In 1819, a Warwickshire yeoman and his two teenage sons stepped off a ship and walked into the forest along the newly cut Penetanguishene Road. What they cleared became Kenilworth Farm. What they began became a lineage that would send one of its sons to the Premier's chair, fund the discovery of insulin, and keep the same two farms in the family for seven generations.
The enclosure of common fields by Parliament and the economic depression following the Napoleonic Wars took their toll on English yeoman farmers. Many were forced to give up their land and emigrate to North America. Although Joseph Drury owned a small freehold near Kenilworth in Warwickshire, he decided Upper Canada would provide better opportunities for his family.
Joseph and two of his sons—fourteen-year-old Richard and sixteen-year-old Thomas—made the long and dangerous voyage to Crown Hill, on the newly constructed Penetanguishene Road. Joseph's other children and his wife remained in England while the forest was cleared and buildings erected on the first of two Drury farms, which came to be known as Kenilworth Farm. Both properties remain in the family two centuries later.
Conditions in pioneer Canada were difficult, and Joseph died in a raging snowstorm in 1823. Richard and Thomas continued the hard work of homesteading. Their mother and younger siblings stayed in Kenilworth, where some of their descendants still live. Brother Edmund later joined them in Canada. In 1831 Richard returned to visit his family and married Elizabeth Bishop, who followed him back to Upper Canada.
They were often the first to question conventional wisdom and pioneered new farming techniques. — On the Drurys of Crown Hill
The Drurys of Crown Hill had much in common with other settlers who came to Canada in the early 1800s. They created thriving farms from virgin forests. They lived without basic necessities in order to make a better future for their children. They worked cooperatively with their neighbours to build a caring rural society.
But Joseph Drury's descendants were also exceptional in many respects. They were often the first to question conventional wisdom and pioneered new farming techniques. They were leaders in their community—spearheading public schools, promoting higher education for farm children, founding farmer organizations and cooperatives, fighting the abuses of big business, and harnessing the tools of government to make a better society for farmers and working people.
An English yeoman farmer from Kenilworth, Warwickshire. Crossed the Atlantic with two of his sons to claim land along the newly constructed Penetanguishene Road. His wife and younger children remained in England while the forest was cleared.
Established Kenilworth Farm, 1819.
Thomas became Oro Township councillor, reeve, and for many years Sheriff of Simcoe County. Richard was the first reeve of Oro Township and a County Magistrate, holding court in the front room of his home.
First Reeve of Oro Township.
Reeve of Oro Township for thirteen years; Liberal MPP for a decade. In 1888 Premier Oliver Mowat appointed him as Ontario's first Minister of Agriculture. In 1890 he built the large brick homestead that is occupied today.
Appointed Ontario's first Minister of Agriculture, 1888.
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Ernest graduated from OAC with a BSA degree in 1900. In 1910 he helped found the Canadian Council of Agriculture. The United Farmers of Ontario was founded in 1914 with Drury as President. By 1917 it became clear that big business had made huge war profits while farm incomes shrank. The UFO won enough seats in 1919 to form a government, and Drury was asked to become Premier. In four years his government brought in dozens of progressive measures.
Ernest and Ella had five children. Descendants have contributed as teachers, pilots, nurses, entrepreneurs, IT professionals, managers, lawyers, geologists and elected officials. Bob Drury served as Oro councillor, reeve, first mayor of Oro-Medonte, and Warden of Simcoe County.
Seventh-generation Craig Drury now stewards 763 Penetanguishene.
The two original homesteads remain in the family two centuries later — an uncommon continuity. Kenilworth Farm (661) is stewarded by sixth-generation Bob Drury and his wife Laura; 763 Penetanguishene Road by seventh-generation Craig Drury.
Both properties remain in the family, 2026.
From the darker night of slavery,
Through the night they journeyed far,
In their hearts was the flame of freedom,
And their guide was the pale Pole Star.
O Canada, be this your pride,
As the changeful years succeed,
That under your flag, a man's a man,
Whatever his race or creed.