LowCountry Africana : Mary Drayton Fuller

Mary Drayton [Fuller] (ca. 1700-Ca. 1751)

Name: Mary Drayton

Born: ca. 1700-1704

Place of Birth: Magnolia Plantation, St. Andrews Parish, Charleston District, SC [1]

Married: Richard Fuller 21 Dec 1721 [2]

Died: ca. 1751

Place of Death: Charleston District, SC

Family Group Sheet

1 Thomas Drayton d: 1717 [3]

+ Ann Unknown d: ca. 1741 [4]

2 Mary Drayton [Fuller] b: ca. 1700-1704 [5] d: ca. 1751 [6]

+ Richard Fuller [7]

3 Ann Fuller [8]

+William John Ross [9]

4 Ann Booth Fuller b: 25 January 1723 d: 27 March 1748 [10]

2 Thomas Drayton b: ca. 1710 [11] d: 11 Nov 1760 [12]

2 Stephen Fox Drayton b: ca. 1713 [13] d: January 1733 [14]

2 John Drayton b: before 1716 [15] d: 1779 [16]

Mary Drayton Fuller: Biographical Information

Little is known of Mary's early life. In 1721 she married Richard Fuller. [17] Together they had one daughter, Ann Booth Fuller (1723-1748), who married John Ross in 1743. [18]

Inheritance, Bequests and Acquisitions

Mary's father Thomas bequeathed to her £1,000 and a "Negro woman of her choosing." In September of 1752, Ann's brother John recorded her estate appraisal in his journal. [19] The appraisal notes "A Negro Wench named Vilettia." The name Vilettia does not appear in Thomas Drayton's estate inventory. It does appear that Mary received one enslaved woman from her father's estate, as her husband Richard Fuller acknowledged receipt in a dispute settlement involving Thomas Drayton's estate. [20]

References Cited

[1] Taylor, Emily Drayton Heyward. "The Draytons of South Carolina and Philadelphia." Publications of the Genealogical Society of Pennsylvania, VIII No. 1 (March, 1921), p. 5 [Hereafter Taylor 1921].

[2] Webber, Mabel L. ed. "Register of St. Andrews Parish, Berkeley County, South Carolina, 1719-1774." South Carolina Historical and Genealogical Magazine, XIII (July 1912).

[3] Drayton, Thomas. Will, Charleston District, SC. Dated 12 June 1714, Codicil 5 June 1716, Proven 17 June 1724; Taylor 1921.

[4] Drayton, Ann. Will, Charleston District, SC. Dated 2 May 1741, Codicil 23 June 1741, Proven 30 Aug 1742.

[5] Griffin, Dorothy Gail. 1985 "The Eighteenth Century Draytons of Drayton Hall." (Ph.D. diss., Emory University), p. 14. [Hereafter Griffin 1985].

[6] Fuller, Mary Drayton. Will, Charleston District, SC. Dated 27 Feb 1749, Proven 3 May 1751.

[7] Griffin 1985, p. 15.

[8] Taylor 1921, p. 5.

[9] Taylor 1921, p. 5; William Ross, Power of Attorney to James Michie, 4 Nov. 1744. United States, South Carolina, Wills and Miscellaneous Probate Records, 1671-1868, Charleston County Public Library.

[10] Taylor 1921, p. 5.

[11] Griffin 1985, p. 14.

[12] Griffin 1985, p. 27.

[13] Griffin 1985, p. 14.

[14] Drayton, Stephen Fox. Will, Charleston District, SC. Dated 22 Feb 1732, Proven 4 Jan 1734, Recorded 9 Jan 1734.

[15] Drayton, Thomas. Will, Charleston District, SC. Dated 12 June 1714, Codicil 5 June 1716, Proven 17 June 1724.

[16] Griffin 1985, p. 319.

[17] Griffin 1985, p. 15.

[18] Taylor 1921, p. 5.

[19] Drayton Family Papers, B-29-01-07.

[20] Langley, Clara A., abstractor. 1983 South Carolina Deed Abstracts 1719-1772. Easley, SC: Southern Historical Press, Inc., vol. 1, Book H, March 5, 1728, p. 155, quoted in Griffin 1985.