Ann Fox Drayton (–1742) was an American landowner, prominent in the

American South The Southern United States (sometimes Dixie, also referred to as the Southern States, the American South, the Southland, Dixieland, or simply the South) is census regions United States Census Bureau. It is between the Atlantic Ocean and the ...

during the early 18th century. Along with her relatives Rebecca and Charlotte, she became known as one of the women of

Drayton Hall Drayton Hall is an 18th-century plantation house located on the Ashley River about 15 miles (24 km) northwest of Charleston, South Carolina, and directly across the Ashley River from North Charleston, west of the Ashley in the Lowcountr ...

, which her youngest son, John (1716–1779), built. Drayton Street in

Savannah, Georgia Savannah ( ) is the oldest city in the U.S. state of Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia and the county seat of Chatham County, Georgia, Chatham County. Established in 1733 on the Savannah River, the city of Savannah became the Kingdom of Great Brita ...

, is named for her.

Life and career

Ann Fox was born in the second half of the 17th century. Around 1698, she married Thomas Drayton, who regarded Ann's father, Stephen, as a mentor. Ann was Thomas' second wife. After arriving from Barbados in 1678, they were bequeathed today's Magnolia Plantation in

Charleston, South Carolina Charleston is the List of municipalities in South Carolina, most populous city in the U.S. state of South Carolina. The city lies just south of the geographical midpoint of South Carolina's coastline on Charleston Harbor, an inlet of the Atla ...

, by Ann's father around 1704. She became a widowed mother when Thomas died in 1721 at the age of 71. Her children were Mary (born 1704; married colonel Thomas Fuller), Thomas (born 1710), Stephen Fox (1713 or 1714) and John (1716). Choosing not to remarry, she began to establish herself alongside the male planter elite in

South Carolina South Carolina ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders North Carolina to the north and northeast, the Atlantic Ocean to the southeast, and Georgia (U.S. state), Georg ...

. After her husband's death, she served as the manager of the family estate, and had extensively increased its properties by the time of her death. In 1730, Thomas Jr. married Elizabeth Bull, daughter of William Bull, who assisted general

James Edward Oglethorpe Lieutenant-General James Edward Oglethorpe (22 December 1696 – 30 June 1785) was a British Army officer, Tory politician and colonial administrator best known for founding the Province of Georgia in British North America. As a social reform ...

in the laying out of

Savannah A savanna or savannah is a mixed woodland-grassland (i.e. grassy woodland) biome and ecosystem characterised by the trees being sufficiently widely spaced so that the canopy does not close. The open canopy allows sufficient light to reach th ...

Province of Georgia The Province of Georgia (also Georgia Colony) was one of the Southern Colonies in colonial-era British America. In 1775 it was the last of the Thirteen Colonies to support the American Revolution. The original land grant of the Province of G ...

, three years later. In 1737, Bull became the 24th

governor of South Carolina The governor of South Carolina is the head of government of South Carolina. The governor is the ''ex officio'' commander-in-chief of the National Guard when not called into federal service. The governor's responsibilities include making year ...

. Drayton's son, Stephen, died in 1733, shortly before his 21st birthday.

Death

Drayton died in 1742. Having possessed a deep distrust of her son-in-law Thomas Fuller, she left an "estate in trust" to her daughter Mary, stipulating that Fuller would have nothing at all to do with any part of her daughter's inheritance. As a legacy, Drayton Street in

, was named in her honor, after she had lent four

sawyer *A sawyer (occupation) is someone who saws wood. Places in the United States Communities * Sawyer, Kansas * Sawyer, Kentucky * Sawyer, Michigan * Sawyer, Minnesota * Sawyer, Nebraska * Sawyer, New York * Sawyer, North Dakota * Sawyer, Oklahoma ...

s to assist colonists in building one of the first homes in the city.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Drayton, Ann 1670s births 1742 deaths 18th-century Barbadian people People from colonial South Carolina People from Charleston, South Carolina American planters 18th-century American landowners 18th-century American women landowners