Harry Moss and
Eunice Adna (Edwards) Drewry



Harry Moss (picture) Drewry was born May 7, 1886 on the family farm at Pinnopolis, Virginia, near Drewryville. The sixth child and third son of Samuel Blount Drewry, April 3, 1852 - January 19, 1923, who married second November 24, 1910, Roberta "Bertie" Moss Drewry, February 14, 1861 - December 4, 1941. Samuel and "Bertie" had eleven children; two died as tiny infants and nine lived to marry and have many issue.

Harry attended and graduated from the Academy in Franklin, VA. Graduating school he became a farmer farming the family farm where he was born and lived. On November 10, 1910, at twenty four, Harry married Eunice Adna Edwards (picture) at the Monticello Hotel, Norfolk, Virginia. Eunice, my grandmother, was born February 11, 1890 at Severn, North Carolina. The first child of five born to Richard Madison "Matt" Edwards, December 6, 1856 - August 6, 1910, who married February 20, 1889, Sallie Rebecca Wood, January 22, 1867 - April 6, 1946. Like the Drewrys, the Edwards and Woods families were prominent in southeast Virginia and northeast North Carolina. At the time of their marriage Eunice lived in Boykins, Southampton County, Virginia.

My maternal grandparents, Harry and Eunice, were a positive influence throughout my early, formative years, and I believe, more so than anyone outside my parents, were greatly responsible for instilling in me the values and character that made me the person I am today. Through them I learned to love, cherish and honor the strong family ties that act to bind families together. Through them, as a child, I learned to love life and the freedoms that come to all citizens of this, the greatest nation on Earth. I could never repay the debts I owe them for helping to make me the person I am today.

After their marriage, Harry and Eunice continued to live on the family farm where Harry was a successful farmer. It was there on the family farm that Eunice would give birth to her two children, Madison Blount (picture) and Evelyn Winfree (picture). Eunice, however, more accustomed to the activities and social life found in small rural towns, like Boykins, found it difficult to adjust to country life. She longed to return to Boykins and several years after the birth of her second child in 1919 Harry and Eunice returned to Boykins.

Moving to Boykins Harry had his eye on a nice house situated on Main Street (picture) near the center of town. He approached the owner and made an offer, but the house was not for sale. Reluctantly he settled for another on the southern edge of town. However, he did not give up on his desire to own the other house, and a year later, when the house came on the market, he quickly purchased it and moved the family into the home. The home, a spacious two story house, sits on Main St. right across from the Purviance Funeral Home.

At the death of Harry's father, Samuel Blount, in 1923 Harry succeeded him as Treasurer of Southampton County. He served in this capacity until 1929. In the early 1930's a series of financial setbacks caused Harry to lose virtually everything including the family farm, his home and all of his personal property. However, in the spirit that I have found to mark many of the Drewrys I have personally known, family members came to his support. A nephew, Sam Pope, purchased the house and allowed the family to continue living there. Later Madison Blount, Harry's son, purchased the house from Sam Pope, returning it to the family. The house remains his residence today.

For the next twenty years Harry owned and operated a successful trucking business and was involved in buying and selling peanuts and the logging business.

He was 61 years old when I was born in 1947 and my memories of him begin several years after that. Being his only grandson, he delighted in spoiling me. At 5 he bought me a Daisy pump action BB gun. Of course being so small it was impossible for me to pump the gun for the next shot. So between every shot I had to scurry to him or my mother to pump the gun! Several years later, when I was about 7, he gave me a gas-powered balsa model airplane. To young to build it myself, he found two high school students to build and fly it for me. Yes, he may have spoiled me rotten with such things, but, in doing so, he helped form a person with a deep love for family and family traditions. Ever since his death in 1970 I have missed him and think of him often. My thoughts are always loving thoughts of the wonderful times we shared. Thoughts of growing up under his watchful eye during the many summers I spent with him in Boykins. Thoughts of the joy I know I brought into his life, and the joy he brought to mine. (Picture of Harry and me.)

My one lasting memory of my grandfather is not of the material things he gave me as a child and young adult, it is of the love that he gave unconditionally and without bounds. As I now enter my "grandfather" years, I only hope and pray I can earn the love and respect of my grandchildren as he did with me. If my grandchildren think one tenth of me compared to how I think and remember my grandfather then I will have been a good grandfather.

Harry Moss Drewry died September 22, 1970, aged 84 years, and was laid to rest at Beechwood Cemetery on the northern edge of Boykins, Virginia, a town he loved dearly his entire life. My grandmother survived him by 14 years passing away October 25, 1983 at age 93. She was laid to rest next to him. While they left this life many years past, they are still very much in my thoughts and heart. A trip home to Boykins always includes a visit to their graves for just a few minutes with my "granddaddy and grandmamma." I will never forget them as long as I live. I hope this book allows other generations yet to come to know and remember them and the fine Drewry family they are descended from. (Picture of Harry and Eunice.)

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Main Sections:

Drewry Family History in America
Harry Moss, 1886-1970, & Eunice Adna (Edwards) Drewry
The Drewrys in Charles Parish, Virginia, 1649 - 1789
John and Deborah (Collins) Drewry, circa 1649 - 1735
The Drewrys in England
Drewry Artifacts in England Today
The Drewry Coat of Arms
Drewrys in Southampton County, Virginia
Drewrys in Georgia
Drewrys in Mississippi
Drewrys in Tennessee
Drewry Landmarks
Notable Drewrys and Descendants
About the Author
Drewry Researchers

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