IOWA WOMEN’S ARCHIVES
UNIVERSITY OF IOWA LIBRARIES
IOWA CITY, IOWA
ELIZABETH (BETTYE) CRAWFORD
TATE (1906-1999)
PAPERS, 1932-1999
5 linear inches
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ACQUISITION: |
The papers (donor no. 370) were donated by Elizabeth C. Tate in 1996. |
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ACCESS: |
The papers are open for research. |
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COPYRIGHT: |
Copyright held by the donor has been transferred to the University of Iowa. |
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PROCESSED BY: |
Randel W. Lackore, 1997. [TateBettye.doc] |
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Biography
Landlord, lab supervisor, actor, and volunteer, Elizabeth
(Bettye) Crawford Tate was born in Fairfield, Iowa, in 1906. Tate spent her childhood in Fairfield. Following her high school graduation in
1926, she worked one year at Lake Okoboji.
In the 1930s Tate married Junious (Bud) Tate. The couple moved to Iowa City, where Bud Tate operated a
janitorial service that catered to downtown stores. Bettye Tate had one son, Dennis, and an adopted daughter,
Candace.
The Tates were one of only a few African-American
families in Iowa City in the 1930s.
Because African-American students were not allowed to live in university
housing at that time, the Tates opened their home on Prentiss Street as a
boarding house for male students in 1938.
In 1939 the Tate Arms boarding house moved to 914 South Dubuque Street. “Ma” Tate, as her boarders called her,
housed up to twenty tenants at a time. Tate Arms remained open for more than
thirty years. Tate worked for
twenty-two years at the University of Iowa Hospital’s cardiovascular lab. She began as a clinical technician, but by
the time of her retirement in 1976 had been promoted to supervisor with her own
office and twenty subordinates.
Two of Tate’s hobbies were traveling and
acting. Tate toured Europe, South
America, and the United States; in 1973 she visited the former Union Soviet
Socialist Republics on a trip sponsored by the Center for the Study of
Socialist Education at Kent State University in Ohio. Acting was an activity that Tate shared with her son, Dennis, a
professional Broadway and Hollywood performer.
Tate was a charter member of the Iowa City Community Theater, where she
sold advertising, sat on the board of directors and took part in various
productions. Though not a student, Tate
was often recruited to perform in university theatrical productions.
After retirement, Tate became an active
volunteer. She was honored for devoting
more than one thousand hours of volunteer service to the University Hospitals
and Clinics in 1994. In 1991 Tate was
honored as a volunteer docent at the Old Capitol for the more than five hundred
hours of service she provided.
Scope and Content Note
The Elizabeth (Bettye) Crawford Tate papers date from 1932 to 1999 and measure 5 linear inches. The bulk of the collection consists of photographs
of Tate and her family members. There
is little documentation of the Tate Arms boarding house, but the newspaper
clippings provide a biographical overview of Tate’s life and work.
Box no. Description
Box 1
Abstract and
deed for 914 South Dubuque Street [Tate Arms], 1940-1978
Artwork gifts, undated
Richard Breaux essay, 1998
Correspondence
General, 1973-1976
Tate, Dennis Martin (son),
1976-1991 and undated
Tate, Shaka (grandson),
1979-1983 and undated
Funeral service program, 1999
High school reunion program,
1971
McIntyre, Elizabeth Cicel
Crawford (mother)
Autopsy report, 1965
Family birthdate notebook,
undated
Memorial for Eugene Willis
Skinner, 1993, 1997
Newspaper clippings,
1995-1996
Tate, Dennis Martin
Resumes, undated
Reviews, 1954-1973 and
undated
Theater programs, 1958-1984
Theater programs, 1955 and
undated
Photographs
Bradshaw, Dorothy and Roy,
1986
Extended family, undated
Tate, Candace, 1947 and
undated
Tate, Dennis Martin, 1932-1980
and undated
Tate, Shaka, 1973-1983 and
undated
Box 2-3
Storyboards: 90th birthday party, 1996
memorial service,
1999