The renowned Admiral Blake, a native of Bridgewater, and possessed of
property in the neighbourhood, left behind him a numerous family of
brothers, sisters, nephews, and nieces, settled in the county of Somerset;
to wit, his brothers Humphrey, William, George, Nicholas, Benjamin, and
Alexander all survived him, as did also his sisters, Mrs. Bowdich, of
Chard, and Mrs. Smith, of Cheapside, in London. His brother Samuel, killed
in an early part of the Civil War, left two sons, Robert and Samuel, both
of them honourably remembered in the will of their great uncle. Can any of
your readers, acquainted with Somerset genealogies, give me any information
which may enable me to make out the descent of the present families of
Blake, in that county, from this stock?
There are at least two Blake houses now in existence, who are probably of
the blood of the illustrious admiral; the Blakes of Bishop's Hall, near
Taunton, of which William Blake, Esq., a magistrate for the county, is the
head; and the Blakes of Venue House, Upton, near Wiveliscombe, the
representative of which is Silas Wood Blake, son of Dr. William Blake, a
bencher of the Inner Temple. These families possess many relics of the
admiral--family papers, cabinets, portrait, and even estates; and that they
are of his blood there are other reasons for believing; but, so far as I
know, the line is not clearly traced back. In a funeral sermon spoken on
the death of the grandfather of the present William Blake, Esq., of
Bishop's Hall, I find it stated that--
"He was descended from pious and worthy ancestors; a collateral branch
of the family of that virtuous man, great officer, and true patriot,
Admiral Blake. His grandfather, the Rev. Malachi Blake, a Nonconformist
minister, resided at Blogden, four miles from Taunton. This gentleman,
by his pious labours, laid the foundation of the dissenting
congregation at Wellington, in the county of Somerset. After the defeat
of the Duke of Monmouth, to whose cause he had been friendly, he was
obliged to flee from home, and went to London disguised in a lay-dress,
with a tye-wig and a sword."
This minister had three sons, John, Malachi, and William; and it is from
the last named that the Blakes of Bishop's Hall are descended. But who was
the father of Malachi Blake himself? He was probably a son or grandson of
one of the admiral's brothers--but of which?
Permit me to add to this Query another remark. I am engaged in writing a
Life of Admiral Blake, and shall be extremely grateful to any of your
correspondents who can and will direct me, either through the medium of
your columns or by private communication, to any new sources of information
respecting his character and career. A meagre pamphlet being the utmost
that has yet been given to the memory of this great man, the entire story
of his life has to be built up from the beginning. Fragments of papers,
scraps of information, however slight, may therefore be of material value.
A date or a name may contain an important clue, and will be thankfully
acknowledged. Of course I do not wish to be referred to information
contained in well-known collections, such as Thurloe, Rushworth, Whitelock,
and the Parliamentary Histories, nor to the Deptford MSS. in the Tower, the
Admiralty papers in the State Paper Office, or the Ashmole MSS. at Oxford.
I am also acquainted, of course, with several papers in the national
collection of MSS. at the British Museum throwing light on the subject; but
while these MSS. remain in their present state, it would be very rash in
any man to say what is _not_ to be found in them. Should any one, in
reading for his own purposes, stumble on a fact of importance for me in
these MSS., I shall be grateful for a communication; but my appeal is
rather made to the possessors of old family papers. There must, I think, be
many letters--though he was a brief and abrupt correspondent--of the
admiral's still existing in the archives of old Puritan families. These are
the materials of history of which I am most in need.