Amos Stout Drake and Catherine Whaley Drake

I hate dead ends.  Some folks who study genealogy call them "Brick Walls."  But that seems a little too optimistic.  The phrase implies that one can smash through the brick wall or get a ladder a scale the wall or find a stile or something.  Maybe "dead end" isn't the exact perfect word to describe where I've come with Catherine Whaley.  More like a cul-de-sac.  I keep going round and round and round.  Never gleaning any new information.  I keep slogging over everything I know, hoping that I'll come across something that I missed that can send me off in a new direction.  Then checking and double checking anything I can think of hoping that maybe possibly someone has put up some new data that might help me.  I can't be the only person in the universe who is stumped with Catherine Whaley Drake, wife of Amos Stout Drake.

One of the things that makes me crazy is that many people don't attempt to validate or invalidate information that they find in other peoples family trees.  Sometimes it makes me doubt my own research and I feel I have to go over my own facts again and confirm what I'm pretty sure is the "truth."  I followed some of the "shaking leaf" hints on Ancestry and found about 10 other trees that have my Catherine's death date wrong.  Sometimes errors occur when the people who reported the death are not "family" -- maybe a neighbor, who doesn't really know much about the deceased.

So here I state for my own tree: Catherine Whaley Drake died on 27 Feb 1880.  That's probably why she didn't show up in the 1880 United States Census.  At FamilySearch.org, I found found the death record for Catherine Drake.  You can find it too by looking in "Michigan, Deaths, 1867-1897."  GS Film Number: 2363668, Digital Folder Number:  004207951, Image Number:  00541.

Here is the info I gleaned:  Catharine Drake died 27 Feb 1880 in Amboy, Hillsdale, Michigan.  She was a female, 81 years old.  Widowed and she did housework.  At the time of her death, she was 81 years, 5 months and 6 days old.  That should give me her actual birthdate.  Whoever did the reporting, did not know the name of her parents.  Whoever did the reporting, stated that she was from New Jersey.  Sigh.

In 1850, John Stout Drake was 25 years old and a farmer.  His wife, Lucia -- another gal who is making me crazy -- was 23.  They lived next door to John Stout's parents, Amos Stout Drake and Catherine Drake.  On the day the 1850 United States Census was taken Anna R Drake is enumerated at Amos and Catherine's house.  She is 4 months old.

Could the census taker have made a mistake and drawn the line in the wrong place?

At John and Lucia's house are the other children:  James A Drake who is three years old, and Emery E Drake who is 2 years old.  So the info gleaned from that very simple census, James A was born in 1847 and Emery was born in 1848.  I think this changes in the next census...  Maybe Anna was really staying next door at the Grandparents.  Maybe Lucia was being overwhelmed or she was sick or???

Regardless, In 1850 Amos and Catherine have a full house.  Besides Anna, there are:  William Drake (age 22), Cyrena (age 12), Catherine (age 7) and a whole bunch of Bakers:  Charles (44), Juliette (41), James (18), Ester (16), John (13) Cynthia (7), George (4), Charles (3).  I still don't know how we connect with the Bakers.  We share a cemetery with them, and those Bakers above are living not only in the same place, but on the same land and house.  I also have a very old bible that has Mary Baker on the front page and down in the corner is written "for Duane."  That is what they used to call my dad.  And there has  been no other Duanes in the family.

In that 1850 United States Census, Amos is listed as a farmer and that he was born in New Jersey.  Catherine was born in New York.  William and Cyrena were also born in New York, while the littlest Catherine was born in Michigan.

On the same page as Amos and Catherine and John and Lucia, and the Bakers are the farming families Clark and King.

10 years later, in the 1860 United States Census, the Amos and Catherine household has declined.  The only other person in the house is Catherine, grown up, and at 18 she is a school teacher.  Amos is 59 and still farming.  He says his farm is worth $2000, with a personal estate worth $793.  What's interesting is that Catherine as a personal estate of $32 -- and she's the only woman on the page that has any personal property.

Farms owned by others in the area, enumerated on the same page as Amos and Catherine are valued as follows:  $500 (James Garrison), $600 (George Salmon), $1000 (Horace Wright), $1000 (Alden Nash), $1600 (James Smith), $700 (Thomas Sawyer).

I need to find out what a "personal estate" actually is.

James Smith, the man who's farm is valued almost as much as Amos'?  Black family.  It's hard to fathom that the there were free blacks farming in Hillsdale County, Michigan in 1860.

That 1860 Census states that Amos was born in New Jersey, Catherine (the mom) was born in New York and daughter Catherine was born in Michigan.

In the 1870 United States Census, the Kings and the Clarks show up again as neighbors of Amos and Cate Drake.  Where were they in 1860?  Did Amos and Cate move to another part of Hillsdale County, then return?  How can I find out where they all were physically located in 1860?

In 1870. John Stout Drake has a new woman in the house -- an Elinor Drake.  Also in the house are Bird A and Alfred B -- and I've pondered over this before.  Even tho the enumerator lists them as Bird 13 years old and Alfred as 11, I propose that they are the same child.  Other children are Ann, Mary Serenus, Jane and Lucy.

Living next door are Amos J Drake.  and his wife, Mary.  Their children are Hiram A (2) and Carrie E (6/12).  Amos J happens to be James Amos, first born of John Stout and Lucia.  This custom of naming children after grandparents, then calling them by the middle name until said grandparent dies.

Skip a farm down and there we find Amos Stout Drake, now 69 and his wife, Cate, 70.  Amos' farm is valued at $3500 with a personal estate of $2000.  Here, Amos' birth state is listed as New York -- which has always been New Jersey up to this point and Catherine's birth state is still New York.  Living with Amos and Cate is Catherine who has married a man named Woods.  He isn't enumerated, but son Frederick Woods is there and he's three years old, making him born in 1867.

Catherine Whaley Drake -- Who Your Daddy?

So if Catherine Whaley and Amos Stout Drake did not live in the same community, how did they hook up?

It's important that we remind ourselves how different things were back in 1820.  There were no cars and no trains.  If you wanted to go anywhere, you walked.  The average man walked 3 mph.  During a 10 hour day, maximum mileage would have been 30 miles.  I think it would be safer to figure 20 miles.  These people weren't walking on track, sidewalk or road.

If you were a farmer, you might have access to a horse.  The average horse walks around 4 mph, but the trot around 8 mph and canter at 10-17 mph.  There's a good chance that a rider would trot and canter the horse periodically, so it wouldn't be unreasonable to think that someone could travel 30-40 miles in a 10 hour day.  But would a person travel all that way on horseback just to court?  Maybe someone was taking a wagon full of wheat to be milled or hides to trade.  A horse pulling a wagon is good for 15-25 miles a day.

So what was in Cato or Spafford or Marcellus that wasn't available in Lyons?  I haven't tangled with that part of the research yet.  I'm hoping there will be a clue.

So I've already gone of the whys and wherefores concerning John P Whaley and why I'm ruling him out as a potential father for Catherine Whaley?  Just a reminder, in 1820 he's living in an 8 person household with 3 boys under 10 and 3 girls under 10.  I am betting that the mom -- the female in the right age bracket is the mom and Katherine wouldn't have been old enough to have all those kids.  She was about 21 in 1820.

I'm getting frustrated.  Maybe Catherine isn't even real.  But wait, my information from a county history of Hillsdale, Michigan, tell of Amos Stout Drake and his wife, Catherine... she was real.  But who was she?  Back to the drawing board.

There is a Charles Whaley who is living in Spafford, Onondaga, New York at the right time.  I've tracked him down in other family trees and he has a Thankful Whaley as a daughter -- who is in my Mallison Line, but no Catherine.

In the 1820 United States Federal Census, I've found a gentleman named Joseph Whaley.  Actually he's listed as Joseph Wherry of Marcellus, Onondaga, New York.  Going all the way in to review the actual document, I find that "Wherry" is actually "Whaley."  There was a serious problem with transcribing it, I guess.  Let that be a lesson and a reminder -- don't always take the "printer friendly" or the transcription determine where your research goes.  Further research shows that Joseph (Wherry) Whaley and a female living in the house who would be of the right age, with 2 people being old enough to be her parents.  Marcellus, New York is 42.86 miles from Lyons.

Something else to consider, the 1830 US Census has Amos Stout Drake living with a wife and family in Rose, New York.  Rose is 12.5 miles from Lyons.  I need to see how Amos's neighbors were.  Could they have settled nearer her family?  There was one son and one daughter in the household as well, both under 10 in 1820.  Even ten years later, a young teenage boy and teenage girl probably wouldn't have bee much help on a farm.

More later.  Right now I'm managing to confuse myself.

Catherine Whaley Drake -- Where the Hell are You?

I think I'm losing my damn mind.

Today I woke up determined to prove one way or the other, which Catherine Whaley is mine, which you probably know is hard to do since she was born in 1799 and they didn't name children and other family members in the US Federal Census until 1840.  But I was loaded with theories and two other questions.  First question:  There is a David Whaley, born in 1903 and died in Hillsdale County, Michigan.  He was married to Hannah Bean.  Could he be a brother of Catherine Whaley?  Question Two:  Way way way over on the Mallison side of the family is a Thankful Whaley, also from New York, born around the same time.  Could she possible be a sister or relative of Catherine Whaley.

First things first:  In the 1850, 1860 and 1870 United States Federal Census, it is recorded that Amos Stout Drake was born in New Jersey and Catherine was born in New York.  Catherine and Amos are older and no longer have a houseful of children.  I bet it was probably Catherine who answered the door when the Census Enumerator came knocking.  I am inclined to believe that Catherine knew where she was born.  So far, so good.

There is a US Federal Census Mortality Schedule for Catherine Drake who has died at age 80 from diphtheria.  Her husband Amos preceded her.  I believe that I have seen a death certificate that names Mary P Drake as the reporter of her death, but that information is not listed in the Schedule.  The schedule does say the she was born in Rhode Island and that her dad was born in New Jersey and her mother in New York.  I need to see if there were any Whaleys living around the Piscataway, New Jersey area, which is where all the Drakes are from.  My point is that Mary P Drake was John Stout Drake's third wife and I don't think the family liked her very much.  There are more than a few things that she messed up on the census.  I believe that Catherine Whaley knew best about where she was born. So I am picking NY state.

The 1820 United State Federal Census shows 388 Whaleys in the entire census.  Out of those 388, there are 50 in the State of New York that I felt had potential.  Why 1820?  Because Catherine was born in NY State in 1799 and was married to Amos Stout Drake in New York, and Amos Stout Drake was supposedly born in NY although there is a little evidence that he may have been born in NJ.  Be that as it may, I searched through all 50 of the Whaleys looking for a free female living in the place of the head of household. I had to make sure that the 21 year old female was NOT the wife of the head of the house.  That left me with 16 options.

Back in 1820, how much does distance come into play?  Where did young people go to meet and marry?  Did they do a lot of traveling and socializing?  Maybe if you lived in a town, but the Drake boys were usually farmers.  How far is too far?  Why would they be traveling away from there town.  If Amos and Catherine weren't from the same town -- which i don't think they were -- why would Amos travel to Catherine's town or why did Catherine travel to his?  Trading post?  Weddings?  Church?  But before I get into all that, I need to double check and make sure that Amos Stout Drake was living where he should be.

Amos Stout Drake's pa is William Drake.  There is a William Drake living in Ontario, Ontario, New York but he seems to be a young married with a wife, 3 sons under 10 and 3 daughters under 10.  But there is also a William Drake in Lyons, Ontario, New York that have one so the right age and themselves.  I'm pretty sure this is My Family.  Amos was the last son and it makes sense that he would still be living with his folks.

There is a Whaley family in Cato, New York that has a daughter the right age for Catherine.  Cato is approximately 30 miles from Lyons.  Other towns with free females the right age;  Spafford (51 miles away), Marcellus (43 miles away), Fabius (78 miles away), Camden (92 miles away) and Verona (85 miles away).  Right now I'm not looking as far as Queens, New York.

Fly Like an Eagle -- Sophia Eagle

I was listening to a lecture not too long ago from one of the gals over at Ancestry.com.  She was talking about getting stuck and some of the ways to get around your lack of information.  One of her techniques is to run family group sheets.  She made me start thinking about that in relation to my own family, and even if it doesn't provide me with one single clue for my own stuff, it makes me see my family in a totally different light.  Many of us are so focused, that if you look at our family trees you would think that we were all only children, that we were the only child of two people who were only children.  It's a wonder if any of us survived at all.

Now I know that all families are special and unique, but we did something really well in my family.  Apparently we had lots of sex and that resulted in lots of babies -- heavy on the boy children.  Oh, sure, big farm families was kind of the norm, but we not only had lots of children, but we managed to raise them up.  The married and then they had lots of children.  And up until the John Stout Drake group, we all seemed to be pretty healthy.  I haven't found anybody that lived to be over 100, but we had plenty of 80 year olds that were still farming.

Anyway, I've been trying to work my family group sheets, partly because I'm kind of stuck right now, but also I'm hoping to unearth some little tidbit of information along the way.  I have also recently spent a week with my children in Alabama and just looking at them and their off spring, I'm pretty sure it's safe to say that we are one of the whitest families in the United States.  I find it difficult to believe that we continue to marry folks of English, French, German, Irish and Dutch extraction.  I wonder if that might have been what weakened the family.  We don't even have any Italians in the family.  So I went on a search to find someone in the family that wasn't English, French, German, Irish, Scots, Dutch and so on.

My John Stout Drake was the son of Amos Stout Drake and Catherine Whaley.  And John Stout Drake was not an only child.  One of his brother was William who married Miss Lucy Alfred.  Now, William and Lucy had several children, but the one I've been chasing after is a boy named Jehile Drake.  Or Jihle Drake.  Or Gehile Drake.  And in the 1870 United States Census he was listed as James.  James married a gal named Sophia Eagle.  Could there be Indian blood there?  I haven't really pursued that yet, because I've been busy just gathering the basic information. So here is what I have found so far, although I'm not 100% sure of the info.

I started with the family tree chart that I painstakingly copied down in the summer of 1979.  The writing is so tiny, I need a magnifying glass to read it.  I've kept this chart and look back on it periodically because I always seem to find new information or it refreshes my memory.

Jehiel A Drake was born 22 Sep 1856.  He married Sophia Eagle. They had a daughter, Lucy L Drake.  According to her marriage license information, she was born in 1883, in Amboy, Hillsdale, Michigan.  On 28 Feb 1903 she married a boy named Carlton A Moore.  Carlton was born in Ohio, in 1880.   Lucy and Carlton went on to have six children of their own:  Helen who married George Annis, Cecil who married Jane Lowry, Hazel, Ronald, Marion and Marietta.  I know, I know.  I have to see if I can flesh out those kids who are just names.  Hard to believe that this family would have 4 kids who never married, right?  I mean  a house full of grown up unmarried children was kind of common in the 1930s, coming off the depression and all, but not so much at the turn of the century.

Now Jehiel A Drake and his wife, Sophia Eagle had a son named William.  Pretty sure he's named after Jehiel Drake's dad, William Drake.  We'll go there tomorrow.

Oh, and one more thing before I forget, on the marriage license information, Jehiel A Drake and Sophia Eagle Drake, were married on 21 Jan 1882, in Amboy, Hillsdale, Michigan.  They were married by Jehiel Drake's uncle, John Stout Drake who was a justice of the peace.  Witnesses to the union were George and Jennie C Priestly.  Jennie C Priestly was John Stout Drake's daughter (and Jehiel Drake's first cousin).  It's nice to think they were keeping it in the family. 

John Stout Drake -- He's Making Me Crazy

John Stout Drake:

Here is what I know:

John Stout Drake was born 24 Oct 1824, in Lyons, Wayne County, New York.  He was the son of Amos Stout Drake and Catherine Whaley.  He married Lucia A Cahoon on 02 Nov 1845.  The licensing information said that they were to be married in Plymouth, Wayne County, Michigan.  He would have been around 21 years old.  He was a farmer.

John Stout Drake and Lucia Cahoon had 11 children.  The first born was James Amos Drake, born around 1847.  The reason I mention him is because there are a few public family trees on Ancestry that have him marrying Mary Pease.  I know he did marry a Mary, but Mary Pease was John Stout Drake's third wife.

The second child born was Emery Eugene Drake in 1848.

The third child born to John Stout Drake and Lucia was the first girl, Ann or Anna R. Drake.  She was born in 1850.

Number 4 was Sidney S. Drake, born about 1852.  Up until recently I didn't know if Sidney was a boy or girl, but recently I found out -- IT"S A BOY.

Mary Serenus Drake, the second girl, came along about 1854.  I have sometimes found her middle name spelled Cyrenus.

Bird A Drake was born in 1857.  Then Alfred B Drake in 1859.  I've seen a lot of information being switched around.  For a while, I considered that Bird A and Alfred B could either be twins or the same person ... that he was Alfred but went by Bird.  I think that Bird is an unusual name and it will be explained in later entries -- hooking him to a James Cahoon.

In 1859, my great grandfather, Allison Royce Drake was born to John Stout Drake and I'm thinking that Lucia was exhausted by now.  Allison was born in Amboy Township, Hillsdale, Michigan.

Next Jane Drake was born around 1861.  Followed by Lucy Drake on 14 Nov 1863.  She, too was born in Amboy Township, Hillsdale, Michigan.

The last child to be born to John Stout Drake and Lucia was John C Drake.  He arrived on 27 Apr 1871 in  Amboy, Hillsdale, Michigan.