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Research Background
Robert Charles Anderson published a considerable study of the John Smiths of Watertown.[1] In it he referenced the excellent study done by Sir Anthony Wagner on the Drake family, published in Alice Smith Thompson's book, The Drake Family of New Hampshire.[2] There is no indication in these excellent studies that William was the son of William and Joan, nor is there indication of any connection to Devon or Cheshire, as previously sourced below.
Biography
William Drake, the eldest son of William and Joan Drake,[citation needed] was born about 1550 probably at White Notley.[2] Being the eldest son, it would have been expected that he would have succeeded to his father's lands; however, this was not the case. His younger brother John remained at White Notley.[citation needed]
There is a record of a William Drake born to Thomas in 1552 in nearby Little Waltham, but without other evidence it's not proven that this William is our William,[2][3] though circumstantial evidence is strong.[2]
1578 Marriage
Apparently William moved to Halstead where, on October 12, 1578, he had married Joan Merrylls (also Merrells, Merrels).[1] Sometime between 1584 and 1592, the family left Halstead and moved to Elmstead.[2] The reason for this move was probably economic, as explained in Wagner's study. William was a husbandman or farmer. [2]
William and Joan had the following children: [2]
- Robert, born 1581 in Halstead
- Isabel., married John Smith
- Thomas, b 1582 in Halstead
- Jushua, b 1584 in Halstead
- Joseph,
- Joan or Joanne, married Joseph Cocke
- Thomas the younger
- Alice
- Ellen
- Elizabeth
1589 Brother John a Cripple
In a Court for Black Notley on May 21, 1589, John Drake was described as "Johannes Drake claudes" -- that is, the lame or cripple. In view of the fact that his brother John was lame and had also married a local girl, it is likely that William let him take up their father's property.[citation needed] Apparently William then moved to Halstead, where he had married his wife.
1611 Puritan
William Drake and his wife were extreme Puritans who rejected the established Church of England. In the records of the Archdeacon of Colchester's Court we find them being fined for not attending the parish Church in 1611, and again in 1615 he was presented by the Churchwardens of Elmstead "for not coming orderly to Church on the Sabbath Daye" and was duly fined 12d. on June 28, 1615. [citation needed]
1616 Death and Burial
He was buried at Elmstead on November 3, 1616.[2] His wife, Joan, died at the beginning of the next year and was buried on March 30, 1617, at Elmstead. Her will, dated March 16, 1617, was proved later the same year in the Commissary Court of the Bishop of London. [1]
Sources
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 Robert Charles Anderson, John Smith of Watertown, Massachusetts, The American Genealogist 61(1985):18-31. available at americanancestors.org
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 2.4 2.5 2.6 2.7 Alice Smith Thompson, The Drake family of New Hampshire: Robert of Hampton and some of his descendants, a genealogy. With an historical introd. on the family background in England by Sir Anthony Richard Wagner. (Concord, New Hampshire Historical Society:Concord, NH), 1962. pp. 3-52. available at archive.org
- ↑ Essex, England, Select Church of England Parish Registers, 1518-1960 Name Wylliam Drake Gender Male Baptism Date 27 Jul 1552 Baptism Place Little Waltham, Essex, England Father Thomas DrakeFHL Film Number 1526972
See also:
- Marston; Lane Memorial Library - Hampton, Rockingham Co, New Hampshire; Publication: Name: Name: Lane Memorial Library; Location: http://freepages.genealogy.rootsweb.com/~marston/Hampton
- Find-a-Grave Memorial #107813318
- UK, Extracted Probate Records, 1269-1975
- Colin Ringleib, Ringleib Family Website. Data references gedcoms imported. Also states " Compiled in Sep. 1980 by Stanley Ross Williams. http://www.ringleib.com/ringleib_info/family_tree/colinr/d894.htm#P2597 Accessed August 17, 2015.
