Frederick Tate

Frederick Tate was born in 1828, in England or in Massachusetts.

Frederick was probably living in Rhode Island when he married Rhode Island native Charlotte E. Hadley (1817-1906) on August 4, 1849, in Providence, and they had at least one child, a daughter Jennie L. (1850-1920), who may have been either physically handicapped or mentally ill.

By 1850 Fred was working in a factory and living with his wife Charlotte in Providence, Rhode Island. Next door lived one Andrew Tate, who had been born in 1820 in Massachussetts. Fred left Rhode Island, probably by himself, and eventually settled in western Michigan by 1860 when he was working as a lumberman and shingle-maker living with and/or working for William Woodruff, a farmer in Blendon, Ottawa County. (Curiously there were four Tate brothers also living in Ottawa County who would join Company I along with Fred; three of them had also been born in Massachussets.)

Although he listed his place of residence during the war as Providence, Rhode Island (his wife remained in Rhode Island during this period), Fred was 33 years old and probably working in Georgetown, Ottawa County when he enlisted in Company I on May 13, 1861.

Fred was absent sick in the hospital in August of 1862, probably suffering from typhoid fever, and according to the testimony of Captain Thomas Tate of Company I, Frederick contracted the disease “in the field in the following manner. While the company to which he belonged was lying before Richmond he was attacked with diarrhea and chill fever, caused by exposure and over exertion and on the arrival of the Regiment at Alexandria, Va., en route to join Gen. Pope, he was sent to the gen. hospital at Washington, DC.”

On August 25, 1862, Fred was admitted to Emory hospital, Washington, DC where he died of typhoid fever on August 31, 1862, and was buried in the Military Asylum cemetery (Soldier's Home National cemetery), probably in section C no. 3256. If so he was mistakenly listed as “William” Tate.

His widow, who was living in Providence, applied for and received pension no. 31,087, dated March of 1864. Subsequently a pension was also filed on behalf of and approved for a “helpless child”(no. 824,774), dated March of 1917. From 1890 to 1892 Charlotte was living at 2 Olney in Providence, working at machine stitching.