1 week Ago By By SUBMITTED
PIKE COUNTY — The Pulaski Chapter of the National Society of the American Revolution is undertaking a cemetery cleanup project of the Allen Family Cemetery in Pike County. The Allen Cemetery is located off Reidsboro Road, in a new development by Trademark Homes called The Reserve, and at the site of a former golf course. There are several unmarked stone slab graves, including the Allens, and headstone markers for the Ballards.
The Pulaski Chapter is working to clean out overgrown trees and underbrush, which has covered up the graves, as a service project honoring the 250th anniversary of the United States and Drewry Allen’s war service. There are chapter members who note ancestry to Allen. Trademark Homes has given the chapter permission to clean up the site, and Boy Scout Troop 4 from Griffin has been enlisted to help with the cleanup process over time.
DAR spouses and friends have been instrumental in the process, as well. The names “Drury,” “Drewry,” and “Drewery” have persisted in the Allen family. Drewry Allens have consistently appeared in every generation up to the present.
When the Revolutionary War broke out, Drewry Allen was in his late 20s. In 1776, Drewry Allen enlisted as a private in the Continental Army, North Carolina Line, and served throughout the war. He left his wife, Elizabeth, and did not see her again for seven years.
He was often within 40 miles of home, but he was never able to visit her. As to actual fighting in the Revolutionary War, there is no formal record known that covers Drewry Allen’s war service. Family lore, however, suggests that he served under George Washington at the battle of Brandywine and at Yorktown, Virginia.
He may also have served in the Carolinas at the battle of Cowpens and Guilford Courthouse. According to an account given by Carrie Ballard Sasser, a great-great-granddaughter, he shared incidents of these battles with grandchildren. After the War, Drewry Allen and his family, moved to Greene County, Georgia, settling on the Oconee River.
The family moved to Pike County in 1824. Drewry Allen died in Pike County on Jan. 20, 1826, and was buried in the Allen Family Cemetery — Submitted.
