Ezekiel Drennan (1802 - 1872)

Born 28 Jun 1802 in Pendleton, Anderson, South Carolina, United States

Ancestors

Husband of Mary Viney — married 16 Jun 1825 in Sangamon, Illinois, United States

Descendants

Died 1 Aug 1872 at age 70 in Pettis Township, Adair, Missouri, United States

Problems/Questions Profile manager: Paul Carson [send private message]

Biography

When Ezekiel N Drennan was born on June 28, 1802, in Pendleton, South Carolina, his father, William Drennan Jr, was 34 and his mother, Mary Thomas, was 31.

He married Mary Viney on June 23, 1827, in Sangamon, Illinois.

Ezekiel purchased 80 acres in Sangamon, Illinois, on December 8, 1827 for his family.

They had 11 children in 23 years.

Ezekiel and Mary moved to Adair county, Mo., in Sept. 1859.

He died on August 1, 1872, in Pettis, Missouri, at the age of 70.

Sources

• "WILLIAM DRENNAN - One of the oldest families of Sangamon county is the Drennan family, which was established here in the year in which the state was admitted to the Union. Representatives of the name have since been active in agricultural, commercial and professional life and the part which they have played in the upbuilding and improvement of central Illinois has been an important one so that the district owes to them a debt of gratitude for services rendered. William Drennan was born April 9, 1768, in the Pendleton district of South Carolina, and after arriving at years of maturity he was married in 1781 to Mary Thomas, whose birth occurred in the same state on the 13th of January, 1771. After the birth of six of their children they removed to Caldwell county, Kentucky, about 1813 and there six other children were added to their family. In the fall of 1817 they came to Illinois, locating first on Wood river about two miles from Alton. Their destination, however, was th e Sangamo country, but they spent the winter in Madison county and early in 1818 William Drennan and his half brother, Joseph Drennan, his son-in-law, Joseph Dodds, and George Cox left their families, near Alton. The men with teams, farming implements and provisions started for the San-ga-mo. They also brought with them all the young men and boys who were able to work and the party was piloted by a man named William Moore, who had belonged to a military company and had traversed this country in fighting the Indians. He was called an Indian ranger.
• On the 10th of March, 1818, the party arrived on the spot where William Drennan built his cabin and when the government survey was made this proved to be section 32, town 14, range 5 west. It was on the northwest side of Sugar creek and about twelve miles south of Springfield. The party built two cabins and began the cultivation of the land as best they could. They found it impossible to break the sod, however, try as they might with the implements which they had. Fortunately one of the young men took a hoe and began to shave the grass off. This furnished the party with an idea which proved of great value as they treated the prairie land in this manner and raised that year an immense crop. Before harvest time, however, they lived literally in the land of milk and honey, for one of their chief articles of food was wild honey, and as they brought cows with them they had plenty of milk. The meat which they had was what they could shoot with their rifles and some of this they cured so as to have it ready at any time. When the stock of their provisions run out they would send one of their number back to the settlements, sixty or seventy miles away, for necessities which would be brought on the backs of horses. When the first crops were harvested the men who had families returned to them and the next spring brought their wives and children to their new homes. These early settlers endured many hardships, yet there were many pleasures and a spirit of friendliness existed which made their early pioneer homes noted for their hospitality.
• William Drennan was one of the three commissioners who were appointed by the governor of Illinois to locate the county seat of Sangamon county, his associates being Zachariah Peters and Revere Cormack. They located the site by driving a stake into the ground and calling the place Springfield. In the work of reclaiming the wild land for the purposes of civilization and in carrying forward the labors which led to the substantial development of this portion of the state William Drennan took an active part. He was a sturdy pioneer well fitted to cope with the difficulties which surrounded him and as the years passed he established for his family a good frontier home. He died October 23, 1847, and his wife passed away October 2, 1856, both departing this life upon the farm which they had settled on in 1818. They reared a large family of children, of whom Mattie, the eldest, became the wife of Joseph Dodds. Samuel, the second one,died in Kentucky. William, born October 15, 1797, was married May 30, 1822, to Margaret Andersen and they had twelve children, including John T., who was born January 13, 1832, and who enlisted in Company 1, Seventy-third Illinois Infantry, for three years' service. He was wounded in the battle of Chickamauga September 20, 1863, and lay for five days on the battlefield before he received medical aid, his injuries permanently disabling him. Another son, William Drennan, the third, enlisted in Company F, Thirty-seventh Missouri Infantry, to aid in suppressing the slaveholders in that state and he and eighty others were ambushed and slaughtered near Centralia, Boone county, Missouri, September 27, 1864. Rachel, the next member of the family of William Drennan, became the wife of Alexander Richey. Thomas married Eveline Moffitt and they bad seven children. He died in 1848. Ezekiel N., born i n 1802 was married in 1825 to Mary Viney and had ten ... Last 3 Paragraphs from :Joseph Wallace M.A., PAST AND PRESENT OF THE CITY OF SPRINGFIELD AND SANGAMON COUNTY ILLINOIS>, Sangamon County Genealogical Society, <|translator> (: , <1904|n.d.>), .

• Ezekiel Drennan married Mary Viney 23 Jun 1825 in Sangamon, Illinois, USA: "Illinois, County Marriages, 1810-1940," database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:Q28G-FNW2 : 22 July 2021), Ezekial Drennan and Mary Viney, 23 Jun 1825; citing Sangamon, Illinois, United States, county offices, Illinois; FHL microfilm 2,132,335.

• Ezekiel Drennan Land Purchase 8 Dec 1827 Sangamon, Illinois, Land Office: Springfield, Meridian: 3rd PM; Township: 15-N; Range: 5-W; Section 84, 80 acres: "U.S., General Land Office Records, 1776-2015." Bureau of Land Management, General Land Office Records; Washington D.C., USA; Federal Land Patents, State Volumes; Accession Number: IL0470__.225; Document Number: 1749.

• Ezekiel and Mary Drennan with their 10 children in 1850 Sangamon, Illinois U.S. Census: "United States Census, 1850," database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:S3HT-DTY7-VF4?cc=1401638&wc=95R3-FMS%3A1031317001%2C1031567701%2C1031583901 : 9 April 2016), Illinois > Sangamon > Sangamon county, part of > image 50 of 346; citing NARA microfilm publication M432 (Washington, D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration, n.d.).

• E N and Mary Drennan and 5 of their children in 1860 Pettis Township, Adair, Missouri U.S. Census: "United States Census, 1860," database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:33SQ-GBSZ-52P?cc=1473181&wc=7QJZ-5P3%3A1589429312%2C1589426848%2C1589429571 : 24 March 2017), Missouri > Adair > Pettis Township > image 19 of 26; from "1860 U.S. Federal Census - Population," database, Fold3.com (http://www.fold3.com : n.d.); citing NARA microfilm publication M653 (Washington, D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration, n.d.).

• Ezekiel and Mary Drennan and 2 of their children in 1870 Benton Township, Adair, Missouri U.S. Census: "United States Census, 1870," database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:S3HT-DCF9-8ZC?cc=1438024&wc=KGKJ-K68%3A518659401%2C518655702%2C519793201 : 13 June 2019), Missouri > Adair > Township 62 Range 15 > image 13 of 24; citing NARA microfilm publication M593 (Washington, D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration, n.d.).