Janet Halleck Drake
1819–1890
Matriarch of the De Kay Artistic and Military Family
Daughter of poet Joseph Rodman Drake and wife of George Coleman De Kay; mother of Helena de Kay Gilder.
Janet Halleck Drake was born in 1819 in the United States to Joseph Rodman Drake and Sarah Drake. She became the wife of George Coleman De Kay, a noted American naval officer.
Janet was the mother to several influential children, including Helena de Kay Gilder (1846–1916), an American illustrator and painter who helped found the Art Students League and the Society of American Artists; Charles DeKay (1848–1935), a linguist, poet, critic, and fencer; Joseph Rodman Drake DeKay, a Union army officer; George Coleman DeKay, Jr., a Civil War officer; and Sidney Brooks DeKay, an American soldier.
Through her children, Janet's legacy extended deeply into American art, literature, and military history.