Drury Families

Members of the Drury family were the original settlers in this township in western Rock Island County. You can read about them here: William A. Drury - Obituary William Drury - Biography Judge John W. Drury - Biography Silas and Isaiah Drury - Biography Courtney Drury Reynolds Drury Soon after their arrival, others followed, among them being James, William and Drury Reynolds, J. A. Seiver, William Huff, Ithamar Reynolds, Anthony Rickertt, William Womacks, Solomon Simpson, Jeremiah Lequatte, I. B. Essex, James Essex, Benjamin Essex, I. V. Reed, Valentine Reed, John Ballard, John Harbaugh, James Mcpherson, S. Prentiss, Henry Hampton, Charles Bean, William Peeney, Mr. Fox, William Hays, M. H. Johnson, John Boruff, Joseph Blair, Antoine Blair, and others. All of these men were married and had families, with the exception of one. When these early settlers came to Drury township, they found conditions considerably different from those at present. The township now includes 30,225 acres of land and is bounded by the Mississippi river on the north and west Mercer county on the south, and on the east Buffalo Prairie township. Of late years much of the swamp land has been redeemed by a proper system of drainage, and this acreage is remarkably rich. The other land which has been developed, is exceedingly fertile, and crops are uniformly large. The farms in this section are well cultivated, and the buildings of modern structure, and well kept. For a number of years, the site of the settlement of the Drury family was called Drury's Landing, and considerable business centered about it. The present city of Muscatine is about four miles below the old settlement. The energy of the Drury family resulted in the establishment of a general store, a post office, and the upbuilding of a large trade in grain and pork, and during the early days Druryâs Landing was one of the principal trading points between St. Louis and Rock Island. As long as the country depended upon the Mississippi river for the carrying of its commerce, the landing was a stopping place for the steamers, but now the place is abandoned, and it only exists in the memory of the old settlers, as a commercial center.