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.

 

A Drake By Any Other Name:

So here's a bit of info from Ancestry.com:

"English: from the Old English by name Draca, meaning ‘snake’ or ‘dragon’, Middle English Drake, or sometimes from the Old Norse cognate Draki. Both are common surnames and, less frequently, personal names. Both the Old English and the Old Norse forms are from Latin draco ‘snake’, ‘monster’ (see Dragon).  As in Draco Mallfoy.

That seems to be the general consensus.

But then it gets a little crazy:  i have found some definitions that say that if someone had the nickname of Drake, that person would be "formidable and fierce in battle."

And I've found several locations that state that Drake came from the word Draker  which is a standard bearer.  In other words the guy that holds the flag.  Not a desirable position to be in during battle, I would think.

And then there is Draco which supposedly means dragon and a drake that is a male mallard duck.  I think our Drake men would prefer that they are named for fearless, ferocious dragons, rather than for a duck.  Because we waddle like ducks?  Because we are constantly quacking.  Or maybe it's a compliment, that we have nice tail feathers!

Other ways I have seen Drake spelled:  Drak (like Quack), Draike, Draik and Drayke.

There are a lot of Drake Family Crests, but all of them pretty much have a dragon on them.  This is my favorite:

A Family Treasure

I have in my possession a little book called:  Select Remains of the Rev. John Mason, M.A. It is very old.  Its cover is embossed linen? and the pages are yellowed and stained and has been nibbled on more critters that I care to think about.  I never paid much attention to it until recently.

I have learned some very important facts and have made some educated guesses.  Such as, I always wondered if the Moores were Catholic.  Mom and Dad came from Ireland.  However this is not a Catholic text and obviously it was very important to the family, so I'm thinking that the Moores were just a big farming family and not Catholic.

On the inside of the book, Libbie Moore has written her name everywhere:  Miss Libbie Moore's Book, Michigan.  And Miss Libbie Moore's book, Brooklyn, Michigan.  And at the top of that first page, Miss Libbie Moore, Born Sept 12/47.  So what have we learned?  I now have Miss Libbie Moore's birth date as well as where she lived.  At the bottom of the page in pencil, it is written:  From Mother to Claude my Dear Boy 1922.

On the fly leaf it is written:  Miss Libbie Moore's Book, Brooklyn, Norvelle, Mich and below that is the date 1857 which doesn't seem to be connected to anything.  At the bottom of the page is written:  To Illda from Gramma.

We then come to another page that says:  Miss Libbie Moore's Book, Brooklyn, Michigan  from her father James Moore born Dec 11/1800.  Hello!

Then comes my favorite page.  I looks like my great grandfather was learning to print his name.  He has written D - E - N - N - I - S, all in capitals, with both Ns and the S backwards.  I wonder if his ma gave him hell for writing in her book, although apparently it's okay.

So far, I have found no hiding writing in the book itself, but I'll admit that I haven't turned every page.  On one of the pages in the back this is written:  Aunt Susan English died Oct. 13th, 1861 on Sunday at 3 1/2 oclock.  I wrote this one week from her death and I was there when she died.  Oct 20th, 1861.  Libbie L. Moore, Libbie Moore.

Neva C Austin

Things I really hate:

Finding the right person, with the right dates, with the right locations with the wrong parents.

Take Neva C Austin.  I have postcards from Neva to her granny Elizabeth Moore Austin.  I have her living in Cambridge, Lenawee, Michigan and Jackson, Michigan.  She died in Brooklyn, Michigan.  Neva would have been my granny Illda Martha Austin Hughes' cousin.  And she married Leland Brighton.

Her dad is Claude Austin, aka Claud Austin, aka Claudie Austin.  And her ma is Katherine Austin.  I'm still doing research, but I believe Katherine's maiden name was Wallace.  I also have Katherine spelled with a C in a few federal census.  I've got Neva all over the place, but none with the correct info for both parents.  Neva had a sister named June who has vanished without a trace.  The last time a relative did that I eventually found him living in Utah with 3 wives.

Here's a pix of Neva with her dog, Jack.  It was sent to her granny Libbie Moore.

Here's a  picture of Illda Martha Austin.  I believe it is post 1912 and pre 1915.  I think the two girls look alike considering Neva is about 6 and Illda is probably around 16 or 17.

A Name is a Name is a Name

One of the things I have struggled with was why in the hell did my family only use about 10 different names for generation after generation after generation.  Were we really that unoriginal?  It's really difficult to keep my people straight in my head.  So I did a little research on surnames and naming patterns. I am not talking about surnames -- the last name that identifies us to a family group, but our first names or given names, the names given to us at birth.  I can understand a little now of how the names came into my immediate family.

My brother is Donald Duane Drake Jr.  My dad's name, of course, was Donald Duane Drake -- and everybody in the family, but my mother called him Duane.  My dad's dad's name was Donald Dee Drake.  My brother being named after my Dad and hence his dad -- the Donald was already taken when the second male grandchild came around.  He was named Dee or our grandfather's middle name.

My name is Martha Ellen.  My mom's mom was Illda Martha, her mom Minnie Martha and HER Mom was Martha.  But also, my dad's sister was Martha Jane and he loved her more than anyone on the planet.  I'm pretty sure I was named Martha to honor her and it was just luck that Martha was also my mom's mom's middle name.  I still don't know about the Ellen part of my name.  My dad's step mother's name was Ellen and I don't think he cared much for her at all.  Maybe Ellen just sounded good with Martha.

Anyways -- I've done a little research on naming practices and I came across "The Old Jones Naming Pattern."  According to Charlotte West Dade on her blog here:  http://www.ebay.com/itm/31-X-60-James-Thompson-Duck-Canvas-Cloth-Fabric-BROWN-NUTMEG-100-Cotton-/171020477861?pt=US_Fabric&hash=item27d19d65a5 The Old Jones Naming Pattern is also referred to as an American Naming Pattern.  It goes as follows:

THE BOYS:

The first son is named after the father's father

The second son is named after the mother's father.

The third son is named after the father himself.

The fourth through to the last son is named after a favorite brother or a friend (usually of the father). 

THE GIRLS:

The first daughter is named after the mother's mother.

The second daughter is named after the father's mother.

The third daughter is named after the mother herself.

The fourth through the last daughter is named after a favorite sister or friend (usually of the mother's).

And my own children?  My husband came home from the service and said that he loved the name Jessica and that he would name his first Jessica.  After making sure there were no ex-girlfriends named Jessica I agreed, even though I wanted a Maggie or a Courtney.  Jessica Margaret just never sounded right, but the more I said Jessica Courtney the more I liked it.  Nicole was named after my best friend.  Nicki is a cute name but I thought about "Nicki" for a 70 year old dowager and went with Nicole instead.  Lea (pronounced Lee-ah) fit well with it and while she's never been Nicki in this house, she has been NicoLea and Cole.  And sometimes Colby.  One time a boy soccer player asked me why I named my daughter after cheese.  John Jacob?  John for his dad and granddad (the bastard).  Jacob was a friend of the family.  My younger brother married his daughter.  Jacob was a good man to my family after my mom died.  We did it to honor him.  Before we settled on Jacob I double checked with Mike Drake if he wanted to use Jacob as a name if he ever had a son.  Apparently Jake Drake was never an option.

Illda Martha Austin Hughes and the Rhubarb Bars

My granny Illda Austin Hughes was a good cook, a plain cook, but a good cook.  But there were two things she made better than anyone.

First:  that girl could fry some fish.  When we would go fishing at Moose Lake or Bond Fall Flowage, we'd come home with a tub of fish.  Mostly Blue Gill, perch and sunfish.  The men/boys would take them out to the picnic table in the backyard and clean them.  Some of them were still moving.  And we skin fish in this family.  We do not take the lazy way out and scale them.  Perfect white pieces of fish from very cold lakes.

Illda would stand at the stove with two big cast iron pans and a little oil and cook fish as fast as we could eat them.  I never paid much attention to what she was doing or how she did it, but I think she battered them.  Light, perfectly golden triangles of blistering hot fish.  Usually there was a plate of bread in case some one choked, but I don't remember anything else for a meal.

After all the fish was devoured, and the plates stacked in the sink, and the bowls of fish bones out to the trash, Illda would bring out the pan of Rhubarb Bars.  My dad would groan and loosen his belt.

The Rhubarb bars were the other item Illda owned.  I thought maybe it was just my dad, but the first time my boyfriend tried them he went crazy as well and nobody else hardly got a bite.

I recently found my copy of the recipe that Illda gave me when I got married.  I married that boy who had gone crazy over her Rhubarb Bars.  Illda and Cleo never threw anything away as evident that the recipe is written on a page of a calender from 1975.

Translation:

Rhubarb Bars

• 3 cups cut rhurbarb
• 1 1/2 cups sugar
• 2 tablespoons cornstarch
• 1 teaspoon vanilla

Mix cornstarch and sugar and add to rest of ingredients and cook until thick.

Bars:

• 1 1/2 cup fine oatmeal
• 1 cup brown sugar
• 1 cup shortening, 1/2 butter
• 1/2 cup walnuts finely cut
• 1 teaspoon soda (I am presuming baking soda)

Mix together until crumbly.  Pat 3/4 mix into a 1 x 13 pan.  Pour on cooked rhubarb and cover with remaining mixture.

Bake at 375 for 30-35 minutes.

For Love

I finally have all the documents in order to draw my conclusion to the Cleo Mallison Hughes and Illda Martha Austin debacle.

A baby girl was born to Dennis E Austin and Minnie (maiden name Daniels) Austin on 15 Mar 1895.  They had not named the baby yet.  Dennis and Minnie only had one baby which they eventually named Illda Martha Austin.  The Illda came from a Russian novel that Minnie was reading at the time and I'm pretty sure the Martha was Minnie's mom.  The baby was born in Toledo, Ohio.  Illda was born in Toledo, Ohio.  Granny Illda's birthday was 15th of March.  I feel it is safe to say that Illda, my grandmother was that unnamed child of Dennis and Minnie Austin.

I have in my possession 2 birth certificates or record of birth for my grandfather Cleo Mallison Hughes.  The record number is 181 on page 158in the County of Branch Michigan.  Earl Linn, the Clerk of Branch County, Michigan says that Cleo Mallison Hughes was born or 28 March, 1903.  His parents were Alfred J. Hughes of Coldwater City, Michigan, and Ella E Hughes of 1st Ward.  Alfred J Hughes was born in New York and was a carpenter by trade.  Ella was born in Michigan.  The date of record is May 14, 1904.

Now here comes the fun.

I have here in front of me the marriage license:

Up in the right hand corner, you can see the date is 1920.

Now here's a close up of the pertinent information:

Cleo claims that at the time of this license he is 21 years old.

Now Cleo was born in 1903.  Hmmmm.  According to my math, in 1920 Cleo would have been 17 years old.  I do believe 17 was too young to get married without your parents permission.

Illda claims to be 22 -- only one year older than her intended.  Illda was born in 1895.  In 1920 she would have been 25 years old.

I'm pretty sure that Cleo might not have known how old Illda was, but you can sure as hell bet that Illda knew that Cleo wasn't 21.

I wonder what old Ella Mallison Hughes thought when her baby boy brought home a 25 year old bride?  Of course, Ella made some questionable decisons herself.

Here is a picture of Cleo Mallison Hughes.  There is no date on it but I reckon he's around 15 or 16.

I think I look like him.  I grew up thinking that I was his favorite grandchild.  Maybe it's because we shared a face.

And here's a trio of shots of Illda Martha Austin.  I can't get it any lighter.  I'm guess she is around 11 as there is now date.