Drake
Written by Rich Henninger
Copyright 2006

The story of our Drake family in America probably begins in 1600’s New England. The best information I could find is a Francis Drake b. 1618 in Devonshire, England came to America as a young man. The date of arrival and port are not known. It appears that he settled in or near Portsmouth, New Hampshire. He married Mary Ann Walker who was born in 1625 in New Hampshire. Francis died in 1687 in Portsmouth. Francis and Mary had a son, John Drake b. 1653 probably in New Hampshire though I have found conflicting accounts that he was born in New Jersey. John and several generations of his descendants would live and work in Piscataway, New Jersey through the 1700’s and into the 1800’s.

Before we continue I suppose it may be appropriate to have a brief discussion about Sir Francis Drake the infamous explorer and privateer. For those of you who don’t know, ‘privateer’ was a politically correct term for a government sponsored pirate. Among several points of intrigue that first kindled my interest in genealogy was a claim that my wife’s Drake line was descended from Sir Francis Drake’s brother Thomas. I set out to prove this claim was true but very quickly learned that it was not. To begin with, those of you looking for a direct relationship to Sir Francis Drake you need not look any farther. All historical accounts conclude that Sir Francis Drake had no children. While he did have siblings, most experts agree that these lines died out long ago. In short the expert consensus is that there are no known descendants of Sir Francis Drake or his siblings and any such claims to the contrary should be treated as highly suspect. The only relationship that anyone today could hope to be is a very distant cousin, many generations removed. Even a distant relationship is in doubt according to the Drake Exploration Society, a group of Drake historians who have dedicated their lives to documenting an accurate historical account of Sir Francis Drake's life. As you are about to read our Drake line would carve out its own claim to fame albeit not in as grandiose fashion as the notorious Sir Francis Drake.

We resume our Drake story with Imla Drake, great great grand son of Francis Drake b. 1618. Beginning with Imla and his descendants I am much more confident with the accuracy of the data. There is consensus among several researchers and I have seen many of the sources and conducted much of my own research. Imla Drake was born in 1751 in Hunterdon County, New Jersey. He married Temperance McPherson b. 1750 in New Jersey. They had six children known to this researcher. Among those children was Samuel Drake b.1774. He married Catherine Hulshizer in 1796 at Warren County, New Jersey where they farmed and raised a large family. Samuel and Catherine would have eleven children among whom would be John Drake my wife’s 4th great grandfather and founder of the Drake business empire of Easton, Pennsylvania.

John Drake was born in 1803 in Asbury, Warren County, NJ. Certainly as a young man he would have helped on his father’s farm where he likely learned the value of hard work and perseverance, values that would lead him to become one of the most successful business men in the history of Easton. John married Margaret Stewart in 1827 and moved his family to Easton sometime there after. It was in 1836 when he founded the Drake Wholesale Company. The company purchased locally grown produce and exported it to New York City and other large cities in the north east. His success in Easton would lead him to other ventures. He was one of the founders of the Thomas Iron Company and was a life long member of its board of directors. He would team up with Derrick Hulick, another wealthy Easton business man, and form the Drake and Hulick Company exporters and importers of commodities. Hulick was also on the board of the Thomas Iron Company. These two men together were on top of an economic wave that swept Easton during the 1800’s. Their influence would have been just about everywhere and you can be sure that they had their share of adversaries as well. Click images to enlarge

John and Margaret would have ten children. Their stories read like a virtual who’s who of 1800’s and early 1900’s Easton. Their daughter’s married prominent business men in Easton. Daughter Ellen married William Semple, owner of a successful drug store. Emily married James Wood who was president of Tippet and Wood, a manufacturer of machinery. Wood was also on the board of directors of several Easton based companies and was an Easton City councilman. Samuel would marry Sarah Arndt. The Arndt’s had been a prominent family in Easton dating back prior to the Revolution. The Drake Company name would eventually be changed to Drake and Sons and later Drake and Company. By the time John died in 1873 the Drake family had become firmly established among the business and political super elite of Easton. This could only serve to help Samuel take the company to even new levels of success as he took over the company begun by his father. Taking full advantage of their political and business connections the Drake company experienced tremendous growth. Samuel would become president of Drake and Son, president of Edison Illuminating Co., director of two banks, and succeed his father as a director on the board of the Thomas Iron Company, a company he would later become president of. In 1899 he financed the construction of the Drake Building in Easton, which housed the Drake Company offices and became a desired place where scores of businesses and organizations leased office space. Click images to enlarge

Though prosperous through out this era the family was not without their share of tragedy. In 1862 the company suffered heavy losses when a flood struck the town of Easton. Lost in the flood were boats (probably canal barges), building damage, as well as inventory. Their losses were estimated at $10,000, which today would be equivalent to many hundreds of thousands of dollars. In 1880 John and Margaret’s son, John Jr., died while on a hunting trip in the northern extremes of the county. This was essentially a wilderness area in those days. When stricken he was taken to nearby Saylorsburg, Monroe County, PA where he subsequently died. Saylorsburg/Saylor’s Lake was a very popular vacation resort for Easton’s elite. John was 27 years old when news accounts claimed he died of heart disease. One newspaper story further described John as “one of the wealthiest young men of Easton”. I was always suspicious of John’s untimely ending and pondered the possibility of a cover up of the real cause of his death. After all, here you have an extremely wealthy and well politically connected family. Undoubtedly they had dealings with the most powerful men of the era some of which were doubtlessly ruthless men. Set into that scenario you have a 27 year old die of “heart disease” while hunting in a wilderness resort area. It just seems too unbelievable to be true but if it were some kind of cover-up its secret was forever entombed in that capsule of time in 1880 Easton. Then again it may be that John Jr. weighed 300 pounds and had some unhealthy habits, if so those details did not get documented.

Samuel’s brother, Thomas Drake b. c1831, appears to have had less involvement with the Drake Company and may have eventually separated from it altogether. Thomas worked for the company for a number of years beginning as a very young adult, but it does not appear he ever served in any executive capacity. By 1870 his occupation is given as a farmer. Thomas was my wife’s 3rd great grandfather. When I first began this research many years ago I asked my wife’s grandmother, who was born in Easton and is a Drake, if her family was related to the Drake Wholesale Company family. She responded that she didn’t think they were though she conceded the possibility of a distant relationship. Thomas would have been her great grandfather and the fact that she didn’t know that she was descended from the successful Drake family leads me to believe that perhaps Thomas purposely broke ties with the family or had that decision made for him. Then again I am reminded that I was unaware of my own great grandfather’s checkered past. I suppose that our forefathers concluded that the more unpleasant family stories are better kept to themselves.

One of the most notorious citizens in the history of Easton is Samuel’s son Fred Raymond Drake b. 1865. He was a revered military leader and later successfully ran the company founded by his grandfather. Fred graduated from Lafayette College in 1889 and immediately began working for the family business. He was captain of the Easton City Guard and later promoted to major in recognition of his executive and administrative ability. In July of 1932 his obituary was front page news and included a prominent photo. The headline read “Major Fred R. Drake, Business and Civic Leader Dies, Aged 67”. The sub deck read, “His Long and Useful Career In the Life of Easton Leaves an Indelible Mark”. He was involved in a multitude of business and civil projects. He was president of Drake & Company and sadly did not live to celebrate the 100th anniversary of the company, an event he most eagerly anticipated. His career included terms as vice-president and director of the Thomas Iron Company; vice-president and director of the First National Bank & Trust Company; vice-president and director of Commonwealth Water Company; he was one of the organizers and directors of the Wahnetah Silk Company; president and director of the Fire Insurance Company. Among his other accomplishments were the expansion of the Drake Building and its annex. He built 22 homes on North Ninth street. He was one of the original founders of the National Wholesale Grocers Association. He was president and chairman of the National Pure Food and Legislative Committee. He was president of the Easton Board of Trade where he developed and implemented the Guaranty Fund that attracted industries to Easton. He was involved in the building and development of the old Easton Hospital, and he played a large role in the development of the Easton Library. He was active in the movement to make the metric system the national standard. He was behind the organization of the College Hill School and president of the Shakespeare Society and the Sunshine Club.

The influence of this family over the development and character of the city of Easton cannot be denied. The extended family was involved in all aspects of the social, political, and business culture of Easton covering 100 years of its history. When I research these stories I am compelled to imagine what these people would think of their city today. For all that the Drake’s did for the city of Easton the politicians in the 1970’s paid homage to them by tearing down the Drake building to make way for a parking garage. An effort was made by historical preservation groups and tenants of the building to stop the demolition but to no avail. While its mechanical systems were in need of updating the structure itself was quite sound. The once beautiful arched entry way to the Easton Library of which Fred Drake was so devoted is now camouflaged and bricked over to blend in with the buildings facade, replaced by a sterile and generic new entrance on an adjoining building addition. The City Armory, the castle fortress like building near 7th and Northampton streets that Fred Drake was instrumental in constructing, is in a state of decay and needs to be saved. Fred Drake’s obituary closes with this sentence; “Easton will treasure his memory and regret his passing most sincerely”. That epitaph seems appropriate recognition of a man who meant so much to the city though it would appear that whatever ‘indelible mark’ he may have made is today rapidly fading away and his many good deeds over time forgotten. Click images to enlarge

I was unable to determine how or when the Drake company operations came to a conclusion. After Fred’s death in 1932 his wife Pearce took over the day to day management of the company. How long the company continued and whether it was sold or Pearce simply closed it down is not known. One could speculate that the company was sold off. This type of wholesaler was beginning to fade out of existence as this was the dawn of the full service multi-national giants that dominate today’s grocery store distribution system. Pearce Kinkead Fox Drake eventually moved to New York City where she became a volunteer in the United Nations mediation room and was several times featured in magazine stories. She never remarried and was living with her daughter in New Jersey at the time of her death in 1979 at age 91. Fred and Pearce had two children, Margaret who died in 1985, and Fred Jr. who died sometime before his sister. Margaret was an expert graphologist who at one time operated an employment agency in New York City. Her skill lay in determining a person’s character and abilities based on analysis of their handwriting. I was not able to find information on Fred Jr. though it appears he may have married and had a daughter as Margaret’s obituary states there is a surviving niece. If that niece is still living today she is the only direct descendant remaining of her grandfather Fred Drake.

Of the family briefs I have written thus far, I find the Drake’s to be among the most interesting. There are many questions regarding this family that remain unanswered and I wish I could devote time to more in depth research. Perhaps someday I will. For now I will update this article with any new information I uncover through my normal research routines. During the 1800’s and early 1900’s every town in the nation had their own version of the Drake family. Today their method of building a family business empire would be very difficult to replicate. It seems there is a huge multi-national corporation in existence for almost every conceivable type of business. It is a tremendous challenge for any individual to compete with the efficiency and resources of these conglomerates. I personally think that is a tragedy. The 19th and early 20th century was rife with entrepreneurial spirit and nearly any person with enough ambition and the right work ethic could start up and competitively operate their own business. That type of rugged individualism has given way to today’s entitlement culture where the expectation is that the government or some corporation will take care of you from cradle to grave with minimal effort on the part of the individual. Given my fondness of all types of technology I am certainly glad I was born in the modern era though my views on personal responsibility and culture are probably more compatible with the era of the Drake Company. Whether you are a descendant of this Drake family, or not, drop me an e-mail and let me know your thoughts on this once famous Easton family.

Sources for this article:
http://www.familysearch.org - Family Search Ancestral File, Social Security Death Index
History of Northampton County and the Grand Valley of the Lehigh - by William J. Heller, 1920
http://raub-and-more.com/warrencemeteries/asburycemfranklin/asburymeth1.html - Asbury Methodist Episcopal Cemetery
http://www.genealogy.com - various census data from 1850 to 1930 Easton, PA
Lehigh Valley Deaths Vol. 1-6 1847-1898 - by R.G. Fray Publishing
http://206.245.141.13/askfiles/samplesearch.html - Bethlehen Daily Times/Globe Times online index/database
http://www.libraries.psu.edu/do/digitalbookshelf/29265221/ - The Story of the Arndt's by John Stover Arndt, 1922
Interview with Marion (Drake) Rice – discussing the Drake company of Easton
http://www.raub-and-more.com/vol1indexmar/def.html - Warren County, NJ Marriage Index, Vol. 1
Marriages and Deaths - Northampton Co. 1885-1902, Newspaper Extracts - by Jane S. Moyer, Easton Library, 1976
http://ftp.rootsweb.com/pub/usgenweb/pa/northampton/history/local/davis - History of Northampton County, PA - by Davis, 1877
http://home.ptd.net/~mexorob/FirstMethEaston.html - 1st Methodist Church, Easton, PA - Marriages 1836-1875
Obituaries, Various - Easton Argus, Easton Express, Express Times, 1800's - 1900's - Easton Library on microfilm
Melange 1926 (Lafayette College Yearbook) - Lafayette College, Easton, PA
http://www.indrakeswake.co.uk/Society/ - The Drake Exploration Society Web Site
Historic Drake House - by Madeline Mathias, Morning Call - May 10, 1998
Biographical Record of the Men of Lafayette 1832-1948 - by Dr. Arthur Hatch, 1948

Note: For these first several generations of Drake's in my database I am relying on anonymous research.The reader should consider the data prone to error.

This article was last edited on 8/5/2006.

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