Collect Day #15 SIMON DROCK
O God, we thank you for the example of Simon Drock, who traveled to new places seeking a better life for himself and his family; guide us on our journey through life so that we may be grateful and knowledgeable about our ancestors’ efforts and sacrifices on our behalf; all this we ask through your Son, our Savior Jesus Christ. Amen.
DAY #15, March 22, 2019
NEWPORT, NH
SIMON DROCK (1760 – c. 1835)
Lynn Clark
Simon and Susanna Drock were free Blacks who moved from Connecticut to Newport, NH, in 1788.
Simon worked as a blacksmith in Preston, CT, a trade he probably learned from his father, Guy Drock. Simon’s mother Sarah Powers had purchased the freedom of her husband, Guy Drock. After he was freed, his former master sold Guy a large house and blacksmith shop for the price of one dollar.
Simon and his wife, Susanna, bought land in the northwest corner of Newport, using money from Guy Drock’s estate. Simon continued to purchase land in the area. First, he bought land in the eastern portion of Newport, which would become part of Goshen when that town was formed. Later, he acquired other Goshen property. Drock soon owned more highly valued land and more livestock than any of the Blacks living in the area. Perhaps that is why the family is listed in the 1820 census as White.
The listing of blacksmiths in the Newport town history did not include Drock. There is no comparable listing in the Goshen history. However, his ability to purchase land and livestock suggests that he may have practiced his profession while living in New Hampshire. He also appears to have passed the skill on to his son, James Peter Drock, who became a blacksmith in Walton, NY, where he moved with his wife, Esther Buel, in 1812.
Most of the other Drock children joined the exodus of New Englanders to points west in the early nineteenth century. Simon Jr. and his wife, Sarah Little, moved to Rockport, Ohio, as did Simon’s sister, Sabrina, and her husband, James Little, Sarah’s brother. The Littles’ parents, Lot and Susanna Little, also made the move to Rockport. By the 1850s, however, the Littles and Drocks were living near one another in Alleghany County, NY.
The youngest Drock son, John, stayed in Goshen where, at 23, he died of typhus in 1825. His obituary in the Farmer’s Cabinet described him as “an intelligent and industrious coloured man.”
Simon and Susanna Drock also left Goshen for Ohio and then New York where they appear in the 1830 census of Holland, Erie County. Perhaps they left after the death of their son John. Simon died circa 1835 and Susanna ten years later.
In time, descendants of the Drock and Little families passed for White. Family members believed themselves to be of French and Native American descent. Genealogical research uncovered the families’ true story. Descendant Darryl Holmes poignantly summarized their story on her website, The Lost Family:
“For almost one hundred and fifty years, the Drocks stayed tightly knit, supporting one another, raising each other’s children and averting financial disaster. They emigrated to new lands as the frontier expanded, bringing four generations at a time. They named their children after their uncles and ancestors, and they tried to survive.
“Ultimately, the effects of ostracization and social stagnation drove the Drocks to turn their backs on their relations, their homes, and their history. The family became estranged from one another deliberately. In a single generation, concerted effort was made to hide the past from not only strangers, but later generations.”
