The Picture? $2. The Inscription? Priceless.
A fortunate thrift store find turned out to be a local man’s family treasure with a surprising link to George Washington.
Alexis Hadley of Bay Minette, Alabama, has a keen eye for antiques and an old house to furnish. So when she passed by her town’s small thrift shop and saw its doors open, she had to look inside. “It’s one of those places where you have to dig, and I dug,” she said in a video she posted on TikTok. “You could tell that nobody had gone through the art in a very long time,” Hadley said, so that’s where she went.
Hadley found a print she liked, with a figure in an old-fashioned military uniform on horseback, sword drawn. She thought it was the perfect addition for her gallery wall, and at only $2, she couldn’t resist. But the most intriguing part was a handwritten inscription on the back:
“For Lewis Willis Bradford Tate, with love. There is no greater honor, nor deeper satisfaction, than to serve this great nation as an officer. It’s in your genes and I sincerely hope you will pursue that opportunity. With love, forever, Poppy.”
When Hadley took the print home, she couldn’t stop thinking about the inscription. The name Lewis Willis Bradford Tate sounded unique, so she searched online and discovered that he was a local author. She sent him a message telling him about the picture and asking, “Did you have someone in your life named Poppy?”
The message sparked a conversation where Hadly learned that Poppy was Tate’s grandfather, George Tate Sr., who passed in 2013. Tate Sr. was a retired army colonel, author, painter, and amateur historian, among many other things. In 1987, he represented George Washington at the bicentennial of the Constitution. As a descendant of Washington's sister Betty Washington Lewis, he was, at the time, the closest living relative of the first U.S. president.
Since there had been a dispute over the inheritance, Lewis Willis Bradford Tate had never seen the print or its inscription before. He encouraged Hadley to keep it, but she ultimately decided it should go back to him. When Hadley learned that Tate would hold a book signing near her in June, she made a plan to go and give him the picture.
In her TikTok post, Hadley included a photo of herself with Tate at the book signing. She holds her new copy of his book, and he holds the picture. A sentimental treasure—and, considering the family’s ancestry, a piece of U.S. history—has returned home.
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