Sir Erasmus Dryden, 1st Baronet
Sir Erasmus Dryden, 1st Baronet was an English politician who sat in the House of Commons in 1624.
Family
Erasmus Dryden was the son of John Dryden who built Canons Ashby House, Northamptonshire. Erasmus' mother, Elizabeth Cope, was the daughter of Sir John Cope, from whose heirs the Drydens purchased the priory and village remnants of the Canons Ashby estate.Sir Erasmus Dryden married Frances Wilkes, daughter of William Wilkes of Hodnell, Warwickshire. They had 3 sons and 4 daughters. His eldest son [Sir Sir John Dryden, 2nd Baronet|John Dryden, 2nd Baronet|John] succeeded to the Baronetcy.
Sir Erasmus Dryden was the grandfather of the poet and first Poet Laureate, John Dryden and he was also the uncle of Elizabeth Swift, who was the grandmother of Jonathan Swift.
Dryden's sister-in-law, Katherine Dryden, was a first cousin of Lady Elizabeth (Throckmorton) Raleigh. He was an uncle of female Puritan preacher Anne Hutchinson.