Martha Jane Barger**

Martha Jane Barger

Born:  August 15, 1851

Died:  Dec. 19, 1935 in Indiana

Married to:  Johnson Drake (1828-1898)**

Children:

Lillie C.   1868

Mae R.  1874-1904

Susie Lizabeth  1876-1930

Mary  1877

Charles   1879

Maude  1884

Marquis Y.  1887

Life with Granny Drake

Granny Drake was Martha Barger Drake

References: Juanita Drake Ballis and Sylvia Drake Sandage

1. Neat can remember when they lived upon the Henning Place after their house down under the hill became too crowded.  Granny Drake lived with them. She had ever since Marquis Drake, her youngest son, married Anna Mary Sommer Drake.  Hazel and Neat were very young and Bill may not have been born yet.  One day Hazel and Neat were going to run away.  They had picked some apples and loaded them in the wagon.  Down the lane they went when Granny Drake saw them.  She couldn't catch Hazel because she was older and faster, but Neat got caught and spanked.  This was probably all Hazel's idea too.
2. After the family moved back down under the hill adn added on to the old house that they moved up closer to the road another Granny Drake story took place.  Sylvia (Moogie) and Freddie her brother who was 3 years older, were setn out to pick blackberries.  Upon returning, Moogie opened the screendoor and sat her bucket inside like a good little girl.  Freddie scooted his inside hitting Granny Drake right in the leg.  She was a little upset with Freddie.  No one can remember if Freddie got a whipping for this or if he got lucky.
Granny Drake was close to 22 when she married Johnson Drake who was close to 48 and on this third marriage.  Granny Drake was around 46 when Johnson died at the age of about 70.  Granny Drake lived with her youngest son Marquis Drake after he married.  Granny died at the age of 84.  Shortly after her death Marquis Drake and Anna Sommer Drake were divorced. 
3. Fredrick Carter remembers seeing Granny Drake walking along the road to and from her daughter's house.  She was Maude Drake Taylor.  She lived in the old Shot Hammack Place.  As Granny was walking she could hear the wagons going up and down the road. She could not see very well at this time.  As Fredrick (Bud) Carter and his dad, Evan Carter would get closer, Granny would look up and holler, "Is that you Evan?  How's your wife"?

About Martha Jane Barger

As told by Mandy, Martha Jane's granddaughter

Martha Jane Barger was Pennsylvania Dutch.  Her grandparents were Saalmans, Pennsylvania Dutch too.  She was quite educated for her day.  She attended the Academy at Rome, Indiana.  She quoted Shakespeare and the Bible all the time. She read Shakespeare's works and the Bible over and over. They were all Baptists. When she was in her 40's there was a new church that came to the neighborhood - The Church of Christ.  She changed churches.  Her husband was buried at the old Baptist church yard, Martha was buried in the Church of Christ yard.
They lived in the Lily Dale area about 10 miles north of Cannelton, IN and had 6 children
Martha could not sew.  The family would buy what cloth that  would be needed and a seamstress would come and stay for two or three weeks and do all the sewing that the family needed.