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BIOGRAPHICAL INDEX.
Source:
History of Madison County, Iowa
And Its People
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ILLUSTRATED
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Volume II
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CHICAGO:
The S. J. Clarke Publishing Co.
1915
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William M. Drake |
WILLIAM M.
DRAKE. William M. Drake, who is
engaged in farming and stockraising in Jackson township, is
a native son of Madison county, born on the 10th of April,
1858, his parents being John R. and Amanda ( Bigler )
Drake. The former was born in New Jersey in 1826 ,
and died in 1868, while the mother, who was born in
Pennsylvania, June 29, 1828, passed away Nov. 23, 1907, when
she had reached the very advanced age of seventy- nine
years. John R. Drake was employed as a drover
in the eastern states until 1854, which year marked his
arrival in the then “ far west.” He settled on a farm
in Webster township, this county, when but few families had
preceded him to this section and engaged in general farming
and stock-raising, eventually becoming the owner of six
hundred and forty acres. At the time of his death he
owned four hundred and forty acres of this tract, comprising
a part of the first land on which he located when he came to
Madison county. He engaged quite extensively in the
raising of cattle and was one of the first to bring Durham
cattle to this county. He was a very active and busy
man, devoting his entire time and attention to his farming
and stock raising interests. In politics he was a
republican and was a member of the Methodist church.
William M. Drake, who is one of a family of
seven children, acquired his education in the district
schools of Webster township. At the age of eighteen
years he began work as a farm laborer and when twenty years
old took charge of the homestead, being thus engaged for two
years. In 1880 he removed to Norton county, Kansas,
where he took up a homestead, but because of the drouth in
that state he returned to Madison county and for three years
engaged in black smithing in Webster.
In 1883 he made his way to Montana but only spent one year
in that state, when he returned once more to Madison county,
where he spent his time until 1886. In the latter year
he again went to Norton county, Kansas, and there engaged in
farming until 1900, when he once more came to Madison
county, and has since been engaged in farming and
stock-raising here. He has been successful in his
chosen calling and is today the owner of two hundred and
eighty-five acres of well improved land, on which good
buildings are found.
Mr. Drake chose as a companion and
helpmate for the journey of life, Miss Mary M. Morse,
whom he wedded on the 9th day of July, 1881. She is a
native of Maine and a daughter of William H. and Maria (Verrill
) Morse, who were pioneer settlers of the Pine Tree
state and are now deceased, the father having passed away in
1901, at the age of sixty-eight years, while the mother, who
was born in 1839, died in 1899. William H. Morse
was a carpenter by trade. While still a resident
of Maine, he enlisted for service in the Civil war, becoming
a member of the Fifth Maine Infantry. He was promoted
to the rank of corporal and served his country three and a
half years. Following his service in the army, in
1865, he located in Henry county, Illinois, and for three
years followed his trade in Geneseo, during which time he
aided in the construction of several churches and many other
buildings which stand as monuments to his skill and
enterprise. From 1868 until 1873, he followed his
trade in Adair county, Iowa , after which he located in
Stuart, Iowa, and from that place removed to Des Moines,
where he lived retired for many years. However, at the
time of his death he was a resident of Florida. He was
of a retiring manner but made friends wherever he went.
The marriage of Mr. and Mrs. Drake has been
blessed with two sons and two daughters, as follows: Nina,
the wife of Ora C. Hart, a farmer of Webster
township, by whom she has two sons, Floyd and
George; Warren E., who was born July 27, 1888,
and is engaged in farming and stock-raising in South Dakota;
Cora B., who is a nurse employed in Indianola, Iowa;
and Edgar W., who was born June 1, 1896. Mrs.
Drake is an active worker in the Methodist Episcopal
church of Webster. Mr. Drake, following in the
political footsteps of his father, has always supported the
principles of the republican party. He is prominent
and influential in the district where he now makes his home
and his success has placed him among the well-to-do citizens
of Madison county.
Source: History of Madison County,
Ohio - Illustrated - Published by B. F. Bowden & Company,
Inc., Indianapolis, Indiana - 1915 - Page 490 |
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