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by Albert Nathaniel Drake

Doctor Daniel Drake, an infant, when his family moved soon after the Revolutionary War from New Jersey to Kentucky, grew to help his pioneer family make a life in a one room cabin. When still a boy he learned medicine from a local doctor. He extended his knowledge at the University of Pennsylvania and eventually became recognized nationwide. He also traveled extensively throughout the mid west, gathering and then writing about environmental facts. He founded several medical facilities and Drake Center thrives today in Cincinnati as a contemporary institution from old roots. He was also a teacher, and a prolific writer. When 60 years old, he wrote a series of letters to his children describing his pioneer culture plus many wise philosophical observations. His son, Charles Drake, a Missouri Senator, printed the letters as a book in 1880 and it was reprinted in 1999 by Albert Nathaniel Drake, who shares his New Jersey ancestry. Since the reprint, there has been a steady demand for the classic book.