Pt. 16: Drurys in Illinois and Missouri

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The Family of John Drury and Susannah Hayden

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John Drury (the son of John Drury and Mary Ford), who married Susannah Hayden in St. Mary's County, Maryland, had four children as shown above. The Drury and Hayden families had been part of the migration from England to St. Mary's County, which had been formed in 1634 by Leonard Calvert on the principle of religious tolerance and freedom of conscience. This allowed the freedom to observe whatever faith one chose to follow, and Catholics were once again able to live without persecution.

However, their newfound freedom was relatively short lived. According to Timothy O'Rourke in his Maryland Catholics on the Frontier, "Later events ended the dreams of Catholics of a land of sanctuary. Persecuted Puritans had been invited into the tolerant province and, notwithstanding the Act of Toleration drafted by an Anglican and approved by the Catholic Lord proprietor, they became a contumacious lot. When the unsettled situation in England gave them the opportunity, the Puritans overthrew the lawful government and persecuted Catholic and Anglican alike."

In 1692, following the "Glorious Revolution" in England, a Protestant governor was sent to Maryland to take control. Catholics were no longer allowed to practice their faith, were not allowed to hold office, and were charged a double tax on their land. Following the Revolutionary War, Catholic families began a large migration into Kentucky, and later from there to Perry County, Missouri. The three daughters of John Drury and Susannah Hayden were pioneer women who took part in the migration, carving new farms and homes out of the wilderness.

William Drury (shown in the chart above) took a different path to the west. He migrated with his wife, Mary Ann Wooten, to Prairie du Rocher, Illinois in 1795 along with his sons Clement and Raphael. William Drury was appointed as an election judge for Randolph County, Illinois in 1816. Clement (1759-1814) started a horse mill there and married Marie Josephte Provost dit Blondin on August 1, 1785. This was the first of many marriages in the area between Drurys and French families, who had migrated to French Territory along the Mississippi River from Canada. The French families were Catholic and allowed a safe haven for Catholics migrating away from the persecution of Maryland. Many of these French families can be traced back to Normandy, France, the original home of the Drurys before coming to England with William the Conqueror. Within a few generations, the Drurys of this area were considered one of the French families, coming full circle back to their Norman roots.

The Family of Clement Drury, Sr. and Marie Provost

Above: Siricius Celeste ""Cyrus" Drury (1859-1915), Caroline Hermann Drury, and children. Cyrus was the grandson of John Baptiste Clement Drury, and the son of Sigroid Clement Drury (1829-1909) and Marie Cornelia Carron (1831-1903).

Clement's son John Baptiste Clement Drury (1803-1850) moved across the Mississippi River to Ste. Genevieve, Missouri where he married Marie Olympe Placet (1804-1878). John was a mounted volunteer at Randolph County and later became Lieutenant in the Army, stationed at Vincennes. Marie was the daughter of Michel Placet and Marie Louise Aubuchon. This started the line of Ste. Genevieve Drurys which remains throughout the area today. They lived on property which her father, Michel Placet had purchased from Jean Baptiste Vallé. The Placets also lived on the farm. The Placets and Drurys were the founders of what became the town of Bloomsdale, Missouri. Their son, Sigroid "Clement" Drury and family are pictured below. He married Marie Carron, (see Carron/Caron page). Clement's son "Cyrus" Drury and family are pictured to the left.

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Above: Sigroid "Clement" Drury(1829-1909), wife Marie Cornelia Carron(1831-1903) and children. Siricius ""Cyrus" Drury, shown with his family in the previous photo, is in the back row, center. Photo courtesy of Kathy Boyer. Additional photographs of the descendants of this line of Drurys can be found at the main Drury Family Page through the link below.

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