Our interest in John Lake was the result of the visit to our museum in May 2013 of Daniel McLaughlin, the Mayor of Orland Park, Illinois, USA. John Lake was Mayor McLaughlin's great grandfather. We don't know much about John, as he spent most of his life in the USA, but we have tried to discover more about his ancestors.
If anyone is able to extend or correct this research, we would be delighted to hear from you. During the course of the work we collected quite a lot of information on the various Lake and Chudley families of the Sandford area from about 1770 to 1850.
John Lake
- Baptised Crediton 14/06/1857.
- Emigrated to United States in 1869 with parents William and Eliza and 6 younger siblings.
- Served in the Illinois police force.
Parents of John Lake:
- William Lake, baptised Sandford 6/12/1829.
- Eliza Chudley, baptised Sandford 1/8/1831.
- William and Eliza married 1/10/1854 Sandford. William described as journeyman tanner on marriage certificate. Witnesses were Emma and Harriet Lake.
- 6 other Sandford born children: George (1859), Francis (1860), Walter (1862), Bessie (1864), Helen or Ellen (1865) and Emily (1867). (Imagine the optimism or desperation which must have induced young parents to set off for another continent with 7 children between the ages of 2 and 12).
- An 8th child, Minnie or Winnie, was born in the USA in 1871.
Census returns for William and Eliza Lake and family:
- UK 1851 William a farm labourer at Higher Woolsgrove, Sandford.
- UK 1861 Bladderstone Rd (now Mill Street), Crediton. William a journeyman tanner.
- US 1870 Downers Grove, DuPage County, Illinois.
- US 1880 Lake, Cook County, Illinois.
Parents of William Lake (Grandparents of John Lake):
- John Lake, bap 7/8/1803 Sandford, died 1889 Crediton.
- Mary Dally, bap 6/11/1803 Sandford, died 1880 Crediton.
- Married 28/10/1827 Sandford.
- Other children: Emma (1828), George (1832), Harriet (1833), John (1835), James (1836), Francis (1838), Elias (1839), Daniel (1842) and Mary (1844).
Census returns for John and Mary Lake and family:
- 1841 at Bremley, Sandford, except William who was an apprentice at West Pidsley, Sandford with other Lakes.
- 1851 at Rocks Court, Sandford. John was an agricultural labourer.
- 1861 Burringtons Tenement, Sandford. John agricultural labourer, Mary serge weaver.
- 1871 Bawden Hayes, Sandford. John described as former agricultural labourer.
- 1881 Church Street, Sandford. John labourer and widower.
Parents of Eliza Chudley (Grandparents of John Lake):
- John Chudley, bap 14/4/1799 Sandford, died 1872 Crediton.
- Elizabeth Hutchings, bap 18/7/1898 Whitestone, died 1872 Crediton.
- Married 24/04/1827 Sandford.
Census returns for John and Elizabeth Chudley:
- 1841 West Sandford.
- 1851 West Sandford John was an agricultural labourer, Eliza a dress maker.
- 1861 West Sandford John was an agricultural labourer.
- 1871 Mill Street, Crediton.
Parents of John Lake senior (Great grandparents of John Lake)
- William Lake. Unfortunately this was a fairly common name in Sandford in late C18 / early C19. There are at least 4 possible candidates with this name, and we have not been able to prove conclusively who was the correct one.
- Ann Billing, bap 1/6/1777 Sandford.
- Married 18/04/1803 Sandford.
- Other children: Maria (1806), William (1808), Harriet (1810), Jemima (1812), Sarah (1816).
Parents of Mary Dally (Great grandparents of John Lake)
- William Dally, bap 15/8/1773 Crediton, died 1/11/1849 Land, Sandford.
- Admonition Dewstow, bap 7/12/1777 Landrake, Cornwall, died 1852 Crediton.
- Married 22/11/1798 Sandford.
- Other children: Robert (1799), Sarah (1801), Maria (1808), William (1818), John (1819), Fanny (1821).
Census returns for William and Admonition Dally:
- 1841 Land Cottage, Sandford. William was a ‘Quarry Man’.
- 1851 Sandford Town. Admonition a widowed pauper lodging with the family of William Bailey, a Wheelwright and Carpenter.
Parents of John Chudley (Great grandparents of John Lake)
- William Chudley.
- Ann Strong.
- Married 26/12/1792.
- Other children: Mary (1793), Ann (1796), Elizabeth (1802), William (1807), James (1814).
Census returns for William and Ann Chudley:
- 1841 2 Park Street, Sandford. Ann was a <illegible> maker.
- 1851 Mill, Sandford. Ann a pauper living with her pauper sister-in-law confusingly also named Ann Strong (the former Ann Hele who married Ann Strong’s brother Richard).
Parent of Elizabeth Hutchings (Great grandparents of John Lake)
- James Hutchings.
- Ann Morrish.
- Married 27/03/1798 Whitestone.
- Other children: Grace (1802), Ann (1804), Edward and James (1807), William (1809), Hannah (1812).
Note: the spellings Chudley, Chudleigh and even Chidleigh are used in different records for the same people. We have settled on Chudley for convenience.