It’s been a long summer trying to get my business off the ground. I’ve missed writing these blog posts. Aside from starting a business, there have been so many other changes in the last few months. From mid-August to present we’ve laid to rest two cousins – Robert EVANS and David WETZEL – and an uncle, Alvin BENNETT, Jr.. They will all be missed.
Alvin Bennett Jr., Vietnam veteran.
Family Is Everything
When I was a child, I saw almost all of my cousins almost every weekend of my childhood. These days, it seems we only see each other at funerals and weddings. Today was one of those days. Before leaving the graveside services for my uncle Junior, my cousin Chris told me he had a box for me. He gifted me a box of records from the church we grew up in. It’s been quite a trip down memory lane looking through old business meeting notes, membership rolls, etc. Over the coming weeks I hope to share some of those records with you. For tonight, I want to share the baptismal records for my parents, grandparents, great grandparents, and even a great-great grandparent.
Poynor Baptist Church
The Poynor Baptist Church Membership Roll book as it looks today.
This Poynor Baptist Membership Roll book was in the box Chris gave me. This book is as good as gold to me. It’s like a mini-family history for me. In this book, I found my own record of salvation and baptism (the dates aren’t there but I can tell you it was Autumn of 1976 for salvation and Summer of 1978 for baptism):
My salvation/baptism entry in the Poynor Baptisit Church Membership Roll book.
I also found both of my parents in the book:
My dad’s entry – he was baptized on June 13, 1954.My mom’s entry – she was baptized on 16 February 1964.
I also found many of my ancestors in the book:
My paternal grandparents, great-grandparents, and even my great-great-grandfather!Plus one more great-grandmother.
I love the story my dad tells about my great-great-grandfather, Poppy Lonzo. He remembers Poppy standing at the back of the Poynor Baptist Church with tears streaming down his face professing his belief in Christ and his regret that he waited so long to accept Christ as his savior. What a beautiful story! It brings tears to my eyes.
Losses, But Also Gains
In this summer of losses for my family, it was refreshing to see the eternal gains we’ve made. Refreshing to know that I will see my people again one day in a better place. Comforting to know that my people are already in that better place waiting for my arrival.
As we move into fall and winter, I’m wishing you more days of rejoicing than grief and I’m wishing you comfort in your days of loss.
We’re back to Tuesday. Today’s @genealogyphoto theme is ‘home’. (Don’t forget to visit Becky too.) Home means a lot of things to a lot of people. When Bart and I were in the beginning years of our marriage I told him for me, home was wherever he was. I might go somewhere else with him now but I’d probably go kicking and screaming the whole way. We’ve lived in a lot of places in our marriage. When we were first married we lived in a tiny little travel trailer. Our first week of marriage was his last week of college and we parked the travel trailer in the state park for a week.
Lake McMurtry, Stillwater, Oklahoma.
I think this might be where we parked for a week. After graduation he was working in Tontitown, Arkansas and we parked the travel trailer on a lot in Baldwin, Arkansas for $85 a month. Oh the days of cheap rent. It wasn’t long before we were in a rental house.
Crutcher Street, Springdale, Arkansas.
Google Earth photo- Crutcher Street in Springdale, Arkansas. I really can’t tell you which house it was but it was one of these two houses. This is where we lived when Derek was born. We’ve lived in a mobile home too. We lived in the mobile home on my in-law’s place when Shaina was born. It’s gone now and my father-in-law’s log home that he designed and built is there now. We were fortunate to get to help him a little in building it. Later, when we first moved to Idaho, Bart’s dad bought the old Landmark Missionary Baptist church building in Wilder, Idaho and renovated that and we lived in the church for a few years.
The old Landmark Missionary Baptist Church that became our home in Wilder, Idaho.
This is a Google Earth photo. I think this might be the house we lived in. It’s at the intersection of C Avenue and 3rd Street. If I had my pictures out I’d be including all these buildings. Sadly, all my pictures are packed away. I really need to fix that. We bought our first home in Kuna, Idaho. That home was probably my favorite.
Armand Street, Kuna, Idaho.
This is what it looks like now on Google Earth. Armand Street. If my kids remembered any of our homes from Idaho it would be this one. Then we moved to Oklahoma. We lived with our parents until we could get back on our feet. When Bart started traveling for his job he spent a lot of years living in hotels. When I went on the road with him we lived in the travel trailer that’s in the background of this photo.
Roy Drake and Bart Williams, Sr. with baby Theodore Easter in front of our travel trailer.
Our travel trailer. Now we live in a metal building.
The future shop we live in now.
Our home in the country. It was going to be the garage and we were going to live in it until we got a house built. That was 10 years ago. Time really flies. Maybe one day we’ll get that house built. This house is the most sentimental for me because Derek, Bart, our fathers, and my great uncle helped us build it. My great-uncle, Ray LARKIN, witched our well. We’ve put a lot of hard work in here. We love it here. The first time I came to this place it was on a Friday night. Derek was playing a football game that night- Moseley vs. Colcord. He was in 7th grade then, I think. I knew as soon as I found it that this was the place. I’ve spent a lot of time in my car. Sometimes I felt like IT was my home.
My Tahoe.
Home away from home. My ancestors have lived in some crazy places. Granny and Papa BATES once lived in a corn crib after their house burned. They lived there in the winter (with very young children) until they could get a house built.
A corn crib.
A 15 x 4 and 11 ft high corn crib from the blog Good Things by David. Poppy Lonzo DRAKE once owned a place with a cave on it. So did my 3rd great-grandmother, Mary MOBLEY BATES BRINEGAR. I’m not sure if they actually lived IN the caves but I sure would like to know. Like I said, ‘home’ means a lot of different things to a lot of different people. In the end, I’m just a sojourner here. God is building a place for me right now. That’s my home. I can’t wait to get there. It will be quite the homecoming, I’m sure. Until then, I’m living here- Delaware County, Oklahoma, USA. It’s election night. This is the weirdest election cycle I’ve seen in my life. I’ve thought back to my first voting experience. I was about 7 months pregnant living on Molly Wagnon Road in Baldwin, Arkansas (which is, officially, Fayetteville, Arkansas). I can’t remember if I had no car or if it wasn’t running or what but I set out walking to my polling place a few miles from our home. I was determined to vote. At some point one of my neighbors saw me and offered me a ride. I was glad. Voting has always been important to me. What happens in the next four years will be important. It will affect me, my family, my home. I’m not going to stress about it though. I’ll wake up tomorrow in this home that I love and God will still be in control. Life will go on. Maybe I’ll still get that new house. Or maybe not. In the end it won’t matter because this is not my real home- I’m just passing through. “In my Father’s house are many rooms. If it were not so, would I have told you that I go to prepare a place for you? And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and will take you to myself, that where I am you may be also.” John 14:2-3, The Holy Bible
Some people will think today’s fact isn’t so “wacky”. That’s okay. Call it what you want- as long as you read on! Wacky Fact Wednesday was going to be part of my effort to shorten blog posts for a while. Then my SIL Becky came along with the photo/blog challenge and that theme for today is ‘Ancestor’. So I’m combining the two for this blog post, but don’t worry- it’s still short and sweet. The “wacky fact” of the week is: my direct-line Drake family has lived in Delaware County, Oklahoma for 6 consecutive generations (including me). Here is the line, being respectful of privacy by starting with my great-grandfather: Mark DRAKE, his father Poppy Lon (Alonzo Ervin), and Lon’s mother Hester (MITCHELL) DRAKE after she was widowed by Lon’s father William. The ancestor I want to focus on today for the Ancestor photo/blog section is Mark DRAKE. Mark Hanna DRAKE was married to Edith HUBBARD whom I wrote about here. (Better grab a box of Kleenex before you go read that one.)
Mark Drake with his team and two children ca 1954.
Mark Drake circa 1954. This is the best picture I have access to tonight and is the only one I could find. Sorry for the quality. I only remember Mark when he was old, of course. His eyes looked cloudy blue which means he probably had cataracts. He smoked cigars all the time (I wish I knew what brand). He and grandma Edith made wonderful homemade ice cream. They always cranked homemade ice cream at a yearly extended family gathering in the summer each year- at least that’s what I remember. We got to crank it when we were kids. Somehow it seemed a privilege when we were young- not so much when we got older. I remember them being very loving and quiet. Mark had a little spark- I bet he was a real character in his younger days. In fact, this story that I was told about him by one of the older Hubbard relatives (Deloris NORRIS) goes something like this: Mark’s brother had a pair of new boots that Mark really liked and wanted. Mark tried to talk his brother out of them but the brother wouldn’t give them up. One day the brother left his boots on Mark’s porch and went inside. Mark went outside, put the boots on and walked through the barnyard muck in them (think the worst possible thing when you think about the muck), took them off and replaced them on the porch for his brother to find. With the Drake’s proven penchant for fighting I just wonder if that dig at his brother caused them to have a little row – or maybe it began a lifelong tit-for-tat! Although Mark seemed to still have a little underlying spark in his old age I never remember him being anything but loving and kind. I actually enjoyed seeing that spark come out when I was young. It made him more real and gave him a personality. I liked to go over and visit them and sit on his lap and talk to him and Edith. I surely miss them and am looking forward to the day when I see them again. Maranatha! I would love it if everyone shared their memories of Mark and Edith here.
BACKGROUND: Ervin and Lavina (PILGRIM) DRAKE are my fourth-great grandparents. Ervin is Poppy Lonzo DRAKE’s grandfather. Ervin was born in Kentucky in 1820 and Lavina was born in Indiana in 1822. Ervin and Lavina were married in 1839 in Indiana. Together they had nine children- Martha, Silas, Mary Ann (“Polly”), George Washington, Margaret, William(my ancestor), Nancy, Henry Arthur, and Jefferson.
In the fall of 1868 they owned eighty acres in Orange County, Indiana, which they sold to John J. CONDRA who was, at that time, still a bachelor (see the Deed Record transcription below). I have not found a relationship between the CONDRA and DRAKE or PILGRIM families beyond the sale of this property.
FAMILY LOCATION: The DRAKE family was enumerated in Orange County, Indiana, in the 1850 (in Jackson Township) and 1860 (in French Lick) federal censuses. Ervin’s Civil War draft registration shows that the family resided in French Lick in July, 1863. Ervin’s and Lavina’s son, George, was married in Orange County, Indiana, in March, 1866. Their daughter, Mary, was married there in January, 1867. By 1870, the family was in Johnson County, Missouri, and included on the federal census there.
The Deed Record helps me place the family as being still in Orange County, Indiana, as of 19 September 1868 when they signed the deed. They sold the land just prior to moving to Missouri.
RECORD TRANSCRIPTION (NOTE:The deed is transcribed as closely as possible to the original. Capitalization and punctuation are exactly as shown in the document. Items that are underlined in this transcription mean that on the original document, that is where the information was put in by hand.) :
DEED RECORD
THIS INDENTURE WITNESSETH That Ervin Drake and Viney Drake his wife of Orange COUNTY in the STATE of Indiana Convey and Warrant to John J. Condra of Orange COUNTY in the STATE of Indiana for the sum of Six hundred Dollars, the following REAL ESTATE in Orange COUNTY in the STATE of INDIANA, TO-WIT: The North half of the North East quarter of section nineteen in Township One North of Range One West in the District of Land Subject to Sell at Vincennes Indiana containing Eighty-acres.
IN WITNESS WHEREOF, The said Ervin Drake and Viney Drake his wife have hereunto set their hand and seal this 19 day of September 1868.
Attest: T.B. Cogswell
Ervin Drake his X mark
Viney Drake her X mark
STATE OF INDIANA
Orange COUNTY. SS:
Before me T. B. Cogswell a Auditor in and for said County this 19th day of September 1868 personally appeared Ervin Drake and Viney Drake acknowledged the execution of the annexed Deed.
Witness my hand and Court seal this ____ day of ________ AD 18__. T. B. Cogswell Auditor OC.
Received the 5th day of October 1868 at 9 o’clock A.M.
I CERTIFY, That the Deed of which the above and foregoing is a true copy, was duly stamped, as provided by the Act of Congress, and Recorded on the 5 day of October, 1868, at 10 o’clock, A.M.
J. F. Pittman
Recorder of Orange County, Ind.
[END TRANSCRIPTION]
FURTHER RESEARCH: The DRAKE’s sold the land just prior to moving to Missouri which would mean that a search of Johnson County, Missouri, records between the dates of 19 September 1868 (the date the couple signed the deed of sale) and 16 June 1870 (the date the family was enumerated on the census) may help me come closer to a specific date of their arrival in Missouri.
ON YOUR OWN: If you would like a better idea of approximately where this 80 acres was located, you can look at an atlas map of Indiana. Find French Lick, Indiana. The property is somewhere between the town of French Lick and Patoka Lake. I have come to this conclusion based on the fact that Moores Ridge Cemetery is located in the same Section, Township, and Range as was the 80-acre property owned by the DRAKE’s and it is located South of the town of French Lick, just East of Highway 145 and North of Lake Patoka. (Based on the various maps and atlases I’ve looked at, I think if you turn off Highway 145 and go directly East toward Youngs Creek you would be headed right for the property “as the crow flies”.)
I was able to locate a 1920’s era Township/Range map of Orange County located at http://indiamond6.ulib.iupui.edu/cdm/ref/collection/IndianaPlat/id/2147. When you arrive at this link, scroll down until you find “Page 147” on the right side of the screen. Click “Page 147” and it will take you to the French Lick map. This map includes Ranges 1 and 2 West so you will have two Section 19’s. The one you are looking for is in the lower right corner of the map- the property marked as belonging to Ada Stultz at the time this map was created. This is the property that was owned by Ervin and Lavina DRAKE. I also used the map at this next link to help locate more precisely where the property was: http://cdm16066.contentdm.oclc.org/cdm/singleitem/collection/p15078coll8/id/829.
In about 2008, I was fortunate enough to travel to this area in Indiana. It’s very beautiful. It’s located within Hoosier National Forest. The French Lick – West Baden areas are now considered resort locations. If you’d like to learn more about the history of Orange County, Indiana, here is a good place to start: https://www.familysearch.org/learn/wiki/en/Orange_County,_Indiana. Here is a link that tells about the railroad that ran through Orange County, Indiana: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Monon_Railroad. Here is a link to the website of the French Lick Resort/West Baden Springs Hotel: http://www.frenchlick.com/hotels/westbaden. One additional source of information for the history of Orange County, Indiana, is here: http://www.us-data.org/in/orange/history/his1884chapter3.txt.
