18. Thomas³ Drake (John², Samuel¹), probable son of John Drake was born about 1745-50 in Augusta County, Virginia. He evidently moved to Abbeville, South Carolina after he came of age, but before his marriage in about 1775. By tradition he settled on land that had been granted to Henry Templeton, and this grant was in 1763.⁴⁴ There is no record of a land grant to the Drakes, so this is consistent with a later arrival or a non- immigrant. Thomas would thus have obtained his land either by purchase or lease, and these records are destroyed.

Thomas Drake appears on the Abbeville Tax List for 1787⁴⁵ and on the 1790 Census of Abbeville County with a household consisting of one male over 16, 2 males under sixteen, and two females.⁴⁶ He lived "next door" to Captain John Calhoun. Thomas died after 1790, but before 1800, for he is not listed on the 1800 Census. A Mary Drake is listed as the head of what seems to be the successor household in that year. Her entry is as follows:

1800 Census South Carolina Abbeville District
Mary Drake 01000-00101-0
One male 10-16, one female 16-26, one female over 45

Thomas Drake married Mary Dunn, daughter of James Dunn about 1775.⁴⁷ According to the McGukin letter she was born in Ireland in 1750.⁴⁸ Based on census data her birth was 1750-60.⁴⁹

Family tradition has preserved the date 1798/9 as the death date of the father of James Drake, although it has confused him with the grandfather of James. Thomas is probably buried in the Drake Cemetery in Donalds. Mary died 18 May 1845 and is buried in the Drake Cemetery in Donalds.⁵⁰

Issue of Thomas³ Drake and Mary Dunn Drake include:

          20.          i.    Nancy⁴ Drake, born about 1778-82, possibly in North Carolina. She
                       married William Collins in Abbeville County, South Carolina.⁵¹ A William
                      Collins was in the adjacent household to Mary Drake, mother of Nancy on
                      the 1800 Census of Abbeville County.⁵² William and Nancy had one daughter
                      on the 1800 census.

+       21.        ii.    James Drake, born 1 January 1784; married Agnes "Nancy" Breckenridge;
                      died 7 December 1854. Of whom presently.

          22.        iii.   A son, born about 1778-90. Either dead or gone by 1800.⁵³

19. Edmund³ Drake (John², Samuel¹) is placed as a probable son of John Drake, and thus brother of Thomas³ Drake because of his appearance in Laurens County, South Carolina very near Abbeville at about the same time as Thomas Drake. EdmundÕs apparent son moved to Abbeville County later in life, and he and Edmund appear in records in association with persons named McDonald and OÕNeal, suggesting a connection to the Scotch-Irish community.⁵⁴

Edmund was born, ex hypothesi, in about 1750 in Augusta County, Virginia. He appears in Laurens County, South Carolina in 1788 as one of the appraisers of the estate of Hugh OÕNeall.⁵⁵

Edmund appears on the 1790 Census of Laurens County with the following entry:

1790 Census South Carolina Ninety-Six District Laurens Co
Edmund Drake 1-2-1-0-1
One male over 16, two males under sixteen, one female

He evidently died before 1800, for Benjamin Drake is shown as the head of the apparent successor household in that year.⁵⁶

His widow might have been the Phebe Drake who appears as head of a household on the 1810 Census of Laurens County.⁵⁷

Probable issue of Edmund³ Drake:

+       23.        i.    Benjamin⁴ Drake, born about 1775; died 1817.

+       24.       ii.    John Drake, born about 1780; died 1826.

         25.       iii.    Selia Ann Drake (possible daughter), born about 1785. She married
                      James Holdritch in Laurens County, South Carolina.⁵⁸


44   See Appendix F.
45   See Appendix B.
46   The census data is presented in Appendix B.
47   Will of James Dunn, 8 February 1799, Appendix F.
48   See Appendix A1.
49   See Appendix B.
50   The cemetery data is presented in Appendix D.
         51   This is based on the McGukin letter (Appendix A.1) and an internet query which reads, "Wm.
         COLLINS (b 1772 Abbeville, SC) m. Nancy Drake (b. 1776 Abbeville, SC). Any info on this family
         would be greatly appreciated. Thanks for taking the time to read this."
         52   See Appendix B.
53   Inferred from the census data.
54   There were other Drakes in the area. In nearby Union County there was a Francis Drake and Richard Drake who were from the Isle of Wight, Virginia Drake family. In Edgefield County, South Carolina there was another distinct Drake family. See the web published historical sketches of Richard Drake of Southampton http://www.xroyvision.com.au/drake/history/hist42.html by Jane Drake Brody, in particular the section pertaining to sons Francis and Richard, and the sketch by Colleen G. Sims and Charles E. Drake concerning William Drake of Edgefield County, South Carolina http://www.xroyvision.com.au/drake/history/wdrake/index.html. Another James Drake came to Abbeville County after 1790, but there is evidence he came from Franklin County, North Carolina.
55   This was 7 May 1788, Laurens County Estate Book, A-1, South Carolina Magazine of Ancestral Research, Volume 11, p. 151.
56   See the 1800 Census Laurens District, South Carolina. The Benjamin Drake entry is 0-1-2-0-0 // 2-0-1-0-1-1; one male 10-16, 2 males 16-26, 2 females less than 10, one female 16-26, one female over 45.
57   Census details not yet examined.
58   This is also based on an Internet query.