I've followed this discussion with interest and believe it has been
pretty well covered, but would like to add a note or two.
The data base in our PAF file includes a large section we refer to as
"un-related for now Cates". The total number of Cates is four with no
Kates listed despite the fact we do not ignore alternate spellings.
This is probably a reflection of bias in favor of our missing g-g-grand-
father, Eli B. Cate, but has to indicate source tendencies, also. Those
for Eli and descendants included Census records, a family Bible, books
such as "Notable Southern Families", "Cates of Lower East TN--", etc.
Eli's footprints in time in all these appears as Cate with one prime
exception: the marriage record in Murray, GA which appears as Kates.
Was this the jp's favored spelling?
Finally, Allan H. Baumbach's aside "Katz anyone" should not be
considered facetious. If you refer to the raw data in the LDS Family
History files, all the various spellings of the "Cate" family appear
under the title "Katz".
Orvis