BIO: Francis P. DRINKER, native of Luzerne County, PA

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Joy Fisher sdgenweb@yahoo.com July 1, 2005, 9:15 pm

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Author: Biographical Publishing Co.

FRANCIS P. DRINKER, one of the honored and highly respected citizens of
Bloomsburg, who is spending his latter days in enjoying the labors of his past,
was born in Covington township, Luzerne County, now Lackawanna County, Pa.,
November 16, 1832, and is a son of Richard and Lydia E. (Wragg) Drinker, and
grandson of Henry Drinker.

  Edward Drinker, the great-great-grandfather of our subject, was the first
white child born where the city of Philadelphia now stands. His ancestors were
natives of England who came to America about the time of William Penn.

  Our subject's great-grandfather, Henry Drinker, resided in Philadelphia all
his life and was cashier of the Bank of North America of that city. He was
united in marriage to Mary Howell and they reared a large family of children. He
passed from this life about 1830. Henry Drinker, Jr., grandfather of our
subject, purchased a tract of 25,000 acres of land in Luzerne County, which was
taken care of by his two sons, Henry W., and Richard, the father of our subject.

  Richard Drinker studied law and was admitted to the bar at Philadelphia; he
and his brother Henry received a charter for the railroad from Great Bend to the
Delaware River, now known as the D., L. & W. R. R. They also built fifty miles
of turnpike in Luzerne County. Richard served over twenty years as justice of
the peace; he was a large landowner and in 1846 bought a farm near the town of
Bloomsburg, now known as the Troup farm. In 1854 he moved to Scranton, Pa.,
where he remained until his death, which occurred in November, 1861. He was
wedded to Lydia E. Wragg, a daughter of John Wragg, a native of England who came
to America about the time of the French Revolution; he was captured and was
thrown into prison for a long time and upon his release located in Luzerne
County, Pa. Later he moved west to Beloit, Wis., where he died at the age of
ninety years. To Mr. and Mrs. Drinker were born the following children: Richard
W., Eliza M., Edward R., Francis P., Alfred C, Rebecca H., Charles N., and Mary A.

  Francis P. Drinker was educated in the Bloomsburg Academy. In 1846 he accepted
a position as bookkeeper and superintendent of the Bloomsburg Iron Company; he
remained in the employ of that company until 1888 when he retired from active
life. In 1861 he enlisted in Company A, 6th Reg., Pa. Vol. Inf., for a term of
three years. Later he was attached to Anderson's Cavalry, and at the battle of
Murfreesboro, Tenn., he was taken a prisoner by Wheeler's Cavalry; after being
in their hands a short time, and being stripped of his uniform, he was paroled
and turned loose to do the best he could. He was stricken by typhoid fever after
being in Nashville, Tenn., and was in a hospital for some time. He finally
reached his regiment and was discharged in 1863; he re-enlisted in the Emergency
Militia, served a short time and was discharged in 1863. Mr. Drinker was united
in the bonds of matrimony to Mary Chamberlin, a daughter of John M. Chamberlin
of Bloomsburg. Four children were born to Mr. and Mrs. Drinker, as follows:
Martha C., who is the wife of E. N. Perrin and they have one child, Edwin O.;
William W., a civil engineer in the employ of the D., L. & W. R. R., who resides
at Scranton; Margaret, wife of W. P. Meigs of Bloomsburg, and they are the
parents of one child, Margaret; and Francis P., Jr., a draftsman in the
car-shops of Bloomsburg.

  Our subject resides in his beautiful home at No. 211 Main street, which he
built in 1886. In politics he is independent; in 1892 he was elected president
of the town of Bloomsburg, and was re-elected to the same office at the
following two elections. Religiously Mr. Drinker is a member of the Episcopal
Church, although he was reared a Quaker. Socially he is a member of the P. O. S.
of A.


Additional Comments:
Extracted from:

Book of Biographies of the Seventeenth Congressional District
Published by 
Biographical Publishing Company of Chicago, Ill. and Buffalo, NY (1899)





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