My Genealogy Hound

Below is a family biography included in The History of Brown County, Ohio published by W. H. Beers & Co. in 1883.  These biographies are valuable for genealogy research in discovering missing ancestors or filling in the details of a family tree. Family biographies often include far more information than can be found in a census record or obituary.  Details will vary with each biography but will often include the date and place of birth, parent names including mothers' maiden name, name of wife including maiden name, her parents' names, name of children (including spouses if married), former places of residence, occupation details, military service, church and social organization affiliations, and more.  There are often ancestry details included that cannot be found in any other type of genealogical record.

* * * *

ELMER M. DRAKE, farmer, P. O. Red Oak. Enoch B. and Rachel Drake, grandparents of the subject of this sketch, emigrated from Kentucky to what is now known as Brown County, Ohio, about the year 1812. Enoch B. in his youth learned the trade of a tailor, which he followed the greater part of his life. He settled in what is now known as Jefferson Township, near Peola Spring, about two miles south of Russellville. The farm on which he located had but a small portion ready for cultivation, and contained a log cabin, he remained where he settled during the remainder of his days. By his first wife he had ten children, one of whom is still living, viz., Noah, in Pendleton County, Ky. She died about the year 1843. He then married Nancy Carr, who died in 1857, and he departed this life in January, 1862. He was a member of the Baptist Church, in which he officiated as Deacon. Enoch B. Drake, Jr., father of our subject, was born October 3, 1815, on the old homestead where his father settled. In August, 1834, he married Sarah Martin, born July 16, 1815, by whom he had seven children, viz.: Elmer M., George W., John C., Hetty J. (deceased), Isabella, Sarah E, and David G. He lived the greater part of his life near the old homestead. He traded considerably in stock, and his boys, in the meantime, under his management, worked the farm. He was a man of reliable character, a member of the Christian Church, and died December 28, 1877. His widow still survives him, now in her sixty-seventh year. Elmer M., our subject, was born October 3, 1835, on the homestead farm where he was reared to manhood, and where he received but a limited education, but by being a constant reader, and having a love for good books, he has made himself familiar with many of the important topics of his day. On October 5, 1854, he married Angeline Davis, born April 18, 1836, and daughter of John C. and Susannah Davis. This union was blessed with four children, two of whom are still living. In October, 1856, he moved to Illinois, McLean County, where he bought eighty acres of land, and remained there perhaps three years, when, owing to the loss of two of his children, himself and wife having also contracted an illness occasioned by the impurities of the atmosphere, he returned to Brown County, Ohio. About two years after his return to Ohio, he enlisted in the Seventh Ohio Cavalry, which subsequently merged into the Eleventh, under Col. William O. Collins. In the spring of 1862, the regiment was ordered to Fort Laramie, from where they operated principally in the Rocky Mountains against the Indians, to protect emigrants and the United States mails. He was discharged at Omaha City in April, 1865, and returned home to Brown County. In January, 1867, his wife died; he then married, in December, 1868, Mary J. Ball, by whom he had six children, four of whom are still living. She died in November, 1881. In 1873, he bought the farm on which he now resides, located in the southern part of Jefferson Township, which he has in a good State of cultivation.

* * * *

This family biography is one of 992 biographies included in The History of Brown County, Ohio published in 1883 by W. H. Beers & Co.  For the complete description, click here: Brown County, Ohio History and Genealogy

View additional Brown County, Ohio family biographies here: Brown County, Ohio Biographies

Use the links at the top right of this page to search or browse thousands of family biographies.

Follow My Genealogy Hound: Follow me on Facebook