Emma G. Tate papers

Emma Estelle Gekeler (Tate) was born in Leavenworth, Kansas on April 8, 1873 to David and Catherine Stacy Gekeler. She came with her family to Boise in 1879 and was raised on the Gekeler farm in southeast Boise. After attending Garfield School, she was sent to the Horace Mann School in San Jose, California to become a teacher. She taught primary grades at Garfield, under principle Cynthia Mann. Emma was a charter member of the Second Presbyterian Church. There she met John P. Tate and they were married on July 24, 1897. They settled in a house on the Gekeler homestead and had four sons; David, John P., Philip W., and W. Paul.

After her husband’s death in 1911, Emma managed their business affairs, raised their sons, and was an active member of the Boise community. She worked for the American Red Cross and the Women’s Christian Temperance Union (WCTU). She was also a member of the Southside Improvement Club and the Syringa Garden Club. Upon her death on June 11, 1962, she was a deaconess for her church.