From: History of Cook County, Illinois: From the Earliest Period to the Present Time, Chicago, IL: A. T. Andreas, 1884

JOHN WILLIAM DRANT was born in 1853, in Hull, England, being the fourth son of George and Margaret (Hodgson) Drant. The family came to the United States, and settled in Chicago in 1865. In 1865 young Drant began to learn the business of an engraver with Harly, the well-known New York artist in that line. In 1873 he returned to Chicago, going into business on his own account, and in 1877 formed a partnership with Walter F. Hawtin, under the style of Drant & Hawtin, which still continues. The firm has had a steady growth in the volume of business done from year to year, in keeping with the unprecedented development of the city. In 1879 Mr. Drant married K. L., a daughter of Colonel H. Pease, of Chicago. They have one child, Chester, born in 1881. In 1883 Mr. Drant bought some ground in Hyde Park, near South Park Station, as the site of a permanent home.

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