Drury Deas Dees

Historical Southern Families Volume XVI and XVII leads to possible Needham's son, Hardy in the household of William Dees (uncle) of Harrison county, Mississippi. 1860 census shows William Dees born abt. 1821 in South Carolina.

Drury had a son named William, who may have been named for his uncle. The name Needham stands out as being unusual in this family. Most often middle names were not well documented. An early explorer of the western wilderness from North Carolina was James Needham. He was murdered by an indian guide on one of his explorations. The name Needham may have been chosen in honor of the family in which Drury respected or Needham may have been a family name. It is possible that Alcy's maiden name could have been Needham. All of the children have English or English colonial names.

Johnston County North Carolina is about 140 miles miles southwest of Isle of Wight in Virginia, where Needham's great grandfather, Emanuel Sr. died.

Drury Dees was granted land in 1768 near the line of Johnston and Duplin counties, and a deed in Johnston county NC 1778 shows that he was living in Johnston county in 1778. It is presumed that Drury Dees died during the Revolution for he does not appear in the 1790 census. Alcy Dees, his wife, was shown to have been paid a small sum by the Army at Raliegh during the Revolution.