Saturday, January 3, 2015

Amos Stout Drake of Hillsdale, Michigan

At the end of last year, I hired a researcher at the Mitchell Research Center in Hillsdale, Michigan to investigate some of the records they have available and that I wouldn't be able to get at for another year.  The thought of not being able to move on my two gals (Lucia Cahoon Drake and her mother-in-law Catherine Whaley Drake) was making me crazy.

What I was looking for:

An obituary for Lucia.  She was the first school teacher in Hillsdale and is mentioned in the Hillsdale consortium published by the county.  she had some pretty well respected and prominent children.  Surely someone would say something about her somewhere.

I also wanted the obits for John Stout Drake, Amos Stout Drake, Catherine Whaley Drake and Allison Royce Drake.

To back track:  Lucia died in 1871.  She is buried next to John Stout Drake and has one side of his 4 sided tombstone.  She is identified as the wife of John Stout Drake.  Buried with her is their son, Johnie C Drake, who died a few months earlier.  There is the official death record that states she died in Hillsdale County and that she was married.

But Lucia is no where to be found in the 1870 United States Federal Census.  John Stout Drake is listed and a woman named Elenor who is listed under John Stout Drake, along with the children.  On that 4 sided tombstone previously mention, Elenor is on one side of it.

Anyways, there was no obituary for Lucia Cahoon Drake.

Amos Daniels

Today on Ancestry i found "a page from Amos Daniels probate file naming heirs."  I love it when someone includes a photocopied page with the original writing.  I hate it when I can't print a copy out for my files.  Now I'm sure there's away, but I just haven't figured it out yet.  But I HAD to have it! So I copied it off the screen longhand and I'm putting my transcription here.  I was unable to read every word and have left blanks.

At the very top of the document in the left hand corner it says:

State of New York
Wayne County
next to County is that letter that almost looks like an "f" with an s which leads me to think it's a double s and then another figure that could possibly be a badly done bracket.

Anson Daniels of the town of Arcadia
in the said county being duly sworn, deposes
and says, that Amos Daniels, died a natural
death, at the town and county aforesaid, which
was the place of his residence of the time of
his death, on or about the 11th of March
last _ _ _ _.(4 letters)   that the said deceased left a
widow, formerly Mrs. Rogers. who lived with
the deceased for about a year when they sepa-
rated, that the said widow resides in the
town of Arcadia aforesaid to the best of the
information and belief of the deponent.  That
the said deceased was aged seventy five
years.  that the said deceased left a last
will and testament, which  _ _ _ _ _ _ _ (7 letters) exclusive-
ly to personal property, bearing dates the 11th
day of March 1839, that no person is named
executrix or executor in said will.  That Amos
Daniels Junior, of the town of Cambridge in
the county of Lenawee and State of Michigan,
John Daniels, of the town of Nankin
in the county of Wayne and State last
aforesaid, Timothy Daniels of the town of
Phelps in the County of Ontario and State
of New York, Elihu Ridley, of the town and County
last aforesaid, Oliver Bailey, of the town and County
last aforesaid, and Lydia Wait, the
wife of Philander Wait, of the County of Geauga
and State of Ohio, are the heirs and next of
kin to the said deceased and respectfully
of the age of twenty one and _ _ _ _ _ _ _ (7 letters)
and further the deponent says not.

Anson Daniels

Subscribed + sworn this 3d
day of June, 1839 before me  (and something that looks like another bracket)
RW Ashley _ _ (2 letters)  _ _ _ _ (4 letters) of
Deeds + C. of said County