History of Oakland County Michigan a narrative account of its historic progress, its people, its principal interests / compiled from the official records of the county, the newspapers and data of personal interviews, under the editorial supervision of Thaddeus D. Seeley.

HISTORY OF OAKLAND COUNTY

81

Indians by the garrison at Fort Penn. It was located on a large tract of
land owned by Col. Stroud and commanded also by him. Lying adjacent to this great property of Col. Stroud was the land of Samuel Drake,
father of Elijah.
A company belonging to the Associates Battalion formed in Pennsylvania was organized in Smithfield May 22, I775, of which Jacob Stroud
was captain and Samuel Drake lieutenant. In I776 Jacob Stroud was
colonel and Samuel Drake captain (Vol. 14, second series of Pennsylvania
Archives, page 555, 576).
In June, 1778, the records of the Bureau of Pensions state that Elijah
Drake enlisted as a private and served six months under Capt. Benjamin
Schoonhoven, Col. Stroud's Pennsylvania regiment; reenlisted June 5,
1779, for three months under the same captain in Col. Armstrong's regiment Pennsylvania troops. After that a service of fifteen days is recorded under Capt. Samuel Shoemaker and his place of residence is
given as Lower Smithville, Northhampton county, Pennsylvania. The
state records also show the service of his brother Thomas. This official
record is meager enough, for in reality he gave four years of his life
to the service of his country. The position of the family on the frontier
of necessity demanded the protection of father and sons in the early days
of the war and Elijah thus served three years b)efore his official enlistment in 1778.
Like others of the valiant volunteers who first viewed the fertile
valley of the Susquehanna in time of strife, he was resolved to make this
locality his home some time in the future, and after serving as executor
of his father's estate in I789 he joined his sister Ruth, who had married
Capt. Daniel Mc5owel and settled at Chemung, fourteen miles below
Newtown Point, or Elmira, as the place is now called.
Living in the beautiful valley of Wyoming at the time of the terrible
massacre, was the family of Thomas and Abigail (Culver) Stoddard,
settlers from Connecticut. They were warned of the approaching danger by a friendly Indian, in time to escape with their children. Their
daughter Abigail was at that time eight or nine years old and many times
in the course of her long life of ninety years, she recited the thrilling
experiences which were so indelibly stamped upon her memory. The
youngest child of two years of age died of exposure and hardships encountered in their long march in the wilderness.
Just where was their refuge we do not know, but presumably to the
north. This much is fact-that Elijah Drake married Abigail Stoddard
in the year 1790 at Newtown Point. Their home was in Chemung, as
we find Elijah Drake elected overseer of highways at the fourth town
meeting held 1791. The next year he is still a resident, as is proved by a
release given by him to his brother Joseph, for his interest in a piece of
land adjoining their home farm.
His second daughter, Welthy, is said to have been born in Scipio,
New York. If so, the change of residence must have taken place early
in 1793. His father-in-law, Thomas Stoddard, went with him, and they
settled on a farm in the town of Scipio, one and three-fourths miles east
of the village of Aurora, lying on Cayuga lake. Here his eight sons were
Vol. 1-6