Edmond Drake

Personal and Family Information

Edmond was born about 1514 in Tavistock, Devonshire, England, the son of John Drake and Margery.

He died on 26 DEC 1566 in Upchurch, Kent, England.

He had two marriages/partners. His first wife was Elizabeth Hawkins, who he married in ABT 1544. The place has not been found. Their five known children were Francis “El Draque” (c1545-1596), John (c1549-1572), Joseph (c1553-1573), Edward (c1557-<1566) and Thomas (c1558-?).

His second wife was Melwaye. They were married, but the date and place have not been found. They had no known children.

Pedigree Chart (3 generations)

Events

Attributes

Notes

Note 1

!StyleName: Drake, Vicar Edmond [abt 1514 - 1566]

!Source: Wikipedia Francis Drake https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Francis_Drake

He was the eldest of the twelve sons[9] of Edmund Drake , a Protestant farmer, and his wife, Mary Mylwaye. The first son was said to have been named after his godfather, Francis Russell, 2nd Earl of Bedford.[10]

!Source: WikiTree Edmund Drake

Born about 1514 [uncertain] in Tavistock, Devonshire, England

Died 26 Dec 1566 at about age 52 in Upchurch, Kent, England

Son of [father unknown] and [mother unknown] edit

Husband of Elizabeth Drake — married [date unknown] [location unknown]

Husband of Unknown Drake — married about 1540 in Tavistock, Devonshire, England [uncertain]

Father of John Drake, Joseph Drake, Francis Drake, Edward Drake, Elizabeth Drake, Robert Drake, Elliot Drake, Thomas Drake and Benjamin Drake add/edit children

Biography

Edmund Drake, vicar of Upchurch in Kent, is best known as the father of Sir Francis Drake.

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Edmund Drake was probably born between 1510 and 1520 at Crowndale in Tavistock, Devon. His parents were John Drake and his wife Margery .

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John Stow , an English chronicler, states of Francis Drake that he was "son of Edmond Drake of Tavistock, saylor", and that " he was the eldest of 12 brethren brought up under his kinsman Sir John Hawkins". Stow's manuscript notes also contain a passage "Fraunces Drake, Knyghte, sone to Sir ______ Drake vickar of Upchurche in Kent".[1]

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Confirmation of Edmund's origins is to be found in a deposition given in 1587 by his nephew John Drake, then a prisoner of the Spanish Inquisition. John, son of Robert and Ann Drake of Tavistock was born about 1564. From the age of about 10 he served as a page to his cousin Captain Francis Drake whom he accompanied on his famous circumnavigation of the globe. In 1583 John Drake was given command of a small ship, part of a fleet commanded by Captain Edward Fenton. He had the misfortune to be shipwrecked in South America and eventually fell into the hands of the Inquisition. He was taken to Lima, Peru, where a detailed deposition was taken concerning both his family and his travels with his renowned cousin. Of particular note is his statement that his paternal grandparents were John and Margery Drake of Tavistock and his father's brothers included Edmund Drake the father of Captain Francis Drake.[2]

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Edmund's parents first appear in the records in 1519 when the Abbot of the Monastery of Tavistock granted a lease of lands at Crowndale in Tavistock, then in tenure of Simon Drake, to John Drake, his wife Margery and their son John Drake, the term to commence at the end of Simon's tenure.[3] The subsidy roll for Tavistock in 1524 shows Simon drake rated at £18 and John Drake rated at £5. Simon, with a worth of £18, was among the more affluent inhabitants of the parish.[4] Simon's will was proved at Totnes in 1534.[5]

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By 1546 the lands of the Monastery of Tavistock had come into the possession of Lord Russell who confirmed the original lease to John and Margery and their son John.[6] In the subsidy roll of 1545 we find John Drake 'of Croundel' rated at £20, John Drake junr rated at £5 and Edmund Drake rated at £4.[7] The Drakes had disappeared from Tavistock by 1548, their names no longer appearing in the subsidy rolls.[8]

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Early sources recount that Edmund Drake, who had adopted protestantism, fled from Devonshire to Kent in 1539 due to religious persecution. This is clearly not true as he appeared in the subsidy roll at Tavistock in 1545. The family may have fled the district in 1548 amid growing hostility against the religious changes which which were being imposed on the populace and which finally culminated in the Prayer Book Rebellion in 1549.

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Two incidents occurred in 1548 which may also have had some bearing on Edmund's flight to Kent. On 16 April William Master, cordyner, and Edmund Drake, shearman, late of Tavistock, assaulted Roger Langisforde at Peter Tavy, Devonshire, and stole 21s 7d from his purse. Nine days later Edmund Drake, shearman, and John Hawkyng alias Harte, tailor, late of Tavistock, stole a horse worth £3 from one John Harte. Edmund was indicted for both offences but the Patent Rolls record that on 21 December 1548 a pardon was given to Edmund and his fellow miscreants for all felonies before 20 October last.[9]

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The term 'shearman' may refer to a sheep shearer but, given the Drake family's social status as evidenced in the subsidy rolls it seems more likely that Edmund was a cloth shearer, a skilled tradesman who used shears to remove the nap from woollen cloth.

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Upon his relocation to Kent Edmund may have spent some time as a sailor and it is said that he became a reader of prayers for the royal navy and inhabited the hull of a ship on the Medway. There is little concrete evidence concerning Edmund's life during this period until 1560. On 25 January of that year the Register of Archbishop Parker records that Edmund Drake was instituted vicar of Upchurch, a post in which he remained until his death.[1]

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There is uncertainty concerning Edmund's Drake's wife. In his will he makes mention of his father Melwaye, possible the same Richard Melwaye to whom he bequeathed his best chair and cushion, or Clement Melwaye who was a witness to his will. This leads to the conclusion that his wife, who was apparently deceased when the will was made, was a daughter of the same Melwaye. There is no evidence as to his wife's first name. There is likewise no evidence that she was a Hawkins as is sometimes stated.

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Of the 12 sons of Edmund Drake mentioned by Stowe only five can be identified by name:

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Sir Francis Drake

John Drake ;

Thomas Drake (the only son mentioned in his father's will and probably the youngest.

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The will of Edmund Drake, vicar of Upchurch, was written on 26 December 1566, the day before his burial. He requested to be buried at Upchurch by his son Edward. He left a variety of household goods and personal belongings to his son Thomas, who he appointed his executor, and the remainder to his nurse. Master Thomas Baker of London was named as overseer and the will was witnessed by Clemente Melwaye and Richard Sawell. His father Melwaye is mentioned and his best chair and cushion is bequeathed to Richard Melwaye. The will was proved on 16 January 1566/7 by Clemente Melwaye and Richard Sawell, the son Thomas being a minor. [11][8]

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The Drake family must have maintained some connection to Tavistock because in 1566 the will of John Drake of Tavistock was proved at Totnes, and that of another John Drake the following year, probably Edmund's father and older brother. The will of his mother Margery Drake of Tavistock was proved in 1571 and that of his brother Robert in 1573.[5] It is unfortunate that none of these wills survive.