D. STERRETT DRAKE, manager of the Bell Telephone Company, and of the Drake Cycle and Electric Company, of Huntingdon, was born near Drake's Ferry, Wayne township, Mifflin county, Pa., September 6, 1854, and is a son of the late Thomas I. and Katharine (WHARTON) DRAKE, a grandson of James DRAKE and a great-grandson of Samuel DRAKE, Sr., of DRAKE'S Ferry, in Jack's Narrows, Cumberland, now Huntingdon county.

The present DRAKE family are of Scotch-Irish descent and trace their probable lineage back to the family of Sir Francis DRAKE, the celebrated English admiral. Three of his nephews, Francis, James and William DRAKE, came to America about the year 1700, and sailed into the mouth of the James river, Francis settling in the Carolinas, James in Virginia and William in New Jersey, from whence the DRAKE came to this section and were among the early settlers.

Samuel DRAKE, Sr., great-grandfather of D. S. DRAKE, served in the Revolutionary war, after which he established DRAKE'S ferry in the year 1783, and took up his residence there. Little is now known of the early history of Samuel DRAKE, who was born in the State of New Jersey about the year 1754 [died 11 Aug 1826, Mifflin Co. PA]. He was endowed with rare native energy and unfailing perseverance, but his opportunities for educational improvement were meager; he was, indeed, a self-educated man. The establishment of the ferry was a notable enterprise; it has since been a prominent landmark, and was then the only crossing place over the Juniata river provided for the traveling public on the great thoroughfare from Standing Stone [now Huntingdon, Pa.] to Chambersburg, Hagerstown, Harper's Ferry and Baltimore, the principal route of traffic during the first quarter of the present century. That route was originally an Indian trail, and was afterwards used by the traders and wagoners. DRAKE'S ferry and tavern or inn was a noted stopping place for travelers, who generally arrived in the evenings and departed in the mornings, thus enjoying a night's lodging and rest. The tavern and stables were on the north side of the river, just west of the present county bridge. It was at this house that the dispute occurred in 1791 concerning the boundary line of the counties, which resulted in the arrest of the sheriff of Huntingdon county and his being lodged in the Mifflin county jail. The ferry was operated for many years, and not until the building of the canal, about the year 1830, was it abandoned. As a token of respect for its day and generation a reference is made to it in FULLER'S poem on Jack's Narrows, of which we here quote some lines:

In 1783 Samuel DRAKE came into possession of 50 acres of land known as the Ferry tract; in 1790 he took up 150 acres additional, now known as the Matilda Furnace farm. This furnace was built in 1836 and named in honor of a daughter of Samuel DRAKE, afterwards married to Captain CALDWELL, who died in the Mexican war from a wound received in the attack on the City of Mexico.

In 1795 Samuel DRAKE also came into possession of 95 acres in Wayne township, just east of the Furnace property. The latter tract was later known as his son James Drake's homestead farm. In all, he owned upwards of 300 acres of land in the vicinity of Mt. Union, Pa., much of which was cleared and put under a state of cultivation. He continued to run the ferry until his two sons, James and Samuel, were old enough to take charge of it. They managed it for a number of years, until Samuel DRAKE, Jr., moved to the Furnace farm. He died about 1827, aged about seventy-three years. He was a Whig, and was a member of the Baptist church, services being held in his house.

In 1782 he married Nancy HAMILTON, of Holland or low Dutch descent, who was born in 1762, and died in 1833, aged seventy-one. Their children were: Mary, born 1783, died 1814, wife of Thomas I. POSTLETHWAITE; James, born 1787, died 1844, who married Elizabeth POSTLETHWAITE, a sister of Thomas POSTLETHWAITE; Samuel, born in 1801 and died in 1867, who married Catharine BAIRD; Katy [Mrs. James BAIRD]; Sallie [Mrs. Mathew GLASGOE]; Rebecca [(1773-1867)][Mrs. Abram VANDEVANDER]; Jane [(1790-1842)] [Mrs. Joseph COLTER]; Elizabeth [Mrs. Peter CORNELIUS]; and a child drowned when about eight years. The descendants of most of these families still reside in this section of the State.

James DRAKE, eldest son of Samuel DRAKE, Sr., was born in 1787 at Drake's ferry, where he resided until the abandonment of the ferry. He received a fairly good education in the subscription schools of his neighborhood. Assisting with the work of the ferry until he was old enough to take charge of the same, he continued to run it until about 1830, when the construction of the canal through the Narrows took place, of which he was the first. foreman. He then moved to the farm with his family, and built the log house which stands to this day at the forks of the road at the mouth of Long Hollow, just east of the Furnace property, known as the James DRAKE homestead. Here he lived until his death in 1844, at the age of fifty-seven years. He was a member of the Presbyterian church, and a man of very industrious habits; strictly honest in all his dealings with his fellow-men. He was of a delicate constitution, and a great sufferer from rheumatism all his life. In politics he was a Whig. He married Elisabeth, daughter of Thomas I. POSTLETHWAITE, of Wayne township, Mifflin county, who was born in 1790 and died in 1854, in her sixty-fifth year.

To this union twelve children were born, four sons and eight daughters, nearly all of whom died early in life. Their names were: Jane Matilda, wife of Captain CALDWELL, born in 1810 and died in 1842; Mary Rebecca [Mrs. James FIELDS], born in 1811, died in 1837; and Samuel, born in 1813, died in 1844, married Mary McDOWELL; Thomas Irvin, born in 1827, died in 1863, married Catharine WHARTON; James, born in 1832, died about 1877 (sic), married Mary HINDS, who now resides with her family in [Ringgold County] Iowa. The other members of the family died single; their names were: John (1815-1843); Nancy (1819-1843); Elizabeth; Arabella (1821-1838); and Josephine (1834-1849); all lived to early manhood and womanhood.

Thomas Irvin DRAKE, father of D. S. DRAKE, born at DRAKE'S Ferry, September 7, 1827, was a son of James and Elisabeth (POSTLETHWAITE) DRAKE. After receiving a good common school education, he began life on his father's farm, where he spent his boyhood. At the age of twenty-one he enlisted in the United States service under Captain CALDWELL* with a company of Wayne guards, and took an active part in the Mexican war of 1848; while there he contracted lung trouble, was discharged, and returned home in very poor health. In 1853 he married Catharine, daughter of James WHARTON, Esq., of Wayne township; she was born September 6, 1834. They began housekeeping on the homestead farm, residing there two years. They bought the farm of Robert CORBETT in Wayne township, residing there until his death. As Mr. DRAKE'S health was so impaired during his war service as to unfit him for work on the farm, he took no part in farming, but turned his attention to fruit growing and gardening. His orchards were of the choicest fruits and his garden always displayed great attractions. He possessed many qualities of mind and heart that endeared him to his fellow-men; was genial and hospitable and ever willing to help those in need. He was passionately fond of music and a sweet singer, and was a consistent member of the Presbyterian church. Mr. DRAKE was a Republican, and filled the offices of road supervisor, tax collector and school director of his township. He died in [October 30] 1863, aged thirty-six years.
Mr. and Mrs. Thomas DRAKE had four children: D. S., of Huntingdon, Pa., born in 1854; Mary E., born in 1855, married to Samuel GAILEY, a prominent oil dealer of Pittsburg, Pa.; James W., born in 1857, died in infancy; Frank I., born in 1863, married to Miss Bella SCHAFFER, of Middletown, Pa., resides in Jewell City, Kas., where he is engaged in the mercantile business.

D. Sterrett DRAKE received a good common school education and resided with his parents until after the death of his father. At the age of eleven years he made his home with his grandfather, James WHARTON, and resided with him until, at the age of seventeen, he took up telegraphy as a business. He began business life in 1871, working first at Mt. Union for two years, and later at various important offices on the line of the Pennsylvania Railroad, including Harrisburg, Mifflintown, Lewistown, Huntingdon, Tyrone and Altoona. At the last-named place he served two years in the general superintendent's office.

In 1880 Mr. DRAKE moved to Ligonier, Westmoreland county, and had charge of the Ligonier Valley Railroad for one year. On the formation of a company to operate the newly invented telephone business, he was selected to establish exchanges in Huntingdon and Lewistown. Since 1881 he has been connected with the Central Pennsylvania Telephone and Supply Company as manager of their business in the counties of Huntingdon, Bedford, Mifflin and Juniata.

It deserves to be noted here that at the time of the formation of the telephone company, no one but electrical men had faith in the newly invented machine, which was considered by many only a toy, and the organization had to be effected largely from telegraph men of the country. In 1881 D. S. DRAKE assumed a position in the Union Bank of Huntingdon, Pa., which he held until the new business established had grown to such an extent as to require all of his time. During this year he started the bicycle and electrical business also, which had not yet been introduced into the county; he was the first person in Huntingdon county to purchase a bicycle. By constant attention to the lines established, he has built up a trade which has become so extensive that in 1891 a new building was necessary to accommodate the growing business, when the three-story iron front building at the corner of Sixth and Penn streets was erected for the telephone, cycle and electrical business.

D. Sterrett DRAKE was married, May 21, 1878, to Elizabeth, daughter of the late William K. RAHM; he was a grandson of Conrad RAHM, who came from near Metz, Germany, with the Mullenbergers, and a son of Melchior RAHM, of Harrisburg, who was sheriff of Dauphin county in 1804, and a member of the legislature that met in Philadelphia.

There is to this day preserved by friends a letter written by George WASHINGTON to Melchior RAHM on some official business. William K. RAHM was one of the oldest residents of Huntingdon. He was born in Harrisburg in 1804, and was a merchant tailor in Bellefonte, Blairsville and Huntingdon, Pa., for a number of years. He became a resident of Huntingdon in the year 1829. In 1831 he married Jemima, daughter of David NEWINGHAM, an early settler of this place. Elizabeth RAHM [Mrs. D. S. DRAKE] was next to the youngest of eleven children.

Mr. and Mrs. D. S. DRAKE have two children: Walter C., born in 1879; Gretta M., born in 1881; both members now of the high school classes. Walter, being active and energetic, assists during his spare time in his father's newly established business.

Mr. DRAKE has always voted the Republican ticket, is a member of the Presbyterian church and belongs to the P.O.S. of A. and the Masonic fraternities.

* Alexander CALDWELL, one of the leading financiers and bankers of Kansas, was born at Drake's Ferry, Huntingdon county, Pennsylvania, March 1, 1830. The family was founded in America by Alexander CALDWELL, a native of Ireland who emigrated from the old country early in the nineteenth century and settled in New Jersey, where he accidently killed. His son, James, was born in County Donegal, Ireland, but after coming to America with his located in Huntingdon county, Pennsylvania. For years he there owned and operated a large charcoal furnace for the manufacture of iron, and became one of the prominent contractors of the state. He built the first railroad across the Alleghany mountains, from Hollidaysburg to Johnstown, and was also one of the contractors of the Pennsylvania canal. His wife was Jane Matilda DRAJE, born in Huntingdon county, daughter of James DRAKE, the owner of DRAKE'S Ferry, across the Juniata river. Mrs. CALDWELL died, in 1842. Four children were born to Mr. and Mrs. James CALDWELL, of whom Alexander is the oldest. When the Mexican war broke out Mr. CADLWELL, the father, at his own expense raised a militia company, of which he was chosen captain, and offered the same to the president. His company was assigned to the Second Pennsylvania volunteers, which served under Gen. Winfield SCOTT. During the attack on the city of Mexico, Sept. 13, 1847, Captain CALDWELL was mortally wounded, and died within three or four days thereafter. Alexander, who had been given the advantage of a common school education, joined his father's company, in 1847, and went to Mexico; he was in the engagements at National Bridge, Contreras, Molino del Rey, Churubusco, the castle of Chapultepec, and other actions around the City of Mexico. At the close of the war he was offered a commission as second lieutenant in the regular army, but declined, as he preferred a business career. He worked in a store for some time and then engaged in the banking business in Columbia, Pa., and gained a thorough knowledge of that business. In 1861 he came to Kansas and located at Leavenworth, where he organized a company, under the firm name of A. CALDWELL and Company, United States transportation contractors.

SOURCES: Commemorative Biographical Encyclopedia of the Juniata Valley: Comprising the Counties of Huntingdon, Mifflin, Juniata and Perry, Pennsylvania Pp. 49-51. J.M. Runk & Co. Chambersburg PA. 1897.

BLACKMAR, Frank W., ed. Kansas: A Cyclopedia of State History Vol. III, Pp. 624-26. Standard Publ. Co. Chicago. 1912.

Transcription & footnote by Sharon R. Becker, May of 2010