John Lewis Tate

Registration form for John Lewis Tate's draft card. Note the lower left corner for the page on the left. To make it easier to 'segregate' the registration forms of white registrants with African American registrants, the corner would be cut off from the form of men of "African descent."

JOHN LEWIS TATE 

The majority of the information here is from an electronic interview (oral history) with Vicki Frye of Cleveland, TN. Ms. Frye is a great-granddaughter of John Lewis Tate.

                 Born in Cumming, GA on May 9, 1893, John Lewis Tate arrived within a few weeks of the beginning of the ‘Panic of 1893,’ an event which pushed many Georgia farmers towards the Populist movement. Along with the farmers went Congressman Thomas E. Watson, an established Georgia politician who would eventually have a lot of influence over many in the state.¹ 

                John Tate grew up on his father’s farm off of Kelly Mill Road in Cumming, he attended school through the seventh grade, leaving to help, along with his two older brothers (Thomas and Benjamin), his father. At 22, John Tate married [September 12, 1915] Elsie Berger (age 16) and moved into a farm house on the property his father owned. Less than two years later their first child (Nellie “Ruth” Tate) was born. As ‘the Great War’ was raging in Europe, John Tate was kept busy supporting a young wife and infant daughter.

                Tom Watson began his tirade against American involvement in ‘the European War’ as President Woodrow Wilson worked tirelessly to keep the United States neutral. However, in April, 1917 the President asked for a declaration of war against Germany. As Tom Watson became more outspoken against the war, Congress passed the “Selective Service Act” on May 18, 1917. Registration for all men between 21 and 30 was to begin on June 5.

                Not much is noted about John Tate’s politics, most likely he was a Democrat as the vast majority of Georgians were, however, it is not known if he followed the views of Tom Watson as expressed in The Jeffersonian. Being a loyal American, John Tate, along with his brothers registered for the draft. The Tate ‘boys’ names were listed in The Forsyth County News in the June 15, 1917 edition along with thousands of other Forsyth County ‘Boys who Registered’ as the headline read.² 

                During the war, a relative of John Tate’s, Second Lieutenant E.B. “Brewer” Tate lost his life on October 12, 1918 in the Argonne Forest, France. Two of Brewer Tate’s brothers also served in France during the war. According to the December 1, 1918 edition of The Macon Daily Telegraph, “(that) no more patriotic family was found in state that than of the Tates.” The quote was part of the news article and was not attributed to any individual.³ 

                There is no record as to why John Tate was not drafted but it can be concluded that he was designated as “Class IV” of the Draft Code, this class excused young men who had a wife and/or small children who would have no financial support if the husband/father were away at war.⁴