85 



again in his wonderful books. Yet the celebrity without 

 known ancestry, or one of a base descent receives the fairest 

 and most impartial treatment at his hands. 



Joseph Rodman Drake was the son of Jonathan Drake of 

 Westchester County, one of a very prolific branch of the 

 family. Many relatives of his name bore their share of victory 

 and disaster in the Revolution. Joseph's mother was Hannah 

 Lawrence of the Effingham Lawrence family on Long Island. 

 John and Joseph were favorite names among the Drakes. At 

 a meeting in 1706 of the justices, churchwardens and vestry 

 of the parish which at that time included Westchester, East- 

 chester and Yonkers, John Drake is one of the justices and 

 Lieutenant Joseph Drake is one of the vestry. Jonathan, the 

 poet's father, who died when Joseph Rodman was a child, was 

 the son of Moses Drake of Dutchess County, who died during 

 the Revolution. One of the brothers of Moses was Colonel 

 Joseph Drake of New Rochelle who long outlived his famous 

 grandnephew. Their father was Benjamin Drake, third in 

 descent from Samuel Drake of Fairfield, Conn., he having 

 received a grant of land in 1650 from the freeholders of that 

 settlement, and fourth from John Drake who came over from 

 Plymouth to Boston in 1630, and settled in Windsor, Conn., 

 soon after that date. He was the son of another John of 

 Plymouth, England. 



Thus these Drakes of Eastchester, Westchester and Dutchess 

 hark back to a John Drake of Plymouth in England who was 

 of the council of that seaport in 1606 and one of a company 

 empowered by James the First to attend to the settling of New 

 England. So far as known, this John Drake did not cross 

 the Atlantic. He was closely affiliated to the Drake family at 

 Ashe, that of Sir Francis Drake. He is said to have had 

 twelve children, of whom at least two sons came to America. 



Notably was it the John Drake mentioned who came to 

 Boston from Plymouth in 1630 and settled in Windsor from 

 whom the Westchester Drakes derive. 



The coat of arms of Sir Francis Drake is what the French 



