Drane, Robert Brent, 1851-1939

Robert Brent Drane was rector, 1876-1932, of Saint Paul's Episcopal Church, Edenton, N.C.

Robert Brent Drane (1851-1939) was rector, 1876-1932, of Saint Paul's Episcopal Church, Edenton, N.C. He was born in Wilmington, N.C., to Reverend Robert Brent Drane and Catherine Caroline Parker Drane. After his father's death in 1862, he was raised in the homes of his uncles, the Reverend Joseph Blount Cheshire and Governor Henry Toole Clark. He was educated at Saintt Stephen's College, Annandale, N.Y., and the General Theological Seminary, New York, N.Y.

Drane was ordained deacon at Saint James Episcopal Church, Wilmington, N.C., 1875; served as assistant to the rector, 1875-1876; ordained as priest at Calvary Church, Tarboro, N.C., 1876; rector of Saint Paul's Episcopal Church, Edenton, N.C., 1876-1932; and rector of the Church of Saint Andrew's-by-the-Sea, Nags Head, N.C., 1934-1939. Drane also minstered to Saint John-the-Evangelist, Edenton, N.C., an Episcopal AfricanAmerican parish. He was involved with the Diocese of East Carolina and held many positions therein, including president of the convention and of the standing committee; examining chaplain; and delegate to the provincial convention and to the general convention, 1890-1929. He also acted as trustee of Saint Mary's College, Saint Augustine's College, and the University of the South.

In addition to his religious service, Drane was interested in history, particularly of the Episcopal Church and of North Carolina. He was a member and sometime president of the Roanoke Colony Memorial Association and the Roanoke Island Historical Association and member of the North Carolina Historical Commission.

In 1878, Drane married Maria Louisa Warren Skinner. They had seven children: Eliza Harwood (1879-1932), who married Joseph Cheshire Webb; Frank Parker (died 1917); Robert; Frederick Blount; Katherine Parker, who married Bennett Perry; and Marian, who married Frank Porter Graham.