Allison Royce Drake -- His Father's Son

Our Allison was 12 years old the summer his baby brother, Johnny, died on 31 August 1871.  How involved is a young man with a new baby so much younger in the house.  He probably wasn't expect do look after young Johnny as there were four sisters to do it.  Actually, Allison probably had very little contact with his little brother other than someone occasionally dumping the baby in his arms and saying, "Hold your brother," while they raced off to get a fresh diaper.

In 1870, all the younger children were still in school:

• Bird, 13
• Allison 11
• Jane, 9
• Lucy, 6

Ann was 20 and Mary 16 were still in the house and the 1870 Federal Census stated that they were "at home."  You have to presume they here helping out.  There is no way a farmer's daughter is going to lay around and do nothing.  The Drakes were well read and I can't imagine "an indulgent" father not getting his children the most education available.  If Allison Royce missed more school than the typical farm boy, it was probably because he was playing hooky.  And if that was the case, Allison and/or Bird would probably been whipped, and if they continued to run off, their father would have just kept them on the farm and put them to work.  

Maybe Allison wasn't the sharpest knife in the drawer.  Maybe he was dyslexic.  Maybe he was AD or ADHD.  Maybe he was just a little slow.  But he was a handsome man and if any of his progeny are proof -- charming and funny as well.  

School attendance was usually voluntary and a child's attendance was determined by age, sex, financial situation, time of year, weather and growing season.  It seems that in the 1870s there were two school terms.  there was the May until August  (after the spring planting to before the harvesting) and then from September to May.  

School house were usually from 8 am to 4 pm.  And I thought the traditional 8 - 3 of the 1960s was way too long.  Most farm kids had to walk to school, unless you were lucky enough to have a horse.  I found and article "The Late Nineteenth Century One Room School" at Oak Hill School Teachers Resources and Curriculum Guide that state children had to walk any where from a short distance up to 3 miles.  

I imagine that like most farmers' sons in the 1870s, Allison -- along with his brother Bird -- had plenty of chores and responsibilities on the farm, especially now that Bird and Allison were the only boys, the other brothers growing up, getting married and moving on.  And those chores were a man chore's -- not the chores that a young boy would help his mother with.  There were plenty of girls to work the garden, and get the eggs, to bring in firewood.  

Allison had to feed and water the livestock, muck the stalls, milk the cows, harvest, plant, winnow, cut firewood, cut ice and get water. 

I wonder if the farming life was starting to get harder and harder for John Stout Drake.  He still had a houseful that depended on him, but he was getting older.  He no longer had 3 strapping sons to help out, just two skinny teenagers.  Maybe too much responsibility was being pushed on the boys.  

When Things Fell Apart: Allison Royce Drake Part 1

My great grandfather -- Allison Royce Drake -- has always been a puzzle. No death certificate.  No mention of him at family get- togethers, not even in whispers.  I have a second cousin who is older than me that actually knew his wife -- our shared great grandmother -- and he told me that all he knew was that Allison Royce Drake had been a drunk.  A mean drunk.  Well, Allison wouldn't have been the first Drake to have problems with alcohol.

A couple of years ago i found a newspaper article detailing a wreck of the Big Four Passenger train in Bellefontaine, Ohio.  Allison Drake was an engineer on one of the trains involved.  He was in critical condition and not expected to live.  Engineer Drake was from Lenawee County, Michigan.  That last tidbit of information I had of my great grandfather was a US Census that has him enumerated in the next county over.  It had to be him, right?  Allison was not a common name (although the Drake surname in that neck of the world was).  This had to be my guy.

I couldn't find anything more about Engineer Allison Drake.  Maybe he was shipped home to die?  Or maybe the reason I couldn't find a death certificate was because I was looking in Michigan instead of Ohio.  Or maybe the bodies were being held by the railroad company.  So many things that I didn't have knowledge of how to search for.

I always wondered about that term my cousin used to describe him - "mean drunk".  Could a "mean drunk" pull himself together a little late in life to become an "engine man" for a major railroad?  I don't know.  One just didn't start as an engine man.  Didn't one have to first get hired on and then over years work one's way up.  Wasn't an engineer -- for a big time railroad company kind of like being a Navy fighter pilot?  The bits just didn't fit.

Family Reunions

I used to really love the family reunions that we used to have at my grandfather's house on Bedford Road, in Urbandale, Michigan.  Actually, I think there was only one, but it was pretty great.  All my cousins were there:  Charlene, Dee and Kay.  That's right.  Three measly cousins.  Charlene was way older than us, Kay and my little brother Mike Drake were practically babies and worthless.  So that left me, Dee and Dob.  And Dob didn't have much use for us and went off to hang out with my dad and Uncle Jack.  Dee or Deeter as we called him, laid in the hammock and talked about how much we hated Dob.  There was always a ton of great food, no naps unless we accidentally fell asleep.  And this set the stage on how family reunions were supposed to be. 

In another direction -- and stay with me -- when tracing your family tree, we sometimes forget that we are not all descending from only child homes.  That most generations had more than one child and when you get back past the turn of the century (the 1900s not the 2000s) there were many, many children and many children that died and are long buried. 

When I get stuck, I will sometimes take a couple and list all their siblings, like I was getting ready to send out invites for a family reunion.  I recently did that with my great grand parents Allison Royce Drake and Jane Myers Drake.  For as much as I know about them, I certainly don't know very much about them.  And this kills me because I knew people that knew them, that could have told me a lot, I'm sure, if I had only been so inclined to ask.  But I wasn't into family trees at that time.  The only thing I was interested in about families is how to get away from mine.

So here's what I discovered and you can see the glaring gaps:

Allison Royce Drake had 9 siblings:

1. James Amos Drake
2. Ann Drake
3. Sidney Drake
4. Mary Cerenus Drake
5. Alfred Bird Drake
6. Jane Drake
7. Lucy Drake
8. John C Drake

 I might note here that there are some people that will claim that there were 10 Drake kids in all, but I believe that Alfred Bird Drake and Bird A Drake are the same person in spite of the 1820 US Federal Census that lists them both, 2 years apart.  And I will prove that before I die.

Jane Myers Drake had 7 siblings:

1. Eveline Myers
2. Huldah Myers
3. Stephan Myers
4. Mary Myers
5. John H Myers
6. Joshua Myers
7. Mattie Bell Myers

So you'd think that if they all got together that it would be a helluva a family reunion, right?

So far, this is what my quick research has discovered.  And I haven't run down every single lead, with every single piece of information at Ancestry and the Internet.  This might not be 100% accurate, which is why I'm putting it here, until I can verify.

Here we go:

1. Allison Royce Drake married Jane Myers and had 4 children -- Hattie, Don Dee, Allison Royce and Lucia
2. James Amos Drake married Mary A Wright and had 4 children -- Ethie, Hiram, Carrie and John Haight.
3. Eugene Emery Drake married a gal named Amelia and had 5 children:  Minie F, Issa May, Clarance, Lloyd B and Eva.
4. Ann Drake never married.
5. Sidney Drake married Sarrah and had one daughter: Lucredia
6. Mary Cerenus Drake -- I have no record of her marrying or having a child.
7. Alfred Bird Drake married Eugenia Priestly.  Eugenia may have been nicknamed Mattie.  I have no record of them having any children.
8. Jane Drake married George Priestly.  George and Eugenia were brother and sister.  They had three children:  Earl, Katie and Fern.
9. Lucy Drake, died at 23 years old of consumption.  I have no record of her marrying or having children.
10. John C Drake was born and died in 1871 and is buried with his mom, Lucia Cahoon Drake.  There still seems to be controversy over the spelling of Cahoon.  I am wondering if the C initial in John's name would be her maiden name.  I should order the birth certificate.

For all the Drake siblings, there are a total of 17 cousins.  For the time and the number of people that were involved, that wasn't very many.

On to Jane Myers siblings:

1. Eveline Myers married David Cope and had 5 children:  Clarence Earl, Edgar Floyd, Albert Roy, Harriet L, Iva B.
2. Huldah Myers married Elisha M. McElhenie and had two sons:  Walter Scott and Charles Edgar.
3. Stephan Myers I believe died in 1874 at 12 years old with no wife or issue.
4. Mary Myers -- I can find no records at all.
5. John H Myers -- no record.
6. Joshua Myers -- no record.
7. Mattie Belle Myers married Edward Collins Schwartzwaller.  She was 42 when they got married and I find no record of there being any children. 

For all the Myers siblings, there are a total of 11 cousins.

So, what did all this rigmarole do for me?  I noticed that John C Drake has the middle initial "C."  I've seen the grave with my own eye.  The boy and Lucia share the same side of ol' John Stout Drake's tombstone.  I don't know why, but for many years, I just assumed the C stood for Converse, another side of the family.  So that is a lead to pursue.  It also shows me how much I don't know.

Don Dee Drake of Michigan 1896 - 1967

Don Dee Drake was born 22 Jun 1896 in Springport, Michigan and died 14 Jun 1967, about one month after my dad (his son died).  He was the son of Allison Royce Drake and Jane Meyers Drake.  He was one of 4 children: Hattie, Lucia and Royce Allison were his other siblings.  He had 4 children:  Martha Jane, Donald Duane (my dad) and Jack Scovill with his first wife, Ruth Henrietta Scovill Drake.  When she died, he remarried Ellen Fitzgerald.  She had a son, Dave, and then another son with Don Dee, named Richard.

I wasn't a fan of Ellen Fitgerald AT ALL.  My dad never spoke ill of her, but he had a pretty miserable childhood on account of her.  And I didn't care much for me Grandpa Drake either.  Come to think of it, we called my mom's dad, Cleo Mallison Hughes Grandpa and the other one Grandpa Drake.  Hmmmm.  I wonder if that's significant?

It seemed like he was always questioning us about why we weren't as smart, athletic, popular etc. as "The Cousins."  He and Ellen Fitzgerald used to give expensive gifts, but it was always something that they thought you should have, not something that you actually wanted.  In 1967 all I wanted was a baseball mitt.  Instead I got a pink and white linen gingham dress that had about 4 yards of fabric in the skirt, with a big sash and pink heart buttons up the front of the bodice.  Can you imagine how awful that would look on a skinny girl with stork legs, scabby knees, 30 pounds of hair AND cordovan colored high top corrective shoes?  Please.

But as I learn more about the family, I'm thinking that maybe Don Dee Drake did the best he could with what he knew.  I had a relative tell me that Allison Royce Drake liked to drink.  Seems to be a trait that all us Drakes have.  But Allison was a mean drunk.  A mean drunk usually translates to "knocking your family around" or saying terrible things.  That's just my experience.

The 1910 United States Census has the last of the Drake Family spread across three locations.  Lucia had married Frank Converse and Hattie had married Dana Fuller.  My Grandpa Drake is 13 years old and Royce is 6.  They are living in a boarding house in Charlotte Ward 4, Eaton, Michigan.  Their dad is living in Woodstock, Lenawee, Michigan in a boarding house, doing odd jobs.  He's 51 and "single."  Remember that.

Jane Myers Drake is living in Charlotte Ward 4, Eaton, Michigan.  She is a roomer at another house.  Maybe she was a housekeeper.  She is "M1" which I believe means "Married Once."  I wondered what the hell happened in this family?  When I pulled up a map, I discovered that while they might not be living together, Jane Myers Drake lived right around the corner from her two boys.  Allison was a substantial distance away.

Years later, after his wife Ruth Scovill Drake died, all three of his children -- Martha Jane, my dad Donald Duane Drake and brother Jack Scovill, were sent to live with Ruth's folks.  And they were pretty old.  They had a boarding house -- geez, what is it with this family and boarding houses?  But it couldn't have been too bad as my dad learned to speak German and polish which would help him in his Army years, and he had some real funny stories about that time in his life.

But still -- I could never, NEVER farm my kids out.  Who would do something like that to his children.  Especially when you've got your other kid and step son living with you.  And your newer younger wife isn't working.  It just set wrong with me.

So this morning, I ran a google map to see where Grandpa Drake was living in 1940.  324 W. Forest, Ypsilanti, Michigan.  Pretty nice house, right?

 

It's apartments now, and for all I know it could have been apartments back in 1940.  And right around the corner, practically was where my dad and his siblings were living.  It would have to be difficult to live that close to your dead wife's parents with your new young wife and kids, don't you think?  

But here's the picture that kind of changed my mind about my Grandpa Drake:

 

On the bottom of the picture it's written:  Don and Royce and Brownie.
On the back:  Don Drake Age 10
                     Bill Drake Age 3
                 To be Duane's

Duane is the name that everybody in the family called my dad.  Except my mom.  She called him Don.  All his friends and fellow coaches called him Dobbie.  Which is also what they called my Grandpa Drake -- which another story for another post.  And Bill was what everybody called Allison Royce Drake.  When referring to him, we all say Uncle Bill.  Bill was the nickname that Lucia's husband, Frank Converse gave him. 

But here's the deal -- this is what I gather from this pix:  Don is definitely not starving, but his weight could mean that he is eating a diet of starches.  Or he could be a stress eater.  It doesn't look like he's in a suit suit, but a jacket and pants.  And really could the faces on these boys be any sadder?

So, while Grandpa Drake wasn't the best dad in town, he probably did the best he could do with what he knew.

 

Alfred Bird Drake or Bird Alfred Drake?

You've got to have patience when you are gleaning information from a census.  One little piece of wrong information can send you so far down the wrong path that you think you've lost your mind.

It started with the 1860 United States Census.  There I have John Stout Drake and Lucia Cahoon Drake, married and living under one roof in Amboy, Hillsdale, Michigan.  John is 35 and Lucia is 34 and they have 7 children:

             James A.            13 years old
           Eugene E              12
              Anna R              10
            Sidney S                8
             Mary C                 6
            Alfred B                 4
           Allison C                 1

Sweet little Alfred B.  If he was 4 years old in 1860, then he would've been born around 1856...give or take.  But, you see, I'm a skeptic.  I see this perfectly fine record, but Allison's middle name was Royce.  At least that is what I've always been told.  Allison Royce Drake would eventually have a son named Royce Allison.  But I"m getting side tracked.

The mystery arises from the 1870 United States Census.  In the 10 years that's passed, Lucia has died, John Stout Drake has remarried a gal named Elinor.  James A and Eugene have left home, which was probably about right because they would have been 23 and 22 respectfully.  But Allison is gone as well, and he would have only been 11.  That whole mystery with Allison is for another day.  Today we are dealing with Alfred.  The 1870 United States Census has six kids still living at home:

                           Bird A                  13 years old
                           Alfred                   11
                              Ann                   20
                         Mary S                   16
                             Jane                      9
                            Lucy                      6

Bird?  Who the heck is Bird? And where was he in the 1860 Census?  Then I thought that maybe he was Elinor's boy and by 1870 John Stout Drake had decided to adopt him.

Back in 1979, at a Drake/Converse Reunion, I copied a family tree chart that was taped to the wall, the whole wall.  I was 8 months pregnant, it was hot and I was miserable.  I had a notation that a Jennie Drake married a George Priestly.  And I had a note that Bird Drake married a Eugenia Priestly.  I thought it was kinda sweet, and not uncommon among farm families.

The 1880 US Census finds Alfred Drake living in the home of George and Jane Priestly.

"United States Census, 1880," Alfred Drake in household of Geo. Priestly, Cambria, Hillsdale, Michigan

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• About this collection

Name:

Alfred Drake

Residence:

Cambria, Hillsdale, Michigan

Birthdate:

1857

Birthplace:

Michigan, United States

Relationship to Head:

Son-in-law

Spouse's Name:

Spouse's Birthplace:

Father's Name:

Father's Birthplace:

New York, United States

Mother's Name:

Mother's Birthplace:

New York, United States

Race or Color (Expanded):

White

Ethnicity (Standardized):

American

Gender:

Male

Martial Status:

Married

Age (Expanded):

23 years

Occupation:

NARA Film Number:

T9-0580

Page:

57

Page Character:

B

Entry Number:

682

Film number:

1254580

Household

Gender

Age

Birthplace

SELF

Geo. Priestly

M

59

England

WIFE

Jane Priestly

F

56

England

SON

Edwin Priestly

M

30

Michigan, United States

DAU

Mattie Drake

F

24

Michigan, United States

DAU

Katie Priestly

F

18

Michigan, United States

Alfred Drake

M

23

Michigan, United States

Alfred Drake is listed as the Son-in-law.  But where is Eugenia?  I pulled her birth date off of her death certificate -- 09 May 1855.  In 1880 she would have been around 25 years old.  There is a Mattie Drake, daughter of George who was 24.  Could Mattie be Eugenia?  I haven't been able to find anything with the initial M as a middle name.

In the 1900 Federal Census, Bird Drake shows up again.  Born in June of 1857.  Bird was born in Michigan and it says that both his parents were born in New York.  His daddy, John Stout Drake was born in New York, but his mama, Lucia Cahoon Drake was born in Michigan.  Again, I don't know who was the one answering the census taker's question.  Lucia would have been for almost 20 years by this time.  Also, in the "Number of Years Married Column" it says 1.  According to my records they were married in 1879.  So they would have been married 21 years.  Also, poor Eugenia had born a child, but it had not lived.

1905:  In the Hillsdale phone book, A. Bird is married to Eugenia.  He is working in a saloon at 47 N. Broad, in Hillsdale, Michigan.  He is living at 86 E. Sharp.

I have a copy of Eugenia Priestly Drake's Death Certificate.  Born 09 May 1855.  Married 02 Nov 1879.  Died 09 Apr 1908.  I know it's the right one because there are a few more clues.  Father was George Priestly, born in England.  Mother is Jane Hardy, born in England.  Eugenia died of La Grippa terminating in heart failure.  Spouse: A.B. Drake.  She is buried in North Adams, Cemetery.

In 1909 Alfred B Drake marries Ella Conway Ryan.  She is a nurse and both of them have been married one time before.

I found a copy of Alfred's death certificate.  Albert B. Drake died 13 Feb 1912.  Whoever provided the information said he was born 13 Jan 1861 -- which is several years off.  The also spell his mother's name -- Lucia Calhoon -- which sounds like it but is wrong.  But that I will prove another day.