Thomas Stevenson Drew

Thomas Stevenson Drew (August 25, 1802 – January 1879) was the third Governor of the U.S. state of Arkansas. He was born in Wilson County, Tennessee. Drew moved with his family to Louisiana and then, in 1818, to Arkansas. He worked as a traveling salesman and school teacher. Drew first settled in Clark County and was appointed Clark County Clerk in 1823. In 1827 he moved to Pocahontas, Arkansas, and married Cinderella Bettis, daughter of the prosperous founder of that town, Ransom Bettis. His father-in-law gave the newlyweds 800 acres (3.2 km2) of bottom land in Cherokee Bay, where the town of Biggers lies in what is now Randolph County (then Lawrence County.) The Drews prospered, and their plantation included 20 African-American slaves.

Thomas Stevenson Drew

Thomas Stevenson Drew (August 25, 1802 – January 1879) was the third Governor of the U.S. state of Arkansas. He was born in Wilson County, Tennessee. Drew moved with his family to Louisiana and then, in 1818, to Arkansas. He worked as a traveling salesman and school teacher. Drew first settled in Clark County and was appointed Clark County Clerk in 1823. In 1827 he moved to Pocahontas, Arkansas, and married Cinderella Bettis, daughter of the prosperous founder of that town, Ransom Bettis. His father-in-law gave the newlyweds 800 acres (3.2 km2) of bottom land in Cherokee Bay, where the town of Biggers lies in what is now Randolph County (then Lawrence County.) The Drews prospered, and their plantation included 20 African-American slaves.