3rd Great Grandparents; John Drake and Ellen Brier

When John Drake was born on November 24, 1829, in Banwell, Somerset, England, their father, John, was 38, and his mother, Betsy, was 43. He married Ellen Brier on October 29, 1848, in Axbridge, Somerset, England. They had 15 children in 23 years. He died on September 11, 1912, in Taiere, Dunedin, Otago, New Zealand, having lived a long life of 82 years, and was buried in Anderson's Bay Cemetery, Dunedin, New Zealand.

 He emigrated from Plymouth, Devon,England on the 29 December 1856 to Melbourne, Australia. The ship was "Mount Stuart Elphinstine".  John emigrated on the 17 March 1860 to Otago Harbour, New Zealand on the ship "Gill Blas".

In 1860 John was resident in Upper Harbour West.  Several acres of bush and half an acre of beachfront, purchased for 60 pounds.  A dwelling was erected and a kiln built to make bricks. His father was a brick maker so he must have learnt this from him, although he was listed as a cabinet maker on a ship's manifest. It is believed that Dunedin's first proper Post Office was built with bricks from here.  On 20 December 1865 John possessed Crown Grant of 20 ares,  In the district of North Harbour and Blueskin.  On the 11 March 1867 he possessed 9 acres 2 roods in Upper Harbour West, purchased for 175 pounds.  Two men by the name of Coleman and Burke acknowledged that John has put "his mark" to an agreement to sell this land for 20 pounds (John could read but not write)  When the case went to court, the judge ruled that John remain in possession of the land, and that he pay 5 pounds a year rental, until Coleman and Burke pay him the sum of 400 pounds, being the real value of the land.  The final payment of this agreement was paid on the 14 November 1872.  

In January 1873 he saw the first train pass by on the way to Dunedin.

On January 1877 he possessed 2 quarter acre sections in the township of Hastings, purchased for 22 pounds.

In 1886 he made a brief visit to Melbourne to see his daughter Ellen Jessep.  On the crossing of the Tasman a mysterious grey ash covered the ship and remained unexplained until they reached Melbourne.  Mount Tarawere had erupted on the 10th June 1886.

In 1908 John was resident in Selwyn St, North East Valley, Dunedin, purchased for 150 pounds.

In 1911 John celebrated his 63rd wedding anniversary.  In 1912 he was resident in Taiere, living with daughter Mary Hane Crawley.

 Ellen Brier (1852-1931)

Ellen Brier was born in February 1827 in London, London, England, the daughter of Charles. She married John Drake on October 29, 1848, in Banwell, Somerset, England and they had 15 children together. She died on September 20, 1923, in Bluff, Southland, New Zealand, at the age of 96, and was buried in Otago, New Zealand.

The Story of John and Ellen Drake

By Josephine Pearson

"OCTOBER 31st 1848; in the Somerset village of BANWELL it was a clear crisp autumn day for the wedding of JOHN DRAKE and ELLEN BRIAR. And as the young couple left the church the breeze  as if on signal  gently shook the trees and the leaves of red and gold came fluttering down on them.  It was a moment that John and Ellen would always remember.  And then arm in arm, the young couple walked down the lane to the cottage where Aunt Sophia and Uncle Ben Birch had prepared a modest wedding feast.

It was from his uncle that John Drake had learned the craft of brick-making, and he was now qualified to run the kiln, while his young wife baked the bread in her spotless kitchen.

December 1, 1849 brought the birth of their first child Joseph, to be followed by Ellen junior on May 2 1852, and William on February 14 1855.

News of the Victorian gold rush had now reached Banwell.  Gold was the main topic of conversation and, as in fish stories, the nuggets grew bigger and bigger with the telling.  Strongly built with a character to match, John was not easily influenced by these stories, but a better life for his children was his chief concern.

TO AUSTRALIA

On December 29 1856, the Mount Stuart Elphinstone sailed from Plymouth bound for Melbourne with assisted and unassisted passengers  including John and Ellen Drake and their three children.  Joseph (now 8) and Ellen (5) were wildly excited at first, but as the days dragged into weeks, and weeks into months, they began fretting for their own garden, the fresh apples in the orchard and the green country lanes.  With two year old William too, their father had a full time job attending to their wants and inventing new games to ease the monotony.

His wife, now in her fifth month of pregnancy, was incapable of rising from her bed, badly affected by seasickness, the smell and motion of the ship, the lack of fresh fruit and vegetables, and the unending diet of salt meat.

The captain, concerned at the failing strength of the young mother, ordered a canvas canopy to be erected over one of the life-boats and, with blankets and pillows from his own cabin, prepared a comfortable bed.  There on a diet of nuts and raisins she remained until the anchor was dropped in Melbourne Harbour on April 10 1857.

Barracks had been set up as a depot for unassisted immigrants and there, 10 days later, Isabella was born.  Darn good nuts and raisins they must have been, John boasted proudly when presenting his new daughter.  Just look at this fine specimen.  But the inadequate diet and lack of necessary vitamins, never the less, cost Ellen her beautiful teeth.

As soon as she had gained a little strength, the family left for Phillipstown and, while John was away on the goldfields, this uncomplaining, courageous little woman was left alone with her children in a strange land where the first sight of a group of naked black people with spears in their hands struck terror into her heart.  Mustering all her courage she lifted the baby from the cradle and with thumping heart and trembling legs she advanced slowly to the window space where the group had gathered.  Excited chatter immediately broke out and six black and wrinkled hands shot forward to touch the babys soft white skin.  They were harmless people.

Time passed, the children had settled down and were happy, but not so their parents.  Their roots would not take hold in this hot parched 

land.

ACROSS THE TASMAN

On March 17 1860, now with five children  the youngest Rose Ann, only eight weeks old  they boarded the GIL BLAS bound for New Zealand.  Provided with comfortable quarters, they experienced a pleasant two week passage and, as the ship made its way up the Otago Harbour on March 31, their hearts burst with joy at the sight of the bush clad hills and the blue waters of the little bays lapping peacefully on the beaches of yellow sand and standing there at the rail they thanked God for guiding them to this country.

In the district of UPPER HARBOUR WEST several acres of bush land, including a half acre along the beach, were bought for £60.  With stout hearts and willing hands a comfortable dwelling was soon erected, a kiln built and brick making begun.  Maoris helped load the bricks into a boat and row them to the jetty in Lower High Street.  Family tradition has it that the bricks were used to build Dunedins first proper Post Office.

The Drakes extended their holdings.  On December 20 1865 a Crown Grant of 20 acres in the district of North Harbour and Blueskin was signed over and witnessed by Sir George Gray; on March 11 1867, 9 acres 2 roods in the Upper Harbour West were bought for £175; and on January 25 1877, two quarter acre sections in the township of Hastings, provincial district of Upper Harbour West were bought for £22.

Not all those who came in those early days were genuine, honest, hardworking settlers.  Rogues, tricksters and confidence men were on the watch for the unwary and many a man of abstemious habits awakened in the cold hard light of the morning to the realization that he had been tricked into signing away his valuable possessions.  John Drake was one of the many victims of these unscrupulous scoundrels.  A man of strong Christian faith, strongly opposed to anti-Christian behaviour and deeds, he refused to surrender the 20 acres Crown Grant and the 9 acres 2 roods of Upper Harbour West for the sum of £20 which he was supposed to have agreed to and placed his mark.

Coleman and Burk took him to court but the judge ruled that John Drake remain in possession of the said properties and be paid a yearly rent until the sum of £400 had been paid by the said Coleman and Burk.  This took three years, the final payment and agreement completed on November 14 1872.

Five more children  John, Henry, Mary Jane, Louisa, and Sophia  brought the number to ten, six daughters and four sons.  Sophia the youngest, born March 8 1873, was my mother.

Nine weeks before her birth the family gathered at the door of their home to watch the first train pass by on the new Dunedin-Port Chalmers line.  This was an important milestone in the lives of these people, especially the womenfolk who could now travel to Dunedin in comfort instead of waiting for someone to take them in the boat or walking over the hill to North East Valley.

THE DOCTOR SOUSED AND SODDEN

Later the same week, tradition has it, my grandmother was aware that things were not right with her and Grandfather rowed to Dunedin to fetch a doctor.  One of doubtful qualifications was found, but it took gentle persuasion and strong arms to support and guide him in the direction of the boat.  At last he was seated and the return journey made against a strong wind, but as the boat was brought to the landing stage the passenger fell overboard. Even the cold water failed to sober him, so Grandfather heaved him on his back and carried him up the hill to the house where granny got out of bed and helped remove his sodden clothes.  Next morning both they and their owner had dried out a little and as he was being rowed back to Dunedin he handed Grandfather a box of pills saying she wont pull through.

Of course she did.

HOME ROUTINE

Life was demanding but no-one complained.  Cooking was done on a camp stove and the wood for this and the kiln had to be gathered from the bush.  A well provided the drinking water, the garden produced vegetables, black currants, gooseberries and blackberries, while jam, butter and soap were all home made.

Washing was an all day business.  Water was carried from the creek, heated on an outside stone fireplace and the clothes were washed in iron tubs which came in several sizes and also served as bath tubs.

Saturday was the busiest day of the week.  Sufficient wood and water for two days had to be brought in, food prepared and cooked, shoes cleaned, hair washed and clean clothes laid out, for the Sabbath was a day of rest and not even the replacing of a necessary button or tape was permitted on that day.

The day ended with baths for the whole family in front of the kitchen fire, the water heated on the outside fireplace and carried indoors.

SUNDAY SERVICE

Come rain or shine the family walked to Sunday morning service.  The only sound breaking the silence on that sacred day was the chiming of the church bells and the songs of the birds.

Clothing a family of this size was a mammoth task.  A bolt of flannel was made into winter shirts and petticoats, a bolt of white calico for night gowns and nightshirts, petticoats, chemises, bodices and drawers and another bolt of material for trousers and the voluminous ankle length dresses of the day.

Immediately after the evening meal Grandfather read a chapter from the Bible and, while the older girls attended to the washing up, Granny drew her chair to the table and with the light of the home-made candles (which gave off a strong smell), stitched away at the endless garments.  The girls made their own trousseaus and it was considered correct to have three sets of underwear, each set consisting of a night dress, chemise, bodice and drawers all pin-tucked, feather stitched, fagot stitched, frilled and lace edged.

When Grandfather was away on business, Granny made the bricks and watched the kiln, one of the older children taking the baby to her to be fed.  She was friend, counselor, nurse and midwife to the other settlers in that area and on many a night, at a knock on her window, she would get up and walk sometimes many miles through cold and storm to give her help.

It was the girls duty to gather and prepare the shellfish, in plentiful supply on the rocks.  The boys not only fished from the beach, but quickly learned to handle boats  although tragedy came to the family in April 1895, when the eldest son Joseph was drowned off Nugget Point with the son of Richard Driver, Otagos first official pilot.

The following story was told to me by an older member of the second generation but I am unable to substantiate it through medical records.  Aunt Ellen and Uncle William Jessep owned a fruit shop at the corner of High and Princess Streets, (sight of the present Grand Hotel) and when Aunt Ellen was five months pregnant with her third child she was taken ill and Dr Harry Archibald de Lautour, a young surgeon just returned from London after gaining his M.R.C.S. in 1873, diagnosed a growth on the liver and advised immediate surgery.  Sunday was to be the day and on Saturday the street outside the house was spread with tan bark to lay the dust and deaden the sound.  On Sunday the kitchen walls and table were scrubbed and the operation proceeded.  Dr. William Stewart Weeding Roberts, a skilful physician and surgeon and the most expert anaesthetist in the city who was later lecturer in Pathology at the Otago University, worked with Dr. de Lautour for several months and probably assisted at this operation.

All went well, baby arrived at the normal period of gestation, mother was restored to normal health and worked hard running a boarding house to support 8? 11? children and an ailing husband, and died at the age of seventy seven.

With the passing of time, life became easier.  More shops meant more goods could be bought and less to be made at home.

The children were now all married and settled in homes of their own.  The last property my grandfather bought was in Selwyn Street, North East Valley, in 1904, for £150 and some years later built a house there.

It was in London Street, however, that the Drakes celebrated their 63rd wedding anniversary in 1911.  The property, which is now Nos. 16 and 18, was divided into three apartments, two married daughters and their families occupying the other two apartments.  (Aunt Rose Mulholland & Pearsons).

I was born there on April 26 1912.

There was a brief visit to their daughter Ellen in Melbourne¹ who had left New Zealand with her husband and family in 1886.  This was the time of the Mt Tarawera eruption.  The mysterious grey ash which settled on the ship far out to sea remained unexplained until they reached Melbourne.

On their return, my grandparents went to live with daughter Mary Jane Crawley in Tainui.  But grandfathers health was failing and he died on September 8, 1912, at the age of 85.

Grandmother spent the last five years of her life in her home in North East Valley where my parents were now living.  Still hale and hearty at age 92 she attributed her long life and good health to the daily apple both of which she enjoyed until a few short weeks before her death.  On September 20, 1923, eight weeks before her 97th birthday she was laid to rest beside the man she had vowed to love, honour and obey on that October morning 75 years before.

No elaborate tombstone tells of the life they shared or their contribution to this their adopted country.  Only five letters which spell their name marks their resting place in the Andersons Bay Cemetery.

¹ Ellen and William Jessep disembarked from the ship Hauroto in Sydney on July 13 1886 and spent the rest of their lives there. Ellen and William and their 11 children are all buried in Sydney.     FB

MEMORIES

I was 11 when my grandmother died but I remember her cutting the top off an apple and with a teaspoon then scoop out the flesh until only the empty skin remained.  Then washing her hands, she would draw her chair to the little table on which stood the family Bible and magnifying glass and with head bent forward she would read her daily chapter.

She spent the mornings tending to her many pot plants which were mostly cacti, the kind which produced those exotic flowers of scarlet, pink and cream and quaint little cobwebby ones.

Bitter are the memories of the weekly dose of medicine she made from wild herbs.  Horehound was the chief ingredient and we were told it was to purify the blood and keep the skin clear.  This brew was kept in a stone jar, like an outsized ginger jar and years after Granny died the sight of that empty jar was sufficient to make me shudder.

I remember too, the day I burst into her room with the exciting news of my latest accomplishment.  My brother, three years my senior, was a beautiful whistler and I wanted so much to whistle songs and imitate the birds like he did.  I spent weeks puffing air from pouted lips but never a sound did I get, then one day it came.  I rushed through the house and burst into my grandmothers room.  Granny, I can whistle I said, breathless with excitement.  Slowly she turned and looked at me.  My girl, whistling girls and crowing hens are neither use to God or man.  Without another word she resumed her reading and I, deflated and puzzled, quietly left the room careful to practice the art well out of hearing.

I loved her little black straw bonnet with the bunch of violets in front and the rustle of her dress as she walked about the house with the grace and charm of a queen."