Person:John Drake (113)

John Drake was baptised on 5th March 1826 at Bere Ferrers in Devon, son of Mary Drake, formerly Harris, and her husband John Drake, a husbandman and sexton. John's mother died in 1832, when he was only six years old. The 1841 census finds John staying at Fore Street in Bere Alston, the largest village in Bere Ferrers parish.

In 1846, aged 20, John married Elizabeth Colman. She was also from Bere Ferrers, but they married in the nearby town of Devonport, at Stoke Damerel parish church. After their marriage they returned to Bere Ferrers, where they lived on Pepper Street in Bere Alston in each census from 1851 to 1891. They appear to have had at least eight children together. John initially worked as a shoemaker, being described as such from their marriage through to 1861. From 1871 onwards he was descibred instead as an agricultural or general labourer.

Elizabeth died in Plymouth in 1897, aged 69. John outlived her by sixteen years. He appears in the 1901 census living with one of his daughters and her family on Pepper Street in Bere Alston. By 1911 he was living with one of his sons-in-law in Plymouth. He died in 1913, aged 87.

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 1826
   No.	When Baptized	Child's Christian Name	Parent's Name		Abode	Quality, Trade, or Profession	By whom the Ceremony was performed
   			Christian	Surname
   831	March 5th	John Son of	John and Mary	Drake	Monk's Castle	Husbandman	Henry Hobart

2. ↑ England. 1841 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 HO107; Piece 240; Book 2; Folio 6; Page 6, 6 Jun 1841.

   Address: Fore Street, Beeralstone, Beer Ferris, Devon
   Elizabeth Radford, female, 30 [1806-11], widow [crossed out], born in county
   William Radford, male, 11 [1829/30], born in county
   Thomas Radford, male, 8 [1832/3], born in county
   Elizabeth Radford, female, 2 [1848/9], born in county
   John Drake, male, 15 [1821-6], born in county

3. ↑ 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 40; Page 24, 30 Mar 1851.

   Address: 56 Pepper Street, Beeralstone, Beerferris, Devon
   John Drake, head, married, male, 24 [1826/7], Shoemaker, b. Beeralston, Devon
   Elizebeth Drake, wife, married, female, 22 [1828/9], b. Beeralston, Devon
   William Drake, son, male, 3 [1847/8], b. Beeralston, Devon
   John Drake, son, male, 1 [1849/50], b. Beeralston, Devon

4. ↑ 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 14; Page 22, 7 Apr 1861.

   Address: Pepper Street, Beeralston, Beerferris, Devon [listed next to Cornish Inn]
   John Drake, head, married, male, 34 [1826/7], Shoemaker, b. Beerferris, Devon
   Elizebeth Drake, wife, married, female, 32 [1828/9], b. Beerferris, Devon
   William H. Drake, son, male, 13 [1847/8], Scholar, b. Beerferris, Devon
   John Drake, son, male, 11 [1849/50], Scholar, b. Beerferris, Devon
   Elizebeth Drake, daughter, female, 9 [1851/2], Scholar, b. Beerferris, Devon
   Edward Drake, son, male, 7 [1853/4], Scholar, b. Beerferris, Devon
   Letitia Drake, daughter, female, 4 [1856/7], Scholar, b. Beerferris, Devon
   Francis Drake, son, male, 9mo [1860], b. Beerferris, Devon

5. ↑ 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 19; Page 11, 2 Apr 1871.

   Address: Pepper Street, Beeralston, Beerferris, Devon
   John Drake, head, married, male, 48 [1822/3], Ag[ricultural] Lab[ourer], b. Beerferris, Devon
   Elizabeth Drake, wife, married, female, 43 [1827/8], b. Beerferris, Devon
   Bella Drake, daughter, unmarried, female, 14 [1856/7], Scholar, b. Beerferris, Devon
   Francis Drake, son, male, 10 [1860/1], Scholar, b. Beerferris, Devon
   Mary A. Drake, daughter, female, 7 [1863/4], Scholar, b. Beerferris, Devon
   Emilin Drake, daughter, female, 4 [1866/7], Scholar, b. Beerferris, Devon
   ~ second household in same house ~
   John Drake, head, married, male, 21 [1849/50], Ag[ricultural] Lab[ourer], b. Beerferris, Devon
   Elizabeth Drake, wife, married, female, 19 [1851/2], b. Whitchurch, Devon

6. ↑ 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 24; Page 5, 3 Apr 1881.

   Address: Pepper Street, Bere Alstone, Bere Ferrers, Devon
   John Drake, head, married, male, 57 [1823/4], Farm labour[e]r, b. Bere Ferrers, Devon
   Elizabeth Drake, wife, married, female, 55 [1825/6], b. Bere Ferrers, Devon
   Emily Drake, daughter, female, 15 [1865/6], b. Bere Ferrers, Devon
   James H. Drake, grandson, male, 1 [1879/80], b. Bere Ferrers, Devon

7. ↑ 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 25; Page 25, 5 Apr 1891.

   Address: 41 Pepper Street, Beeralston, Beerferris, Devon
   2 rooms occupied
   John Drake, head, married, male, 66 [1824/5], General Labourer, employed, b. Beerferris, Devon
   Elizebeth Drake, wife, married, female, 63 [1827/8], b. Beerferris, Devon

8. ↑ England. England. 1901 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 RG13; Piece 2115; Folio 21; Page 13, 31 Mar 1901.

   Address: Pepper Street, Berealston, Bere Ferrers
   4 rooms occupied
   John Cole, head, married, male, 43 [1857/8], Railway Labourer, b. Liskeard, Cornwall
   Emily Cole, wife, married, female, 35 [1865/6], b. Bere Ferrers, Devon
   Mabel Cole, daughter, female, 10 [1890/1], b. Bere Ferrers, Devon
   Emily Cole, daughter, female, 7 [1893/4], b. Bere Ferrers, Devon
   Florence Cole, daughter, female, 8mo [1900], b. Bere Ferrers, Devon
   John Drake, boarder, single, male, 76 [1824/5], Retired Agricultural Labourer, b. Bere Ferrers, Devon

9. ↑ England. 1911 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 RG14; Piece 12950; Schedule 302, 2 Apr 1911.

   Address: The Lodge, Gifford Place, Plymouth, Devon
   Four rooms occupied
   Robert Samuel Smyth, head, male, 71 [1839/40], married 25 years, 4 children born alive, 4 children still living, Naval Pensioner Caretaker Jews Synagogue, b. Stonehouse, Devon
   Celia Irene Smyth, daughter, female, 19 [1891/2], single, b. Plymouth, Devon
   Elsie Eli[za]b[et]h Smyth, daughter, female, 12 [1898/9], single, school, b. Plymouth, Devon
   Fred[eric]k Joseph Smyth, son, male, 22 [1888/9], single, Writer R.N., b. Plymouth Devon
   John Drake, wife's father, male, 86 [1824/5], widower, b. Bere Alston, Devon

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

    d. John DRAKE, September Quarter 1913, Tavistock Registration District, Volume 5b, page 409, aged 88 [1824/5]