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.  

Allison Royce Drake Part 5: Chewing on the 1870 US Census

Then there was an Eleanor Whitney.  She was born in 1837 in Ohio.  She was enumerated in Woodbridge, Hillsdale County, Michigan with her husband and family on 12 August 1870.

And lastly, there was and Elinor Camelin in Reading, Hillsdale County, Michigan.  According to the census, she was born in New York in 1828.  She, along with her family, was enumerated on 08 July 1870.

So what do we got?

• Elenor Vanelstine -- the spelling of the first name is not the same.  Birth year is not the same as Lucia, but she was born in Michigan.
• Eleanor Whitney -- the spelling of the first name is not the same, the birth year is not the same AND she was born in Ohio.
• And lastly -- Elinor Camelin.  Spelling of the first name is the same and the birth year not too far off but born in New York.

Now the Elinor listed under John Stout Drake has the correct birth year and she was born in Michigan.

So let's just step outside the box and say for a second that the Census Taker was wrong.

Allison Royce Drake: Part 4

I'm still trying to figure out who the Elinor is listed with the John Stout Drake family in the 1870 US Census.  She is listed right under John Stout -- where the wife is usually listed.  She has a line before her name which usually indicates that her last name is the same as the head of household. Just like the children are listed.  The 1870 Census does not include a box to explain relationship of said person to the head of house.

So I've tried to get creative with different scenarios.

1. The Drake Family was enumerated on 23 August 1870.  Someone showed up @ the house to record the information.  It looks like a man's handwriting.  I believe that Lucia could have been at the very beginning of her last pregnancy.  Had that realization of yet another child pushed Lucia over the edge?  Was she a little crazy?  Or maybe she didn't know yet.  Maybe she hadn't even missed her cycle yet.  There were no EPT kits in those days.  But after at least 9 pregnancies, maybe she just knew. Maybe she was already experiencing morning sickness.
2. James was no longer living in the household.  Eugene - who was now 22 years old was no longer at home.  Sydney -- 19 years old -- was gone as well.  Were they really done or was the person answering the Enumerator's questions unaware that the boys were out in the fields, working the farm?

• There is an Amos J Drake married to a Mary living in Hillsdale.  My James Amos is married to a Mary.  It seems like James -- the first son -- was named after John Stout Drake's father (Amos Stout Drake). And just a note to myself here -- Lucia's dad was James Cahoon and I believe that Lucia moved to Hillsdale with her brother James.
• There is and EE Drake living at the residence of E Delavan in Moscow, Hillsdale, Michigan.  I'm pretty sure there were not a lot of EE Drakes in the same county.  This is probably my Emery Eugene.  EE was 24 years old in 1870 and my Eugene was 22, but if Eugene was working as a farm laborer, his employer would only know what Eugene told him.
• I have not yet been able to locate Sidney -- son number 3 -- in the 1870 US Census -- yet.  But I also don't know what his whole name is.  Apparently, this Drake family was big on name children after relatives and then calling them by the middle name.  From what I understand, this was pretty common practice and not just a Drake thing.  

Could the Enumerator walked up to front porch and discovered house swarming with children and babies making a racket?  Or could they be in the middle of illness?

1. Could "Elinor" actually have been Lucia?  I have no record of her middle name although I have seen an "M" and/or an "A" as a middle initial.  And considering some naming patterns, it was not uncommon for a husband to call his wife by her middle name.  
2. The Drakes were enumerated on 23 August 1870.  Elinor was listed as 43 years old -- which would have been Lucia's age as well.  Elinor was listed as having been born in Michigan -- just like Lucia.   Unfortunately, the 1870 US Census does not make note of where each individual's parents were born.  

I searched Hillsdale County, Michigan for women born in 1827 with the name of Elinor.  There were:

• Elenor Vanelstine.  Born 1831 in Michigan.  She lived in Somerset, Hillsdale County.  She was enumerated with her husband 18 July 1870, almost a month before the John Stout Drakes.  And as we all know -- so many things can happen in a month. 

When Did It Go Oh-So Wrong: Allison Royce Drake Part 3

Allison Royce Drake was born April 9, 1859 in Amboy, Hillsdale, Michigan.  His father, John Stout Drake, was 34 and his mother, Lucia, was 32.  Already in the house were Allison's older siblings: James Amos who was 13, Emery Eugene was 11, sister Anna was 9, brother Sidney was 8, Mary Serenus was 6 and Alfred Bird was just 2 years old.  That makes a whopping six kids, not including the new baby, Allison.

Side Note:  I'm not sure of what type of house the Drakes lived in in 1859.  I haven't been back north yet to see if it's still standing.  But, in the late 1970s I did live in an old 1860ish farm house surrounded by the same, so there are a few things I'm pretty sure of:

1. John Stout was a successful farmer.  In the farm map of 1858, he had 83 acres, right across the fields from his dad's (Amos Stout Drake) larger farm.  John was well respected in the community, so I'm betting that his family was well taken care of and did not live in squalor.
2. In my experience, most farm houses were 2 stories, with a steep roof, because that helped prohibit snow accumulation  The houses were built over Michigan basements.  Michigan basements -- the basement was dug out, then stone (about the size of a medium cantaloupe) were pounded into the walls.  My farm house had a hard packed dirt floor.
3. Most family farms (even today) have a garden out back big enough to feed the family and to put things up for a long Michigan winter.  A chicken coop was set up not too far from the house -- people were a little less finicky about farm smells wafting into the house -- the chickens and eggs tended to be the farm wife's domain and a young child's first chore.  Farther away from the house was usually a much larger outbuilding, where there was a milk cow or two.  The family was not going to starve.

My farm house started out as a two story dwelling with a front porch and three large rooms on the ground floor:  a bedroom, a huge kitchen (where the family lived, and worked, and ate), and a living area. Stairs to the second floor went practically straight up and there were 3 large square bedroom, with windows that were lower than today's code.  The chimney of the fireplace warmed two of the upstairs bedrooms and the the bedroom downstairs.  The woodstove's stove pipe passed through the ceiling of the kitchen, through the 2nd story third bedroom, providing just enough heat so the kids wouldn't freeze.

As the family grew and their skill at farming improved, the residents could afford a few luxuries ie. running water and an indoor toilet.  Eventually with a house full of teens, another bedroom was added on behind the house, usually onto the kitchen and was most often on story.  I imagine the Drake Farm looked very similar to mine.

April of 1861 was a big month for the Drakes.  First off, on 12 April was the start of the Civil War.   I don't think that the shot heard around the world effected them too much.  April on a farm is a very busy time.  And just 13 days late, Lucia gave birth to child #8 (and daughter #4) Jane Drake. I bet that there were some nights that spring when John Stout Drake was so exhausted he fell asleep over his dinner.  Of course James and Eugene were practically men and Sydney was finally of an age where he could contribute a good days work.  Anne was 11 and probably working beside her mom, taking care of the family -- laundry, gardening, cleaning, cooking, canning, sewing.  Mary Cyrenus at 8 years old was in the beginning years of learning farm wife duties.  Maybe she tended to the youngers -- Alfred was now 4 and Allison a toddling 2.

In 1863, another Drake daughter -- Lucy -- was born on November 14, increasing the family children to 9,

July 1st, 1863 John Stout Drake enlisted.  He was 38 years old.  At this time, I haven't researched John Stout Drake's military record.  Maybe he didn't serve.  Maybe he was exempted because he had so many kids.  Maybe he was growing crops and providing food for the military.

According to the US Non Population Schedule, John Stout Drake had 70 improved acres and 14 unimproved.  There were only two other farms in the area that had more improved  acres.  The cash value of John's farm was $2000 and the machinery and other farm implements were valued at $115.  He had 2 horses, 6 milk cows, 3 sheep, 3 swine, and the value of his animals was $452.  He had 70 bushels of rye and 350 bushels of indian corn.

When Things Fell Apart: Allison Royce Drake Part 2

Last week a hint showed up for Allison Royce Drake in my online family tree.  I was so excited!  I've never gotten a hint for him before -- like I said -- information on the elusive great grandfather was scarce.

The hint was a death certificate for an AR Drake and actually the "A" looked like a "U".

According to this death certificate, AR Drake was a white male, age 53. His marital status was "widower."  He was born in Michigan and died on 31 Aug 1913 of bronchial asthma.  And he had been living at the "County Farm" in Madison Township, Lenawee, Michigan.

So I sat down with my pencil and paper and tried to analyze what little information was on the death certificate with the very little information I had on Allison Royce Drake.  

• My Allison Royce Drake was born in 1859.  In 1913, Allison would have been 54 years old.  Pretty close.  I mean who knew how old this guy living at the county farm really was?  Obviously there was no record on hand of his birth date.
• He was white and he was a male.  Check and check.
• Has marital status was recorded as "widower."  His wife, Jane Myers Drake, was still alive in kicking.  This doesn't concern me too much as I found him in the 1910 United States Census, living in a boarding house and his was enumerated as "single."  Jan is living and working in another county, and his two youngest sons living in yet another county.  I have found no record of divorce.  In 1910, Jane is "married".
• In the 1910 United States Census, Allison is enumerated in Woodstock, Lenawee County, Michigan.  And in that same census his age is listed as 51 years old.

As brief as the information is, this sounds more like my guy.  A mean drunk who abandoned his family, who no one ever mentioned, dying in poverty with no one knowing or caring who he was.  

And how the hell did that happen?  How do you get from being the son of a well off, well respected farmer (John Stout Drake) who raised a whole passel of good kids, an active member in his church and community to a bum?  John Stout Drake, was a justice of the peace.  Marriage records show that many couples journeyed out to the farm just so JS Drake could marry them.  Many times his younger daughters would witness the unions.  In his obituary, John Stout Drake was called a "loving and indulgent father."  Was an "indulgent" father a community slap at John Stout Drake for overcompensating for his youngest son?  Was John Stout Drake a really loving parent who forgave his boy over and over again?

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.

Another Letter from Dennis E Austin

Another Letter from Dennis E Austin:

Jan 1st  11

My Dear Parents

I was intending to answer your letter so you would get it before Christmas.  But I failed to do it + surely thought I would get one to you by Jan 1, + here it is.

We rec'd your pa (sic) ok + do certainly appreciate those presents.

I have been very busy for the last month + once in a while to help fill in my time, I cut a few chunks for two fires.  We have just had a nice warm soaking rain + it does make things look green, I will have some ripe strawberries in two weeks.  I shaved off my beard + moustache last night + will start the new year a new man.  I was to have stared going to church this am but I found my insoles in my new shoes was broken so I will wait until next Sunday.  Min got me a nice new suit of clothes + I have no excuse now.  

I have been looking through my bees this pm + I find I will have as much as 50 pounds of honey to take from some colonies in order to give the Queen room to lay, for it is during Jan + Feg we have to get a hive just lousy with young bees and then you have plenty of workers which give you lots of surplus.  I wish you could see the little fellows when I take the cover off the hive body and pick out one of the 10 housing frames just black with bees on both sides, + they will keep right on with their work as if no one were around.

I am compelled to demonstrate ever time any one comes.  I can pick up any single beee I have or can pick up a double handful.  + when I go to their hives + stick a finger to the entrance from 3 to a dozen with run out + crawl on my hand, and when I am around the yard working they will light on my face + can not get them away.  I have an idea that I may take it up sometime.  Of course I only have 7 colonies at present + could split them so I would have 35 by next fall if I was running for increase, or I can keep them just as they are + not have any swarming.  I only need to play a little trick on them just before they are ready to swarm.  I have room here for 100 colonies + it don't cost me anything for feed = their houses I make I only buy the frames from A I Roots Medina Ohio Factory costing 30 ¢ for 10 frames.  I sure have the B fever + you must overlook it.  I hope this finds you both well + may the year 1911 bring more joy + health than any before, I am with love and kisses your Dennis