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Easter Lily Gates Collection, 1898-1982

 

Summary

Extent:
33 Hollinger Boxes
Language:
English
Preferred citation:

Easter Lily Gates Collection, Broward County Historical Archives, Broward County Library.

Background

Scope and content:

The Easter Lily Gates Collection contains correspondence, photographs, printed materials, maps, prayer books, awards, political and election materials documenting the professional and personal life of Easter Lily Gates.

Biographical / historical:

Easter Lily Biblo Gates was born on April 21, 1889, in Des Moines, Iowa to parents Elijah and Etta Biblo. Easter Lily Gates travelled west with her family by covered wagon to Utah and Nevada. She made hats as a store clerk at 17 years old. On January 20, 1910, she married George Peter Gates.

Easter and George Gates moved to Fort Lauderdale, Florida in 1918. They had two sons named Robert and Theodore. In 1926, Easter Lily saved her family in a severe hurricane by carrying her husband and two sons to the second floor of their home; they lost everything they owned and two weeks later her husband died from anemia. To provide for her children, Gates became Broward County's first female bus driver. In 1928, she ran for and won the Supervisor of Elections job. She maintained this position for 40 years, from 1929 to 1969. Easter Lily Gates registered Broward County's first Seminole and African-American voters.

Easter Lily Gates retired in 1969 at 80 years old. At 92 years old, she moved to Tampa, Florida and Thomasville, Georgia to live with her sons. Easter Lily Gates entered a nursing home in Tampa before her death. She died in February 1985.

Processing information:

This collection received file level processing. This finding aid may be updated to reflect new descriptions as well as acquisitions to the collection.

Arrangement:

The collection is arranged into 6 series: Series I. Correspondence, Series II. Professional Papers, Series III. Personal Papers, Series IV. Printed Materials, Series V. Awards, and Series VI. Ephemera.

Rules or conventions:
Describing Archives: A Content Standard

Access and use

Terms of access:

The Easter Lily Gates Collection is open for research.

Preferred citation:

Easter Lily Gates Collection, Broward County Historical Archives, Broward County Library.

Location of this collection:
Broward County Historical Archives, Broward County Library
100 S. Andrews Avenue
Fort Lauderdale
FL
33301
USA