Blake Family History & Genealogy

Charlotte L Blake of Las Vegas, Clark County, NV was born on June 19, 1924, and died at age 71 years old on January 12, 1996.

Sandi Blake was born on April 1, 1958 to Edna Mae Staples and Eugene Staples, and has siblings Susan Louise Rissler, Jeanette Hatt, Sheri Bowles, and Eugene Staples Jr. Family, friend, or fan, this family history biography is for you to remember Sandi Blake.

Jessie (Jervies) Blake of Warrnambool, VIC Australia was born on April 6, 1889 in Woorndoo, and died at age 64 years old on March 13, 1954 in Warrnambool.

Henry Blake of Devonport, TAS Australia was born on May 25, 1891 at Mersey, Tas, and died at age 78 years old on June 27, 1969 in Devonport. Henry Blake was buried in Devonport, City of Devonport County.

Henry Joseph William Smith Obrien Blake of Horsham, Horsham Rural City County, VIC Australia was born in 1836 in Tuam, G Ireland to Henry Joseph Blake and Adelaide May French Blake. He married Jane Louisa Martane in 1913, and had children Catherine Jane (Blake) Studd and Robert French Blake. Henry Blake died at age 74 years old on October 6, 1911 at Green lake in Horsham, VIC Australia.

Jane Louisa (Martane) Blake of Horsham, Horsham Rural City County, VIC Australia was born in 1845 at Gortbeg in G Ireland. She was married to Henry Joseph William Smith Obrien Blake in 1913, and had children Catherine Jane (Blake) Studd and Robert French Blake. Jane Blake died at age 85 years old on November 12, 1931 at Green lake in Horsham, VIC Australia.

Catherine Jane (Blake) Studd of Newcastle, NSW Australia was born on July 8, 1861 in Hamilton, Southern Grampians Shire County, VIC to Jane Louisa Martane and Henry Joseph William Smith Obrien Blake. She had a brother Robert French Blake. She married Robert Arthur Studd in 1883, and had children Alice Victoria Studd, Jane Margaret Amelia Studd, Frederick Henry Studd, Katie Studd, Charles Blake Studd, Mary Elizabeth Studd, and Nellie Bedelia Studd. Catherine Studd died at age 79 years old on December 6, 1940 in Newcastle, NSW.

Mary (Blake) Clay of Sandhurst Australia, was married to Thomas Clay, and has a child Edith Mary Bamforth. Family, friend, or fan, this family history biography is for you to remember Mary Blake Clay.

Jane (Blake) McDaniel was born on April 27, 1687 in Dublin, D Ireland. She was in a relationship with John James McDaniel, and had a child Joseph McDaniel. Jane McDaniel died at age 82 years old on September 30, 1769 in Oxford, North Carolina United States. Family, friend, or fan, this family history biography is for you to remember Jane Blake McDaniel.

Nancy May (Nadenbousch) Megee Blake of Box Hill, Whitehorse City County, VIC Australia was born in 1915 in Morwell, Latrobe City County, and died at age 72 years old on September 10, 1988 in Box Hill, Whitehorse City County.

Married 1932.

John Blake of Goornong Australia, was in a relationship with Harriet (Knight) Blake, and has a child Harriet Jane (Blake) Sanders. Family, friend, or fan, this family history biography is for you to remember John Blake.

John Blake married Harriet Knight in 1903.

Maria Anne Blake of Kew Australia, got married to Allen George E Blake, and has a child Ruby Otelia Blake. Family, friend, or fan, this family history biography is for you to remember Maria Anne Blake.

Allen George E Blake of Kew Australia. Family, friend, or fan, this family history biography is for you to remember Allen George E Blake.

Frank Blake of Plain Dealing, Bossier County, Louisiana was born on June 11, 1931, and died at age 48 years old in August 1979.

Dean Blake of San Diego, San Diego County, California was born on November 3, 1882, and died at age 95 years old in June 1978.

US Air Force Lieutenant General. A decorated veteran of World War II, he rose in rank to become the Director of the National Security Agency. Born Gordon Aylesworth Blake, after graduating from high school in Charles City, Iowa in 1927, he received an appointment to attend the US Military Academy at West Point, New York and graduated in June 1931 with a commission as a 2nd lieutenant in the Coast Artillery Corps. He then attended the Primary and Advanced Flying Schools and received his pilot wings in October 1932 and transferred to the US Army Air Corps three months later and assigned to a pursuit squadron at Barksdale Field (now Barksdale Air Force Base), Louisiana. In July 1934 he entered Signal School at Fort Monmouth, New Jersey and after completing the Communications Officer's Course the following June, he became an instructor at the US Army Air Corps Technical School at Chanute Field, Illinois (now closed). In February 1939 he was assigned as a communications officer to the 18th Composite Wing in Hawaii where he was stationed when Japan attacked Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941. He spent the remainder of World War II in the Pacific Theater of Operations and was responsible for the establishment of the Air Communications Office for Alaska. In November 1945 he returned to the US and became the deputy commander of Airways and Air Communications Service at Langley Field (now Langley Air Force Base, a part of Joint Base Langley-Eustis), Virginia. In August 1947 he entered the Air War College at Maxwell Air Force Base, Alabama and the following year he was assigned to Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, Ohio where he worked in research and development. Form 1948 until 1951 he was assigned to the Armament laboratory there and in 1951 he was promoted to the rank of brigadier general and placed in charge of 12 developmental laboratories. From June 1952 until January 1953 he was the Vice-Commander of Wright-Patterson and was transferred to Headquarters US Air Force, Washington DC, where he was appointed deputy director of communications in the Office of the Deputy Chief of Staff for Operations, becoming director of communications the following month. In June 1956 he was promoted to the rank of major general and became Assistant Deputy Chief of Staff for Operation at Headquarters US Air Force and the following year he was selected as Commander of the US Air Force Security Service in San Antonio, Texas. In September 1959 he was sent to Honolulu, Hawaii and became the Vice Commander-in-Chief and Chief of Staff at Headquarters Pacific Air Forces. He then returned to the US in July 1961 and became Commander of Headquarters Continental Air Command (now dissolved) at Robins Air Force Base, Georgia and was promoted to the rank of lieutenant general three months later. In July 1962 he became the Director of the National Security Agency at Fort Meade, Maryland and he retired in this position in 1965 with 34 years of continuous military service. Among his military decorations and awards include the Air Force Distinguished Service Medal (with one oak leaf cluster), the Silver Star, the Legion of Merit (with one oak leaf cluster), the Distinguished Flying Cross, the Air Medal (with one oak leaf cluster), the Army Commendation Medal, the American Defense Service Medal (with base clasp), the American Campaign Medal, the Asiatic-Pacific Campaign Medal (with four service stars), the World War II Victory Medal, the National Defense Service Medal (with one oak leaf cluster, the Air Force Longevity Service Award (with seven oak leaf clusters), the Philippine Liberation Medal (with two stars), and the Philippine Independence Medal. He died at the age of 87. The Lt. Gen. Gordon A. Blake Aircraft Save Award, given for the safe recovery of an imperiled airborne aircraft or assistance provided to an endangered aircraft on the ground, was named in his honor.

James Hubert Blake (February 7, 1887[1] – February 12, 1983), known as Eubie Blake, was an American composer, lyricist, and pianist of ragtime, jazz, and popular music. In 1921, he and his long-time collaborator Noble Sissle wrote Shuffle Along, one of the first Broadway musicals to be written and directed by African Americans.[2] Blake's compositions included such hits as "Bandana Days", "Charleston Rag", "Love Will Find a Way", "Memories of You" and "I'm Just Wild About Harry". The musical Eubie!, which opened on Broadway in 1978, featured his works. Blake was born at 319 Forrest Street in Baltimore, Maryland, to John Sumner Blake (1838–1917) and Emily "Emma" Johnstone (1861–1927), both of whom had been slaves. He was the only surviving child of eight, all the rest of whom died in infancy. In 1894, the family moved to 414 North Eden Street, and later to 1510 Jefferson Street. John Blake earned US$9.00 weekly working as a stevedore on the Baltimore docks Music Cover of sheet music of "I'm Just Wild About Harry", from the musical Shuffle Along, by Blake and Noble Sissle, 1921 Blake's musical training began when he was four or five years old. While out shopping with his mother, he wandered into a music store, climbed on the bench of an organ, and started "foolin’ around". When his mother found him, the store manager said to her, "The child is a genius! It would be criminal to deprive him of the chance to make use of such a sublime, God-given talent." The Blakes purchased a pump organ for US$75.00, making payments of 25 cents a week. When Blake was seven, he received music lessons from a neighbor, Margaret Marshall, an organist for the Methodistchurch.[3] At age fifteen, without his parents' knowledge, he began playing piano at Aggie Shelton's Baltimore bordello. Blake got his first big break in the music business in 1907, when the world champion boxer Joe Gans hired him to play the piano at Gans's Goldfield Hotel, the first "black and tan club" in Baltimore.[citation needed] According to Blake, he also worked the medicine show circuit and was employed by a Quaker doctor. He played a Melodeon strapped to the back of the medicine wagon. Blake stayed with the show only two weeks, however, because the doctor's religion didn't allow the serving of Sunday dinner.[4] Blake said he composed the melody of the "Charleston Rag" in 1899, when he would have been only 12 years old. It was not committed to paper, however, until 1915, when he learned to write musical notation In 1912, Blake began playing in vaudeville with James Reese Europe's Society Orchestra, which accompanied Vernon and Irene Castle's ballroom dance act. The band played ragtime music, which was still quite popular. Shortly after World War I, Blake joined forces with the performer Noble Sissle to form a vaudeville musical act, the Dixie Duo. After vaudeville, the pair began work on a musical revue, Shuffle Along, which incorporated songs they had written, and had a book written by F. E. Miller and Aubrey Lyles. When it premiered in June 1921, Shuffle Along became the first hit musical on Broadway written by and about African-Americans. The musical also introduced hit songs such as "I'm Just Wild About Harry" and "Love Will Find a Way."[5] Blake made his first recordings in 1917, for the Pathe record label and for Ampico piano rolls. In the 1920s he recorded for the Victor and Emerson labels among others.[6] In 1923, Blake made three films for Lee DeForest in DeForest's Phonofilm sound-on-film process: Noble Sissle and Eubie Blake, featuring their song "Affectionate Dan"; Sissle and Blake Sing Snappy Songs, featuring "Sons of Old Black Joe" and "My Swanee Home"; and Eubie Blake Plays His Fantasy on Swanee River, featuring Blake performing his "Fantasy on Swanee River". These films are preserved in the Maurice Zouary film collection in the Library of Congress collection. He also appeared in Warner Brothers' short film Pie, Pie Blackbird (1932), with the Nicholas Brothers, Nina Mae McKinney, and Noble Sissle.[citation needed] Blake receiving the Presidential Medal of Freedom from Ronald Reagan (1981) In July 1910, Blake married Avis Elizabeth Cecelia Lee (1881–1938), proposing to her in a chauffeur-driven car he hired. Blake and Lee met around 1895, when both attended Primary School No. 2, at 200 East Street in Baltimore. In 1910, Blake brought his newlywed to Atlantic City, New Jersey, where he had already found employment at the Boathouse nightclub. In 1938, Avis was diagnosed with tuberculosis. She died later that year, at the age of 58. Of his loss, Blake said, "In my life I never knew what it was to be alone. At first when Avis got sick, I thought she just had a cold, but when time passed and she didn’t get better, I made her go to a doctor and we found out she had TB … I suppose I knew from when we found out she had the TB, I understood that it was just a matter of time."[3] While serving as bandleader with the United Service Organizations (USO) during World War II, he met Marion Grant Tyler (1896-1982), the widow of the violinist Willy Tyler. Blake and Tyler married in 1945. She was a performer and a businesswoman and became his valued business manager until her death in 1982. In 1946, as Blake's career was winding down, he enrolled in New York University, graduating in two and a half years. Later his music career revived, culminating in the hit Broadway musical, Eubie. In the 1950s, interest in ragtime revived and Blake, one of its last surviving artists, found himself launching yet another career as ragtime artist, music historian, and educator. He signed recording deals with 20th Century Records and Columbia Records, lectured and gave interviews at major colleges and universities all over the world, and appeared as a performer and clinician at top jazz and rag festivals.Blake was a frequent guest of The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson and Merv Griffin. He was featured by leading conductors, such as Leonard Bernstein and Arthur Fiedler. In 1977 he played Will Williams in the Jeremy Kagan biographical film Scott Joplin.[7][8] By 1975, he had been awarded honorary doctorates from Rutgers, the New England Conservatory, the University of Maryland, Morgan State University, Pratt Institute, Brooklyn College, and Dartmouth. On October 9, 1981, he received the Presidential Medal of Freedom, awarded by President Ronald Reagan. Eubie!, a revue featuring the music of Blake, with lyrics by Noble Sissle, Andy Razaf, Johnny Brandon, F. E. Miller, and Jim Europe, opened on Broadway in 1978. The show was a hit at the Ambassador Theatre, where it ran for 439 performances. The production received three nominations for Tony Awards, including one for Blake's score. The show was filmed in 1981 with the original cast members, including Lesley Dockery, Gregory Hines and Maurice Hines. Blake performed with Gregory Hines on the television program Saturday Night Live on March 10, 1979. Death Blake continued to play and record until his death, on February 12, 1983, in Brooklyn, just five days after celebrating his purported 100th birthday (actually his 96th birthday; see below).[9] He was interred in Cypress Hills Cemetery in Brooklyn, New York. His headstone, engraved with the musical notation of "I'm Just Wild About Harry", was commissioned by the African Atlantic Genealogical Society (AAGS). The bronze sculpture of Blake's bespectacled face was created by David Byer-Tyre, curator and director of the African American Museum and Center for Education and Applied Arts, in Hempstead, New York. The original inscription indicated his correct year of birth, but individuals close to him insisted that Blake be indulged and paid to have the inscription changed.[citation needed] If I'd known I was going to live this long, I would have taken better care of myself. — Eubie Blake Blake was reported to have said this on his birthday in 1979,[10] but it has been attributed to others and appeared in print at least as early as 1966 (when it was attributed to an anonymous 90-year-old golf caddie).[11] Birth date In later years, Blake listed his birth year as 1883; his 100th birthday was celebrated in 1983. Most sources, including the Encyclopædia Britannica, and a U.S. Library of Congress biography, incorrectly list his birth year as 1883. Every official document issued by the government, however, records his birthday as February 7, 1887. This includes all official documents issued in the first half of his life, including the 1900 census, his 1917 World War I draft registration, 1920 passport application, 1936 Social Security application, and death records as reported by the United States Social Security Administration. Peter Hanley writes, "In the final analysis, however, the fact that he was only ninety-six years of age and not one hundred when he died does not in any way detract from his extraordinary achievements. Eubie will always remain among the finest popular composers and songwriters of his era."[14]

Ruth E Blake of Afton, Greene County, TN was born on May 16, 1932, and died at age 61 years old on February 2, 1994.