Maine Memory Network

Captain Tate’s sons followed in related footsteps in shipping and trade. The eldest, Samuel (1738-1814) became a mast ship captain in the 1760s and moved to England with his family during the Revolutionary War.

William (1740-1833) and Robert (1751-1804) both became Portland merchants, trading goods with England, the West Indies and Europe.

George (1746-1821) moved to England and achieved fame and fortune in the Russian Navy.

Samuel returned to Portland from London following the Revolutionary War with a wave of emigration that helped the town rebuild from its 1775 naval bombardment. He joined William in running what had been their father’s store.

Robert was predominantly a shipmaster in the West Indies trade, but also worked with his brothers in mercantile exchange. They most commonly traded sugar, coffee, lumber, gin, and rum.

Merchants relied on a barter and credit system for transactions. As a trader, William was hard hit in the run-up to the Embargo of 1807. Overextended, William was sued for a debt of $1,000. The case involved Robert Tate and the firm Weeks & Tucker.

William fled to England to avoid prison for debt. He lost the house his father had built in his heyday.

In England he eventually found success in housing development and sent money to his wife and children who remained in Portland.

George Tate II (1746-1821) rose to his position in the Royal Navy in 1770 before joining an elite group of English officers in Catherine the Great’s Russian Navy.

He rose through the ranks to rear admiral by 1793 and Tsar Alexander I appointed him Admiral. He served the Russian Navy for 50 years.

With Admiral Tate’s endeavors, the Tate family legacy expanded American and English borders to the other side of the world. His wealth and status gave him the financial freedom to buy fine gifts for his family who lived in both Portland and England.