Finding my fourth great-grandparents on the Drake line

It wasn't long ago that the genealogical information for my maternal great-grandmother's family line was identified as erroneous. There had been a number of red flags, and a clean slate was presented to rework this line. At last update on the Drake family line, I had tracked down my second great-grandfather, George R. Drake. I didn't know much other than he came from Nova Scotia, Canada.

Since then, there has been some modest progress.

George was born in Halifax, the capital of Nova Scotia, in September 1861. He was a child when the family immigrated to the United States at some point between 1867-1871, according to conflicting information in U.S. Census data. The family had settled in Boston, Massachusetts, and 22-year-old George married a local woman, Elizabeth Lawson, the daughter of a Thomas & Elizabeth (Dowler) Lawson. Like George, Elizabeth appears to have been born in September 1861. She would pass way at some point before 1930, while George dies at some point after the 1930 Census was taken.

According to primary sources, George held a number of jobs over his life: a mason in 1885, a sawyer in 1890, a freight handler in 1899, a day laborer in 1900, an armorer at a gun factory in 1903 and 1910, and finally an operator in a woolen mill in 1920.

George was born in Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada, and later resided in and married in Boston, before moving to Worcester, Massachusetts, at some point in the 1890s, and for the remaining 40 or so years of his life.

George and Elizabeth had at least six children together: Arthur Drake (1885-1976), John Head Drake (born 1890), Frank Drake (born 1897), Fred S. Drake (1899-1993), Charles O. Drake (born 1903), and my great-grandmother Sarah E. Drake (1894-1965).

Through U.S. Census reports, marriage records, and various other vital records and primary sources, it became clear that George was one of at least six children bore to John Head Drake and Elisabeth Ann Gould. John was born 10 January 1822 in Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island, Canada; months before the births of historical figures like Harriet Tubman, Ulysses S. Grant, and Rutherford B. Hayes. At the age of 5, John was baptized in Prince Edward Island on 22 January 1827.

Elisabeth, 14 years John's junior, was born 13 May 1836 in Lisbon, a town in southeastern Maine. Her father was a man named Charles H. Gould of Maine, and a woman whose first name appears to be Bertha, or some close derivative thereof. According to Massachusetts marriage records, John and Elisabeth were married on 20 September 1853 in Beverly, a city on the Commonwealth's "North Shore."

Massachusetts marriage records showing John Head Drake and Elisabeth Ann Gould's wedding in 1853.

Though the couple is married in Massachusetts, records indicate that the first four of their six known children are born Canada, with the two youngest later born in Massachusetts. The 1880 U.S. Census shows the Drake family residing in Boston, apparently at 27 Newman. There is no clarification of the street extension, which leaves us currently speculating as to where specifically the family resided. There is no Newman Street, Newman Road, or Newman Avenue in Boston itself, though there is a Newman Place; which is essentially a parking lot for the Newman School, a private high school in the Back Bay.

John passed away on 12 December 1883 at home as a result of pneumonia. By 1900, Elisabeth appeared to have moved in with her daughter Mary, now married to a John D. Walker in Worcester, Massachusetts. By 1910, Elisabeth is no longer living with the Walkers, instead residing at 61 Prospect Street in Worcester with her sons Arthur and Francis, as a well as an apparent grandson named Roland Lund. On 13 May 1916, apparently now residing at 65 Pilgrim Avenue in Worcester, Elisabeth passed away as the result of acute bronchitis with arterio sclerosis as a contributing factor.

Continuing the drive back through time and the Drake line, we reach a point where further research is needed. According to Massachusetts marriage and death records, it appears that John's parents were a Francis and Sarah (Head) Drake. Francis and Sarah are my fourth great-grandparents.

Further primary source documentation is necessary to substantiate the family trees assembled by other individuals. Currently, the extent of information beyond Francis and Sarah's names is that Francis was born in England, according to John's death records. This does not necessarily mean Francis was born in England itself, as this designation also may refer to English-controlled Canada.

What the duck? Digging up the Drake line.

Several years ago, I began taking a look at my maternal grandmother's ancestry. She's the youngest of six children who were raised during the Great Depression, and the lone survivor of that family. Unfortunately, she just simply didn't have a whole lot of information to share regarding her parents or their ancestry. Older sister Esther would have been the best bet to know the genealogy of the Ellis clan, she informed me. Unfortunately, Aunt Esther had relocated to the Las Vegas area years before, and passed in 2010.

Armed with little more than the names of my grandmother's siblings and parents, and whatever dates and tidbits uncovered in their obituaries, I eventually uncovered some family trees on Ancestry.com that appeared to do the trick.

Trick proved to be the key word.

I knew my great-grandfather was Charles Cleveland Ellis, and his bride was an Sarah Drake. That was it as both had pre-deceased my arrival on the scene, and I've yet to uncover their obituaries as a result of not having definitive dates of death, and having not traveled to the public library of City Clerk's office in Worcester, Massachusetts, in an effort to track down vital records or newspaper microfiche that may feature their respective obituaries. What I uncovered online, however, was a handful of family trees assembled by other amateur genealogists that claimed to have the proper lineage for my great-grandparents. Over time, I explored these lines further with great interest, and built out my tree more and more.

In my newfound effort to better corroborate and document all entries and sources, with the goal of an infinitely more accurate and better assembled tree, I began looking at these trees. With a fine-toothed comb, I began looking at each and every line of U.S. Census data relevant to these people.

I decided to start with the most recent primary source materials, and work my way backward in time. While looking at the 1930 Census, everything appeared to line up just fine. That is, until I got to the recorded data for the places of birth for my great-grandmother's parents.

Data from the 1930 U.S. Census showing Sarah's father as Canadian-born.

According to the 1930 Census, Sarah's mother was born in Massachusetts. This was fine as it corresponded with the data I already had. What didn't quite jive, however, was the place of birth for her father. "Canada - English," it read. I cocked my eyebrow askew, as everything I had to this point was clear that Sarah and her father were born in Westfield, Massachusetts, some 50-60 miles west of Worcester. In fact, that Drake line had deep roots in Westfield. Canada? It made no sense.

I turned to the 1920 Census linked to Sarah & Co. in my family tree to see what it had to say on the matter. Sure enough, it matched up to this "new" data and conflicted with what I had long believed to be the case.

Data from the 1920 U.S. Census notes Sarah's father came from Nova Scotia.

Sarah's father was Canadian, not a native of Westfield, Mass. In fact, the 1920 Census further revealed that he was a native of Nova Scotia, a Canadian maritime province not far from the coast of Maine. Perplexed, I continued down the same path, now looking at the 1910 Census data linked to my great-grandmother. This primary source document affirmed the original assertion, and was in direct conflict with what I had just read. There was, however, a very glaring problem. According to the 1930 Census, Sarah had married Charles Ellis when she was 26-years-old, which puts the vows having been exchanged around 1919, maybe even 1920. The 1910 data would've been before the two had wed and started their family, and Sarah was a teenager at home with her parents and siblings — in Westfield. Clearly there was a disconnect, and it seemed to be the 1910s was where the problem was.

I combed through all of the other data and records relevant, searched through the family trees of others whom I had linked this data through. Ultimately, I came to a simple conclusion: this Sarah Drake from Westfield is not the same Sarah Drake that married Charles Ellis, and thus is not my great-grandmother.

Though I've had prior discussions with my grandmother, now aged 83, they had been largely fruitless. Eventually, I decided to give it another go all the same, and placed the phone call. She confirmed the pieces of data I already had and still believed to be true. Furthermore, she confirmed, again, that she did not know the names of her grandparents, my great-great-grandparents. When I explained the conflicting data I had been going over, she noted — for the first time in any of our discussions on her heritage, that "Nova Scotia is what I was always told growing up." She further confirmed that her mother was born in Worcester, and summarily rejected the possibility of her being born in Westfield — again the first time this piece had been shared with me, to my recollection.

Having dug around further with other census data, I believe to have found my Sarah's actual pre-marriage family in the 1910 Census, and more. While I need to further confirm this maiden Sarah Drake is the same who marries Charles Ellis, all signs point to my great-grandmother being one of six children bore to George R. Drake (born 1861 in Nova Scotia) and Elizabeth Lawson (born 1861 in Massachusetts). Furthermore, through independently assembled family trees by other amateur genealogists, a strong line of information appears to be available to check out the rest of the family.

Ultimately, however, one must remember to avoid the pitfalls of the quick and easy answers of these trees by verifying through whatever primary source documents possible. After all, I'd hate to end up on yet another wild Drake chase.