The Victorians

Queen Victoria 

 On the 20^th of June 1837, King William IV died and his niece, Victoria, became Queen of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland at the early age of eighteen. Her reign of sixty-four years was known for its huge change in both industry and technology. This change brought about spectacular entertainment for the masses, sensational crimes, greater divisions between the rich and poor with even greater and more grand attempts to combat the squalor and diseases of this era which had been set into motion by this change. It should also be noted that in 1837 there were only five cities outside of London with populations over one hundred thousand.

We should look at the population of the United States to acquire a fair comparison. According to the 1840 Census of the One Hundred Largest Cities [released on the 15 June 1998 – US Census Bureau] the largest cities were New York, Baltimore and New Orleans. Various other cities on the list are also cited with their total recorded population.

New York City           312,710

Baltimore                    102,710

New Orleans               102,193

Philadelphia                  93,665

Boston                          93,383

Charleston                    29,261

Louisville                     21,210

Richmond                     20,153

Savannah                      11,214

Norfolk                         10,920

Wilmington                     5,335

It is important to note that the three largest urban areas in America were seaports with good harbors; however, harbors alone were not enough to warrant a large population growth; for instance, in 1840, Wilmington, North Carolina had 5,335 folk, while Charleston South Carolina had 29,261.  Usually various things such as farming and trading methodologies, technology, fashion [social as well as clothing], were introduced to the United States from England or various areas of Europe rather than from the United States to England and Europe.

Victorian Children Textile Workers

During this period, the textile industry was at the center of British industrial expansion.  Cottons, wools, silks and the necessary dyestuff was produced at unprecedented rates and exported throughout the British Empire. The cotton industry settled in Manchester which was noted for its rainy weather because cotton needs a humid atmosphere to keep the fibers pliable. Halifax and Leeds were centers for woolens of various types. Macclesfield became the new silk-weaving center even though Spitalfields in London was known for its elaborately designed, exquisite silk fabrics. The chemical industry developed synthetic dyes in Merseyside which produced brighter colors than the vegetable dyes previously used.

Photography came into being at various dates depending upon one’s location and the definition of certain terms; however, it is generally accepted that by 1838 photography had been developed by Louis Daguerre in France and by William Fox-Talbot in England. One of the oldest photographic portraits known in the United States was made in 1839-1840 by Joseph Draper of New York, the subject was his sister; Dorothy Catherine Draper.

Postage stamps were first used in May 1840 and post office boxes came into being in England during the 1850’s.

The railway network in England flourished between 1830 and 1870. In 1841, the Great Western Railroad which ran from Bristol to London in just four hours was completed. By 1852 there were over seven thousand miles of rail track in England and Scotland. The Baltimore and Ohio opened in the United States in 1830.

In 1843, the author, Charles Dickens’ A Christmas Carol sold out in just six days.

The Crystal Palace opened as part of the Great Exhibition in 1851. Coal fired steam engines powered England’s booming economy, be it in a factory or by rail.

The affluent middle classes usually lived outside and to the west of these cities in order to take advantage of the prevailing wind which blew the smells of industrial development away. In these suburbs there were trees and usually gardens. The proud homeowner expected to have central heat, piped water, flushing water closets [toilet], and even electric lights in some areas.

Respectable artisans lived nearer to their places of employment. Usually their cottages were built in terraces. Most of their cottages were pleasant enough with piped water and gas lighting. Each cottage had either an inside toilet or an earthen outside one. Wallpaper in flowery patterns was now affordable by all of these folk.

It was a far different story for those of the laboring classes which worked in the new industrialized cities. The water for these families was piped into one location in each of these neighborhoods and was cut on for just a few hours each week.  In the better areas there might be an outside toilet in an outside yard which served a group of families. Many times when the “outhouse” overflowed, sewage filled the yard. Many of the landlords turned a blind eye to this problem. It wasn’t long before these areas became slums, full of illness brought about by these disease ridden living conditions.

 

Row Houses In Leeds, England

Normally, most of these homes were built in rows with one house adjoining the other in order to make better use of the land which the property owner controlled, but in Leeds, which was the most notorious of England’s slums, these row houses were also built back to back leaving no room for even the smallest yard. Needless to say, dirt floors were the order of the day.

In 1853, smallpox vaccination became compulsory.

In 1854, a cholera epidemic led to demands for a clean water supply and proper sewage systems.

In 1858 with the end of the East India Company, India came under British rule.

In 1859, employment in factories of children under the age of twelve years of age was prohibited.

In 1863, the first underground railway opened in London. It ran from Paddington to Farringdon.

1868 was the year of the last public hanging in England.

1870 & 1882, The Married Women’s Act allowed married women to retain ownership of their own property.

On the 1^st of May, 1876, Queen Victoria acquired the additional title of The Empress of India. Alexander Graham Bell invented the telephone this same year.

In 1887, five out of every six infants to die in Bethnal Green homes where the whole family shared a bed were found to have suffocated. This neighborhood was only a twenty-five minute walk from the Bank of England [Source: Hudson, Christopher. “It Was The Worst Slum In Victorian Britian. Yet Its Crime-ridden Streets Were SAFER Than Todays.”Daily Mail News, England, 10 July 2008].

In 1888, Jack the Ripper terrorizes East London.

By 1891, the number of cities with populations over one hundred thousand in England had grown to twenty-three. In other words, more than one half of England’s total population lived in towns with most of this number working in factories.

In 1894, The Finance Act introduced death duties which led to the breakup of some large estates.

Queen Victoria was born the 24^th of May 1819 in Kensington Palace, London, United Kingdom.

She died on the 22 January 1901 at Osborne House, East Cowes, United Kingdom.

The popular English novelists of the Victorian Era from Charles Dickens and Arthur Conan Doyle to the Brontë sisters, Elizabeth Gaskell, George Eliot, and the ever popular, Jane Austin all shed light upon this dramatic period of English growth that eventually made its way across “the pond” to influence our American Dream. 

Journal of Miss Lottie M. Davis - May – June 1934

Massanutten [Peaked] Mountain] as viewed from the Skyline Drive.
This is the area covered in the Journal of Miss Lottie Davis

May 1934

Page 105

May 1934 - Came in on Tuesday.

 1 May 1934 – Finished door panel.

 2 May 1934 – Went back to Dr. Preston about eye.

 2 May 1934 – Mrs. George Lam came home from Hospital.

 3 May 1934 – Grany painted living room.

 7 May 1934 – Busy Bees met here forty-six present.

 6 May 1934 – Got my new glasses.

 7 May 1934 – Dos Dean taken to Hospital  Dr. Miller.

 7 May 1934 – Started door panel.

     May 1934 – Miss Mae Tarrors waited on Mr. Plum.

  6 May 1934 – Went on hike.

13 May 1934 – Robert Braitwaite died seventy-four years old.

  6 May 1934 -  Miss Sara Bernice Good & Edgar Mauck married.

15 May 1934 – Miss Marie & Iva Miller, Miss Mae Crabtree, Miss Savillan [Sullivan?], Miss Zigler.

15 May 1934 – Mrs. Rinca left for home in Ohio.

Page 106

May 1934

 18 May 1934 – Started painting over at Clarks.

 19 May 1934 – Mr. & Mrs. Willie Davis new baby boy.

 17 May 1934 – Mrs. Zirkle at Herrings Store.

 20 May 1934 -  dies. [Note: This is the only word on this line.]

 20 May 1920 – Mr. Angus Workman died age seventy years.

 21 May 1934 – Bobie Hammer breaks arm.

 23 May 1934 – New batteries in phone.

 23 May 1934 – Finish door panel. $2.00.

 26 May 1934 -  Had hair cut on Saturday.

 30 May 1934 -  Dr. Rush fixed my teeth. $2.50.

      May 1934 -  Lelia Dean operated on.

 14 May 1934 -  Francis Secrist married.

Gravestone of Miss Lottie M. Davis 

June 1934

Page 106

 13 Jun 1934 – Mrs. Bud Flory new baby boy.

 16 Jun 1934 – Thomas Scruggs married.

 19 Jun 1934 -  Mrs. Willie Lucas new baby.

 29 Jun 1934 – Mrs. Ada Coffman died.

June 1934

Page 107

 9 Jun 1934 – Helen Downey married.

 9 Jun 1934 – Elery Windgard married.

 1 Jun 1934 – Operated on limb – Dr. D[eyerly] & Miller.

 5 Jun 1934 – First Treatment.

 8 Jun 1934 – Mr. A. P. Yancey died.

 7 Jun 1934 -  Ada Simpson taken to Sylivus.

 8 Jun 1934 – Isabel Wright died.

Relatives ... Do You Know How And To Whom You Are Related???

There is yet another familiar saying which we’ve all heard that also  addresses this subject, “You choose your friends but not your relatives.”

The American poet. Robert Frost, said “Home is the place, when you go there, they have to take you in.”  Noah Webster of the Webster Dictionary fame said, “Kinship is the quality or state of being in a relationship.”  From early childhood, most of us are familiar with the Doxology which begins, “As it was in the beginning... .”

Basically, home is where we find our relatives, our kin, blood of our blood, and so on and so forth. Regardless of all this, relatives are the people we got “stuck” with at birth...those who must be notified of births, deaths, marriages, funerals and, of course, family reunions. Relatives share ancestors. Relatives may even be of the “shirt-tailed” or “kissing-kin” variety. Did you know that there are laws which prohibit or forbid the marriage of kin?

Due to the advancement of modern technology it has become necessary to resort to legal court decisions to determine many issues which were never dreamed of even fifty years ago; for instance, “Do children born as a result of modern technology [in vitro fertilization, by a surrogate mother, or by artificial insemination] have a legal right to know the background of their biological parents for medical, religious or even social [such as lineage applications] purposes?”

Does kinship really matter? What about a fiancée that says, “I don’t like his family, but as I am not marrying them, it really doesn’t matter, now does it?”

Scientist now know that personality traits may be inherited just as are medical ones. Genome Magazine [Vol.2, Issue 04, p. 51] states, “Every year, an estimated 30,000-60,000 babies are born as a result of sperm donation.”

We know that we each get 50% of our genes from our father and the other 50% from our mother; however, each child of the same couple will receive various genes from each parent but not necessarily the same ones are inherited by a person’s biological sister or brother. Just as hair and eye coloring are determine by genetics, so too are many medical and social issues just now being discovered.

What exactly is genetic testing? According to the same issue of Genome Magazine cited above, “genetic testing maps out a person’s complete DNA profile to inherited abnormalities that may have health implications while genomic testing sequences the DNA of a tumor to identify potential treatment options.”

We acquire a family when we are born. Our father’s side of the family is referred to as our paternal side and our mother’s side of the family is our maternal side. It is also now known that a peculiarity found in female cell structure allows women to only pass one class of genes which are carried by her mitochondrial DNA. This means that each of us, both male and female,

received our mitochondrial DNA from only our mother, and that she received it only from her mother who received it from hers, and etc.  Likewise, each of our fathers can only share their individual Y-DNA with their sons. This means that a male can be tested for both MtDNA and Y-DNA while a female can only be tested for MtDNA.

Exactly what are these two tests? A Y-DNA test covers 37-111 markers depending on the individual test, and varies in price according to the number of markers covered. An MtDNA test offers the choice of either a limited ypervariable region test, or a full sequence test of the entire mitochondrial DNA chromosome.

In May of 2010, Family Tree DNA started an autosomal microarray chip based DNA test which was called Family Finder. Initially the product used an Affymetrix microarray chip, but Family Tree DNA changed to the Illumina OmniExpress chip and for forward compatibility, retested all customers who had results from the Affymetrix chip.

Family Finder also includes a component called myOrigins. This component applies principal component analysis to the same autosomal data to conduct biogeographical analysis [BGA] of the autosomal DNA. The results of this test provide percentages of DNA associated with general regions or specific ethnic groups [Western Europe, Asia, Jewish, Native American, etc.] Unlike other testing companies, Family Tree DNA chose to strip out markers for mendelian medical issues, MtDNA results, and Y-DNA SNP results. Simply put, the Family Finder autosomal test, allows all of the other genetic make up one carries to be found. It works something like the following:

Gene

Y-DNA=male   Autosomal=all others   MtDNA=female

|        ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||      |  

By marriage [meeting all requirements of various state and federal laws], a couple establishes or creates a family which is a legal continuation of their respective kinship lines and enters into regulated society.

Society exercises some control over marriages in that it distinguishes lawful unions, designates a father and legitimizes children. This recognition gives a child a family name, ancestors, acknowledge of kinship connections and legal rights from the very beginning… .

Marriage is considered a legal binding contract whereby one man and one woman enter into a legal contract promising to live together for their lifetime or until the marriage is legally terminated.

Worldwide there are many types of marriage; but, only term’s relating to marriages within in the United States follow:

1.      Ceremonial marriage is a wedding ceremony performed in accordance with the law of the state in which it is performed.

2.      Common law marriage is a private arrangement without a wedding ceremony or observance of legal requirements. Some states do not sanction this form of marriage.

3.      Consensual marriage requires spoken vows confirming the couple’s intent. The difference between a common law marriage and a consensual marriage is that vows are not required in a common law marriage.

4.      Proxy Marriage requires special permission as it is allowed only in unusual circumstances which may keep the couple apart. Most states discourage this practice which allows for substitutes to take the vows for the couple in absentia.

5.      Miscegenation is the name for marriage or cohabitation between people of different races or nationalities. Anti-miscegenation laws have been ruled unconstitutional by the United States Supreme Court.

6.      A secret marriage is a marriage that most people aren’t aware of. To publicize a secret marriage is a misdemeanor. This form of marriage is commonly used by police or other governmental agents to escape public attention which would allow vindictive criminals to their families.

It is understood that when a couple marries both will leave their family of orientation [family of one’s parents and relatives] to become a family of procreation [the family created by marriage].  By marriage both spouses acquire a family of affinity [the birth family of one’s spouse].

A child from the prior marriage of either one of the spouses becomes a step-brother or step-sister to the children of the couple’s marriage. Likewise, children who share one biological parent are known as half-brothers or half-sisters.

In the United States today kinship is figured bilaterally which means than an individual is affiliated with and descent is traced through relatives on both the maternal and the paternal sides.

Lineal descent is a descent figured direct or in a straight line from person to ancestor with no intervening link between the ancestor and descendant.

Collateral blood relatives descend from a common antecedent but can neither ascend to nor descend from other collateral relatives. An aunt or uncle is a collateral relation as is a great aunt or great uncle.

There is a story circulating in various parts of the “South” about Fred, a widower, and his only son, Roscoe, who lived with him. The story goes something like this...

Fred dug ginseng roots, raised a little patch of a garden, and collected commodity cheese and dried milk. Jim-Bob, a neighbor two hills over, had a thriving business and Roscoe worked for him. Roscoe didn’t report his wages because his job mostly consisted of carrying hundred-pound sacks of sugar through the woods.

The only women for several miles around belonged to Jim-Bob: his wife, Roxie, and their almost ripe daughter, Trixie. Each day at lunch time, Roxie and Trixie would come down from the house and bring a platter of hot baloney sandwiches along with them for Jim-Bob and Roscoe to eat.

Now, Roscoe knew the business pretty well by the time the still blew up and took Jim-Bob with it. Roscoe quickly wooed and won Roxie, garnering for himself a business, a family, and hot baloney sandwiches served three time a day.

Fred started hanging about, and at night the four of them would sit around, playing cards, and telling ghost stories. One day, Trixie finished turning ripe and Fred was right there to pick her. The two of them hopped into Jim-Bob’s old pickup truck, drove over the state line and got married.

Shortly thereafter both women conceived. In due time, Roxie gave birth to Bubba, and Trixie had Buster.  Roscoe was very happy. The only fly in his ointment was that Fred seemed content to just sit back and let Roscoe support him... all the while eating Roxie’s hot baloney sandwiches.

Remembering the way Jim-Bob had gone, Roscoe determined to make a will and that’s when his life drastically changed. He tried not to think about his situation, for each time he did, he began drinking up his profits. 

“How in the world can I provide for my daddy if I cut my shiftless son-in-law out of my will?” he lamented.  “My daddy is married to my wife’s daughter, therefore he is my son-in-law. My step daughter, Trixie, is my stepmother. She is Roxie’s daughter, but because she is my daddy’s wife, she is also Roxie’s mother-in-law. Trixie is Fred’s wife, but because she’s my daughter, she is also Fred’s granddaughter. Little Bubba is my son, but because he is my stepmother’s brother, he is also my uncle - I’m my own son’s nephew.

Little Buster is my wife’s grandson, so he is my grandson, too, but because he is my daddy’s boy, he is also my brother. Because he is my brother, he is Bubba’s uncle – so my grandson is my son’s uncle. Bubba is Trixie’s brother, so he is Buster’s uncle. Both of them thar little boys are each other’s uncle. That makes Trixie Bubbas sister, grandmother, and great aunt.”

Roscoe’s thoughts continued, “Fred is my daddy, and Bubba is my son, so Fred is Bubba’s granddaddy; Fred is married to Bubba’s sister, so he is Bubba’s brother-in-law. Trixie is Fred’s wife, so she is Bubba’s grandmother. That makes Roxie Bubba’s great-grandmother, as well as

his momma. If that little boy’s mother is also his great grandmother, then I have to be his great grandfather. And because I am my son’s great granddaddy, that makes me my own grandpa. Can I really be my own grandpa?”

Roscoe scratched his head, ruminated a little, and went on, “Let me look at this from another direction. Buster is my brother and Roxie is his grandmother, so I am my brother’s granddaddy. Fred is my daddy, so that makes him Buster’s great-granddaddy, too. And if my daddy is also my great granddaddy, then I just have to be my own grandpa. Yep, that is what I am, my own grandpa.”

Be forewarned, it’s just exactly  this sort of  “keg of worms” that is the stuff of which kinship is made and this is exactly why laws have been enacted to protect those who are unable to help themselves... .  Just ask any first year law student ...it seems that they always cut their teeth on just such happenings.

 Journal of Miss Lottie M. Davis

Miss Lottie Davis 

March 1934

Page 101

March 1934 came in on Thursday.

  1 Mar 1934 – Mrs. Amanda Baugher died at hospital Thurs – age 68 years old.

  3 Mar 1934 – Mrs. Baugher funeral on Saturday.

  1 Mar 1934 – Mr. Harry Woodard came home.

  6 Mar 1934 – Mr. H.B.C. Gentry taken to Hospital.

  7 Mar 1934 – Mr. H.B.C. Genrty came  home.

12 Mar 1934 – Sold Bossie and got May. $40.00.

10 Mar 1934 – Sold Mrs. Robinson buffett set.

13 Mar 1934 – Fred and Ruth bring general sick home.

13 Mar 1934 – Mr. & Mrs. Brownie Flick new baby. [Weight unreadable].

15 Mar 1934 – Ladies Aid Soup day. $10.00.

23 Mar 1934 – Snowed all day.

23 Mar 1934 – Finished Eula work.

24 Mar 1934 – Lewis Herndon & Ruth Winegard married on Sat.

26 Mar 1934 – Helen Hutton Flick came home.

30 Mar 1934 – Helen Hutton Flick went to Hospital.

30 Mar 1934 – Frank Workman & Miss Martz married.

Page 102

30 Mar 1934 – Joe Lucas & Miss Kite married.

25 Mar 1934 – Mrs. A.J. Koontz died at R.M. Hospital age 57 years old. Funeral on Tuesday.

30 Mar 1934 – Mr. H.B.C. Gentry died age 82 years.

26 Mar 1934 – Helen Miller operated on.

Gravestone of Miss Lottie M. Davis

April 1934 –came in on Sunday.

  1 Apr 1934 – Mr. H.B.C. Gentry Funeral.

  1 Apr 1934 – Mrs. Ruth Cover H. new baby girl.

  2 Apr 1934 – Miss Norwood Workman married to Mr. Smith.

  4 Apr 1934 -  Mrs. Baugher things stored away and Mr. & Mrs. Morris moved in.

  2 Apr 1934 – Started door panel for Clarisene [Clarice?].

  5 Apr 1934 – Grany was sick had to have Dr. Lewis.

  7 Apr 1934 – Mr. William Life died age 86 years.

  7 Apr 1934 – Mr. Charles Dovel died age 66 years.

  7 Apr 1934 -  Beulah Lee Opal & Gale went to Harrisonburg on C.W. [Railroad].

  4 Apr 1934 – Hensel Lam operated on.

Page 103 

  10 Apr 1934 – Mrs. Mabel House operated on.

  10 Apr 1934 – Mrs. George Lam went to Hospital.

  13 Apr 1934 – Mr. F. P. Hammer paralyzed on Friday.

    6 Apr 1934 – Mrs. Tom Monger operated on.

       Apr 1934 – Mr. Sol Hensley starts new home.

  12 Apr 1934 – I went to Dr. Preston about eye.

    7 Apr 1934 – Beulah get living room suite from Dentons $75.00.

  14 Apr 1934 – Mr. Hedrick left Farm Bureau.

  17 Apr 1934 – Got new glasses.

  16 Apr 1934 – Rosie Lam left Lester McGuire.

  17 Apr 1934 – Ruby Shifflett Breeden goes to Hospital.

  14 Apr 1934 – Mr. F.P. Hammers brother died. Mr. Edward Hammers  of Bureau Vista, Virginia.

       Apr 1934 – Mrs. Melvin Morris new baby.

  13 Apr 1934 – Margaret Davis new baby girl.

  18 Apr 1934 – Mr. Taliaferro died. Harrisonburg jewelry. [on by Mary & Virginia M.]

Page 104

20 Apr 1934 – New paper on bedrooms put $8.00.

20 Apr 1934 -  Helen Downey taken to Hospital.

11 Apr 1934 – Mrs. George Lam operated on.

21 Apr 1934 – Reu [Rev?] Mrs. Smith went to Hospital.

22 Apr 1934 – Mrs. Jim Breeden of Shenandoah died – age –

22 Apr 1934 – Mr. Eanest Good died.

25 Apr 1934 – Pay fire insurance by.

25 Apr 1934 – P.A. Carver car stolen.

17 Apr 1934 – New Sweeper.

28 Aug 1934 – New bottle of medicine.

26 Apr 1934 – Harold had walks put in.

     Apr 1934 – Graney starts Larkin order.

Robert Tate, Jr.

 Robert Tate, Jr. was born ca. 1745 in what was then, Augusta County, Virginia. The progression of the geographic area which was then, known as Augusta County, Virginia* is as follows:

Northumberland County – formed in 1645.

Lancaster County – formed in 1651.

Rappahannock County – formed in 1656.   In 1692, Rappahannock County became extinct.

Essex County  –  formed in 1692.

Spotsylvania County – formed in 1721.

Orange County - formed in 1734.

Augusta County - formed in 1745.

Fincastle County – formed in 1777.   In 1780, it became extinct. Washington, Montgomery and Kentucky Counties were formed from Fincastle. At this time Kentucky was a county and not a state.

Washington County - formed in 1777.

Russell County – formed in 1786.   In 1793, Lee County was formed from part of Russell County and in 1880, Dickenson County was formed from another part of Russell County, leaving Russell County the size it currently is today [2016].

Scott County - formed in 1814 from Lee County and with Wise County also being formed from part of Lee County in 1856 leaving Lee County the size it currently is today [2016].

Smyth County – formed 1832 from Scott County, leaving Scott County the size it currently is today [2016].

*Note: Rockingham County, Virginia was formed from Augusta County during the American Revolution in 1778; however, Rockingham County was not part of the area that legally became Fincastle in 1777. It is important to remember that many residents of what became Rockingham had family members who chose to settle on French and Indian War grants in the area of Augusta that became Fincastle.

Robert Tate, Jr. was the son of Robert Tate, Sr. There appears to be some confusion as to the exact name of this man’s mother who was reported to have been called Margaret.  It is known that Robert Tate married a lady with the given name of Mary.  Some researchers have believed that her surname was McCline; however, this author tends to believe that her complete name was most probably Mary Margaret McCune because her name is found in legal documents as Mary, yet early on, her family referred to her as Margaret.  For one to be called by a middle name was very common in the Shenandoah Valley.  As all vowels were used interchangeably at this date, it would be very easy for her to have had the McCune surname instead of McCline by simply exchanging the letter i for the letter u.  Also, McCune is a common surname in this geographic area, both then and now; whereas, there are no McClines.  

Robert Tate Jr. and his wife were the parents of at least seven children who are named in Robert’s will which was written in 1796 and probated in February of 1807.  Robert most probably died in January of 1807 as his will was probated during the February Court of 1807 as was prescribed by Virginia law.

Land/Court records establish the following points:

1774 -  Dunsmore’s War occurred in 1774 [May – October] -- Lord Dunsmore, The Royal Governor of Virginia, asked Virginia’s House of Burgesses to declare a “State of War” with the hostile Indian nations [Mingos, Shawnees] due to their increased raids in the southwestern part of Virginia south of the Ohio River [present day West Virginia, Southwestern Pennsylvania, and Kentucky] to protect the British colonists who in accordance with previous treaties  were exploring and moving into the land south of the Ohio River.  Lord Dunsmore felt it necessary to call forth an elite volunteer militia to accomplish this. Robert Tate served under Captain James Thompson, in his militia company from Fincastle County during Lord Dunmore’s War.

Lord Dunsmore arrived at Fort Pitt [Pittsburg] the last of August 1774 and ordered Colonel Andrew Lewis to raise an army and join his force along the Ohio River.  Colonel Lewis led militia companies from the counties of Augusta, Bedford, Botetourt, Culpeper, Dunmore and Fincastle, which included the areas that would become Rockingham County in 1778 and also Kentucky County in 1777.  After Colonel Lewis’ victory at the Battle of Point Pleasant, Virginia Governor Dunmore successfully negotiated a peace treaty with the Mingo, and Shawnee chiefs that prevented them from settling or hunting south of the Ohio River. 

Lord Dunmore was widely accused of commencing this war to divert Virginians from their differences with the royal administration of the Colony of Virginia, and it is for this reason that the fighting which occurred at Point Pleasant has been called the, “First Battle of the American Revolution” and is recognized as such by the Daughters of the American Revolution. 

13 Dec 1774 - Robert Tate Jr. received a land grant of 174 acres on Big Moccasin Creek, North Fork of Holston River in Fincastle County, Virginia.

1775-1781 – Based upon his work as a surveyor and as a juror in Washington County, Virginia, Robert Tate’s descendants were granted admission to the lineage society, Daughters of the American Revolution based upon a Civil Service claim.

1780 Oct 7 – Robert Tate fought at the Battle of King’s Mountain as he is cited as being one of The Overmountain Men” who marched from Sycamore Shoals to King’s Mountain to confront the British Commander, Patrick Ferguson and his army of Tories.  John Tate, Robert Tate, David Tate, and Samuel Tate are all four cited on a List of King’s Mountain Soldiers.

It is important to note that a rifle was a hunting weapon, used by families on the frontier. The colonial militia that fought at King’s Mountain mainly used rifles; the loyalist troops had mostly muskets. The difference between a rifle and a musket is speed versus accuracy. A rifle is slow to load, but extremely accurate. Riflemen can hit a target at 200 or 300 yards. Yet the rifle can only be fired once a minute. A musket, with a smooth bore, is easy to load but inaccurate. Muskets have an accurate range of about 100 yards, but can be fired up to three times a minute.

20 Apr 1784 – Robert Tate Jr. received a patent of 250 acres in Washington County, Virginia on both sides of Big Moccasin Creek, on a spur of Clinch Mountain on the Holston River some three miles from Colonel John Tate.

1785 - Robert Tate and his friend James Davison signed the petition for the formation of Russell County.

1786 - Robert Tate and his friend James Davison were both appointed officers in the Russell County Militia. Davison was appointed to serve as a Captain and Tate as a Lieutenant.  Both men had previously served under Captain James Thompson, in his militia company from Fincastle County during Lord Dunmore’s War which was a conflict between the Colony of Virginia and the Native Americans of the Ohio Valley which were supported by their French allies in Canada.

1796 Jul 24 – Robert Tate died in Russell County, Virginia.