Walter Drennen

This article is about the Methodist minister. For his son, the Birmingham mayor, see Mel Drennen.

Walter Blythe Drennen (born May 29, 1817 in Tennessee; died June 11, 1871) was a Methodist minister.

Drennen was the son of Thomas Drennen (or Drinnen) and Mary "Polly" Blythe, who had been widowed by Labon Gravlee. He came to Alabama with his mother as an infant, arriving at their homestead on the Mulberry River near Hamby's Mill in 1820. Thomas was to arrive later, but never did and was presumed killed by Indians.

Walter was granted land in Cullman and Blount County in 1835, 1839, and 1857.

Drennen entered the clergy and married Matilda Hardin Cornwell in 1841. The couple had eleven children. Three of his sons, William, Darlyne McDonald and Walter Melville, operated a successful mercantile business in Birmingham. Mel Drennen served as Mayor of Birmingham. Another son, Charles Travis, was a prominent physician in the city.

Drennen died in 1871 and is buried at Harmony Baptist Church Cemetery near Sloan, Blount County.

References

• Dubose, Joel Campbell (1904) Notable men of Alabama: Personal and Genealogical 2 Volumes. Atlanta, Georgia: Southern Historical Association
• Causey, Donna (June 14, 2009) "Drennen, Walter Melville (1851-aft. 1904)" Alabama Pioneers