Raised as an only child (his older brother William had died in 1872), George was relied upon heavily by his mother to help his father, who had been severely wounded by a Confederate sniper during the Civil War and left without the use of his right arm.
During his teenage years, he attended Pike Academy in New New York Drake attended Ridgeville College in Indiana where he met Ida Hattie Lawrence (b April 14, 1872).
In 1894 he moved to South Wardsboro, Vermont where he served as a minister. In 1901 he moved back to western New York to look after his father due to John"s failing health. On September 10, 1901, John Drake died in Pike, New New York
George Burton Drake retired to McPherson, Kansas, where he died on September 20, 1942.
Nell was a poet. His style is pastoral and serene, typically including his favorite subjects: large trees, a cottage or farmhouse in the distance, and perhaps an individual walking.
