No Wonder Irvine Man Looks Like Washington

California native George Willis Tate bore a striking resemblance to George Washington on Thursday, and it wasn’t merely because of the knee breeches and colonial overcoat he was wearing.

Tate happens to be a descendant of Washington--a fact that explains the resemblance and also accounts for why Tate received a special invitation to attend Philadelphia’s Constitution Day festivities.

The Irvine, Calif., resident was one of 39 descendants of the Constitution signers chosen to participate in ceremonies commemorating what their forefathers--the Founding Fathers--did in Philadelphia on Sept. 17, 1787. In all, about 600 descendants were on hand for the daylong celebration.

‘Honor of a Lifetime’

“For me, personally, it’s the honor of a lifetime,” said Tate, 49, after marching in a Constitution Day parade along with 38 other descendants of the 39 signers. Each wore colonial costumes.

“It’s an honor I think probably makes you swell with pride and shrink with humility all at the same time,” he said. “Although I’m biologically related to George Washington, the Washington legacy is really all Americans’ legacy. It doesn’t belong to me, it belongs to all of us, just as the Constitution does.”

After the parade, the 39 took part in a bell-ringing ceremony along with former Chief Justice Warren Burger, commemorating the moment 200 years ago when the Constitution was signed.

John Ingersoll, who spent the last two years organizing the event for the delegates, said the festivities marked the first time ever that descendants of each of the Constitution signers had gathered together.

Bond Is ‘Just Tremendous’

“It’s so easy to talk to these people. The bond between us is just tremendous,” said Ingersoll, 30, a Philadelphian and a descendant of Constitution signer Jared Ingersoll.

“I feel like I know them,” he said. “Their ancestors spent three months together (with his ancestor), and there is a feeling of camaraderie.”

Lou Hufnagle, a descendant of Constitution signer Thomas Fitzimmons, said the highlight of the festivities for him was the cheers of the crowd as he and the other descendants marched in the parade.

“(They) knew who we were and what we represented,” said Hufnagle, of Havertown, Pa. “Each one of us represents one of the signers, but I feel like I speak for everybody here in this country because everybody is a descendant.”