The Rake Cemetery, Part III

This is a continuation of my recent articles on the Rake Cemetery near Sand Brook. You can read Part I here and Part II here.

The Lake Family
After all I said earlier about the place being known as the Rake Cemetery, I must here acknowledge that it was known by a different name in the early 20th century. Egbert T. Bush called it the “Lake Burying Ground” in 1931, and proceeded to identify three Lake stones. Lakes and Rakes were neighbors, on either side of the Sand Brook-Headquarters Road. That must have made for some neighborhood jokes.

The original of this family in Hunterdon was Thomas, born in Gravesend (Long Island), New York about 1690 to John Lake and Neeltje Claessen. He came to Amwell (later Delaware Twp.) about 1720-25 with his wife Jannetje or Jane Stryker. The Strykers and Claessens were Dutch, but the Lakes themselves originated in England. Early English settlers on Long Island were neighbors of the Dutch families who had settled there much earlier.

Thomas Lake 1810

Thomas and Jane Lake had seven children, most of them born on Long Island. The last child, John, was born in Amwell in 1728 and died on February 15, 1809. He married Ann Robins, daughter of Isaac Robins and Azubia (she may have been a Thatcher), in 1756. Their son Thomas (the second of ten children) was born on July 3, 1758 and died on December 23, 1810. He was buried in the Rake Cemetery.

This Thomas Lake was 52 years old when he died, unmarried and childless. Fortunately for us, he wrote a will that tells us a lot about his family. First of all, he named his “negro man Jube” [or Jute], ordering that he be freed after paying 50 cents to the estate. He ordered that his personal property be sold and the proceeds divided between his mother Anna Lake and his sisters Jane Lake and Mary Lake, equally. Then comes the most interesting part of the will:  to William Sergeant, son of Mary Lake, he left his undivided share in the plantation that he (Thomas Lake) lived on. This was the farm he inherited from his father John Lake, which bordered Sand Brook-Headquarters Road on the east, just north of Yard Road. This William Sergeant was an illegitimate child, but that never interfered with his prospects in life. He was the one who owned the Rake farm when he died in 1865 (referred to in the previous post).

Thomas Lake also left to his nephew Thomas, son of his brother Isaac, his share in a lot where John Lake (another brother) lived.

Also said to be buried here is Jane Lake, who was Thomas’ sister, mentioned in his will. She died on March 8, 1827 at age 62. Like her brother, she never married, and like her brother, she also wrote a will. She left property to a niece Jane Lake, daughter of John Lake, and to nephew William Sergeant, son of Mary Lake, Jane’s sister. In fact, she left to William Sergeant the lands of her father John Lake “which he would have left to me.” She was referring to the fact that her father died intestate (without writing a will). Philip Rake was one of those who witnessed Jane Lake’s will, which she signed with a mark rather than a signature. I have not located her burial stone.

William Sergeant was important to the Lake family in so many ways. He was trusted to manage family property and as executor of wills. He deserves his own post, which I hope to write someday.

A third member of the Lake family who might be buried here is Isaac Lake, brother of Thomas. He was born May 4, 1757 and died Oct. 16, 1825. He married Elizabeth Godown, daughter of Evans and Mary Godown, in 1783 at St. Andrew’s Church. Although they had 11 children, none of them seem to be buried here. But Elizabeth’s brother Jacob probably is (more about him below).

Another member of the Lake family said to be buried here is Mary Lake, who died October 27, 1857 at age 75. This is a stone I would very much like to find.

At first I thought this might be Mary Lake, mother of William Sergeant. If the gravestone is correct (and that is not always the case), she would have been born in 1782. If the date was misread and it was really 1851 rather than 1857, she would have been born in 1776. I point this out because the Lake family bible gives her birth as May 3, 1773, and her death as October 22 or 27, 1851. Using the rule of proximity, one would expect the mother of William Sergeant to be buried here. But the dates are just a little too off.

One other possibility is the Mary Lake who was the daughter of Thomas Lake and Catharine Larew, granddaughter of Garret and Sarah Lake. This Garret Lake was the second son of Thomas Lake and Jane Stryker. He was born about 1720 and died about September 1787 in Amwell. But he did not live near Sand Brook. His property was near Reading Road and Locktown-Sergeantsville Road, which put him in the neighborhood of the Larews and the Gordons, and both of those families have members buried in the Rake cemetery.

Mary Lake, granddaughter of Garret Lake, died unmarried as far as I know, without writing a will. As far as I can tell, her father Thomas did not write a will either. There are many unanswered questions about the Lake family.

S. Lake 1831

For instance: There is an S. Lake buried here, with the S carved backwards, and a death date of January 2, 1831. You can’t tell from the picture, but the gravestone is quite large. She might be the daughter of Thomas Lake and Catharine Larew; or the daughter of Isaac Lake (1757-1825) and Elizabeth Godown.

She is probably not the Sarah Lake (born June 2, 1760, died September 16, 1831) who married Jacob Godown, and was another sister of Thomas Lake who died in 1810. Her birth and death dates were recorded in the John Lake Bible, but I do not know if she was buried in the Rake Cemetery.

Her husband Jacob Godown is reported to have been buried here, although I did not find his stone. He died on November 11, 1831 at age 75. Jacob and Sarah married on November 27, 1783 at St. Andrews (Anglican) Church.

Isaac Godown

Jacob and Sarah had a son Isaac Godown who died on July 14, 1857, age 69, and was buried here in the Rake Cemetery. His stone is surrounded with multiflora, so I was unable to get a good photo. In the Delaware Township census for 1850, Isaac Godown was 64, wife Permelia was 57, son Stryker 21 and daughter Matilda 14. Isaac Godown was married to Parmelia Myers (1792-1879), daughter of Albertus Myers and Anna Hann, who lived at the corner of Ferry Road and Locktown-Flemington Road (in a house now owned by the Handlers).

One mysterious stone belonging to a member of the Lake family seems to read: “L. [?] W. Lake, died September 16, 18L6, age 16 [or 76] years. The year “18L6” demonstrates a trick that cemetery visitors should be aware of. In the 18th century, it was not unusual for people to use roman numerals in place of Arabic numbers. Which means “18L6” should be understood as 1856.

L. W. Lake, 1856

I cannot identify who this might be. One possibility was suggested to me by Marshall Lake, some of whose extensive work on the Lake family can be found here. Lydia Haines, wife of Cornelius Lake, died on August 16, 1856, and her will was recorded on September 13, 1856. She was born on October 28, 1780, which makes her close to the right age if the stone really does read age 76. But, I am not so certain about the initial “L” and am quite certain about the initial “W.”(You can click on the photo to see a larger view.)

Another possibility is William Lake, born Oct. 11, 1786 to Thomas Lake and Catherine Larew, and died on Nov. 9, 1859. Once again, close, but not close enough. So, the mystery remains.

I have one last chapter to write on the Rake Cemetery. It involves two stones purported to be here, which I failed to find on my last visit, both belonging to members of the Williamson family.

Tags: cemetery, Lake Family, Sergeant Family

This entry was posted on Wednesday, January 13th, 2010 at 6:30 pm and is filed under History Channel. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed.

Other posts by Marfy Goodspeed