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Drew is a native of [[Minden, Louisiana|Minden]] in Webster Parish in northwestern Louisiana, where he and his wife, the former Jean Talley, reside in the Drew ancestral home at 1002 Broadway Street. The home was built by the Minden businessman and later city council member William L. Life (1887–1972) and was acquired about 1915 by Drew's paternal grandfather]. Drew's father, Richard Harmon Drew, Sr., grandfather [[Harmon Caldwell Drew]], great-grandfather [[Richard Cleveland Drew]], and great-great-grandfather [[Richard Maxwell Drew]], all held judgeships in Minden and Webster or surrounding parishes. The Drew family, under its patriarch, Newett Drew, settled the Overton community in Webster Parish in 1818, prior to the establishment of either the parish or the city of Minden.<ref>{{cite web|url= http://www.mindenmemories.org/Drew%20Family.htm|title=Drew Family|publisher=mindenmemories.org|accessdate=June 5, 2011; no longer on-line}}</ref>​

Drew is a native of [[Minden, Louisiana|Minden]] in Webster Parish in northwestern Louisiana, where he and his wife, the former Jean Talley, reside in the Drew ancestral home at 1002 Broadway Street. The home was built by the Minden businessman and later city council member William L. Life (1887–1972) and was acquired about 1915 by Drew's paternal grandfather]. Drew's father, Richard Harmon Drew, Sr., grandfather [[Harmon Caldwell Drew]], great-grandfather [[Richard Cleveland Drew]], and great-great-grandfather [[Richard Maxwell Drew]], all held judgeships in Minden and Webster or surrounding parishes. The Drew family, under its patriarch, Newett Drew, settled the Overton community in Webster Parish in 1818, prior to the establishment of either the parish or the city of Minden.<ref>{{cite web|url= http://www.mindenmemories.org/Drew%20Family.htm|title=Drew Family|publisher=mindenmemories.org|accessdate=June 5, 2011; no longer on-line}}</ref>​

 

Drew is also a great-grandson of Samuel Mays Grigsby, a physician who died of [[pneumonia]] in 1892 at the age of thirty-two. Dr. Grigsby was from 1891 until his death the coroner of Webster Parish.<ref>List of Webster Parish Coroners, ''Webster Parish Centennial Booklet, 1871," Webster Parish Police Jury publication.</ref> Dr. Thomas Drew Carey (born 1947), a dermatologist from [[Ruston, Louisiana|Ruston]], another great-grandson of Dr. Grigsby and a cousin of Judge Harmon Drew Jr., has in his possession Grigsby's diploma, graduation invitation, and scalpel. Grigsby graduated in 1887 from Alabama Medical College in [[Mobile, Alabama|Mobile]], [[Alabama]]. The Grigsbys resided on Main Street near the Webster Parish Library in a house still standing. Mrs. Grigsby, Dr. Carey's great-grandmother, exchanged houses thereafter with Sam Webb, the founder of a since defunct Minden hardware store, operated for years by the aforementioned Will Life.<ref>Statement of Dr. Thomas Drew Carey, [[Ruston, Louisiana|Ruston]], Louisiana, December 21, 2010.</ref>​

Drew is also a great-grandson of Samuel Mays Grigsby, a physician who died of [[pneumonia]] in 1892 at the age of thirty-two. Dr. Grigsby was from 1891 until his death the coroner of Webster Parish.<ref>List of Webster Parish Coroners, ''Webster Parish Centennial Booklet, 1871," Webster Parish Police Jury publication.</ref> Dr. Thomas Drew Carey (born 1947), a dermatologist from [[Ruston, Louisiana|Ruston]], another great-grandson of Dr. Grigsby and a cousin of Judge Harmon Drew Jr., has in his possession Grigsby's diploma, graduation invitation, and scalpel. Grigsby graduated in 1887 from Alabama Medical College in [[Mobile, Alabama|Mobile]], [[Alabama]]. The Grigsbys resided on Main Street near the Webster Parish Library in a house still standing. Mrs. Grigsby, Dr. Carey's great-grandmother, exchanged houses thereafter with Sam Webb, the founder of a since defunct Minden hardware store, operated for years by the aforementioned Will Life.<ref>Statement of Dr. Thomas Drew Carey, [[Ruston, Louisiana|Ruston]], Louisiana, December 21, 2010.</ref>​

Drew was born to Richard Harmon Drew, Sr., (1917–1995), and the former Margaret Taylor Elam (1919–1977), a native of Mansfield in DeSoto Parish who grew up in Shreveport and [[Baton Rouge]]. Margaret Drew was a direct descendant of [[U.S. President]] [[Zachary Taylor]] through Taylor's son, [[Confederate States of America|Confederate]] [[General]] [[Richard Taylor]]. Mrs. Zachary Taylor was also named Margaret.<ref>''Minden Herald'' and ''Webster Review'', May 2, 1957, p. 8.</ref>​

Drew was born to Richard Harmon Drew, Sr., (1917–1995), and the former Margaret Taylor Elam (1919–1977), a native of Mansfield in DeSoto Parish who grew up in Shreveport and [[Baton Rouge]]. Margaret Drew was a direct descendant of [[U.S. President]] [[Zachary Taylor]] through Taylor's son, [[Confederate States of America|Confederate]] [[General]] [[Richard Taylor]]. Mrs. Zachary Taylor was also named Margaret.<ref>''Minden Herald'' and ''Webster Review,'' May 2, 1957, p. 8.</ref>​

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Margaret Drew's paternal grandfather was Joseph Barton Elam, Sr. (1821-1885), the first [[mayor]] of Mansfield, a state representative, and a [[U.S. Representative]] for Louisiana's 4th congressional district.. Her uncle, Charles Wheaton Elam, was also a state representative and a founder of the [[Louisiana State University]] Law Center. Margaret and Harmon Drew,Sr., were married in an [[Episcopal]] Church in Baton Rouge on [[Pearl Harbor]] Day 1940, exactly a year before the attack on the [[United States]] by the empire of [[Japan]]. Drew and his two sisters, Elizabeth Weaver and Caldwell Colvin, were reared, like their mother, as Episcopalians. The senior Drew, however, retained [[Presbyterian]] affiliation. Harmon and Jean Drew are members of St. John's Episcopal Church near their home though Jean was reared as a [[United Methodist]].​

Margaret Drew's paternal grandfather was Joseph Barton Elam, Sr. (1821-1885), the first [[mayor]] of Mansfield, a state representative, and a [[U.S. Representative]] for Louisiana's 4th congressional district.. Her uncle, Charles Wheaton Elam, was also a state representative and a founder of the [[Louisiana State University]] Law Center. Margaret and Harmon Drew, Sr., were married in an [[Episcopal]] Church in Baton Rouge on [[Pearl Harbor]] Day 1940, exactly a year before the attack on the [[United States]] by the empire of [[Japan]]. Drew and his two sisters, Elizabeth Weaver and Caldwell Colvin, were reared, like their mother, as Episcopalians. The senior Drew, however, retained [[Presbyterian]] affiliation. Harmon and Jean Drew are members of St. John's Episcopal Church near their home though Jean was reared as a [[United Methodist]].​

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In 1952, while speeding through Minden, the [[singer]] Lefty Frizzell, originally from Corsicana in Navarro County, [[Texas]], crashed his [[Cadillac]] into the Drew home. Drew, Jr,. slept through the mishap, but he recalls that his father having always thought that Frizzell had a "bad attitude"."<ref>Judge Harmon Drew, Jr., to Earlene Mendenhall Lyle, Lyle newsletter, May 4, 2008.</ref>​

In 1952, while speeding through Minden, the [[singer]] Lefty Frizzell, originally from Corsicana in Navarro County, [[Texas]], crashed his [[Cadillac]] into the Drew home. Drew, Jr,. slept through the mishap, but he recalls that his father having always thought that Frizzell had a "bad attitude"."<ref>Judge Harmon Drew, Jr., to Earlene Mendenhall Lyle, Lyle newsletter, May 4, 2008.</ref>​