Our Drummond Beginnings in America
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 Scotch-Irish Drummonds  This page is being updated with NEW information. It will appear in red. According to the 1850 and 1860 censuses, and the 1880 censuses of three of his sons, Henry Drummond was born somewhere in Ireland around 1793. Henry must have been in South Carolina by 1820, as that is the year in which his first son, Joseph Berry, was most likely born. In my research, I have not found any Henry Drummond that came to America from 1790 to 1820. Because of this fact, I have concluded that Henry came to America as a boy with his parents and family. A Henry Drummond is mentioned in the will of John Drummon of Barnwell, South Carolina, however, it's not the Henry Drummond I am seeking. Here is the text: Because Henry was born after 1790 in Ireland no one on any 1790 U.S. census could be his father. There are nine Drummonds* on the 1800 South Carolina census. By process of elimination, I have ruled out Benjamin (Abbeville, p.39), Epheraim (Spartanburg, p.183), John (Barnwell, p.44) and Nathaniel (Laurens, p.31). The first three, I believe, are the same men that appear on the 1790 South Carolina census. I have ruled out Nathaniel because he appears on the 1803 will of Benjamin Drummond. On the 1810 South Carolina census, there are 12 Drummonds. Again, by process of elimination, I have ruled out Ephraim of Spartanburg (p.186), James and John of Barnwell (p. 90), Nathaniel of Laurens (p.23) and Moses of Abbeville (p.59). The last two are both mentioned on the 1803 will of Benjamin Drummond of Abbeville. There are two Drumons in Laurens (p.49), Dannil and Hormon. I have not considered them for a number of reasons. * The name Drummond is spelled Drummon, Drumon and Drumman on these censuses. That leaves five Drummonds from the 1800 census and five from the 1810 census. From the 1800 census, there is Daniel (Laurens, p.31), Daniel (York, p. 960), James (Charleston, p.152), James (Pendleton, p. 39), and John (Charleston, p.133). And from the 1810 census, there is Daniel (Pendleton, p.159), Daniel (Pendleton, p.162), William (Pendleton, p.159), James (Charleston, p.172) and John (Charleston, p.198). I assume that the two Daniels, John and one of the James' from 1800 are the same people in 1810. One James from 1800 is no longer listed in 1810 and there is a William in 1810 that was not listed in 1800. So I am really looking at four people as I am not considering William as Henry's father. In 1810, Henry would have been about 17 years old and probably still living in his fathers household as he does not appear on any census until 1820. After searching every outlet I know, to my knowledge, only one of the four came from Ireland and that was one of the Daniels. Here is what I have:
Immigrant: Drummond, Daniel In the book A Collection of Upper South Carolina Genealogical and Family Records vol. 2, p. 79 there is this entry:
Drummond, Daniel Pack 2. Clerk of the Court Office. Anderson, S.C.
From the original document:
To the Honorable the associate Judges of the said state. The Humble petition of Daniel Drummond-a native of the County
of Antrim in the Kingdom of Ireland, Sheweth that your petition has been resideth
in the United States of America fifteen years and the whole time within this
State; That your petitioner is attached to the principles of the United States
Constitution and Government and is desirous of becoming a citizen of the said United
States- Your petitioner therefore prays your Honor that you would be pleased to admit him to the rights and privileges of
citizenship, and as in duty bound he will our pray- We do hereby certify that we have known
Danl/Daniel Drummond-- for five years, that he has resided within the
jurisdiction of this state John T. Lewis The State of South Carolina
Daniel Drummond, being duly sworn in open court make oath that he has resided within the jurisdiction of this state for fifteen years, that he will support the constitution of this state and of the United States, and that he doth absolutely and utterly (unsure of word) renounce and abjure all allegiance and fidelity to every foreign Prince (unsure of word), Potentate, State or Sovereignty whatever, and particularly the King of Great Britain and Ireland under whose allegiance he was born. Sworn
in open court and _____ (unreadable word)
Daniel Drummond The last part of this I do not fully understand. Did Daniel change his name to David? After seeing the original document, I can conclude with almost 100% certainty that Daniel did not change his name to David. Comparing the handwriting throughout the document, the letters are extremely consistent. On all three pages, the front page (not listed above--just a name and date on it) and the two pages of body, the name is clearly Daniel Drummond. When Daniel actually signs his name in his own handwriting, it could be mistaken as David. However, upon a closer look, it is obviously Daniel Drummond. By 1820, Henry is on the Pendleton District census (p.198) and there is only one Daniel, also in Pendleton (p.198). He is just a couple of houses from Henry and David Melton, Henry's first son's (Joseph Berry) father-in-law-to-be. There is a will for a Daniel Drummond dated 16 July 1822. Unfortunately, Henry is not mentioned in this will. I have not seen the original. I will have it soon and will post my findings. The will, without full text, follows: Series Number: S108093 Reel: 0003 Frame: 00051 item: 02 What's more, on 23 February 1814 a Daniel Drummond attested to the good character of a William Duncan, 52, who wished to be naturalized on that date in Pendleton. Here are the two Daniel Drummond households from 1800 through 1820. Also, I have included the James Drummond household that is a few pages away from Henry in 1820. On 1 May 2004, someone signed the guestbook who had some great insight that I had never heard before. Read it in the guestbook.
If Henry's parents did bring him to South Carolina from Northern Ireland, it seems reasonable that they may have had other children either with them as they traveled or born in America after their arrival. I have speculated about a few possible siblings for Henry that were born in South Carolina in or after the year 1798. As of now, I am speculating on these three individuals; William H. Drummond (1798), John Drummond (1803) and Isabella Drummond (15 May 1805). However, I can't fit Isabella in an age bracket in the above table. See a little about William H. Drummond here on this site. There are researchers for John Drummond and you can see their tree here. Also, on the 1830 St. Clair, Alabama census, a John Drummond is living next door to Henry. There households are as follows:
As of now this is still just speculation. I certainly am not trying to make things fit into place on circumstantial evidence. It seems that Drummond researchers are few so if you are a descendant or a researcher of the Drummond family, especially the Drummonds of South Carolina, Georgia, Alabama, Florida, Arkansas and Northern Ireland, I would like to hear from you. Let me know you’ve been here by signing my guestbook. |
