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CLEMENT
DREW
Clement Drew, one of the leading merchants of Eaton, Carroll County, was born in
this town, about two miles from the site of his present store, March 20, 1842.
He is of pioneer ancestry, his paternal grandfather, Clement Drew, for
whom he was named, having come to Eaton from Newfield, York County, Me., about
1818. Settling in the wilderness,
he cleared a piece of land and improved it into a farm, on which he lived and
labored until his death. He was
three times married. By his first
wife, Annie Tibbetts, of Newfield, he had seven children ---Patience, Susan,
Rufus, Sabrina, Nancy, Carl, and Mary. His
second wife, whose maiden name was Nancy Durgin, bore him five children; namely,
Warren, Olive, Jane, Clement, and Calvin ---the last of whom died young.
He married for his third wife Annie Stewart, of Freedom, NH.
Warren
Drew, son of Clement, above referred to, and father of the present bearer of the
name, was born at Newfield, Me., March 5, 1817, but spent the larger part of his
life in Eaton, NH., where he was an
important member of the
agricultural community. He was a
Democrat politically, and his religious affiliations were with the Free Will
Baptist Church. He married, 1838,
Ann Stewart, a daughter of John Stewart, of Freedom.
She was still living, at the venerable age of eighty-six years, being, with
but one exception, the oldest in the community. Their children were: Caroline,
who married Charles E. Thurston, of Eaton, and now resides at Windham, Me.;
Clement, the direct subject of this sketch; and Harriet A., who married John C.
Head, of Eaton, and now lives on the Drew homestead in this town.
Clement
Drew, of the present generation, when a young man taught school for fifteen
terms in the towns of Eaton and Freedom. Then
embarking upon a mercantile career, he dealt for a while in country produce, and
in 1867 opened a general store near Snowville, having for a partner Charles P.
Giles and for two years carrying on business under the firm name of Drew &
Giles. Six years later, in
1875, he again entered business as a merchant, opening a store in Eaton.
In the following year, in company with F. M. Wood, he began the
manufacture of clothing; and he continued as the senior member of the firm of
Drew & Wood for a year, at the end of which time he purchased the interests
of his partner, and for two years thereafter carried on the business alone.
He
now has a well-stocked store of general merchandise, which he is conducting most
successfully, having an extensive and flourishing trade.
He has also other financial interests, being the owner and manager of a
good and profitable farm.
For
many years Mr. Drew was identified with the Democratic Party, but since 1884 has
cast his vote with the Prohibitionists.
He is quite active in temperance work, belonging to Crystal Lake Lodge,
No. 125, I. O. G. T., which he helped to organize, and in which he has held all
the chairs; and he was formerly prominently connected with the Blue Ribbon Club,
organized in 1882. He has been
influential in town affairs, filling numerous offices of responsibility. For four or five years he was a member of the School Board.
He was chairman of the Board of Selectmen in 1869, 1870, and 1871; Selectman in
1874, 1875, and 1876, and again in 1891 and 1892; Town Treasurer for one year
and Town Clerk for three years; and since 1869 he has served continuously as
Justice of the Peace. In 1886 he joined Trinity Lodge, No. 63, I.O.O.F., in
which he has passed all the chairs; he has also held the office of District
Deputy. In 1875 he united with the Baptist church, which for the past ten years
he has served as clerk.
Mr.
Drew married May 5, 1868, Emma Batchelder, daughter of Thomas Batchelder, of
Eaton, NH. He has had three children - Howard (now deceased), Walter B., and
Daisy B.
Transcribed:
American Series of Biographies
New Hampshire Edition |
