Richard Cleveland Drew
Encyclopedia
Richard Cleveland Drew, Sr. (April 17, 1848 – December 21, 1919), also known as R. C. Drew, was a judge of the state district and circuit courts, based in Minden
in northwestern Louisiana
. The Drew family was among the original 19th century settlers of the future Webster Parish
, of which Minden is the parish seat. The first Drew arrived in 1818 in the Overton community on Dorcheat Bayou
.
(1822–50), an attorney, district judge, delegate to the Louisiana state constitutional convention of 1845, and state representative
from 1848 until his death, at the age of barely twenty-eight.
Richard Maxwell Drew is interred at an abandoned cemetery in Overton. His epitaph on his tombstone, which was damaged several years ago by a dozer operating in the area, reads: "His public and private virtues have survived his death and will endure when this dumb marble shall have faded."
R. C. Drew was educated at the former Homer College in Homer
, the seat of Claiborne Parish
. He read law under A. B. George and was admitted to the bar in 1872 at Monroe
, Louisiana. He was a member of the Masonic lodge
.
who was educated at a female seminary in Paris
in northeastern Texas. The couple had seven children, including Harmon Caldwell Drew
, a district and circuit court judge who served on both benches from 1930 to 1945. R. C. and H. C. Drew remain the only father/son combination to have served as a judge on both state district and circuit courts in Louisiana. Their other children, all but one of whom died before the age of sixty, were Allyn Sidney Drew (1897–1956), Richard Cleveland Drew, Jr. (1885–1950), Katie Cleveland Drew (1887–1908), Thomas Caldwell Drew (1891–1940), Waddy Thompson Drew (1894–1941), and Mary Sarah Drew (1904–55).
Thomas Caldwell Drew, a soldier in World War I, was seriously injured by German poison gas and never fully recovered. Mary, the youngest of the Drew children, had Down's syndrome. Neither of the two Drew daughters married.
A sister and brother-in-law of Katie Caldwell Drew died in the 1918 flu pandemic. Their two orphans, Will and Katie Hall, were reared by R. C. and Katie Drew.
In 1898, Judge Drew was a delegate to the Louisiana Constitutional Convention, as had been his father to the earlier conclave held in 1845.
Drew's uncle, Thomas Stevenson Drew
, the governor of Arkansas from 1844 to 1849, had also been a delegate to that state's 1836 constitutional convention.
.
R. C. Drew's grandson was the Minden City Judge and State Representative R. Harmon Drew, Sr.
, a delegate to the most recent state constitutional convention held in Baton Rouge
in 1973–74. One of R. C. Drew's great-grandsons is the Circuit Court of Appeal Judge Harmon Drew, Jr.
, also of Minden but based at the Shreveport court.
Minden, Louisiana
Minden is a city in the American state of Louisiana. It serves as the parish seat of Webster Parish and is located twenty-eight miles east of Shreveport, the seat of Caddo Parish. The population, which has been stable since 1960, was 13,027 at the 2000 census...
in northwestern Louisiana
Louisiana
Louisiana is a state located in the southern region of the United States of America. Its capital is Baton Rouge and largest city is New Orleans. Louisiana is the only state in the U.S. with political subdivisions termed parishes, which are local governments equivalent to counties...
. The Drew family was among the original 19th century settlers of the future Webster Parish
Webster Parish, Louisiana
Webster Parish is a parish located in the U.S. state of Louisiana. The seat of the parish is Minden. In 2010, its population was 41,207....
, of which Minden is the parish seat. The first Drew arrived in 1818 in the Overton community on Dorcheat Bayou
Dorcheat Bayou
Dorcheat Bayou, also known as Bayou Dorcheat, is a stream in the USA that extends from Nevada County in southwestern Arkansas through Columbia County and into Webster Parish in northwestern Louisiana before emptying into Lake Bistineau east of the village of Doyline. To its south, Lake Bistineau...
.
Background
Drew was born in rural Webster Parish to the former Sarah Jessie Cleveland (1828–80) and Richard Maxwell DrewRichard Maxwell Drew
Richard Maxwell Drew was an attorney and politician in Claiborne Parish in north Louisiana whose family was among the first settlers of what is now Webster Parish, established in 1871 as a breakaway from Claiborne Parish....
(1822–50), an attorney, district judge, delegate to the Louisiana state constitutional convention of 1845, and state representative
Louisiana House of Representatives
The Louisiana House of Representatives is the lower house in the Louisiana State Legislature, the state legislature of the US state of Louisiana. The House is composed of 105 Representatives, each of whom represents approximately 42,500 people . Members serve four-year terms with a term limit of...
from 1848 until his death, at the age of barely twenty-eight.
Richard Maxwell Drew is interred at an abandoned cemetery in Overton. His epitaph on his tombstone, which was damaged several years ago by a dozer operating in the area, reads: "His public and private virtues have survived his death and will endure when this dumb marble shall have faded."
R. C. Drew was educated at the former Homer College in Homer
Homer, Louisiana
Homer is present day parish seat of Claiborne Parish, Louisiana, United States. The town was named after the Greek poet Homer and was laid out around the Courthouse Square in 1850 by Frank Vaughn. The present day brick courthouse, built in the Greek Revival style of architecture, is one of only...
, the seat of Claiborne Parish
Claiborne Parish, Louisiana
Claiborne Parish is a parish located in the U.S. state of Louisiana. The parish seat is Homer and as of 2000, the population is 16,851.-History:The parish is named for the first Louisiana governor, William C. C. Claiborne....
. He read law under A. B. George and was admitted to the bar in 1872 at Monroe
Monroe, Louisiana
Monroe is a city in and the parish seat of Ouachita Parish, Louisiana, United States. As of the 2000 census, the city had a total population of 53,107, making it the eighth largest city in Louisiana. A July 1, 2007, United States Census Bureau estimate placed the population at 51,208, but 51,636...
, Louisiana. He was a member of the Masonic lodge
Masonic Lodge
This article is about the Masonic term for a membership group. For buildings named Masonic Lodge, see Masonic Lodge A Masonic Lodge, often termed a Private Lodge or Constituent Lodge, is the basic organisation of Freemasonry...
.
Family
In 1880, R. C. Drew married the former Katie Roberta Caldwell (October 15, 1859 – December 5, 1936), a native of Bossier ParishBossier Parish, Louisiana
Bossier Parish is named for Pierre Bossier, a 19th-century Louisiana state senator and U.S. representative from Natchitoches Parish.Bossier Parish was spared fighting on its soil during the American Civil War...
who was educated at a female seminary in Paris
Paris, Texas
Paris, Texas is a city located northeast of the Dallas–Fort Worth Metroplex in Lamar County, Texas, in the United States. It is situated in Northeast Texas at the western edge of the Piney Woods. Physiographically, these regions are part of the West Gulf Coastal Plain. In 1900, 9,358 people lived...
in northeastern Texas. The couple had seven children, including Harmon Caldwell Drew
Harmon Caldwell Drew
Harmon Caldwell Drew was a lawyer from Minden, Louisiana, who served prior to 1945 as the district attorney of Bossier and Webster parishes and then as a judge of both the district and the state appeal courts. His political career ended with his defeat by future Governor Robert F. Kennon...
, a district and circuit court judge who served on both benches from 1930 to 1945. R. C. and H. C. Drew remain the only father/son combination to have served as a judge on both state district and circuit courts in Louisiana. Their other children, all but one of whom died before the age of sixty, were Allyn Sidney Drew (1897–1956), Richard Cleveland Drew, Jr. (1885–1950), Katie Cleveland Drew (1887–1908), Thomas Caldwell Drew (1891–1940), Waddy Thompson Drew (1894–1941), and Mary Sarah Drew (1904–55).
Thomas Caldwell Drew, a soldier in World War I, was seriously injured by German poison gas and never fully recovered. Mary, the youngest of the Drew children, had Down's syndrome. Neither of the two Drew daughters married.
A sister and brother-in-law of Katie Caldwell Drew died in the 1918 flu pandemic. Their two orphans, Will and Katie Hall, were reared by R. C. and Katie Drew.
Judicial tenure
R. C. Drew's youngest son, A. S. "Skeet" Drew, was the first judge of the Minden City Court, having assumed the position in the late 1920s. R. C. Drew, Jr., also a judge, died two months after the passing of his brother, Harmon Caldwell Drew. A Drew has served in a judicial capacity in Webster Parish (created from Claiborne Parish in 1871) with comparatively little interruption since 1882. R. C. Drew served as a district judge from 1882 to 1900 and again from 1904 to 1911. Drew's tenure on the circuit court extended from 1911 to March 1913.In 1898, Judge Drew was a delegate to the Louisiana Constitutional Convention, as had been his father to the earlier conclave held in 1845.
Drew's uncle, Thomas Stevenson Drew
Thomas Stevenson Drew
Thomas Stevenson Drew was the third governor of the U.S. state of Arkansas. Though Drew was the third to be elected governor, he was the fourth in office because his predecessor, Samuel Adams, had served as acting governor during much of 1844, having gained the office through the previous...
, the governor of Arkansas from 1844 to 1849, had also been a delegate to that state's 1836 constitutional convention.
Death
Drew died in Minden at the age of seventy-one. He is interred beside his wife in the older rear section of the historic Minden CemeteryMinden Cemetery
The Minden Cemetery, located in Minden, the seat of Webster Parish in northwestern Louisiana, United States, has graves dating from 1843, seven years after the founding of the city in 1836...
.
R. C. Drew's grandson was the Minden City Judge and State Representative R. Harmon Drew, Sr.
R. Harmon Drew, Sr.
Richard Harmon Drew, Sr. was a fourth generation judge and a former Democratic state representative who was descended from pioneer families of Webster Parish in north Louisiana...
, a delegate to the most recent state constitutional convention held in Baton Rouge
Baton Rouge, Louisiana
Baton Rouge is the capital of the U.S. state of Louisiana. It is located in East Baton Rouge Parish and is the second-largest city in the state.Baton Rouge is a major industrial, petrochemical, medical, and research center of the American South...
in 1973–74. One of R. C. Drew's great-grandsons is the Circuit Court of Appeal Judge Harmon Drew, Jr.
Harmon Drew, Jr.
Richard Harmon Drew, Jr. , is a Louisiana judge, legal lecturer, and rhythm-and-blues musician. He is serving a second 10-year term on his state's Second Circuit Court of Appeal, based in Shreveport.-Ancestry:...
, also of Minden but based at the Shreveport court.