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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 from American Series of Biographies, New Hampshire Edition
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