Sunset at Gowanus Bay

Sunset at Gowanus Bay
Sunset at Gowanus Bay, Henry Gritten, 1851

Thursday, July 21, 2011

The Will of John Drake of Goshen, New York, 1779

Images of John Drake's will are online at a new URL and can be found here (you will have to log in or register) John Drake was a grandson of Adam Brouwer, his parents being Adam Brouwer's daughter Aeltje Brouwer and her husband Josias Janszen Drats, whose descendants adopted the surname, DRAKE. John Drake's will mentions his wife, Martha, children and some grandchildren, and gives a reference to property he believes he inherited from his "grandfather Adam Brewer." This document has been used to foster the argument that John Drake's wife was not Magdalena Brouwer, a daughter of Jacob Brouwer and Annatje Bogardus, a belief that had been claimed by many descendants of John Drake dating back to the early 1800s and continuing through the 20th century. That claim, that John Drake was married to Magdalena Brouwer, is no longer accepted.
A transcript of John Drake's will is also online. And here is a new link for that transcript.

Albany Wills, Vol. AD, file 108 (image 343 at FamilySearch)

PDF version of this post

BGB 12 

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