Captain Howard Wager Tate - 1905-1978

Last year, I wrote two posts about the riverboat Kate Adams, The Ever-Lovin' Kate Adams, and the The Ever-Lovin Kate Adams, Part II, that are included in the archives of Mississippi Memories. Thanks to Ron Tate, a reader who lives in Destin, Florida, I guess you can call the post here today, "Part Three."

Several days ago, I received an email from Ron telling me that he had recently read my posts about the riverboat Kate Adams and wanted to let me know he enjoyed them. Once I read the rest of Ron's email, I understand his interest in the Kate Adams, as well as other riverboats of that particular era. As it turned out, Ron's interest is a lifelong one and a very personal one. As he related it to me, his father, Captain Howard Wager Tate, lovingly nicknamed "Taterbug" by those who knew him, was a Master Pilot for more than fifty years on the Mississippi River and every major river east of the Mississippi.

As Ron continued his story, I discovered that for about thirty years of his fifty-year career, Captain Tate had hand carved boat models that depicted in intricate detail the riverboats that were operated by the Adams Line, the Lee Line, and others. The Adams Line models included Kate Adams and Alvin Adams, while the Lee Line included Robert E. Lee I and II, James Lee, Georgia Lee, and Stacker Lee. Captain Tate also built large models of the Sprague, the largest steam stern wheeler towboat ever built for inland river service. Some readers, particularly Mississippians, may recall the Sprague when it was docked on the Mississippi River in Vicksburg, where it was the venue for seasonal stage shows.

One of Captain Tate's larger models, the Delta Queen, was used as an exhibit in Congress when the boat's life was initially extended as an overnight passenger vessel. For a number of years during the 1970's and 1980's, the Delta Queen, with its grand staircase and ornate interior complete with chandeliers, ran regular excursion routes down the Ohio River and Mississippi Rivers. Originating in Cincinnati, the Delta Queen docked in several cities along the way, including Helena, Arkansas, Vicksburg, and Natchez, en route to her final destination in New Orleans. When this majestic vessel arrived in port, her grand calliope could be heard throughout town. Once the vessel reached its final destination of New Orleans, additional passengers boarded for the return trip upriver. After the model's use in Congress, Captain Tate donated the model of the Delta Queen to the National Trust for Historic Preservation in Washington, D.C.

According to Ron Tate, a number of models of the boats carved by Captain Tate are in the hands of those with a great love of the river and its history. Although Ron provided me with electronic photographs of some of these hand carved models, their formats, unfortunately, prevented me from posting the photographs here today.

For those who love the history of this country's rivers, Captain Tate and his hand carved models left quite a legacy, one of which his son is rightfully proud.

The Ever-Lovin' Kate Adams - Part II

Several months ago, I wrote a post on my original blog Attala County Memories about the Kate Adams, a steamer that traveled down the Mississippi River in the early 1920's, and one on which my paternal grandfather, Clark Commander Branch, worked for a time. A photograph of the steamer, from the American Postal Museum, courtesy of the Smithsonian Photography Initiative, appears here. According to other information posted there, the steamer was actually built in 1882 to be used as a U. S. Mail Steamboat on the Mississippi River.

On Tuesday of this week, I received an email from a reader in Ohio who was searching for information out on the web about the Kate Adams, and she found my post. Here is an excerpt from her email:

"I was surprised and pleased to see your information on the Kate Adams Riverboat. My grandparents were co-owners of a road construction company that built many roads in the area of Marietta, Ohio. They lived not far from the Ohio River and enjoyed seeing and hearing the boats, especially those with a calliope. Among their pictures from their road building days is one my dad took of an Ohio River boat. My grandmother had written the name of the boat on the back. I decided to try to find more about it on the internet. When I typed in its name, Kate Adams, it went right to your website. I was surprised to hear that it had started as a Mississippi Riverboat before coming to the Ohio. When I saw it had burned in 1927, I was even more surprised. Grandma wrote that the picture was taken in 1927. It may be the last picture of the Kate Adams. Do you know where it burned?"

Unfortunately, I did not know the answer to the reader's question. I had failed to find that piece of information myself before writing the post. So yesterday, I again searched for something that would reveal where the steamer burned. What I located is included in this post today.

According to The Arkansas City Journal, published in Arkansas City, Arkansas, on December 23, 1882 (Vol 4, No. 9), the Kate Adams made her maiden voyage from Memphis down the Mississippi River. An excerpt from the article states:

"AT THE LANDING As soon as she was made fast, people flocked on board in crowds, and all confessed that no prettier or more complete steamboat ever touched at this port. Her magnificent cabin was an especial theme of admiration. The whole boat, from pilot-house to the railway tracks in the hold, were carefully inspected and the verdict was She is a good one, and no mistake! LANGUAGE WOULD FAIL...were we to attempt a full recital of the beauties and excellencies of the bonnie Kate. Suffice it to say she is more than equal of any boat in the river in point of fittings, furnishings and equipment. Built at a cost of $95,000, she lacks absolutely nothing that goes to make up a literal floating palace. ROSTER OF OFFICERS All of the officers of the Dean Adams, except Steward Matson, were transferred to the new boat. Their long and faithful service in the line entitled them to this recognition, and certainly the patrons of the Dean will be glad to find on board the Kate Adams all their old friends. The roster is as follows: Mark R. Cheek, Master; A. L. Cummins, Chief Clerk; W. Outlaw, Second Clerk; A. L. Cummins, Jr., Bill Clerk; Henry Powers, Chief Mate; Thomas Kelly, Second Mate; Louis Botto, Chief Engineer; John Botto, Second Engineer; William Hopus, Pilot; Elisha Evins, Pilot; Frank Norris, Steward; Joseph Flynn, Barkeeper. Every one of them well known and deservedly popular in the trade."

Further searching led me to an article about the Kate Adams that appeared in the New York Times just a few years after her maiden voyage. The article detailed a serious fire with a number of fatalities that occurred at Commerce, a Mississippi River port just south of Memphis. Apparently, when the steamer suffered the fire in 1927 that sealed her eventual fate, she had already burned at least once before. Unfortunately, for a second time, I was unable to find the location of that fire.