John Robert Tate (1900 - 1980)

Born 6 May 1900 in Hancock Co., TN.

Ancestors

Descendants

Died 30 Oct 1980 at age 80 in Springfield, MO.

Biography

John Tate ... ^[1]

John Robert Tate is my grandfather. I have so many pleasant memories of him. A soft- spoken man, I don't ever remember hearing him lose his temper or raise his voice. He was born on a farm in East Tennessee in 1900. His dad was Curran Tate and his mom was Theodocia Alice Fletcher Tate. They lived along the Tennessee and Virginia border. By 1910, the Tate family were moving westward, and had settled in Ozark County Missouri, which is along the Mo.- Arkansas border. It would seem that my grandpa, who would have been 10, headed there with his dad Curran and his grandfather Robert Clark Tate. Later on, Curran moved his crew to Greene County, where he lived until his death. Robert Clark Tate appears to have died in Thornfield, MO. in Ozark County. I know little of my grandfather's early years. He was a farmboy, I presume. As a young family man, he lived in Fulbright and worked for the water company. My brother has his old ID badge. He raised his family of seven with my grandmother, Nuil Wilma Jones Tate. The 1900 US CENSUS shows John R. Tate son of Curren M. Tate and Docia A. Tate with siblings Tula V., Nellie C. in Hancock County TN. This is on the TN/VA border. Often, people in this area are listed interchangeably as TN or VA residents. The 1910 US CENSUS shows the Tate family had moved from TN to Marion, Ozark MO. This county includes Gainesville and Thornfield MO. At this time, Della Fahn Tate has been added to the above siblings. The 1930 US CENSUS has all the kids grown up and moved away except my Great Uncle Loren (Lorain) Tate who was listed as 15 years old. They were living in Greene County MO. northwest of Springfield, in an area called Robbertson's Prairie. This is where he and Docia both died. I remember watching so many baseball games with him. Always the St. Louis Cardinals. He passed that on to my dad and to me. He had a stroke in 1980 and was hospitalized. I was only 16, but I convinced my dad to let me drive solo all the way to Springfield to visit him. He couldn't speak, but I held his hand, and I knew that he appreciated me coming all that way to see him. He had tears in his eyes. That was the last time I saw him alive. He passed away that fall. At that time, me and Linda and Wayne drove to Springfield for the funeral. I remember seeing all my relatives, and the beautiful fall colors as we drove along the Ozark ridge on US 60. My grandpa was laid to rest in Galloway MO, peacefully resting alongside so many other Tates and Galloways.

Sources

• "United States Census, 1900," index and images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/pal:/MM9.1.1/MS85-38H : accessed 19 May 2012), John R Tate in household of Curren M Tate, Civil District 14, Hancock, Tennessee.
• "United States Census, 1910," index and images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/pal:/MM9.1.1/M2BK-XH7 : accessed 19 May 2012), Johny R Tate in household of Curren M Tate, Marion, Ozark, Missouri.
• "United States Census, 1930," index and images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/pal:/MM9.1.1/XHVN-K6L : accessed 19 May 2012), John R Tate in household of John R Tate, High Prairie, Webster, Missouri.
• Randy Tate, firsthand knowledge. Click the Changes tab for the details of edits by Randy and others.* MO Death Certificate for Robert Clark Tate of Thornfield MO.

1. ↑ Entered by Randy Tate, Dec 1, 2011