Person:Elizabeth Drake (48)

Elizabeth Drake was baptised on 27th May 1821 at Bere Ferrers in Devon, daughter of Mary Drake, formerly Harris, and her husband John Drake, a husbandman and sexton. Elizabeth was the fourth of the couple's seven children. In 1832, when Elizabeth was eleven years old, her mother died.

Elizabeth was married in 1848 in Devonport, a few miles south of Bere Ferrers. Her husband was an agricultural labourer named William Cole. Shortly after their marriage they returned to Bere Ferrers, where they appear to have had five children. In both the 1851 and 1861 censuses the family was living in Bere Ferrers at 'Beer Town', which was the name given to Bere Ferrers village to distinguish it from the other hamlets and villages (notably Bere Alston) in the parish of Bere Ferrers.

In the 1871 census Elizabeth and William were living at Well Farm between Bere Ferrers and Bere Alston, and had Elizabeth's elderly father John living with them. John died in 1877.

William died in 1889, aged 72. The 1891 census finds Elizabeth living in Bere Alston with two of her daughters. She died in 1893, aged 72.

1. ↑ Baptisms register, in Church of England. Parish Registers of Bere Ferrers. (Exeter: Devon Heritage Services).

   BAPTISMS solemnized in the Parish of Beer Ferris n[ea]r Tavistock in the County of Devon in the Year 1821
   No.	When Baptized	Child's Christian Name	Parent's Name		Abode	Quality, Trade, or Profession	By whom the Ceremony was performed
   			Christian	Surname
   560	May 27th	Elizabeth Daughter of	John and Mary	Drake	Monk's Castle	Husbandman	W. Servante

2. ↑ England. 1851 Census Returns for England and Wales. (
   Kew, Richmond, Greater London TW9 4DU, United Kingdom:
   The National Archives (abbreviated TNA), formerly the UK General Register Office.)
   Class HO107; Piece 1883; Folio 98; Page 28, 30 Mar 1851.

   Address: Beertown, Beerferris, Devon
   William Cole, head, married, male, 34 [1816/17], Labourer at the Mines, b. Thornbury, Devon
   Elizabeth Cole, wife, female, 28 [1822/3], b. Beerferris, Devon
   Mary Cole, daughter, female, 1 [1849/50], b. Beerferris, Devon

3. ↑ England. 1861 Census Schedules for England and Wales, Isle of Man and the Channel Islands. (
   Kew, Richmond, Greater London TW9 4DU, United Kingdom:
   The National Archives (abbreviated TNA), formerly the UK General Register Office.)
   Class RG9; Piece 1457; Folio 57; Page 13, 7 Apr 1861.

   Address: Beertown, Beerferris, Devon
   William Cole, head, married, male, 42 [1818/19], Ag[ricultural] Lab[ourer], b. Thornbury, Devon
   Elizabeth Cole, wife, married, female, 39 [1821/2], b. Beerferris, Devon
   Mary Cole, daughter, female, 11 [1849/50], Scholar, b. Beerferris, Devon
   John Cole, son, male, 9 [1851/2], Scholar, b. Beerferris, Devon
   William Cole, son, male, 4 [1856/7], Scholar, b. Beerferris, Devon
   Elizabeth Cole, daughter, female, 3 [1857/8], Scholar, b. Beerferris, Devon
   Jane Cole, daughter, female, 7mos [1860], b. Beerferris, Devon

4. ↑ England. England and Wales. 1871 Census Schedules. (
   Kew, Richmond, Greater London TW9 4DU, United Kingdom:
   The National Archives (abbreviated TNA), formerly the UK General Register Office.)
   Class RG10; Piece 2142; Folio 41; Page 3, 2 Apr 1871.

   Address: Well Farm, Beerferris, Devon
   William Cole, head, married, male, 54 [1816/7], Hind, b. Thornbury
   Eliz[a]b[e]th Cole, wife, married, female, 49 [1821/2], Hind wife, b. Beerferris, Devon
   John Cole, son, unmarried, male, 19 [1851/2], Kind son, b. Beerferris, Devon
   Jane Cole, daughter, female, 10 [1860/1], Scholar, b. Beerferris, Devon
   John Drake, father, widower, 82 [1788/9], Sexton, b. Beerferris, Devon

5. ↑ England. 1881 Census Schedules for England and Wales, Isle of Man and the Channel Islands: . (
   Kew, Richmond, Greater London TW9 4DU, United Kingdom:
   The National Archives (abbreviated TNA), formerly the UK General Register Office.)
   Class RG11; Piece 2215; Folio 62; Page 17, 3 Apr 1881.

   Address: Leeches Farm, Beerferris, Devon
   William Cole, head, married, male, 65 [1815/16], Ag[ricultural] Lab[ourer], b. Thornberry, Devon
   Elizabeth Cole, wife, married, female, 60 [1820/1], b. Beerferris, Devon
   Elizabeth Cole, daughter, unmarried, female, 22 [1858/9], Dressmaker, b. Beerferris, Devon

6. ↑ England. 1891 Census Schedules for England and Wales, Isle of Man and the Channel Islands. (
   Kew, Richmond, Greater London TW9 4DU, United Kingdom:
   The National Archives (abbreviated TNA), formerly the UK General Register Office.)
   Class RG12; Piece 1748; Folio 24; Page 24, 5 Apr 1891.

   Address: 30 Pepper Street, Beeralston, Beerferris, Devon
   4 rooms occupied
   Elizabeth Cole, head, widow, female, 69 [1821/2], b. Beerferris, Devon
   Elizabeth Cole, daughter, single, female, 29 [1861/2], Domestic servant, b. Beerferris, Devon
   Jane Cole, daughter, single, female, 24 [1866/7], Domestic servant, b. Beerferris, Devon

7. ↑ Deaths index, in General Register Office. England and Wales Civil Registration. (London: General Register Office).

   d. Elizabeth COLE, December Quarter 1893, Tavistock Registration District, Volume 5b, page 264, aged 70 [1822/3]

   Elizabeth has not been found in the 1901 census and this is the only Elizabeth Cole of the right age to have died in the Tavistock district (which covered Bere Ferrers) between 1891 and 1901.