Elizabeth Drake

Elizabeth (Rogers) Drake died on 7 Oct 1681 in Windsor, Hartford, Connecticut. Her parents are not known.

She married John Drake, his parents unknown, of Hampton of Arden, Warwick, England, widower of Lettice Shakespear, who died there on 10 November 1623.

Children of Elizabeth Rogers and John Drake:

1. Elizabeth Drake, born 9 January 1625 at Hampton in Arden, England and died 8 June 1716 at Norwich, Connecticut. Married 1) William Gaylord Jr. 2) John Elderkin Jr.
2. Mary Drake b. say 1628, d. 12 June 1683. d. 12 Jun 1683 Note: Mary married John Gaylord, son of William Gaylord and Ann Porter, on 17 November 1653.

Citations

1. [S578] Frank B. Gay, John Drake, page 2.
2. [S578] Frank B. Gay, John Drake, Page 7.

notes

Elizabeth's birth date is based on a local myth that she died in her 100th year (See James Savage "Genealogical Dictionary of the First Settlers of New England" vol II page 70)).
JOHN, b. at Wiscomb, County Devon [SIC] about 1590 or 1600; m. Elizabeth Rogers. He came to Boston about 1639; he d. from the result of an injury, Aug. 17, 1659. His widow d. Oct. 7, 1681, it is stated, "at 100th year of age." (this is hard to align with the rest of the chronology!) If so, she must have been several years older than her husband, or else, which is more probable, he was b. at a considerably earlier date than stated above.

comments

Wife #2:

John Drake's second wife, Elizabeth, is a puzzle in many respects. Apparently she was born in England in 1581 and married John in England before he emigrated to America. However, records of his marriage and the baptisms of his children have not been located in England. According to the Massachusetts Bay Colony vital records, "Widdow eliz drake dyed octor 7 1681." The Windsor, Connecticut church records corroborate that statement, indicating she died at the home of her son, Jacob, on 7 October 1681 "at 100th year of age." (see p. 68, para 3)

Further support for her age comes from Governor Winthrop's Medical Journal. In 1666 (p. 655) that document identifies "widow Elizabeth Drake" as 84 years old, which is in substantial agreement with the church record (84+15=99). But if those sources are correct, Elizabeth would have been approximately 20 years older than John and suspiciously old to be the mother of John's children, who were born between about 1621 and 1637.

A logical conclusion from this is that John's wife, Elizabeth, who survived him by 22 years, was very much his senior in age and almost certainly not the mother of his children. This is supported by John's will, which left to Elizabeth the lifetime use of "Howsing and Lands that I have in possession ffor to make use of as she and her ffriends shall think will be fore her best advantage." It would seem strange that John would not specify one of his sons to advise her instead of her friends unless the children were not hers and not particularly close to her. In addition, she is not referred to in the will or in an agreement to settle the estate as mother of any of the children. That raises the possibility that John (9) lost his first wife (unknown name) during their early years in New England. Mutual need might have brought him together with a maiden lady or childless widow named Elizabeth Rogers, a very common occurrence in colonial New England; life was simply too tough at that time for people to confortably get along on their own.

The surname Rogers for this wife of John Drake (9) is derived from a family history that was prepared in 1731 by Matthew Rockwell (born 1707/8), great-grandson of John Drake (9) (John's daughter Mary married John Gaylord; their daughter, Elizabeth Gaylord, married Deacon Samuel Rockwell; and their son was Matthew Rockwell). That history, published in full in reference 117a and summarized in reference 3c, named his great-grandmother as Elizabeth Rogers. It should be noted that Matthew Rockwell was an educated man and in a position to learn such facts from older relatives. His history was verified in most of its statements and found correct; such statements as cannot be verified have been accepted as almost certainly correct.

Weblinks

• http://freepages.genealogy.rootsweb.com/~amorrow/fg03/fg03_220.html
• http://e-familyhistory.com/content/Drake,_John_%281%29.htm
• http://freepages.genealogy.rootsweb.com/~brouwergenealogydata/Drake...
• http://mhollick.typepad.com/slovakyankee/2014/12/john-drake-ca-1590...

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Elizabeth Rogers

d. 7 October 1681

Elizabeth Rogers married John Drake at probably England.1 Elizabeth Rogers died on 7 October 1681.1

(f/g) Elizabeth Rogers Drake Birth: 1581 Death: Oct. 7, 1681

Elizabeth's birth date is based on a local myth that she died in her 100th year (See James Savage "Genealogical Dictionary of the First Settlers of New England" vol II page 70)).

Family links:

Spouse:

 John Drake (1585 - 1659) 

Children:

1. Elizabeth Drake Elderkin (1621 - 1716)*
2. Job Drake (1623 - 1689)*
3. Jacob Drake (1623 - 1689)*
4. Samuel Drake (1624 - 1686)*
5. Jacob Drake (1624 - 1689)*
6. Mary O. Drake Gaylord (1625 - 1683)

Burial: Palisado Cemetery Windsor Hartford County Connecticut, USA Created by: John Parker Record added: Jul 26, 2010 Find A Grave Memorial# 55491770 -tcd

• Reference: FamilySearch Genealogy - SmartCopy: Apr 16 2017, 19:22:23 UTC

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GEDCOM Source

Imported from 2001 Familly Tree Maker file Source Medium: Other Date of Import: Feb 18, 2001