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JOHN DREW (c. 1704–aft. 1672), son of John Drew and Sarah Delano

SUSANNA BENNETT (1707–aft. 1755), daughter of Captain Peter Bennett and Priscilla Howland

John Drew, the son of John Drew and Sarah Delano, was born about 1704.1 He died after 14 June 1672. John Drew, Jr. married Susanna Bennett on 25 January 1728/7 [7/8?] in Middleborough.2

Susanna Bennett was born on 10 July 1707 in Middleborough.1 She died after 13 June 1755.

In May 1735 Joshua Drew, shipwright of Plymouth, sued John Drew, shipwright of Halifax or Middleborough, for debt of 33 pounds. He received a judgment for partial payment and John appealed, with Cornelius and Ebenezer Drew, shipwrights of Kingston, as sureties.3

In September 1736 John Drew, Jr., yeoman or laborer of Halifax or Middleborough was sued for two pounds 14 shillings debt.3

Susanna Drew, the wife of John Drew, Jr. was baptized and received into full communion at the Halifax church on 22 October 1738.1

In March 1742/3 John Drew, Jr. of Halifax was presented for "neglecting to tend ... worship." The charge was dismissed.3

In May 1754 John Drew, shipwright of Halifax, Sarah Drew, widow of Halifax, Thomas Drew, shipwright of Halifax and others complained to the court at Plymouth that the owners of a mill allowed their land to flood and did not compensate them. The court ordered the owners to appear and explain.3

On 13 June 1755 John Drew and his wife Susanna of Halifax sold 12-1/2 acres in 16 Shilling Purchase in Middleborough and an eighth share in the 21st lot that belonged to Susanna. On 27 April 1758 John Drew of Halifax sold land.4

John was frequently sued for debt and in May 1757 he was sued by [his brother] Thomas Drew, shipwright of Halifax, for a note dated 21 February 1757 for five pounds, six shillings and eight pence.3

At some point John Drew and his son Jedidiah went to Hanover. The constable Daniel Vaughan reported to the court that John, aged between 50 and 60, and his minor son Jedidiah had lately come to live in Hanover, but they were not inhabitants and had been ordered to depart in July 1759. They apparently returned to Halifax, but John later tried to move back to Middleborough. On 14 June 1762 he was ordered to depart.3

Children of John Drew and Susanna Bennett: Births of the first three recorded in Middleborough as the children of John, Jr. and Susanna; births of the fourth through the tenth recorded in Halifax as the children of John, Jr. and Susanna:2,5

i. Peter Drew was born on 25 October 1728. He married Zerviah Wood of Halifax on 14 December 1752 in Halifax.5 Zerviah, the daughter of Timothy (Abiel, Henry) Wood and Mary Curtis, was born on 1 November 1728.6

In his will of 17 April 1742, Peter's grandfather John Drew left him his homestead and his longest gun.7

ii. Mary Drew was born on 7 May 1731.

iii. Silvanus Drew was born on 14 December 1732.

In his will of 17 April 1742, Silvanus's grandfather John Drew left him land and his shortest gun.7

iv. Lydia Drew was born on 4 December 1735. She married Dr. Stephen Powers of Middleborough on 20 March 1760 in Middleborough.2

Stephen and Lydia are the grandparents of the sculptor Hiram Powers.8

Stephen and Lydia joined the church in Middleborough on 4 July 1762.8 They later moved to Vermont.8

v. Deborah Drew was born on 9 April 1737. She married as his first wife Ebenezer Bonney of Plympton after 5 March 1764 when they published their intention in Halifax.5 Ebenezer, the son of Isaac and Mary Bonney, died on 13 July 1802, age 66 years and four months, in Plympton.9 He is buried in the Hillcrest Cemetery in Plympton. [10] He married second Anna, the daughter of Noah Sturtevant.9 Anna, the second wife of Ebenezer, died on 23 March 1823, age 78 years and six days.9

vi. Hannah Drew was born on 5 August 1739. She married Abner Samson of Middleborough on 15 February 1759 in Middleborough.2

vii. Priscilla Drew was born on 20 February 1741/2 in Halifax, Massachusetts. She died on 16 May 1828. She married Lieutenant Nathan Howland.

viii. John Drew was born on 7 August 1744.

ix. Cornelius Drew was born on 23 November 1747.

x. Jedidiah Drew was born on 12 October 1749.

Endnotes:

1. Ann Smith Lainhart and Robert S. Wakefield, Mayflower Families Through Five Generations, v. 23 Family of John Howland (Plymouth: General Society of Mayflower Descendants, 2006), 54, 209.

2. Barbara Lambert Merrick and Alicia Crane Williams, Middleborough, Massachusetts Vital Records, 2 vols. (Boston: Massachusetts Society of Mayflower Descendants, 1990, 1987), vol. 1: 42, 52 (births); vol. 1: 31, 152 (marriages).

3. "Plymouth County, MA: Plymouth Court Records, 1686–1859," database with images, AmericanAncestors, vol. 2: 167; vol. 3: 35, 64, 94; vol. 5: 246, 269, 478; vol. 6: 16; vol. 7; 351.

4. "Mayflower Deeds and Probates, 1600–185," database with images, Ancestry, image 41, citing Susan E. Roser, Mayflower Deeds and Probates: From the Files of George Ernest Bowman at the Massachusetts Society of Mayflower Descendants (Baltimore, MD: Genealogical Publishing Company, Inc., 1994).

5. George Ernest Bowman, Vital Records of the Town of Halifax, Massachusetts: To the End of the Year 1849 (Boston: Massachusetts Society of Mayflower Descendants, 1905), 45 (births), 35, 62 (marriages).

6. Alicia Crane Williams, "Henry Wood alias Atwood of Middleborough, Massachusetts," Mayflower Descendant 49 (2000), 59–60.

7. Alden Geneaology (New York: Alden Kindred of New York City and Vicinity, 1935), 132.

8. Zachariah Eddy, First Church in Middleborough, Massachusetts (Boston: C.C.P. Moody, 1854), 96.

9. Vital Records of Plympton, Massachusetts: To the Year 1850 (Boston: New England Historic Genealogical Society, 1923, 443–4.

10. "Ebenezer Bonney," Findagrave (https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/44045274/ebenezer-bonney).

Last revised: 22-Dec-2023