly regarded for its aesthetic and historical qualities – for the symbols, devices, and colors generally associated with any particular surname tell a story of our ancestors. Burke’s General Armory lists 2 different coats of arms for the Tate family:

Heraldry (Coat of Arms): There are 2 Coat of Arms for the Tate Family: 1 is French, #2 is English. Following is the English Tate: Arms: Per fess or/and gules a pale counterchanged, 3 Cornish Choughs proper.

Crest: An arm enbowed and couped at the shoulder vested per pale gules and/or holding in the hand proper a pine branch.

(in regular language)

Arms: 3 Blackbirds on a shield divided by a horizontal line, the top half gold and the bottom half red, with a vertical bar down the center, each half the color of the opposite side.

Crest: An arm bent at the elbow and cut off at the shoulder with the sleeve divided by a line, the left side red and the right side gold, holding in the hand a gold pine branch.

Bends=diagonal stripes

Resses=Horizontal stripes/Chevrons:=self explanatory

Crosses=self-explanatory

Charges=Representations of animals and natural objects. Did not become popular until the 2nd half of the 12th Century when the use of surnames was revived.

The French Tate Family Coat of Arms is easily distinguished from the English family, for its Crest is a Blue Lion with a Gold Fleur-de-lis on the shoulder.

         Burke, Sir Bernard.  “The General Armory of England, Scotland, Ireland, & Wales” London: 1884. Reprint.  Baltimore: Genealogical Publishing Co., 1969 is the main reference source for English Coat-of-Arms.

Ancestral Emigrants:

         The first immigrants were the English, who were to lead all other nationalities in immigration until the first half of the 19th century.  Early English immigrants consisted, basically, of two different groups who settled in two different places:  The Puritans in Massachusetts and the Cavaliers in Virginia.

         Later, a flood of immigrants to Virginia was a direct result of the English civil war………King Charles 1st attempted to force loans from the gentry and commercial class. The gentry refused, and Charles became desperate for money….When hostilities broke out, the     battle lines were drawn between the Royalists, who supported the king, and the Puritans, who supported Parliament. 

         The Royalists were recruited from the Cavaliers, who were, for the most part, wealthy landowners & Roman Catholics; the bulk of the Puritan forces were drawn mostly from the common people.  When the series of wars raged from 1642 to 1649, many people, Puritan and Royalists alike, left England for the New World, but Cromwell’s final victory over Charles 1st prompted a huge migration of Cavaliers    to Virginia.  Virginia appeared to be the only refuge for supporters of the monarchy, they were not welcome in Puritan New England.  Also, in Virginia, the Cavaliers found a social and economic system, which was already similar to that of the English, gentry.  Large tobacco plantations were the outgrowth of the earliest settlements, and, as time passed, these plantations took on the aura of the English estate.  From its beginning, the Virginia Colony had a significant population of gentry.  In most cases the colonial gentry was made up of the younger sons of the English landed families.  Emigration to Virginia offered a ready opportunity for employment and the important chance of achieving high social standing.  Many people came because they were forced to—vagrants, paupers, thieves, even prisoners of war were deported to America.  It may be seen that great numbers of immigrants were actually driven to the New World; driven because of political, economic, or religious reasons, or sometimes more directly, driven out by the law because they were considered to be undesirables………

… By the 1st half of the 19th century, Irish and German immigrants began to pour in. It is estimated that nearly one million came in a 5-year period as a direct result of the potato famine in Ireland in 1845.

         In passing, the desire for a homestead as a motive for both immigration and migration cannot be underestimated.  A great impetus was given to both movements on 20 May 1862, when Abraham Lincoln signed the Homestead Act into law.  The law gave to “Any person who is the head of a family, or who has arrived at the age of 21 years, and is a citizen of the United States, or who shall have filed his declaration of intention to become such,” the right to 160 acres of land for only a filing fee and the stipulation that he live on it for at least 5 years and make certain improvements……

         If your ancestors immigrated in, or prior to, 1800, the listing which follows contains all known recorded immigrants of the Tate Family for that time frame:

1. Elizabeth Tate; emigrated from London, England to Maryland on board the ship “Maryland Planter” in Feb. 1775; age 20; spinster; indentured servant for four years.

2. George Tate; transported (*) from Newgate Prison to Maryland on board the ship “Rappahanock” in Mar.1726/7; indentured servant.

3. James Tate (or Tute); immigrated to Virginia around 1652.

4. James Tate; transported from Newgate Prison to Virginia on board the ship “Forward Gally” in Oct.1729; indentured servant.

5. John Tate; immigrated to Virginia in or prior to 1665; owned 80 acres of land in Charles City Co. in that year.

(note): Seems as a very good possibility that this may be the father of my 7th Great-Grandfather John Tate, who was born in Virginia 1670.***

6. John Tate; emigrated from Scotland to Savannah, GA with his wife and 4 children on board the ship “Marlborough” in August 1774; age 25; carpenter.

7. Magnus Tate; died 1747; emigrated from Orkney Islands north of Ireland to Philadephia, PA in 1696; settled at Frederick Co., VA, then moved to Jefferson Co., W. Virginia; married to Honor (last name unknown).(see famous Tates for descendants)

8. Mary Tate; transported from Newgate Prison to Maryland on board the ship “Speedwell and Mediterranean” in April 1741; indentured servant.

9. Oliver Tate; emigrated from Ireland to New York on board the ship “York” in Jan. 1775; age 21; husbandman (farmer), indentured servant.

10. Samuel Tate; emigrated from County Derry, Ireland to Pennsylvania in 1763. (see famous Tates for descendants)

11. Thomas Tate; emigrated from England to Virginia on board the ship “Globe” in August 1635; age 22.

(*): There were no less that 150 capital crimes in England for which a man might be transported. Of course, there were the expected ones of murder, arson, and treason, but there were also lesser ones such as maiming, stealing a cow, cutting down trees along an avenue, sending threatening letters, and standing mute when addressed by a legal official. Some convicts were even people of quality. One gentleman of high birth, for instance, was transported for stealing books out of a library. As a child, George Washington was taught to read and write by a transported convict who had been a schoolmaster. Especially in the countryside, the crimes, which resulted in transportation, were often very petty. One man was transported for stealing a silver shoebuckle. Another was sent to America and indentured for seven years for the theft of a chicken.

(*) Indentured Servant: received free transportation to America, and at the end of his/her contract, which usually ran 4 years, received his/her freedom dues. This payment was usually clothing, a gun, tools, some money, and sometimes as much as fifty acres of land. The indentured servant had often learned a useful trade as well.

                  The usual price of a passage to Maryland or Virginia was 6 pounds.

Following is a list of some marriages in America prior to 1800 1. Elizabeth Tate; m. Harris, Matthew in 1764 probably in Amherst Co., VA.

2. Hannah Tate; m. Hathaway, John 16 May 1792, Boston, Mass.

3. John Tate; m. Steele, Jane around mid-18th century, probably in Charlestown, W. Virginia/d. 1802

4. Magnus Tate; m. Reilly, Mary McCormack- in 1759, probably in Charlestown, W. Virginia

5. Mary Tate; (daughter of #3. above), m. Finley, Samuel in 1795, probably in Virginia