Tail Gate (1854, 1857, 1858)

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   I was asked about tailgate and tailgate picnics and such.  OED and Merriam-Webster have 1868 for "tailgate."

   The Making of America (Cornell) database has SCIENTIFIC AMERICAN, 24 June 1854, pg. 323, col. 2, "TAILBOARDS OF WAGON...tail gate or board..."  See:
http://moa.cit.cornell.edu/cgi-bin/moa/pageviewer?frames=1&coll=moa&view=50&root=%2Fmoa%2Fscia%2Fscia0009%2F&tif=00327.TIF&cite=http%3A%2F%2Fcdl.library.cornell.edu%2Fcgi-bin%2Fmoa%2Fmoa-cgi%3Fnotisid%3DABF2204-0009-43

   The BROOKLYN DAILY EAGLE, 24 September 1858, pg. 1, "On the morning of the second day the Captain ordered Harrington to be tried by the hands close up to the tail gate of the wagon."

   The following is from the NORTH AMERICAN WOMEN'S LETTERS AND DIARIES database:


1. Carpenter, Helen McCowen(?)-1917. "Diary of Helen McCowen Carpenter, June, 1857"
[Page 109 | Paragraph | Section | Document]
and are on the way back to Missouri. It has been immensely disagreeable for the drivers today for a strong northwest wind drove the dust in clouds into their faces as they walked beside their teams. Am glad that I am not an ox driver. Henry hurries up the team until the leader's heads are at the tail gate of the wagon ahead, then he steps in behind old Dave's heels and takes a seat on the wagon tongue. In this way he gets a rest from walking for a few lengths of the wagon but soon the oxen begin to lag and the driver must be alongside to apply the very necessary encouragement. A large grey



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2. Carpenter, Helen McCowen(?)-1917. "Diary of Helen McCowen Carpenter, August, 1857"
[Page 152 | Paragraph | Section | Document]
the stream four miles and crossing, the creek makes a detour. The road, though uneven, kept a direct westerly course. During the afternoon where the road was comparatively smooth, Billy Collin (Dobbins' boy driving the wagon just ahead of ours) whipped up his oxen until their heads were at the tail-gate of the lead wagon, then climbed into the wagon and brought out his old "fiddle." By the time that he was on the ground again the oxen were beginning to lag. As he tuned the instrument he gave the near leader a kick and then, as the others passed, they got a poke in the ribs so



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Results Bibliography
Carpenter, Helen McCowen, 1838(?)-1917, Diary of Helen McCowen Carpenter, June, 1857, in Ho for California! Women's Overland Diaries from the Huntington Library. Myres, Sandra L.. San Marino, CA: Huntington Library, 1980, pp. 314. [Bibliographic Details] [6-1-1857] S212-D012
Carpenter, Helen McCowen, 1838(?)-1917, Diary of Helen McCowen Carpenter, August, 1857, in Ho for California! Women's Overland Diaries from the Huntington Library. Myres, Sandra L.. San Marino, CA: Huntington Library, 1980, pp. 314. [Bibliographic Details] [8-1-1857] S212-D014