BackGround: London Temple, London, England.
Up Dated 26 March 2007
William was born about 1572 in Wiscombe, Devonshire, England, and married about 1594 Wiscombe, Devonshire, England, Philippa DENYS the daughter of Sir Robert DENYS and Mararet GODOLPHINE. She was born about 1575 in Devonshire, England. and died 5 October 1655 in Southlegh, Devonshire, England. She made a Will dated 16 July 1647. William died 1619/20, in Southlegh, Devonshire, England. His Will is dated 4 December 1619.
Arms - Argent, a wivern wings displayed and tail nowed gules.
Crest - A dexter arm erect couped at elbow proper holding a battle-axe sable.
Note:
William Drake, son of Robert and Elizabeth Prideaux Drake, was of Wiscomb, County Devon. He married Philippa Denys. Date of will, 4 May 1619; date of probate, 12 May 1625. Alt Birth : 1572 Wiscomb, Devon, England Alt Buried: 4 Dec 1619 Date Of Will
Note:
Name given as Phillippa Dennys in Ancestral File. Date of w ill, 16 Jul 1647. Alt Birth: 1566 Holcombe-Burnel, Bicton, Devon, England
In his will he claimed his cousin, John Drake of Ash and his brothers, Henry of Childehay and Nicholas of Rosehall were bound with him to pay his debts. He gave them all of his houses and lands called "Wiscombe Park". His wife, Phillipa and sons, Thomas and John were to have use of the lands there. He made a grant of his leases of Sudbury Rectory to his cousin, John Drake and his son, Sir John Drake, knight, for payment to his brother, Nicholas' wife of 50 pounds yearly and to his brother, Nicholas 50 pounds a year. He also left 100 pounds, each to son, William and daughters, Amy and Joan. To his servant, Henry Hayne, he left a horse.
Sister of Sir Thomas Denys, Knight.
In her will, 1647, Philippa asks to be buried in the church or chancel of Southley, near her deceased husband. She left 40s to the poor of Southerly, her diamond ring which was bequethed to her from brother, Sir Thomas. To her sons William and Acton and daughter, a ring of gold with a death's head which valued at 26s and to grandson William, a silver cup.
In my recent article expressing doubts about the parentage of John-1 Drake of Windsor, Conn., I made the suggestion that William and Acton Drake, sons of William and Philippa Drake of Ashe, co. Devon, were in fact one person who was born William and changed his name to Acton at some point in his life (TAG 63:193-206, esp. 200-1). Very soon after this article appeared in print I learned, from two different sources, that William and Acton were two distinct individuals.
First, and most embarrassingly, the will of Philippa Drake, which appears in print, names both William and Acton, in the same line! She bequeathed to "my son Acton Drake and William Drake and my daughter Joan, now the wife of Robert Collyns, gent., a ring of gold with a death's head, each of value 26s, 8d" (Frank B. Gay, The Descendants of John Drake of Windsor, Connecticut [Rutland, Vt., 1933] p. xv). This inability to read what is in print seems to be a persistent problem for those working on this family.
Second, not long after the article was completed I commissioned Peter Towey, an English professional researcher, to examine this question for me, with interesting results. Two of the sons of William and Philippa, namely Thomas (the eldest) and William, graduated from Oxford University. Thomas had attended Exeter College, received his B.A. in 1612, and was of the Inner Temple in 1614. William had attended Wadham College, taking his B.A. in 1622, staying for an M.A. in 1625, and then becoming a fellow for the years 1632-37. The account in Alumni Oxonienses goes on to say that this William Drake was vicar of Bodmin in Cornwall, and also of Minver in the same county (Joseph Foster, Alumini Oxonienses... 1500-1714 [Oxford 1891] 1:423). In the Moger abstracts of Exeter wills is the administation of William Drake, clerk, of Bodmin, dated 31 Oct 1661.
Acton Drake had quite a different career, going into service with the Earl of Danby, Henry Danvers, whom he named in his will. Acton asked to be buried "in the north Isle of Dantesey Church in the Countie of Wiltes," this parish being the home of the Danvers family. The famous antiquarian John Aubry found in Dauntsey church the following inscription: "Acton Drake, Gent, gentleman of his Lo[r]ds[hip's] bedchamber, Ranger of the Forrest of Whichwode, in Com: Oxford, and one of his Lo[r]ds[hip's] Executors and faithful servant. Obiit 1642" (John Aubrey, Wilshire: The Topographical Collections of John Aubrey...corrected and enlarged by John Edward Jackson [London 1862]p. 228). The date of Acton Drake's will (1747, PCC 83 Gray)
[END PAGE 87]
Records survive of three sessions of the forest court of Wychwood, in 1635 and 1636. On 14 Sep 1635, Acton Drake Esq. appears holding the offices of forester of Shorthampton Walk, Principal Ranger of the whole Forest and Riding Forester of the Forest (Vernon J. Watney, Cornbury and the Forest of Wychwood [London 1910]pp. 112, 225-28).
The attraction of the hypotheses that William and Acton Drake were the same was that it made the Drake family wills consistent with one another, and comprehensive in naming all living siblings in each will. This position must clearly be abandoned.
In return, though, we can state much more strongly the high social status of this family. Thomas and William both attended Oxford, William going on to the ministry, and Thomas briefly entering the law before taking over his father's estate. Acton, although he did not receive the same education as these two brothers, was given considerable responsibility as a member of the household of a royalist earl. These three brothers were well educated, were frequently referred to as "Gent.," and in general led lives typical of the higher county gentry of the times.
One other piece of newly discovered evidence bears on the question of the social stratum to which John Drake of Windsor belonged. Among the manuscripts held by the Connecticut Valley Historical Museum in Springfield, Mass., are the account books kept by John Phnchon. In these account books are financial records for families all up and down the Connecticut River, in both Massachusetts and Connecticut. The first volume, which includes records from the 1650s, shows that John Pynchon maintained an account with John Drake Sr. of Windsor, and most interestingly, the contemporary index entry for the page on which this account appears refers to Goodman John Drake [my emphasis].
This points up more forcefully the disparity between the Drakes of Ashe and John Drake of Windsor. This latter man, as noted in my previous article, had all the earmarks of a good solid husbandman, and the evidence from the Pynchon account books only emphasize this. His landholdings were of an average size, he was not given any positions of responsibility in town or colony, and there is no evidence that he was literate, much less well-educated. All indications are that John Drake of Windsore came from a much lower social Stratum than that of the Drakes of Ashe.
Mr. Anderson is a genealogical researcher and writer. He lives at 5069 Cottonwood Lane, Salt Lake City, UT 84117 [NOTE: May or may not be his current address - resided there in 1990]
[END ARTICLE - PAGE 88]
CHILDREN of William DRAKE and Philippa DENYS:
1. COLLENS b: Abt 1588; Wiscombe, Devonshire, England.
md: ; , , England
Mr. WRIGHT.
2. ELIZABETH b: Abt 1590; Wiscombe, Devonshire, England.
3. JOAN b: 1592; Wiscombe, Devonshire, England.
md: 1621; , Devonshire, England.
Robert COLLINS.
d: 1659; Windsor, Hartford, Connecticut.
4. AMYE b: 1594; Wiscombe, Devonshire, England.
d: 16 Jul 1680; , , .
5. ACTON b: Abt 1596; Winscomb, Devonshire, Enngland.
md: ; , Devonshire, England.
Jane ?????.
will: 26 Dec 1647; , Wiltshire. England.
6. THOMAS b: 1597; Wiscombe. Devonshire, England.
d: Bef 1599; Wiscombe, Devonshire, England.
+ 7. THOMAS b: 1599; Wiscombe, Devonshire, England.
md: ; , , England
Helen WALKER.
will: 13 May 1661;
+ 8. JOHN VII b: Abt 1600; Wiscombe, Devonshire, England.
md: 1620; , Devonshire, England.
Elizabeth ROGERS
d: 17 Aug 1659; Windsor, Hartford, Connecticut.
9. WILLIAM b: 1602; Wiscombe, Devonshire, England.
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