Joseph was the eldest son of Joseph and Ann and was born on 1st. July 1798 (Ref:01) .

Joseph was a comb maker for the local woollen industry. Kenilworth was the centre of the comb making industry in the Midlands during this period, and records show that there were nine comb makers in the village during 1835, twelve in 1850, but none in 1884. The face of industry was changing rapidly at this time and mechanisation was reshaping industry, forcing these small cottage type industries out of existence. It is almost certain that this industrial upheaval was a contributory factor in the decision of Joseph's father to emigrate to Canada

Joseph's first wife was Edith, born in 1798 (Ref:17). Their date of marriage is not known, nor is her surname or where she came from.

Infant mortality was appallingly high during this period with almost half the deaths of the 1830's being those of children under the age of five. Measles, scarlet fever and pneumonia were among the major killers. Cholera was also a serious threat during the mid-19th. century and there were several outbreaks in and around Kenilworth. A major outbreak took place in Coventry in 1838 which caused some fifty deaths within a fortnight. Edith died on the 31st. July 1838 (Ref:17) (Ref:30) shortly after the death of their youngest son, James, on 4th. July 1838 (Ref:17), and it may be that their deaths were associated with the cholera epidemic of that year.

On the 25th. November 1845 (Ref:09), Joseph remarried to Elizabeth Trunkfield from Kenilworth, daughter of one Richard Trunkfield. Elizabeth was born in 1813 (Ref:57)and at the time of the 1851 census she was a dressmaker and Joseph and Elizabeth lived in Albion Row, Kenilworth.

Joseph and his brother, James, are shown attending the Manor Court from 1820 to 1859 (Ref:55) (Ref:56). These Court Rolls give us quite a record of the changes in the family which occurred during this period, from the time when Joseph became the head of the f amily and his mother, Ann, stopped attending in 1832, right through to his death and that of his brother.

These records show Joseph serving on the Manor Jury in 1849 and also that he resided in New Row, Kenilworth, during the later years of his life. He is also present in the Kenilworth rate books (Ref:75), in which he is shown owning property which he let out to an Edward Heath who was probably a relative of his mother, Ann Heath. Joseph died on 2nd. August 1852 (Ref:16) and Elizabeth remarried to William Smith almost two years later, on 26th.January 1854 (Ref:09).

These events can be seen clearly in the Court Rolls and in 1852, when Joseph had died, James is shown as resident at New Row and Elizabeth, 'Drury widow', is shown at Albion Row, probably living with her son William. This entry is later deleted after Elizabeth's marriage, in 1854.

When Joseph died, in 1852, he was buried in grave 882 (Ref:30) in St. Nicholas churchyard together with his first wife, Edith, a son, James and a daughter Ann. Two grandchildren were also buried in the same grave at a later date. This grave stands just to right of the church doors, and is the best preserved of all the Drury graves in the churchyard (Ref:30) (Ref:72).

Joseph's first wife was Edith, born in 1798 (Ref:17). Their date of marriage is not known, nor is her surname or where she came from. Edith died on the 31st. July 1838 (Ref:17)

On the 25th. November 1845 (Ref:09), Joseph remarried to Elizabeth Trunkfield from Kenilworth, daughter of one Richard Trunkfield. Elizabeth was born in 1813 (Ref:57)and at the time of the 1851 census she was a dressmaker and Joseph and Elizabeth lived in Albion Row, Kenilworth. 

William c.27/12/1820 m.13/04/1846 d.03/09/1887
Ann * c.27/09/1826 m.n/k d.04/12/1835
Edith c.28/09/1831 m.n/k d.n/k
Hannah ** c.16/11/1834 m.12/02/1857 d.30/01/1871
James *** b.1836 m.n/k d.04/07/1838

* b. 1824, christened on 27th. Sept.1826 (Ref:01).We have few details of her, except that she died aged 11 on 4th. Dec. 1835 (Ref:17) / (Ref:30) and is buried in grave 882 in St. Nicholas churchyard, together with her brother, James, and her mother and father (Ref:30)

** b. 16th. November 1834 (Ref:01). She married Charles Henry Gill, a plumber, on 12th. February 1857 when she was 23 years old (Ref:09). She is shown in the 1851 census to be living with her grandmother, Ann Sturley (Drury), in Kenilworth. Hannah was a horse groom at that time. She died on 30th. Jan. 1871 (Ref:16).

*** b. 1836. There is no record of a christening for James who died on 4th.July 1838 (Ref:17) at the age of 1yr.7mt. and is buried in grave 882 (Ref:30).