Robert Drewery

1811 – 1884

✓ Validated against records · 2026-07-03

Robert Drewery was born at Long Sutton in the spring of 1811 — one of at least fourteen children of Jonathan German Drewry, a farm labourer, and his wife Ann, whose family moved along the silt parishes of the south Lincolnshire fens as the work moved: Fleet, Long Sutton, Moulton, Whaplode. The clerk who entered his baptism wrote the father's name down as “Matthew” — one slip among the parish's many attempts at the unusual name Jarman German — and the record around it leaves little doubt whose son he was. Robert stayed on the silt when the family moved inland: at thirty he was a labourer lodging with the Banks family out at Holbeach Hurn.

In May 1844, at Holbeach parish church, he married Elizabeth Lawson, a shoemaker's daughter born at Moulton Chapel. Neither could write — each signed the register with a mark, as did the witnesses, one of them her brother William — and they settled to raise seven children in the labourers' cottages of seaward Holbeach. The censuses find them at The Marsh, then at Holbeach Marsh — where Robert in his fifties kept sheep as a shepherd — then in Hurn Lane: a working life spent within a few miles of flat, sea-banked ground.

Betsy — as the family, and in the end the registrar, called Elizabeth — died at Holbeach Hurn in September 1879, aged sixty. Robert gave up the cottage: the 1881 census finds him at seventy a widowed lodger in the crowded household of a farm foreman, one of seven boarding farm labourers, still working, and still giving Long Sutton as his birthplace. He died on the 26th of February 1884, aged seventy-two, and the Stamford Mercury, which had carried Betsy's notice, carried his. It was their son William who took the name out of the fens: the East Riding Drewerys descend from this Holbeach labourer's household.

Composed from validated records · 2026-07-03

Baptism: March 17th 1811 Long Sutton, Lincolnshire
Marriage: May 15th 1844 to Elizabeth Lawson, in Holbeach (Parish Records)
Death: February 26th 1884, Holbeach, aged 72 years
Parents: Jonathan German Drewry and Anne Pikeitt
Siblings: John Drury baptised August 14th 1803 died December 16th 1803, Fleet Meriah Drewry baptised 6th November 1806 Long Sutton (to Ann and Jarman) (buried 20 Feb 1807 'age at death 1' parents Ann and Jermyn) Hannah Drewery born February 6th baptised15th May 1808, Long Sutton (to Ann and Germon) Robert Drury baptised 17th March 1811, Long Sutton, (to Ann and Matthew) Eliza Drury baptised 25th September 1813 Long Sutton, (to Ann and Germains) Anthony Drury baptised 4th August 1816 Long Sutton, (to Anne and German) Jonathan Drury baptised August 20th 1817, Moulton Maria Drury baptised September 1st 1818, Whaplode Jonathan Drury baptised March 14th 1821, Moulton George Drury baptised January 24th 1824, Moulton Rebecca Drury baptised February 23rd 1826, Moulton Matthew Whitfield Drury baptised July 14th 1829, Moulton Esther Ann Drury baptised May 22nd 1831, Moulton Charles Drury baptised June 8th 1834, Moulton
Children:: Ann Drewery born 1845, Holbeach John Drewery born 1846, Holbeach William Drewery born 1848, Holbeach Elizabeth Drewery born1850, Holbeach Robert Drewery born 1853, Holbeach Matthew Drewery born 1858, Holbeach Fanny Drewery born 1862, Holbeach
1841c: Living in Holbeach with the Banks family Robert Durey (sic) born 1816, Lincolnshire Elizabeth Banks, born 1791, Lincolnshire William Banks, born 1816, Lincolnshire, Farmer Sarah Banks, born 1821, Lincolnshire Jane Brockenbowrigh, born 1821, Lincolnshire, I. Servant Address: Holbeach Hurn Occupation: Agricultural Labourer
1844: Marries Elizabeth Lawson in the Parish Church, Holbeach Robert Drewry, of full age, Bachelor, Labourer, living Holbeach Hurn and Elizabeth Lawson, of full age, Spinster, living Holbeach, were married after banns on the 15th day of May, 1844 in the presence of William Lawson (brother) and Caroline Ward Fathers: John Drewry, Labourer , John Lawson Shoemaker Neither Robert or Elizabeth could sign their names
1851c: Living in Holbeach, Lincolnshire Robert Drury (sic), Head, aged 36 born 1815, Long Sutton Elizabeth Drury, Wife, aged 30 born 1821, Moulton Chapel Ann Drury, Daughter, aged 6, born 1845, Holbeach John Drury, Son, aged 3, born 1847, Holbeach William Drury , Son, aged 2, born 1849, Holbeach Betsy Drury, Daughter, aged 1, born 1850 Holbeach Martha Pepper* , Visitor, 1834, servant out of place, born Holbeach Occupation: Agricultural Labourer Address: The Marsh * David Pepper had married Hannah Drury in Holbeach in 1832 (Parish Records)
1861c: Living in Holbeach, Lincolnshire Robert Drewry(sic), Head, 1814, born Long Sutton Elizabeth Drewry, 1820, Wife, born Moulton William Drewry , Son, 1849, born Holbeach Robert Drewry, Son, 1853, born Holbeach Elizabeth Drewry, Daughter, 1856, born Holbeach Matthew Drewry, Son, 1858, born Holbeach Address: Holbeach Marsh Occupation: Shepherd
1871c: Living in Holbeach Robert Drury (sic), Head, 1814 born Holbeach Elizabeth Drury, Wife, 1819, born Holbeach Matthew Drury, Son, 1858, born Holbeach Fanny Drury, Daughter, 1862, born Holbeach Address: Hurn Lane Occupation: Agricultural Labourer
1879: Death of Betsy Drewry aged 58 years Death Notice At Holbeach on the 5th at Holbeach Hurn, Betsy, wife of Robert Drewery aged 60 September 12th 1879 Stamford Mercury
1881c: Robert Drurey, born 1811, Long Sutton, widower, lodger with Charles Palmer at Holbeach. Occupation: Farm Labourer
1884: Dies in Holbeach aged 72 years Death Notice Holbeach, February 26th Robert Drewery, 70 7th March 1884, Stamford Mercury

In your grandmother’s words · from her notebook

Family

Parents

JDFatherJonathan German Drewery1768–1837

The children of Jonathan German & Anne Pikeitt

· · · · Robert Drewery b. 1811this page · · · · ·

The children of Jonathan German & Ann Johnson

The children of Jonathan German & Sarah Whitfield

· · · ·

Marriage

ELSpouseElizabeth Lawson1821–1879

Children

WDChild · the line continuesWilliam Drewerymain line1848–1927

Photographs

2 photographs are with the family — family sign-in

Historical context

The silt fens — the Drewerys' side of Lincolnshire

The Drewerys' country was the other Lincolnshire fen: not the peat levels of the Isle of Axholme where the Brocks farmed, but the silt lands of south Holland, laid down grain by grain by the Wash tides and won field by field behind sea banks. Its parishes — Fleet, Holbeach, Whaplode, Moulton, Long Sutton — sit in a line along the old road from Spalding into Norfolk, and each runs miles seaward through scattered marsh hamlets to the banks; Holbeach, one of the largest parishes in England, stretches a dozen miles from fen edge to sea. It was rich land and poor men's country: the work was on the land, the banks and the drains, and a labouring family might shift parish to parish with the year's hirings — as Robert's parents did, baptising fourteen children in four parishes over thirty years. The place-names that follow — the Hurn, the Marsh, Hurn Lane — are that seaward, scattered Holbeach, not the market town itself.

Composed for this site from published local history — the family’s world, not one of Mum’s records.

Life

Confirmed — anchored to a recordEstimated — inferred

1811

Baptised

17 March 1811 at Lincolnshire

Robert Drury, son of Matthew and Ann — baptised the 17th of March 1811, at St Mary's, Long Sutton.— Baptism — St Mary's, Long Sutton (1811)

Confirmed in index record Evidence

Found in an index or transcript — the original page not yet read:

Baptism — St Mary's, Long Sutton (1811) — Lincolnshire Family History Society transcript of the Long Sutton register (entry 11039, via findmypast); the FamilySearch index of the same register concurs. Both read the father's name as “Matthew” — see the research note below: every sibling's entry names Jarman/German, no Matthew-and-Ann family existed in the parish, and his marriage certificate names his father John (Jonathan) Drewry. The register itself, at Lincolnshire Archives, is not yet viewable online. index entry — original not yet seen

1841

Holbeach Hurn — lodging with the Banks family

1841

Living in Holbeach with the Banks family Robert Durey (sic) born 1816, Lincolnshire Elizabeth Banks, born 1791, Lincolnshire William Banks, born 1816, Lincolnshire, Farmer Sarah Banks, born 1821, Lincolnshire Jane Brockenbowrigh, born 1821, Lincolnshire, I. Servant Address: Holbeach Hurn Occupation: Agricultural Labourer
— From Janet Brock’s research

Mum’s record Evidence

From Janet Brock’s research notebook.

1844

Married Elizabeth Lawson

15 May 1844

No. 293. Marriage solemnized at the Parish Church in the Parish of Holbeach in the County of Lincoln:
May 15, 1844 — Robert Drewry, of full age, bachelor, labourer, of Holbeach Hurn, father John Drewry, labourer; and Elizabeth Lawson, of full age, spinster, of Holbeach, father John Lawson, shoemaker. Married after banns, according to the Rites and Ceremonies of the Established Church. This marriage was solemnized between us: the mark ✕ of Robert Drewry, the mark ✕ of Elizabeth Lawson — in the presence of: the mark ✕ of William Lawson, the mark ✕ of Caroline Ward.
— Marriage certificate — Holbeach parish church (1844)

The record image is with the family — family sign-in

Mum’s record Evidence

From Janet Brock’s research, cited — not yet re-verified at the image:

Marriage certificate — Holbeach parish church (1844) — Certified copy of the marriage entry (General Register Office, AB 298570), ordered by Janet in September 2006; her photograph of it is shown here. William Lawson was Elizabeth's brother, by Janet's note. The father's entry — John Drewry, labourer — is the strongest corroboration of the baptism: John was the era's common written form of Jonathan, and Jonathan German Drewry was the only Drury householder with a wife Ann at Long Sutton in Robert's birth-window. from Mum’s research

1851

The Marsh — a young family

1851

Living in Holbeach, Lincolnshire Robert Drury (sic), Head, aged 36 born 1815, Long Sutton Elizabeth Drury, Wife, aged 30 born 1821, Moulton Chapel Ann Drury, Daughter, aged 6, born 1845, Holbeach John Drury, Son, aged 3, born 1847, Holbeach William Drury , Son, aged 2, born 1849, Holbeach Betsy Drury, Daughter, aged 1, born 1850 Holbeach Martha Pepper* , Visitor, 1834, servant out of place, born Holbeach Occupation: Agricultural Labourer Address: The Marsh * David Pepper had married Hannah Drury in Holbeach in 1832 (Parish Records)
— From Janet Brock’s research

Mum’s record Evidence

From Janet Brock’s research notebook.

1861

Holbeach Marsh — shepherd

1861

Living in Holbeach, Lincolnshire Robert Drewry(sic), Head, 1814, born Long Sutton Elizabeth Drewry, 1820, Wife, born Moulton William Drewry , Son, 1849, born Holbeach Robert Drewry, Son, 1853, born Holbeach Elizabeth Drewry, Daughter, 1856, born Holbeach Matthew Drewry, Son, 1858, born Holbeach Address: Holbeach Marsh Occupation: Shepherd
— From Janet Brock’s research

Mum’s record Evidence

From Janet Brock’s research notebook.

1871

Hurn Lane

1871

Living in Holbeach Robert Drury (sic), Head, 1814 born Holbeach Elizabeth Drury, Wife, 1819, born Holbeach Matthew Drury, Son, 1858, born Holbeach Fanny Drury, Daughter, 1862, born Holbeach Address: Hurn Lane Occupation: Agricultural Labourer— From Janet Brock’s research

Mum’s record Evidence

From Janet Brock’s research notebook.

1879

Betsy dies at Holbeach Hurn

1879

At Holbeach, on the 5th, at Holbeach Hurn, Betsy, wife of Robert Drewery, aged 60.— Stamford Mercury — Betsy's death notice (1879)

Mum’s record Evidence

From Janet Brock’s research, cited — not yet re-verified at the image:

Stamford Mercury — Betsy's death notice (1879) — Stamford Mercury, 12 September 1879, as Janet transcribed it. The civil index concurs: Betsy Drewry, deaths registered July–September 1879, Holbeach district, aged 60 — registered under her everyday name, not Elizabeth. (Janet's page header gave 58; both the notice and the registration say 60. Her own page, when it is built, will settle her dates at Moulton Chapel.) from Mum’s research

1881

Widower among lodgers

1881

Holbeach — the household of Charles Palmer, 40, widower, foreman on farm: his sons Joseph, 9, a scholar, and Robert, 16, a farm servant; Mary Ann Palmer, 40, sister by marriage, housekeeper; and seven lodgers — John Savage, 67, widower; Charles Coats, 21; Robert Drurey, 70, widower, born Long Sutton; Edward Toll, 18; William Tute, 50; William Softly, 19 — farm labourers all — and John Hunter Phillips, 67, land surveyor.
— The 1881 census — Charles Palmer's lodgers

Confirmed in index record Evidence

Found in an index or transcript — the original page not yet read:

The 1881 census — Charles Palmer's lodgers — 1881 census, Holbeach — RG11 piece 3210, folio 61, page 6, schedule 351 (transcript, findmypast). Two years widowed, he had given up the cottage in Hurn Lane; at seventy he was the oldest but one in a house of eleven, still labouring, and still giving Long Sutton as his birthplace. index entry — original not yet seen

1884

Died

26 February 1884 at Holbeach

Robert Drewery — death registered in the January–March quarter of 1884, Holbeach district, aged 72. (Volume 7A, page 247.)— Death registration (1884)

Holbeach, February 26th — Robert Drewery, 70.— Stamford Mercury — his death notice (1884)

Read at the image record Evidence

Confirmed against the original record, read at the image:

Death registration (1884) — England & Wales civil death index. Seventy-two fits the 1811 baptism — he would have turned seventy-three that March, not the folder's 1814. index entry — original not yet seen
Stamford Mercury — his death notice (1884) — Stamford Mercury, 7 March 1884, page 1 — Janet's transcription, confirmed against the digitised copy (British Newspaper Death & In Memoriam Notices, findmypast). The paper printed 70; the registrar recorded 72. read at the image

Our research

The word in the register

Open research · Long Sutton & Holbeach

His baptism entry names the wrong father. Both modern transcriptions of the Long Sutton register — the Lincolnshire Family History Society's and FamilySearch's — read the father of Robert, baptised 17 March 1811, as Matthew. Yet every sibling baptised beside him is entered to Ann and Jarman / Jermyn / Germon / Germains / German — the parish's many attempts at Jonathan German Drewry's unusual name — and a sweep of the register finds no Matthew-and-Ann household in Long Sutton at all: the only other Drury family there (Henry and Susanna's) is a different couple entirely. Robert's own marriage certificate settles the sense of it: his father is John Drewry, labourer — John being the common written form of Jonathan. One couple; one anomalous word. The register itself is at Lincolnshire Archives, and its microfilm is not viewable from home — to do: view the register film (FamilySearch DGS 7567211 — Long Sutton baptisms & burials 1774–1812) and the bishop's transcript, a second independent witness (DGS 7905524 — 1561–1813), at any FamilySearch affiliate library or centre, or the originals at Lincolnshire Archives, and read the clerk's actual pen-strokes for 17 March 1811.
Two siblings Mum's list lacked: John (baptised 1808) and William (baptised 1810), both entered to German/Germains and Ann at Long Sutton — found in the Lincolnshire FHS transcripts. Their later lives are untraced.
Martha Pepper, the visitor of 1851, was family: Mum's notes on both this page and his father's agree that Hannah — Robert's sister, baptised 1808 — married David Pepper at Holbeach in 1832, which makes the “servant out of place” at his table his niece. The 1832 marriage register would seal it.
Robert Drewery, 26, in Holbeach in 1881 is very possibly his son Robert, born 1853 — the children's own stories are unbuilt.
One Elizabeth or two? The 1861 census gives a daughter Elizabeth born about 1856, where the family's Elizabeth (Betsy in 1851) was born 1850 — an enumerator's age slip, or a second daughter; the Holbeach baptism registers would say.
The next rung: his father Jonathan German Drewry (1768–1837) — and behind him, Mum's eighteenth-century wall at Fleet and Holbeach.