DRENNAN, WILLIAM, born April 9, 1768, in Pendleton District, South Carolina. Mary Thomas was born Jan. 13, 1771. They were married about 1790. Six of their children were born in that district, and they moved to Caldwell county, Ky., about 1803, where they had six children. In the fall of 1817 they moved to Illinois, first stopping on Wood river, about two miles from Alton, in Madison county. Their destination was the San-ga-ma country, but it was more economical to remain idle that winter than to move up, and thus incur the necessity of hauling provisions for themselves and stock. Early in 1818 William Drennan, his half brother, Joseph Drennan, his son-in-law, Joseph Dodds, and George Cox, left their families near Alton, and, with their teams, farming implements, provisions, and all the young men and boys belonging to the families who were able to assist in making a home, started, piloted by a white man named William Moore, who had belonged to a company that had been over the country before, in fighting the Indians. He was called an Indian Ranger. Arriving at Sugar creek, they took a day or two for exploring, and on March 10, 1818, drove to the spot on which William Drennan built his cabin and which proved to be section 32, town 14, range 5 west, when the government made its survey.

It is on the northwest side of Sugar creek, and about twelve miles nearly due south of Springfield, and near where the Sugar creek Cumberland Presbyterian church now stands. Immediately after their arrival they built two cabins. One was occupied by George Cox alone. The other was occupied for the summer by William and Joseph Drennan and Joseph Dodds.

That was the one spoken of as belonging to William Drennan. As they had not the slightest idea of cultivating the prairie, these three men agreed to clear all the land they could in one body, and have a crop from it that year in common, with the understanding that before another year they were all to work together until an equal sized piece was cleared for the other two. They cleared the timber from about fifteen acres, fenced it, plowed as well as they could among the roots and stumps with a little short wooden mouldboard plow, and planted it in corn and pumpkins. The soil in the timber was very light--so much so that in some places they would almost sink in over their shoes. In fencing this land, they inclosed about three-fourths of an acre of prairie. After they had plowed and planted their crop, one of the men suggested that it was quite a waste to have that under fence and nothing growing on it, and proposed that they break it up and plant something on it. In order to make sure work, they uncoupled one of their wagons, hitched four horses to the forward wheels, and fastened their wooden mould board plow to the axle. They soon found this was a failure.

Try as they would, the plow would not enter the sod, and they reluctantly gave it up. While they were taking off the team and plow, one of the boys, full of fun and mischief, took up a hoe and began to shave the grass off, saying he could break the prairie with his hoe. That suggested an idea to one of the men, and he, also, took a hoe and began shaving the grass. It was the work of but a few minutes to remove the sod from a spot several feet in diameter. He then called one of the other men, and proposed that, as they were well advanced with their work, and there were seven or eight of them, and all had hoes, that they call all hands together, and shave the grass from the whole piece, plant something on it, and see what would be the result. The man spoken to first, laughed at the idea as ridiculous, but after studying a moment, he fell in with it, and the men and boys were all called up, and the grass shaved off, holes dug, and corn and pumpkin seed planted. They did not touch it any more; that killed the grass. The crop was fully twice as much in proportion to the area, as that planted among the stumps, and the next spring it broke up the nicest of any land they had ever seen. This taught them an important lesson, and caused them to make greater exertions to induce some one to invent a plow that would break the prairie. I have this account from the venerable William Drennan, who was one of the young men that assisted in doing the work, and who has lived in sight of the spot to the present time. Several years elapsed before a plow was invented that would do good work at breaking. In the mean time the early settlers continued clearing their land, that they might have it to cultivate, and were always uneasy for fear their timber would be exhausted.

There can be but little doubt that the same labor required to destroy the timber on one acre would have shaved the grass from two acres, with no better implements than a hoe. They could, by that means, have had better land to cultivate, twice the quantity of grain raised, and saved their timber, but the probability is they never thought of it. After the provisions they brought with them were exhausted, one of their number would return south, load a couple of horses with provisions, salt, and other indispensibles, in regular pack saddle style, and bring them to their new home. The distance was between sixty and seventy miles. They brought cows in the spring, and had plenty of milk. Wild honey was abundant, and Mr. Drennan told the writer that two of their number would cut down a hollow tree where bees had stored their wealth, and with a few hours work, would bring in from two to five gallons of honey. While they were doing this, others of their number would be looking for more bee trees, so that they always had four or five trees ahead, and knew just where to go when they needed more honey. For meat, they would hunt as the necessities required, some times one, and often all would hunt. In warm weather they would take venison, the breast of turkeys and geese, cut the meat into thin slices, sprinkle a small quantity of salt on it, and dry it on a frame work of sticks about three feet high, setting the frame in the sun, with a smouldering fire underneath. In this way the meat would soon be cured, and ready for use at any time. This they called jerked meat, a considerable supply of which could be kept on hand. Fresh meat, jerked meat, milk, honey and bread, constituted their bill of fare during the first summer. As trips were made back and forth, some of the younger sons of those who had families were brought to the new settlements. After the crops were cultivated, the men who had families returned to them, leaving the unmarried men and boys to take care of the property. The four men who came up in the spring, all brought their wives and children in the fall of that year. Mr. Cox arrived first, Joseph Drennan next, and, William Drennan, with his son-in-law, Joseph Dodds, came together, arriving Dec. 3, 1818. Of the twelve children of William Drennan, Sen.--

MATTIE, born in South Carolina, married in Kentucky to Joseph Dodds. See his name.

SAMUEL, born in South Carolina, married in Kentucky to Celia Greer, and died there, leaving a family.

WILLIAM, born Oct. 15, 1797, in Pendleton district, S. C., came to Kentucky, and from there to Sangamon county with his father, arriving March 10, 1818, in what is now Ball township. He was married May 30, 1822, in Sangamon county, to Margaret Anderson. They had twelve children, all born in Sangamon county, viz: JAMES A., born Aug. 6, 1828, married Dec. 8, 1853, to Rachel Cannon. They have six children, JANNETTA F., MARY E., ROBERT W., MINNIE W., IRA and FREDERICK, and reside in Ball township, five miles northeast of Auburn. SAMUEL, born Oct. 30, 1829, went to the Pacific coast in 1852, was married there May 28, 1868, to Louisa Fernald, who was born April 4, 1839, in North Berwick, Maine. They have three children, EDITH A., MABEL L., and DORA A., and reside in Santa Cruz, Santa Cruz county, Cal. JOHN T., born Jan. 13, 1832, enlisted August 9, 1862, at Chatham, in Co. I, 73d Ill. Inf., for three years. He was wounded at the battle of Chickamauga, Sept. 20, 1863, lay five days on the battlefield, before medical aid was given. He recovered, but is permanently disabled. He was discharged on account of physical disability, June 16, 1864, and resides with his parents in Ball township. WILLIAM, Jun., born March 7, 1833, was married Feb. 22, 1853, to Lucinda Cannon, and moved to Shelby county, Mo. They had four children, HENRY C., CHARLES W., DANIEL D. and MARGARET F. William Drennan enlisted in Co. F, 37th Mo. Inf., in 1862, to aid in suppressing the slaveholders' rebellion. A body of rebels, under the notorious Bill Anderson, lay in ambush until three companies of Union soldiers were in their power, when two companies were nearly annihilated, eighty men being slaughtered, it is believed, without an opportunity to surrender. It occurred near Centralia, Boone county, Mo., Sept. 27, 1864. William Drennan was among the slain. His widow and children reside near Shelbyville, Shelby county, Mo. MARTHA A., born April 25, 1835, married William Kenney. See his name. REBECCA, born May 3, 1837, married James Ewing, April 7, 1857. They have four children, ALICE M., CORA B., WILLIAM M. and JAMES F., and reside at Ivanhoe, Shelby county, Mo. MARGARET, born Jan. 30, 1839, resides with her parents. NANCY, born Nov. 29, 1840, married James M. Nuckolls. See his name. They had one child, LAURA M. She resides with her mother. Mrs. Nuckolls married James Bennington. They have one child, JOHN. Mr. Bennington and family reside five miles east of Auburn, in Pawnee township. ROBERT died, aged sixteen years. FRANCIS N., born July 5, 1845, married Sarah Graham. They have no children, and reside near Johnstown, Bates county, Mo. MARY E., born March 24, 1847, married Benjamin F. Fletcher. See his name. EMILY J., born May 18, 1851, married Charles I. Pulliam. See his name. William Drennan had his left hand amputated April 3, 1875, as the only way to save his life from the effects of a cancer. He and his wife are both living in view of the farm where he assisted his father in making improvements, March 10, 1818. There is no other man living in the county who was in it at that time. He is consequently, at this date--1876--beyond a doubt, the oldest inhabitant of Sangamon county.

RACHEL, born in South Carolina, married Alexander Ritchie, in Sangamon county, Ill. He died at Sulphur Springs, Hopkins county, Texas, where she now resides--1876.

THOMAS, born in South Carolina, was married in Sangamon county, to Eveline Moffitt. They had seven children. JAMES A. and REBECCA are unmarried and reside with their mother. MARY F. married James Bridges. See his name. THOMAS L. married Mary Knotts, and live in Ball township. John C. and MARTHA E. are unmarried and reside with their mother. Thomas Drennan died Sept. 13, 1848, and his widow resides in Ball township.

EZEKIEL N., born June 28, 1802, in South Carolina, was married June 16, 1825, in Sangamon county, Ill., to Mary Viney, who was born Dec. 26, 1807, in Kentucky, and came with her parents to Illinois, in 1817. E. N. Drennan and wife had ten living children in Sangamon county, Ill., and they moved to Adair county, Mo., in Sept. 1859. Of their ten children, WILLIAM S. V., born July 20, 1826, died unmarried, Aug., 1857, at Granby, Newton county. Mo. ALFRED D., born May 5, 1828, died unmarried, March 14, 1852, in Sangamon county, Ill. MINERVA J., born Jan. 29, 1830, in Sangamon county, was married there, August 29, 1848, to William Orr, who was born Feb. 18, 1820, in Ohio. They had three children in Sangamon county, and moved, in Sept., 1856, to Kirksville, Adair county, Mo., where one child was born. Of their children, EMMA F., born June 27, 1849, in Sangamon county, Ill., was married Nov. 18, 1868, to Oliver Ridgeway, of Sangamon county, Ill., have three children, George, Charlotte and Arthur, and live in Nodaway county, Mo. HENRIETTA E., born April 27, 1852, and ALFRED R., born March 18, 1855, both in Sangamon county, and MARY A., born Feb. 5, 1858, in Missouri, the three latter live with their parents. William Orr and wife reside near Troy Mills, Adair county, Mo. NEWTON L., born April 17, 1832, in Sangamon county, married in Adair county, Mo., Nov. 22, 1860, to Phebe Corbin. They had three children, WILLIAM L. THOMAS L. and ALFRED E. Mrs. Phebe Drennan died May 7, 1873, and he was married Sept. 10, 1874, to Martha L. Nevins, of Macoupin county, Ill. They reside near Troy Mills, Mo. SARAH C., born July 17, 1834, died unmarried in Adair county, Mo., June 16, 1872. REBECCA V., born June 30, 1836, was married Mar. 20, 1855, to Rufus Cavett, of Sangamon county, Ill. She died Oct., 1858, in Ringgold county, Iowa, leaving two children, MEDORA E. and JANE, who live with their father in Adair county, Mo. NANCY V., born Oct. 28, 1838, was married April, 1858, to Daniel M. Edwards, of Macoupin county, Ill. They have three children, LAURA A, GENERAL D. M. and MARY F., all born in Macoupin county, Ill., and they moved to Adair county, Mo., in Nov., 1866, where two children were born, NONIE V. and FREDERICK E. D. M. Edwards and family reside near Kirksville, Adair county, Mo. AMANDA K., born Nov. 30, 1840, in Sangamon county, Ill., was married Dec. 30, 1860, to Silas G. Phipps, of Adair county, Mo. They have eight children, SAMUEL E., OSCAR A., CHARLES E., EFFIE M., MINNIE R. MARY F., VAN, and D. GRANVEL, and reside in Randolph county, Mo. MARY L., born April 22, 1845, in Sangamon county, Ill., resides in Kansas City, Mo. THOMAS J., born Nov. 12, 1847, in Sangamon county, resides in Adair county, Mo. Mrs. Mary Drennan died Dec. 2, 1871, and Ezekial N. Drennan died Aug. 1, 1872, both in Adair county, Mo.

MARGARET, born in Kentucky, was married in Sangamon county, Ill., to John Ritchie. They moved to Henry county, Iowa, where he died, leaving a widow and five children near New London, Henry county, Iowa.

JOHN L., born Feb. 18, 1808, in Caldwell county, Ky., was married in 1830, in Sangamon county, Ill., to Mary A. Alexander. They had three children. MARY J. married John Hazlett, and resides near Edinburg, Christian county, Ill. THOMAS H. married Mary McKinnie, and resides in Ball township. MELINDA J. married J. W. Darneille, and both died. Mrs. Mary A. Drennan died in 1842, and John L. Drennan was married Dec. 15, 1842, to Nancy J. Dodds. They had six children. GEORGE L., born Nov. 27, 1843, was married, Jan. 11, 1870, to Mary E. Ridgeway. She died Nov. 24, 1872, leaving one child, FRANK L., in Nodaway county, Mo., where he and his father reside. BENJAMIN F., born Feb. 15, 1845, married Anna E. Wheeler. They have three children, CHARLES F., FLORENCE M. and ADELLA, and reside in Ball township, three miles southeast of Chatham. GILBERT C. is in the mercantile business with James A. Able and William R. Lockridge, in Pawnee. CHARLES lives at Pawnee. DAVID A. born Feb. 2, 1851, graduated at Rush Medical College, Chicago, Feb. 16, 1875, and is a practicing physician in Pawnee. ALFRED L. was married March 9, 1875, to Emma J. Christopher, and is farming near Pawnee. The four latter reside with their mother, at Pawnee, Sangamon county, Ill. John L. Drennan died July 22, 1853, and his widow married John B. Weber. See his name.

ELIZABETH, born in Kentucky, was married in Sangamon county, Ill., to Lewis Laughlin. They had five children, and reside near New London, Henry county, Iowa.

MARY ANN, born Oct. 11, 1811, in Caldwell county, Ky., was married in Sangamon county, Ill., Nov. 13, 1831, to Urban Alexander, who was born in Caldwell county, Ky., and his father, Joshua C. Alexander, emigrated to Sangamon county about 1820, settling on Richland creek. He served in the Black Hawk war, in the company of which Abraham Lincoln was Captain. Urban Alexander and wife had two children in Sangamon county, and moved to DesMoines county, Iowa, where two children were born. They returned to Sangamon county, had one child, and in the fall of 1844 they emigrated with several other families to Texas, and arrived in Fannin county, Texas, Dec. 5, of same year. One son was born there, and in 1851 they moved to Hopkins county, Texas. Of their children: REBECCA J., born Oct. 9, 1836, in Sangamon county, Ill., is unmarried, and resides near Black Jack Grove, Texas. JOHN S., born Aug. 21, 1838, in DesMoines county, Iowa, enlisted in 1861, in Co. K, 9th Regiment Texas Cavalry, under Brigadier-General L. S. Ross, of the Southern Confederacy. He was in many engagements, such as Corinth, Vicksburg, etc. At the close of the war he returned home, only to find his stock of hundreds of cattle all gone, save a few for family use. The homestead remained, and being brought up to believe that a man is never broke until his neck is, and knowing no such word as fail, J. S. Alexander began again. He was married Dec. 4, 1868, to Texanna Tallaferro. They have two children, CHARLES T. and HENRY B., and reside near Black Jack Grove, Hopkins county, Texas. Sarah A., born Sept. 2, 1840, in DesMoines county, Iowa, was married in Texas, March 14, 1860, to George D. Winniford. They had three children, NORVEL, SAMUEL and ROBERT LEE, who live with their mother. Mr. Winniford died in 1871, and the family reside near Black Jack Grove, Texas. MARTHA M., born Nov. 2, 1842, in Sangamon county, Ill., died August 14, 1855, near Black Jack Grove, Texas. THOMAS C., born in 1851, in Fannin county, Texas, enlisted in Gurley's Regiment Texas Cavalry, and operated principally in Louisana, Arkansas and Indian Territory. He was married in the fall of 1866 to Martha Banta. They have five children, WILLIAM, JOHN, AMANDA, GEORGIA and WINFIELD S., and resied near Black Jack Grove, Texas. Urban Alexander died Dec. 20, 1853, from injuries received by being thrown from a wagon. Mrs. Mary A. Alexander died June 4, 1854, both near Black Jack Grove, Hopkins county, Texas.

REBECCA, born in Kentucky, was married in Sangamon county, Ill., to George Latimer, who died, and she married William Allison. They reside near Abingdon, Knox county, Ill.

DAVID, born July 3, 1816, in Caldwell county, Ky., was married Sept. 3, 1833, in Sangamon county, Ill., to Nancy Wilson, who was born April 6, 1816, in Morgan county, Tennessee. They emigrated to Texas in 1842. Of their children, ELIZABETH, born Nov. 3. 1835, in Sangamon county, was married Feb. 11, 1852, near Honcy Grove, Texas, to S A Erwin. They had six children, MARY L, born June 26, 1853, near Honey Grove, was married there Sept. 8, 1871, to J. E. Breckeen, and reside in Honey Grove. JOHN E., born Oct. 18, 1855. M. M., born Dec. 31, 1858. WILLIAM J., born April 22, 1860. NANNIE A., born July 20, 1864, and EVA G., born Oct. 8, 1866, reside with their parents in Honey Grove, Fannin county, Texas. MARY, born June 5, 1837, in Sangamon county, Ill., was married, Sept. 3, 1860, near Honey Grove, to A. G. Stobaugh. They had four children, NANNIE E., MARTHA E., MARY A. and GUSSIE, who live with their father. Mrs. Mary Stobaugh died Nov. 15, 1869, in Honey Grove, and the family reside there. MARTHA, born March 12, 1840, in Sangamon county, Ill., was married Dec. 18, 1856, near Honey Grove, to Louis B. Chiles. They had nine children, JAMES E., NANCY J., the latter died in 1866, MARY E., LOUIS B., Jun., W. L., ELMO, MARTHA J., ROBERT and SAMUEL E., who reside with their parents, near Honey Grove, Fannin county, Texas. WILLIAM E., born Feb. 6, 1844, in Fannin county, was married Sept. 15, 1871, to Annie Tomlinson. They have two living children, J. E. and D. E., and live in Fannin county, near Honey Grove, Texas. ANN ISABELLA, born Feb. 21, 1858, in Fannin county, resides with her parents.

David Drennan and wife reside near Honey Grove, Fannin county, Texas. William Drennan, Sen., died Oct, 23, 1847, and his widow, Mrs. Mary Drennan, died Oct. 24, 1856, both where they settled, in 1818, in Sangamon county, Ill. He in his eightieth year and she in her eighty-fifth year. William Drennan, Sen., was one of the three Commissioners who were appointed by the Governor of Illinois to locate the county seat of Sangamon county. The other two were Zachariah Peter and Rivers Cormack. They located it by driving a stake in the ground and calling it Springfield.