The Drew family has been in America since the 1600's. There were two separate branches of the family that settled here, one in Oyster River, New Hampshire, the other in Plymouth, Massachusetts. I have seen some evidence that suggests these two branches were both descended from the same ancestor, but I have not yet confirmed that. A lot has been recorded and written about the Drews. Especially the Plymouth branch, as they married into a number of Mayflower families. And that is exactly where the problem lies. Almost every Mayflower family has had it's family traced for five generations, but that appears to be at least one generation too few to be of help to me. Although many John Drews can be found while looking through these books, none are the right one.

I have heard that our branch of the family may descend from a "Pilgrim" who fell overboard and was brought back onto the Mayflower. If that is true, we would be descended from John Howland. This presents another problem. John Howland had a large family and has produced more ancestors than any other of the Mayflower passengers. Only a couple of books have so far been written about his descendants and Reverend John is not mentioned in either of them.

I will now present what I know about my g,g,g,g grandfather, John Drew. Most of this information was shared with me by Dick Heller, whose wife is a Drew relative, and who has done much research on the family.

John Drew was reportedly born in Massachusetts on February 15, 1759. The Massachusetts location comes from his son Rufus' 1880 census record where the parents birthplace was recorded. However, Maine was still part of Massachusetts at the time of John's birth. Maine did not become a state until 1820. So it possible that John Drew was born in what is now Maine. The date apparently comes from information recorded by Rev. Isaac Backus, an early Baptist minister in New England.

There was a John Drew who enlisted in the Revolutionary War in 1777. He was in Captain Frederick Bell's Company. Captain Bell was from New Hampshire. It is not known if this is my ancestor John Drew, as there were many John Drews in New England at that time.

In September, 1789, John was living in Thetford, Vermont. It was at that time that he was ordained a Baptist minister by the Rev. Isaac Backus. He preached at three churches in the area, one in Thetford, Vermont, one in Sharon, Vermont, and one in Hanover, New Hampshire.

On October 8, 1792, in Lebanon Twp., Grafton Co., New Hampshire, John Drew married Eunice Baldwin. She was the daughter of Rufus and Eunice (Leffingwell) Baldwin.

Rev. Backus states the Rev. John Drew moved to Carver, Massachusetts in June, 1802. The family was still living in Massachusetts as of April 20, 1803, as that was when John's son Rufus was born in Plymouth. (Carver is a township in Plymouth county.)

From approximately 1803-1814 John Drew's family was living in Maine, in the Greene Plantation. It is believed that he had a circuit of tiny Baptist churches that met in people's cabins, and farmed to earn his living. In January 1804/5 he married Robert Cross and Oliva Neal in Belfast, Maine. He also married Mr. Dudley Hereman and Mrs. Patty Cochron around the same time. In 1810 it was stated that "Elder Drew" and other "traveling preachers...occasionally preached here (Belfast)...and held revivals of religion, or reformations."  His name is listed on an 1813 petition from the residents of Greene Plantation to the Massachusetts State Legislature.

In 1815 John Drew's family moved to Lawrenceville, Tioga Co., Pennsylvania. His wife's family, the Baldwins, had moved there earlier, and John and his family apparently moved to that area to be near them. A Baptist church had been established in the area at the home of Benjamin Bentley, another of my g,g,g,g grandparents, in 1813. It is not known if Rev. Drew ever preached at that church or not. In 1818 John was commissioned Justice of the Peace in district #4 of Tioga county. He died on February 15, 1828 and is buried at the Lawrenceville (aka Powers) Cemetery. His wife Eunice died in 1856 and is buried next to him.

John and Eunice had 10 children, named below.

1. John-b. 8/27/1793, d. 2/3/1878, m. Julia Ann Tremaine on 11/6/1828, eventually moved to Minnesota
2. Eunice-b. 4/12/1795, d. 3/25/1860, probably never married
3. Thomas-b. 4/8/1797, d. 10/10/1823, probably never married
4. Isaac-b. 6/29/1799, no death or marriage information
5. Lucy-b. 6/29/1799, m. Ira Van Gorder (possibly Van Gorden), lived in Stevens Point, WI in 1873
6. Eliza-b. 10/5/1801, d. 5/8/1888, m. Samuel Kemp on 2/18/1827
7. Rufus Baldwin (my g,g,g grandfather)-b. 4/20/1803, d. 5/18/1889, m. Mary Ann Buck on 3/5/1828, lived in Steuben Co., New York
8. Asa Bullard-b. 10/20/1805, d. 3/11/1873, probably never married
9. Mary-b. 7/27/1808, d. 12/19/1879, m. Alfred Nichols on 1/17/1834, lived n Steuben Co., New York
10. Diantha-b. 5/9/1810, d. 5/27/1886, m. Marshall C. Jenkins on 3/5/1856

That's what I know about the Reverend John Drew. Although it is quite a lot of information, I still do not know the names of either of his parents. If there is anyone out there who reads this and thinks they can point me in the right direction, please send me an email with any information you can share.

Thanks!

John Sill
Edgerton, Rock Co., Wisconsin

Back to John and Cathy's Genealogy Pages