Lucy Ann Drake Gallagher
Lucy is my 2nd great-grandmother.
Dec. 9, 1844 - October 29, 1929
Lucy Ann Drake was born on December 9th, 1844 to parents Thomas and Lucy in Tealby, Lincolnshire, England. The month of December conjures up images of garlands, ornamental baubles hanging off trees, and a prolific sprinkling of green, red and gold in every corner of homes, retails stores and even streets to us living in the 21st century. However, things were different when Lucy was born. While Christmas had religious meaning since the 4th century, it was actually not celebrated in the same way we know today until a drawing in the Illustrated London News which showed Queen Victoria and Prince Albert enjoying the holiday with a Christmas tree was published in 1848 (1), four years after Lucy was born. So, she did not come into the world when the world was decked out in holiday colors and retailers tried to peddle a sea of goods to the public.
Lucy attended school and could read and write. She was a member of the congregation at Westminster St. Clement Danes, which is an Anglican (Protestant/Church of England) church. It was here where she married her husband, James Gallagher on January 18th, 1865. The church (which I show on James' page) was completed in 1682, by the most notable architect in England's history, Christopher Wren.
It is interesting to note that on their wedding license, James was considered a "bachelor" while Lucy was a "spinster" prior to their nuptials.
Lucy and James immediately had their first child who was born in about 1865. His name was Henry. There was a gap of eight years between their first and second child that are on record. However, Lucy had four children that I do not have records for who passed away in their early childhood. It's possible these four children were born during this eight year span.
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| London in the 1860's. |
In 1871 Lucy, James and Henry made their way to The United States by steam ship. They touched terra firma at the Baltimore, Maryland port. It's unclear how long they stayed on the East Coast, but within two years they were living in Missouri where three of their children were born: Thomas in 1873, Ellen in August of 1874, and her son Eddy in 1877.
Lucy and her family didn't stay in the Mid-West for long. By the time their daughter, Annie, was born in December of 1879, they were living in the Bay Area. Lucy resided in many different houses while living in the Golden State, but Oakland became her adopted home. She would stay here for the rest of her life. The family initially lived at 611 Adeline Street. Then on 814 Filbert Street. Eventually, Lucy and James bought a home at 652 Linden Street.
Lucy and James had three more children. George was born in 1881. Then on June 12th, 1885, Walter was born. He is our direct-line ancestor and Bette's father. One more child joined the Gallagher clan. Born in 1889, daughter Bessie completed this family of ten.
Lucy and James had three more children. George was born in 1881. Then on June 12th, 1885, Walter was born. He is our direct-line ancestor and Bette's father. One more child joined the Gallagher clan. Born in 1889, daughter Bessie completed this family of ten.
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| In 1895, Lucy posted a letter to the Tribune, which disputed an article she read earlier about the incident surrounding her dog's demise. |
In January of 1898, James transferred all title of property to Lucy. In that same month, an article posted in the Oakland Tribune over the course of several weeks, listing a Constable's Sale, which was to sell a plethora of the Gallagher's belongings to pay off an $81.00 debt to a Mr. John Stewart. In today's terms $81 correlates to close to $2,400.
While most of the records hold only James accountable for the debt he accrued while he was alive, this is the one record that listed both of them together.
In the title of the article, James' name is mentioned, but Lucy was called "Jane Doe Gallagher". However, she is clearly named in the article itself on two occasions. I imagine that the court document had her listed as Jane Doe, but the press was only too happy to publish her name. According the article, the sale was to commence on:
"Monday, the 21st Day of February, A.D. 1898 at 10:00 o'clock A.M in front of the Court House
...and the above described property, or so much thereof as may be necessary to raise sufficient money to satisfy said judgement,
with interest and costs, etc., to the highest and best bidder.
Signed by C.M. Day, Constable of Alameda Township"
This incident was a culmination of financial hardship the Gallaghers had seen since the 1880's. It must have been a turning point for them, because in April of that year, on the 15th of the month, Lucy's husband, James, passed away. While I am not certain what he died from, it seems that the stress of their financial hardship may have played a role.
AFTER JAMES:
While Lucy was married she was a housewife. Two years after James' death, she did not hold a position, but she owned her home outright without a mortgage. She was listed as head of household and all of her living seven children lived with her. Her eldest son, Henry, had passed away at some point in the previous twenty years. It is possible she was able to live off the $2,000 she would have received in insurance benefits from her husband's policy during that time frame.
However, that money would eventually run out. As a widow, it was imperative she find an income. Outside of holding manual labor positions, there weren't a lot of opportunities for women to work. However, even though there was economic turmoil in the Gallagher home, Lucy and James were fortunate enough to own their home. So, she reinvented herself as a landlady and rented out rooms in her home to support herself.
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| Article regarding Lucy's Tenants and their subsequent arrest. |
I could have written a synopsis of the article, but newspapers of this time period were written with such dramatic flair, they read like an old style radio show from the 1940's. I can almost hear the dramatic music in my mind from those old shows when I read these articles and they often strike my funny bone, So, I posted it to the left to share.
A follow up article claimed that the Husseys would have to stand trial, but they did agree to move out of Lucy's premises. All's well that end's well, I suppose.
In 1908, she sold her home on Linden to Jose and Jessie Diego. She purchased another home on Franklin and owned it outright.
However, from 1915 to the end of her life, she moved 7 times. I have no record if she owned or rented those homes.
On October 29th, 1929, Lucy passed away after suffering a lingering illness myocarditis (inflammation of the heart) with a contributing factor of "senility" which must have been dementia. She was 83.
Not only did she have an obituary, there was also an article written about her death titled, "Mother of 2 Officers Dies." Thomas was an inspector and Walter was a patrolman. In today's world, no one would write about a police officers mother dying, but in 1929, they did.
One of her obituary's title stated, "Mother of 2 Officers Dies." Her son's Tom and Walter were with the Oakland Police Department and it fascinates me that it was important to mention that the mother of two police officers had passed. I just can't imagine the same title being posted today. Police officers must have been well respected in 1929.
It's also interesting to note how many typos got past the editor. This article has several, yet it made it to press. Luck is supposed to be Lucy, Bette Jean is supposed was typed Betty Jone, and so on.
Initially, her ashes were placed at what was known as the Oakland Crematory, which is now the Chapel of The Chimes. Her children took her out at some point. I found out that all the children had to agree to this before it could happen. Her son, Walter (my great-grandfather) is interred there. It took about two years for me to find out where her final resting place is located. It's at the same cemetery as James, but in a different location. Mountain View Cemetery in Oakland, Plot 39, 219664980.
Her obituary mentioned that she was a member of the ladies auxiliary/secret society, Pride of the Forest, Circle No. 122 of the A.O.F. I could not find any general information on this group online, but there are many newspaper articles, sharing their meeting and social event dates such as dances that were open to the public. One article stated that they had the best social events of the season and the ladies were gifted jewelry. They were a national organization and Circle No. 122 was a local chapter. They elected officers of the club and in order to join, there were initiation rites.
THE LEGEND:
I always heard that we were descended from Sir Francis Drake, the pirate and confidant (and possible lover) of Queen Elizabeth I. Lucy would have been the Drake connection. However, I can find no record of Sir Francis having any legitimate children and it would have been legitimate children who would have carried the name to their descendants. That being said, it is still possible we are related somehow, but it is unlikely he would have been a direct-line ancestor.
SUPPOSITION:
* It occurred to me that most people did not own their own phone in 1905 when she had the Husseys arrested. So, she probably didn't call the police from home. Her son Walter was not yet a police officer in that year, However, her son Thomas who would eventually become a police inspector, was very likely a patrolman at this time. I wonder if he was the arresting officer.
* I find it curious that she moved so many times in her later years. It could have been that she had financial problems. However, according to her obituary, she had a lingering illness. I don't know how long her health was failing, but maybe she was moving due to her illness. I don't have records of many of her children's addresses, but she could have been living with them.
* I found it most unusual that Lucy was cremated in 1929. While the first crematory in the United States was built in 1876, there were only 10,000 cremations in the country by 1913. More people were buried during this time. Additionally, her husband, James, was buried next to his daughter, Bessie, who died 20 years after he did. It is possible this grave site was purchased with the intention of Lucy to be buried with her husband, but when her daughter died before she did, she put her there instead. This is of course, conjecture on my part, but it's something that I thought of when I visited James' burial site.
HER PARENTS:
Her obituary mentioned that she was a member of the ladies auxiliary/secret society, Pride of the Forest, Circle No. 122 of the A.O.F. I could not find any general information on this group online, but there are many newspaper articles, sharing their meeting and social event dates such as dances that were open to the public. One article stated that they had the best social events of the season and the ladies were gifted jewelry. They were a national organization and Circle No. 122 was a local chapter. They elected officers of the club and in order to join, there were initiation rites.
INTERESTING NOTES:
In 1929, they didn't use the word cremated in her obituary. Instead they used the word "incinerated", which seems a little harsh to my modern day ears.
In 1912 and 1916 she was a registered Republican. In 1920, she became a Democrat.
Lucy died on the last day of the stock market crash of 1929. While October 24th, known as "Black Thursday" was the beginning of the collapse, it was "Black Tuesday" or October 29th that is generally seen as when the Great Depression began. People lost their fortunes and a total of fourteen billion dollars were lost on the one single day alone.
Originally, her ashes were held at the Chapel of Chimes Columbarium in Oakland, but at some point in time, her ashes were removed. In order to remove ashes the next of kin would have had to do it, which meant all of her surviving children must have been in agreement to do so. I don't have any other information beyond that.
Lucy died on the last day of the stock market crash of 1929. While October 24th, known as "Black Thursday" was the beginning of the collapse, it was "Black Tuesday" or October 29th that is generally seen as when the Great Depression began. People lost their fortunes and a total of fourteen billion dollars were lost on the one single day alone.
Originally, her ashes were held at the Chapel of Chimes Columbarium in Oakland, but at some point in time, her ashes were removed. In order to remove ashes the next of kin would have had to do it, which meant all of her surviving children must have been in agreement to do so. I don't have any other information beyond that.
I always heard that we were descended from Sir Francis Drake, the pirate and confidant (and possible lover) of Queen Elizabeth I. Lucy would have been the Drake connection. However, I can find no record of Sir Francis having any legitimate children and it would have been legitimate children who would have carried the name to their descendants. That being said, it is still possible we are related somehow, but it is unlikely he would have been a direct-line ancestor.
SUPPOSITION:
* It occurred to me that most people did not own their own phone in 1905 when she had the Husseys arrested. So, she probably didn't call the police from home. Her son Walter was not yet a police officer in that year, However, her son Thomas who would eventually become a police inspector, was very likely a patrolman at this time. I wonder if he was the arresting officer.
* I find it curious that she moved so many times in her later years. It could have been that she had financial problems. However, according to her obituary, she had a lingering illness. I don't know how long her health was failing, but maybe she was moving due to her illness. I don't have records of many of her children's addresses, but she could have been living with them.
* I found it most unusual that Lucy was cremated in 1929. While the first crematory in the United States was built in 1876, there were only 10,000 cremations in the country by 1913. More people were buried during this time. Additionally, her husband, James, was buried next to his daughter, Bessie, who died 20 years after he did. It is possible this grave site was purchased with the intention of Lucy to be buried with her husband, but when her daughter died before she did, she put her there instead. This is of course, conjecture on my part, but it's something that I thought of when I visited James' burial site.
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| Drake Coat of Arms |
Not much is known about her parents, but Thomas born circa 1800 was an Inn Keeper in England 1910, and was a furniture broker in 1920.
Lucy Senior was born circa 1799.
They had at least 8 children:
Mary (c. 1828)
Thomas (c. 1829)
Daniel (c. 1830)
Maria (c. 1832)
Sarah (c. 1833)
Joseph (c. 1835)
Lucy (that's our Lucy)
Robert (c. 1841)
THE MEANING OF HER NAMES:
Personal Name Meaning: Lucy ~ Lucy is and English and French name derived from the Latin masculine given name of Lucius, meaning "as of Light" (born at dawn or daylight, or shiny, or light of complexion).
Surname Meaning: Drake ~ Drake had an Anglo-Saxon origin, from the nickname pre-dating the 7th century Draca, meaning dragon or snake. It symbolizes a fierce or powerful person.
Personal Name Meaning: Lucy ~ Lucy is and English and French name derived from the Latin masculine given name of Lucius, meaning "as of Light" (born at dawn or daylight, or shiny, or light of complexion).
Surname Meaning: Drake ~ Drake had an Anglo-Saxon origin, from the nickname pre-dating the 7th century Draca, meaning dragon or snake. It symbolizes a fierce or powerful person.
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