John Alexander Drew was a prominent American trader in the Mackinac area in the early 19th century; it is now considered within the boundaries of Michigan. He also was a politician, serving in the Michigan House of Representatives for the 1841 session.

Biography

John Alexander Drew was born in 1777 in England. John A. Drew was trading the Lake Superior area from 1802 to 1817. Early in his career, Drew was an agent under

Michael Dousman Michael Dousman (1771–1854) was an American fur trader and merchant with business interests in and around Mackinac Island during the War of 1812 period. Biography Born in 1771 on the British colonial frontier in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, M ...

, trading with the local

Ojibwe The Ojibwe, Ojibwa, Chippewa, or Saulteaux are an Anishinaabe people in what is currently southern Canada, the northern Midwestern United States, and Northern Plains. According to the U.S. census, in the United States Ojibwe people are one of ...

and

Odaawaa The Odawa (also Ottawa or Odaawaa ), said to mean "traders", are an Indigenous American ethnic group who primarily inhabit land in the Eastern Woodlands region, commonly known as the northeastern United States and southeastern Canada. They ha ...

. Later, together with

Edward Biddle Edward Biddle (1738–1779) was an American soldier, lawyer, and statesman from Pennsylvania. He was a delegate to the Continental Congress in 1774 and 1775 and a signatory to the Continental Association, which was drafted and adopted by that Co ...

, Drew was part owner of Biddle & Drew. He worked as the Sheriff of Mackinac in 1834. In the 1836 Treaty of Washington, with the Ottawa, etc. (), Drew was granted a tract of one section and three quarters, to his Indian family, at Cheboygan rapids, at the rate of four dollars. Later in his career, he served in the

Michigan House of Representatives The Michigan House of Representatives is the lower house of the Michigan Legislature. There are 110 members, each of whom is elected from constituencies having approximately 77,000 to 91,000 residents, based on population figures from the 2010 ...

for Mackinac County in the 1841 session. Like many fur traders who lived in the country among the tribes, John Drew had liaisons with Native American women. In Leech Lake he had a daughter, Mary Elizabeth Drew (b. 1806; d. 2 June 1888, in Michigan), with an Ojibwe woman whose name is not recorded. Mary Elizabeth married Joseph LeCuyer r Lecuryer(b. unknown; d. 1857, in Door County, Wisc.) in Mackinac County in 1820. Joseph LeCuyer worked for John Drew after the trader set up a partnership known as Aiken and Drew. Joseph LeCuyer was later appointed a lighthouse keeper at the Pottawatomie Light House on Rock Island from 1855 to 1857, where he died while on duty. While living in

Sault Sainte Marie, Michigan Sault Ste. Marie ( ') is the only city in, and county seat of, Chippewa County, Michigan, Chippewa County in the U.S. state of Michigan. With a population of 13,337 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the second-most populated ...

, John Drew had a relationship with Marie Saugeuaqua, an Ojibwe neighbor. They had a daughter, Polly Drew (b. December 13, 1817-d. Feb 11. 1897). Saugeuaqua had been married to John Baptiste Cadotte II, a fur trader in the same village. John Drew married Margaret Lasley on May 27, 1822, in the Mackinac area. Their children were: *Mary Elizabeth Drew, born 1812 in Mackinac Island, Michigan. Married married Joseph Lequea Lecuyer in 1820. Mary Lecuyer (née Drew) died in Michigan in 1888. *William T. Drew, born c. 1825. *Matilda Drew, born c. 1829, in Mackinac County, Michigan; d. Matilda Irvine (née Drew), 05 Dec 1909, in Detroit, MI. *George A. Drew, born 15 Mar 1831, in Mackinac County, Michigan; d. 21 Jul 1921, in Highland Park, IL. *Oliver Drew, born c. 1834. *Julia Ann Drew, born c. 1843; d. Julia A. Drew, 12 Jul 1906, in Detroit, MI. *Margaret Harriet Drew, born c. 1847. John Alexander Drew died on November 15, 1846, in Mackinac County, Michigan. His obituary read: "At Mackinaw, on the 15th, instant, JOHN A. DREW, Esq., of the firm Biddle & Drew, aged 69 years." as published on November 30, 1846, in the Buffalo Commercial (Buffalo, NY). His estate went into probate in early December 1846, with his eldest son, William T. Drew, serving as a co-administer of the estate.

External links

James Alvin Van Fleet, ''Old and New Mackinac''
Grand Rapids, MI: Printed at "The Lever" book and job office, 1880
Deborah Beaumont Martin, ''History of Brown County, Wisconsin''
Brown County, WI: S.J. Clarke Publishing Company, 1913
General Friend Palmer, ''Early Days in Detroit''
Detroit, Michigan: Hunt and June, 1906 *1836 Census of Ottawa and Chippewa Indians *National Archives and Records Service, Washington DC: July 19, 1855-July 1857. {{DEFAULTSORT:Drew, John 1777 births 1846 deaths Drew, John A. Drew, John A. Members of the Michigan House of Representatives