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Introduction / Families / Drever / David Drever and Ann Reid John Drever and Barbara GroatJohn Drever was the oldest of the four sons of David Drever and Ann Reid. He was baptised on 18th July 1815 and married Barbara Groat on 1st February 1838. Barbara was a daughter of Robert Groat and Janet Guthrie from Quoy in the north end of the island.
A younger sister of Barbara Groat, Jane Groat, married Thomas Drever, a younger brother of John Drever. John and Barbara were at Hammar at the time of the 1841 census when they formed a separate household from John’s parents. They had six children born on Pharay:
By 1851 they had moved south to Windywa where they were to spend the rest of their days. John’s aunt, Jane Drever, who had married Robert Sinclair was there at that time with their family. Windywa was to be for a long time a Drever house. John is described in the 1851 census as a fisherman and farmer of four acres arable and twenty acres pasturelands. John’s uncle, Robert Sinclair, is similarly described. Robert had moved away by 1861 and John is left with his family, described now as a crofter of fifty acres. Barbara, like many people, suffered from rheumatics when she got older. She had bad legs and went with a couple of sticks by this time. She had been a great midwife when she was younger. There is a story of when she was about eighty, a bairn was about to be born to a house in the north end of the island. There was a storm from the South East and the men were unable to get the doctor. Barbara was taken north to officiate. Barbara died at Windywa on 4th December 1896. John lived a short time longer and died there on 16th October 1898. | |||
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