Thomas Drake Biography


	This biography is from "Memorial and biographical record; an illustrated
 	compendium of biography, containing a compendium of local biography,
	including biographical sketches of prominent old settlers and 
	representative citizens of South Dakota..." Published by G. A. Ogle & 
	Co., Chicago, 1899. Page 359

	Scan, OCR and editing by Maurice Krueger,mkrueger@iw.net, 1998. 

	This file may be freely copied by individuals and non-profit 
	organizations for their private use. 

	Any other use, including publication, storage in a retrieval 
	system, or transmission by electronic, mechanical, or other 
	means requires the written approval of the file's author.

	This file is part of the SDGENWEB Archives. If you arrived here inside
	a frame or from a link from somewhere else, our front door is at

	http://usgwarchives.org/sd/sdfiles.htm


THOMAS DRAKE, a prominent attorney and representative citizen of 
Pierre, South Dakota, is a native of New York, his birth occurring in 
Brooklyn, August 30, 1854. His parents were Benjamin and Mary (O'White) 
Drake, the former a native of New Jersey, the latter of Dublin, 
Ireland. The paternal grandfather, John Christopher Drake, was born in 
England, and on his emigration to this country settled in New Jersey, 
where he spent the remainder his life. The father, who was a mechanic, 
removed to Wisconsin at one time, but later returned to New York, where 
his death occurred. In his family were four sons, of whom our subject 
is the eldest. 

Thomas Drake accompanied his parents on their removal to Wisconsin, and 
acquired his early education in the common schools of Oshkosh, but 
finished his literary training in the schools of Michigan. In 1874 he 
entered the law department of the State University of Michigan at Ann 
Arbor, where he was graduated in 1876. The same year he was admitted to 
the bar in that state and began practice at Muskegon, where he remained 
a year. He then removed to Green Bay, Wisconsin, but after a short time 
spent there, he located in Corning, New York, where he was engaged in 
practice until 1889. He then started for California, but instead of 
continuing on his way across the country, he stopped at Pierre, South 
Dakota, where he took up his residence in the fall of 1889. Here he 
opened an office and has since successfully engaged in general 
practice. He is thoroughly versed in the law, is a man of deep research 
and careful investigation, and his skill and ability has won him a 
liberal support. Prominence at the bar comes from merit alone, and the 
high position Mr. Drake has attained attests his superiority. 

In 1883, he married Miss Ella Ford, a native of Ohio, and to them have 
been born two daughters, Ruth and Grace. Socially he affiliates with 
the Knights of Pythias, and politically is identified with the 
Republican party.