Sometimes writing about the earliest ancestors in our lines is easier than writing about one just a few generations back. John Drury is one ancestor who left enough records that we can get some glimpses of his life, even though of course there is always more that we would like to know.
John was born March 2, 1646 (hey! I'm writing this on March 2, 2026-a mere 380 years later! Happy birthday, ancestral grandfather!) in Sudbury, Massachusetts to Hugh and Lydia Rice Drury. Hugh was our immigrant grandfather, and yes, Lydia Rice is the daughter of Edmund and Thomasine Frost Rice, who are our ancestors in another line. He seems to have spent the early years of his life in Sudbury, but by 1667 he was in York, Maine, where he married Mary Weare, the daughter of Peter and Ruth Gooch Weare.
I haven't been able to determine whether he actually lived in York, or whether he may have possibly met her when he was building homes in York (he was a house carpenter by trade), or whether they may have met through relatives. York and the Boston area are only about 65 miles and travel would likely have been by boat, along the coast. At any rate, the marriage took place in Sudbury and that seems to be where the couple spent the early years of their marriage. However, they seem to be in Boston in 1673, when John was made a freeman, meaning he had property, was a member of the church, and could vote. His membership was in the Old South Church that became famous during the Revolutionary War.
John was a lieutenant in King Philip's War, serving under Captain Samuel Mosely at Mt. Hope in 1675 and also under Captains Davenport and then Ting in the Narraganset expedition of 1675-1676. He survived the war, apparently without injury, but died in Boston in 1673, at the age of 32, of smallpox.
He left a widow with three very young children.. Thomas was born in 1668, then Elizabeth, Lydia,n 1670, Mary, Daniel, Hugh, Mercy, and another Elizabeth. Sadly, it appear that only Thomas, Lydia, and Mary, and their mother Mary, survived that 1678 smallpox epidemic. This is another case of "how did they survive?" Mary died in 1716 in Boston. She apparently had never remarried.
While we need to honor John for his service to his country and his devotion to his family, let's not forget Mary, who was left to carry on. I would love to know the rest of her story!
The line of descent is:
John Drury-Mary Weare
Thomas Drury-Rachel Rice
Mary Drury-David Bent
Mary Bent-David Goodenow
Lydia Goodenow-Jude Foster
Betsy Foster-Josiah Whittemore
Mary Elizabeth Whittemore-Joseph Rockwood Holbrook
Fremont Holbrook-Phoebe Brown
Loren Holbrook-Etta Stanard
Gladys Holbrook-Richard Allen
Their descendants
