Dan, What a shame that your aunt's research was lost! Every scrap of information is invaluable, and in this case likely to be unique and unrecoverable. Your aunt was exactly right about Alfred Jackson Pate. He served 20 years as a deputy sheriff of Cumberland County, N. C., killed by ambush during a raid of an illegal distillery in 1921. Ironically, David Marshall "Carbine" Williams, convicted of his murder, became famous as inventor of an operating mechanism of the M1 carbine used by the U. S. military during World War II and the Korean War. Joel Pate strongly disputed the importance of Williams' invention and felt it was more Hollywood hype than fact. Perhaps Joel will address this further. Here is a link to his story, unfortunately intertwined with the story of his murderer: http://faceprint.com/~walpd/gen/moore/alfred_jackson_pate_01.html I do not know his genealogy, but I am certain Joel could furnish information on that too. It was Col. Thomas Pate that we memorialized at the Convocation. We have still been unable to link Thomas Pate to any contemporary Pate family line. That is a continuing quest. With all due modesty, I believe that I have accumulated a more thorough history of his life than ever compiled previously. This is summarized in a timeline of his life which I will be pleased to send to anyone requesting it by private email to me. I can also send a beautiful photo of the memorial marker which we placed in the historic York Parish church cemetery (now Grace Episcopal Church) in Yorktown. A. J. _______________________________________________ Date: Thu, 20 May 2010 22:02:07 -0400 From: "Daniel W Pate" <[email protected]> Subject: Re: [PATE] Honoring Famous Pate's (BP / BG)) AJ, My Aunt Olive Pate who passed away in the late 70's was the family 'researcher' for my Pate Tree. All of her research was destroyed after her death and way before I became interested. I have never mentioned this before but my Dad told me a number of years ago that Olive while doing research discovered that one of my ancestors was shot (or shot) the inventor of the Carbine. When I read your reply to Bruce that jumped out at me. This is the first I have seen a reference to this Pate and the story my Aunt told my Dad. Is this line represented in the DNA group? And if so can you tell me if it rules in or rules out a connection to the Edward Pate who the group Memorialized a couple of years ago during the Pate convocation? Any info on the 'lawman' you reference below would be appreciated. Thanks, Dan

Dear A.J., I found this on the Ancestry board: I just posted the following on the Reves and Reeves forums on Rootsweb (and Reeves on Genforum): Is anyone aware of any associations of the Reeves/Reves family with the Pate family through marriages or migrations together from about 1770 to 1800 in South Carolina, from 1800 to 1820 in Georgia, and 1820 to 1850 in Alabama? I am inquiring because my gg-grandfather Newell Walton Pate had a brother or cousin named Lewis Reves Pate who was born c. 1804 in Georgia. I know Newell was named after a man named Newell Walton, and I suspect it is the same case for Lewis. I would appreciate any information anyone could provide. I don't have any information on the association, but since Lewis Reeves Pate is one of my relatives (though mine was born 1879, the name matches the one born earlier, so I'm figuring a connection), I thought it might be good to write you. My Pates are from Alabama and most end up in Texas. I've been looking for connections within the Pate line to Cherokees seeking to avoid the removal to Oklahoma. My gg grandmother was one of those Cherokees, according to my father, who knew her. Her name was Tebitha Jane Pate and she was married to James Harvey Pate. She died in Clarksville TX in 1940. I have her death certificate. Thanks for any help you can provide. David Greg Taylor http://davidgregtaylor.com/