The basis for this database is The Visitations of the County of Devon: Comprising the Herald's Visitations of 1531, 1564, & 1620, edited by John Lambrick Vivian and published in 1895. This work is in the public domain and digital reproductions are available online at a number of locations including GoogleBooks.
J. L. Vivian's work consits of numerous charts arranged by the surname of families inhabiting the county of Devon (also referred to as Devonshire) in England, with some reaching back into the High Middle Ages (c. 1000-1300), although the majority of individuals found in the work lived during the period of c.1500 to the late 1800s. Using the Herald's Visitations of 1531, 1564 and 1620 as a starting point, Vivian, then expands upon the genealogies himself, adding many names, and largely using parish records and probate records for his sources.
The focus of this online database are the two DRAKE families that are found in Vivian's Visitation. No attempt has been made to verify or correct the original work, as that is not a purpose of this database. This website is simply an exercise in taking a relatively cumbersome and un-indexed 19th century work and creating a more convenient platform for accessing the information found in the original work. It could be considered and used as an index to the DRAKE families as found in Vivian's Visitation. In a handful of cases, a few other sources have been consulted, and cited. In addition, I have taken the two separate DRAKE charts created by Vivian, which begin respectively on page 292 and page 299 of the 1895 edition, and have created genealogical summaries in a modified "register" format. They are titled, "Edward Drake of Crowndale" and "Descendants of John Orway" (which picks up a DRAKE line in the eighth generation). Links for both are found above.
October 2011