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Acquired from Tim Abbott Americana in November 2019.
[identification of item], [box #, folder #], J. W. Tate Ledgers, 1888-1905, SC 0301, Special Collections, Carrier Library, James Madison University, Harrisonburg, VA.
Loose materials not otherwise related to Tate's blacksmith business were removed from the ledgers and foldered separately.
John William Tate (1858-1915), son of John Henry Tate (1833-1898) and Sarah A. Tate (1822-1898), was a life-long resident of the Amberly/Greenmount area of Rockingham County, Virginia. He was a blacksmith by trade and also served as the postmaster of the Amberly post office, established in 1891. He married Sarah Fulk (1867-1950) with whom he had three children - Edward Carl Tate (1888-1966), Luna C. Tate (1891-1918), and William Newtown Tate (1894-1979). According to Luna Tate's autobiographical sketch, included in this collection, Edward and William Tate oversaw the 55-acre family farm while their dad ran the blacksmith shop.
The J. W. Tate Ledgers, 1888-1905, comprise four account books documenting Tate's blacksmith business in the Amberly area of Rockingham County, Virginia. Additional materials include correspondence, printed ephemera, and an incomplete autobiographical sketch of Luna Tate, J. W. Tate's daughter.
The ledgers include the names of Tate's customers, services or materials provided, and their respective cost.
In her autobiographical sketch, Luna Tate describes her family's farm, her father's blacksmith shop, schooling, and travels. A five-page biography of Christopher Columbus written by Luna Tate, likely for a school assignment, is included. Correspondence is from family in Ohio (Dayton and Clayton) and friends in Waynesboro, Virginia.