Name
That Ancestor!
Who is this important Burr?
Clues:
- Born 1735, this first cousin of Peter Burr Jr, was considered a gentleman of his time.
- He graduated from Yale in
1755.
- Like numerous ancestors before him, he served in various offices in the County of Fairfield, CT: Deputy of the
General Court for several sessions, Justice of the Peace for several
years, and
High Sheriff.
- He early espoused the cause of the Colonies against the
King, and in 1775 was a member of the Town Committee on War.
- He regularly associated with and entertained prominent scholars, statesmen and
clergymen such as: George Washington, Lafayette, Benjamin Franklin, John
Hancock, Trumbull and Copley, Otis, Dr. Dwight, and family members of
both the
Quincy and Adams families.
- At his house Governor John Hancock was married in state
to Miss Dorothy Quincy of Boston
- He invited Hancock's Aunt and adoptive mother to live in
his home until her death (and she is buried in the cemetery with the
Burr’s not
the Hancock's).
- His cousin, Vice President Aaron Burr, spent many of his youthful days at this man's house and considered him to be somewhat of a surrogate father.
- The house this man occupied was built about 1700 by his grand father a Chief Justice to the Connecticut Colony Supreme Court. The house was then passed down to his father
and to him.
- When his house was burned by the British in 1779,
Governor Hancock personally participated in helping to get the house
quickly rebuilt and the reconstruction stands to today as a prized historic site in Fairfield, CT.
- He invited Hancock's Aunt and adoptive mother to live in
his home until her death (and she is buried in the cemetery with the
Burr’s not
the Hancock's).
- Recent discoveries of old letters reveal that this man was a
member of George Washington's Culper Spy Ring, which is given much credit
for supplying the intelligence that led to victory in strategic battles near the end of the Revolutionary
War.
- He was actively involved in the patriot cause in Farifield, CT at the same time his cousin Aaron was serving in the war and cousin Peter was likewise furnishing supplies to the Continental Army in the Colony of VA.
Who is this Burr ancestor?
(Find the answer further
below.)
How
Religious Beliefs Drive Culture
Puritan Churches were simple in design during the early 17th century.
The Protestant Reformation marked a turning point in
Europe. The Monarchy and the state church were linked in such a way that
citizens
were directed in how to believe and behave based on decisions by the
church.
Martin Luther challenged some of the long-held teachings of the state church. He advocated priests marrying. With his own marriage, he
experienced
and taught increased priority on family life as part of religious
experience.
Puritan
beliefs also followed the teachings of John Calvin regarding the elect
(predestination). This took the religious focus off of good works and religious rituals as the
way to
heaven. The King James Bible was published in 1611, and with this new
translation in the King’s English (along with the earlier Gutenberg Bible) people who could read were able to
interpret
Holy Scripture for themselves. This ability contributed to the Puritan’s
strong
support for education such that people learn to read in order to make
themselves knowledgeable of God’s Word.
The belief in predestination also created a concern.
If
salvation was not by works but by predestination, then the question
arose, how
would they know who were the "elect"? In time, the belief evolved that the "elect"
could be identified as those whom God had blessed with prosperity and success. So, the Puritans
began to
measure themselves by the blessings they received from God. This
contributed to
their intense work ethics which increased prosperity and success and were therefore as obvious indicators that they were among the "elect." Their intense desire to be among the elect also contributed to their strict self-imposed and narrow restrictions that demanded a pious life style.
They learned to read and write and kept journals
accounting
for their time and results. This was their way of tracking and reassuring for their own selves that they were by tangible evidence among the elect. Technically,
their hard work was not for the love of money or success but instead as proof that
they
are among those predestined by virtue of their prosperity and success. Pilgrim’s
Progress was written by a Puritan and details the daily struggles toward
success
for the purpose of being confident that success proves whether or not the individual is among
the chosen few.
These twists on traditional obedience-driven religion
created changes to the way some people related to being ruled. Oliver
Cromwell
believed that a king that rules unjustly should be overthrown. In
reality,
these religious beliefs justified some treason as well as death
sentences that
were in essence equal and opposite to those of the Monarchy. The result of these religious beliefs was that the culture of the Puritans drove religious-based motivation that quietly played important roles in the weaving of certain factors in our American heritage. Other cultures, such as the Virginia Tidewater culture, were driven by other factors. And as different cultures began to interact, clashes were predictable.
Ancestry and Cultural Influence
Another golden thread that is woven
brilliantly into the fabric
The progenitor of the Burr family was a Puritan named Jehue Burr(e) who, with his family (including at least one young son), came to the New World with John Winthrop's famous fleet. These Puritans and others before and after them became the Massachusetts Bay Colony. They were
deeply religious people who planted deep cultural roots in
Salem, Boston, and the nearby areas. Unlike the Pilgrims (also Puritans) who arrived 10 years earlier on the Mayflower, these pilgrims came better prepared and with a more realistic understanding of how difficult life was going to be. They were fleeing religious persecution and investing their entire lives and families for the cause of freedom.
John Winthrop's fleet carried 700 men, women, and children (with about an equal number of males and females) and with some livestock on 7 of the 11 ships. They departed
Yarmouth, Isle of Wight, England the 29th of March, and the ships landed at Salem, Massachusetts June 12 - July 6, 1630. The Puritans migrated as whole families with their live stock and everything they could carry to start new lives in a wilderness land. All of these were crowded onto 11 small ships that were at sea for 11-14 weeks. Of the 700 who began the voyage, 200 died before landing, and 100 returned to England soon after arrival. Some of the 400 remaining settlers stayed in Salem, but many moved on to Boston, Watertown, or other settlements. Jehue Burr and family settled for 6 years in Roxbury, MA, which is now a part of Boston. Then in 1636 and 1640, he helped to found two new villages that today are important cities (Springfield, MA and Fairfield, CT).
All in all, these people crossed the ocean looking for a better way of life, and they played a major role in making American what it was to become.
The Puritans brought their culture for hard work with them. Their culture should be understood in order to get a better idea of how those threads run through our nation's formation and how they continue to quietly under gird American values that are woven into the entire fabric of our nation.The Puritans brought a work ethic that was characteristic of their religious beliefs that were strongly influenced by John Calvin. They were driven by religious values and committed to family, education, and service . . . all fueled by their religious beliefs.
Religious Motivations Woven Through Family History
Speculation has occurred as to why the Peter Burrs (Sr
and Jr) came to the Shenandoah Valley. Did the father come because his
eldest son wanted to migrate? Or did that 20-year-old
son come because his father wanted to migrate? Coming close to an
answer likely will require knowing more about the family in Fairfield.
Land acquisition was a primary reason many settlers came to the wild frontiers. But other than acquiring two nice pieces of land to raise their families on, neither showed any evidence of attempting to purchase other property.
In Fairfield, the family was well established in both the community and the church. There is no evidence they were fleeing for any reason and certainly no reason for them to move for religious freedom. They were from a family of well respected Congregationalist in a primarily Congregationalist community. By leaving Fairfield, they were leaving a community where the family was highly regarded and moving to an unsettled area where the state church (Anglican) was very different from their religious beliefs. We might call the difference "culture shock."
The one nagging question that continues to beg an answer is: "How much of the motivation to migrate into an untamed wilderness might possibly have been religious, but this time in a different way?" Not fleeing for religious freedom but sacrificing for religious service? Thus far, there is no answer, but the question continues to haunt and at least deserves a deeper look until an answer is found or until the idea proves false or even unlikely. So what factors might lead to this question?
Peter Burr Sr was 15 years old when his full brother
Aaron was born. Aaron was 12 when Peter Burr Jr was born. Aaron was in the middle between them age-wise. They each in a manner of speaking grew up together knowing the best and worst about each other. Likely, Peter Burr Sr helped take care of little Aaron, and adolescent Aaron probably played with little Peter Jr. Then Aaron went away to Yale and had a dramatic religious conversion that changed his life. He went into the ministry and became not just a typical minister, but an outstanding Presbyterian minister of the New Light persuasion that was rocking religious groups in many corners of the the country. Rev. Aaron Burr was greatly involved in the height of revivals of Great Awakening about the same time Peter Jr was in his pre-teens and Peter Sr was almost 40.
In the next several years enough time passed for the new religious movement to have an impact on those close to Rev Aaron Burr. We have absolutely no evidence to indicate where Peter Burr Sr or Jr were on the subject. All we have is a known relationship, timing, and several indicators in hind sight.
While Peter Burr
Jr. was a young teen, the Rev. Aaron
Burr, became a close associate of Rev. Jonathan
Edwards, a
primary leader in the Great Awakening. And it wasn't long before the two Peter Burr's migrated to the Shenandoah Valley in the Colony of Virginia.
It is
unknown how much affect Rev Burr may or may not have had on the decision of his
brother
and nephew in their move to the new frontier west of
the
Blue Ridge Mountains and across the Potomac River. However, during his life in the area, the younger
Peter
Burr reflected similar ideology as his name appears on several occasions in the earliest and over-lapping days
of
recorded history of two Presbyterian Churches in our area.
Two main reasons early settlers came to the Shenandoah
Valley, was for religious freedom and land acquisition.The two Peters do not seem to fit in either of those groups. Yet, the majority of facts we have of Peter Burr Jr are from old records of the Presbyterian Church. And the only known artifact to survive as far as we know is his prayer table, at which he was found dead while kneeling with an open Bible in front of him. While so many around him owned slaves, we know from written documents that he did not own slaves. We know he was a member in a leadership role of one church while also helping to found another church at the same time. Who does that except a man deeply motivated by religious passion?
And like the prayer table, the two churches Peter Burr helped found (Elk Branch and Charles Town
Presbyterian Churches) continue to hold services today. How is it that the sum total of what remains of this mas is: a wooden house that refused to fall down, two churches that live on, a prayer table (of all things), and a number of historic records which are almost all related to his participation in churches or religious values? His friends and associates were military and civic leaders, land speculators, and farmers, yet the only thing Peter Burr seems to be about relates to churches and religion.
Charles Washington conveyed a deed for land to the
Charles Town Presbyterian Church on which Peter Burr is named as an elder.
About twenty-five years earlier, his name also appeared as an elder on the
original deed for the land where the first Elk Branch Church was built. Peter
Burr was a highly religious man, who (according to family lore) was found dead
in January 1795 at his prayer table with his Bible open in front
of him.
In New Jersey, Revs. Burr, Edwards, and Jonathan
Dickinson together founded New Jersey College, now known as Princeton
University. That college was founded to train young Presbyterian ministers as
the result of the Great Awakening. Rev. Aaron Burr served as president of the
college beginning in its second year, 1748 until his death in 1757. In 1748, Peter Burr was also starting a new life in a wilderness that was vastly different from the life style he had always known. We still do not know why, but I can't help to notice that some very similar threads seem to run through the fabric.
As the family threads continue to be part of an every-growing fabric, Peter Burr's descendants also include cousins who have migrated to new territories and helped to found churches or who took leadership roles in their communities. Certain characteristics and motivations seem apparent in the family lines.
Above is Peter Burr's ancestry along with several
(but certainly not all) of his famous uncles and cousins. Most of the
men shown in the flowchart had numerous children, and many of those children became
influential and often affluent in their
respective communities. The archives of New England are abundant with
records that indicate many of the Burr family were in occupations as
ministers, attorneys & judges, political and military leaders. Many
of the Burr men graduated from Harvard, Yale, Princeton, and others of
the early schools of higher learning.
For better understanding the family from which Peter Burr comes, we will look at the following of his ancestors.
Generation 1a – Puritan Jehue Burr (1596-1670)
Generation 2a – Captain Jehu
Burr (1625-1692)
Generation 2b – Major John Burr (1633-1693)
Generation 3a – Daniel Burr (1660-1727)
Generation 3b – Chief Justice Peter Burr (1667-1724)
Generation 3c – Colonel John Burr II (1673-1705)
Generation 4a – Peter Burr (1699-1777)
Generation 4b – Reverend Aaron Burr (1715-1757)
Generation 4c – Justice Thaddeus Burr (1700-1755)
Generation 4d – Colonel Andrew Burr (1696 - 1763)
Generation 5a – Peter Burr (1727-1795)
Generation 5b – Colonel &Vice President Aaron Burr (1756-1836)
Generation 5c – Sheriff Thaddeus Burr (1735-1801)
See details for these men below
Visual Timeline
Below is a timeline showing major historic events that were occurring during the times when above members of the Burr family lived. Also shown is the time frame when George Washington lived.
Generation 1a – Puritan Jehue Burr (1596-1670)
- Jehu
Burr 1st, progenitor of the first branch of Burrs in the New World; this branch is known as the Fairfield Branch
- As
an Englishman with wife and at least one son, he sailed to America in the same
fleet as Governor John Winthrop. Ships began landing in American on 12 June 1630. The 400 other Puritans who survived the voyage and who stayed, joined with the small groups that had arrived before them and the growing numbers that arrived after them to become the Massachusetts Bay Colony.
- Jehue Burr requested
to be a freeman 19 October 1630 and was admitted 18 May 1631. Freeman status made him free to be a member in good standing with the church; this also made him eligible to have leadership responsibilities and voting rights.
- Admitted
to Roxbury Church as member #12, which would be at or soon after the
organization of the church in 1632
- Was one
of three Roxbury appointees to committee to oversee construction of cart bridges
over Muddy River and Stony River, to connect Boston and Roxbury, 6 August 1633
- In
his next 10 years, he with his family migrated inland twice and helped to found
two villages that today are known as Springfield, MA and Fairfield, CT.
- He signed
by mark articles of agreement founding Springfield, 14 May 1636
- Appointed
tax collector for Agawam [Springfield] by Connecticut General Court, 9 February
1637/8
- Made
second largest contributions (after William Pynchon) to building a house for
Rev. George Moxon and for his maintenance, 13 January 1638
- Appointed Springfield
deputy to Connecticut General Court, 5 April 1638, 9 September 1641
- Committee
to set out the bounds of the plantation [Springfield], 3 January 1638/9
- Commissioner
for "Uncowaue" [Fairfield] to gather contributions for "the
maintenance of scholars at Cambridge," 25 October 1644
- Deputy
for Fairfield to Connecticut General Court, 11 September 1645, 9 April 1646
Generation 2a – Captain Jehu
Burr 2nd (1625-1692)
- Came to the New World as a young child with his father and the John Winthrop Fleet
- Jehu 2nd carried on public service in the footprints of his father.
- Became
one of the most influential men in the town of Fairfield and also in the
colony.
- Commissioner
of the United Colonies
- Held offices of the highest trust and honor:
- Became Deputy for
Fairfield to
the General Court from 1659-86
-
Commissioner for
Fairfield 1664, 1668-87, 1689-92.
- With his brother, Major John Burr, was one
of the proprietors to
whom the patent of Fairfield was granted in 1685. This ancient
instrument,
is still preserved in the State Library at Hartford.
- Lieutenant Burr
was a
member of the War Council 1675-76 at
Fairfield for the Fairfield County Troop and
was promoted to Captain during King Philip’s
War.
Generation 2b
– Major John Burr (1633-1693)
- Was prominent in the colony
- Was made a freeman in 1664
- Received public office of deputy to the CT General Court (Fairfield)
in 1666 and several times thereafter
- Appointed commissioner for Fairfield in 1679
- In 1690, he took his seat as senator and magistrate for
the colony
- He was a major in the French and Indian war
- Is referred to as colonel in the Fairfield records
- Assistant, i.e. Senator, or member of the upper house, and magistrate
of the colony
- Sergeant major to Fairfield county
-
Major Burr was one of the magistrates
presiding, along with Governor Robert Treat and several others, over a
witchcraft trial. The accused Mercy Desborough was found guilty and sentenced
to death; the sentence was never carried out
Generation 3a
– Daniel Burr (1660-1727)
- Called
Daniel Burr, of Upper Meadow.
- Lived
between Fairfield & Greenfield, CT on the Aspetuck River from 1660-1727.
- He was a wealthy
landowner who had been given by his father twelve acres of land at the Upper
Meadow, with a house and barn, on the east side of the Mill River.
- His
estate was large and the inventory was dated July 14, 1727. His eldest son
received over one thousand pounds, and each of his other children five hundred
and forty-five pounds.It is believed he had 12 children.
Generation 3b
– Chief Justice Peter Burr (1667-1724)
- Graduation from Harvard College, Cambridge, MA 1690
- Became a noted judge of the
Supreme Court; and was a distinguished man in Connecticut.
- Maj Peter burr was
Chief Judge of the Supreme Court of the Colony, Assistant, and
Magistrate. In
parish records was called the "Worshipful Mr. Peter Burr
- Was a schoolteacher in
Boston then, studied law.
- Moved to Fairfield
and set up practice. October, 1708 - commissioned
Major of the 4 Regiment, County
of
Fairfield.
- Was Auditor of the Colony
periodically
from 1700 until his death in 1724.
- Assistant
in the
Government, 1703-24.
- Was
named
Speaker of the House in the
early
1700s as well as Deputy of Fairfield.
- Was a
member
of the Colonial Council, 1706-24.
- Appointed
Justice of the Peace for Fairfield, 1701-02;
Judge of
Probate Court, 1723-24; Judge of County Court
1708-24;
Judge of Superior Court, 1711-24; Chief Judge
of
Superior Court, 1723-24.
- During the final year
of his
life he performed efficiently the duties of
five
important offices—Auditor, Assistant, Judge of
the
Probate and County Courts and Chief Judge of
the
Superior Court.
The home Chief Justice Peter
Burr (above) was burned
by the British in 1789 after it had passed from his son to grandson (Thaddeus Burr 2nd). The house was rebuilt in 1790 and is still standing today as a bread and breakfast in Fairfield, CT
Judge Peter Burr's grave stone :
Here lyes interr'd
The body of the Honor'ble Peter Burr,
Esqr.
aged
56 years and 9 months,
who departed this life
Dec. the 25th
Anno 1724
Quote from "The Old Burying Ground Of Fairfield, Conn: A
Memorial Of Many Of The Early In Fairfield," by Wm A Beers:
“His influence for
good in the Colony was not exceeded, and rarely equaled by any of the leaders
in the Commonwealth, and in ability, attainments and public service he was not
eclipsed.”
Generation 3c – Colonel John Burr II (1673-1705)
- Commanded a detachment in the expedition to Port Royal against the
French and in the Albany expedition against the Indians.
- Was an
Assistant and Magistrate of the Colony.
Generation 4a – Peter Burr (1699-1777)
- Peter Burr
first appears in Redding as a clerk of a society meeting held October 11th,
1730.
- He received
from his father’s estate five hundred and forty-five pounds
- He is
believed to have had 18 children collectively with his 3 wives.
- Apparently he migrated to the area that today is Jefferson County, WV and purchased two land grants. It appears his plans were to live here. However, court records indicate his wife was ill in CT and Peter Burr sold his land grant in Dec 1745 and returned to CT.
- The workmanship in the ca.1751 wood frame house that still stands in WV indicated the elder Peter Burr may have been an outstanding craftsman.
- Peter Burr Sr is believed to have built a grist mill in 1737 in Fairfield County, CT near the Redding community. The following old drawing of a grist mill built about the same time in the area may be the one built by Peter Burr.
Generation 4b – Reverend Aaron Burr (1715-1757)
- When Aaron was baptized, he was recorded as "son of Mr.
Daniel Burr, of Upper Meadow."
- Graduated Yale College head of his class 1738;
- Was one of the best scholars and most finished orators of his day;
- Licensed to preach 1738;
- After studying divinity at New Haven, he was called to the
Presbyterian Church in Newark, New Jersey.
- He was associated with Jonathan Dickinson in the founding of the
New Jersey College and was the youngest clergyman among its original trustees.
- On Dickinson's death in October 1747, he was induced to take the
embryonic college under his care in Newark and a year later was formally
elected president.
- He was Princeton's second president, but because his predecessor
died the same year he took office, it was Burr who did most of the work of
organizing the College and making it a reality.
- A former president of Yale and an intimate acquaintance of Burr's,
noted in his diary that Burr was a "small man as to body, but of great and
well improved mind. . . . A hard student. A good classical scholar in the 3
learned Tongues [Hebrew, Greek, Latin] . . . well studied in Logic, Rhetoric,
Natural and Moral Philosophy, the belles Lettres, History, Divinity, and
Politics.”
- Burr served for three years without salary, and filled both the
offices of pastor and president until 1755 when he was relieved of his pastoral
duties to devote full time to the College.
- He drew up the first entrance requirements, the first course of
study, the first set of rules and regulations.
- He supervised the erection of the first building, Nassau Hall, to
which he, his two tutors, and seventy students moved in November 1756.
- He died 24 Sep 1757 Princeton, Mercer Co, NJ at age 41; and
was buried in the Princeton Cemetery the first in the President's Lot;
- He had married Esther Edwards
(daughter of Rev. Jonathan Edwards) 29 June 1752 Newark, Essex, NJ
- Esther Burr survived her husband by less than a year then died of
smallpox (age 26) leaving their two children, Sarah (age 4) and Aaron Jr (age
2)
Nassau Hall today; a legacy to Rev. Aaron Burr, who oversaw its completion. At the time it was built in 1754, Nassau Hall was the largest building
in colonial New Jersey
Generation 4c –
Justice Thaddeus Burr (1700-1755)
- Thaddeus
Burr Son of Chief Justice Peter Burr
- He
was a deputy to the General Court in Hartford for Fairfield at various times
between 1730 and 1751
- served
as Quarter Master of the Fairfield trainband in May, 1726,
- appointed
Justice from 1744-1755.
Tombstone Inscription:
HERE LYES BURIED
THE BODY OF
THADDEUS BURR ESQR.
WHO DIED MARCH 28. A.D.
In the 55 YEAR of his Age.
From: "Ye OLD BURYING GROUND OF FAIRFIELD, CONN." by Mrs. Kate
Perry
Generation 4d – Colonel Andrew Burr
(1696 - 1763)
- Commanded
the Connecticut regiment raised for the expedition against Louisburg, and
shared in the hardships of the siege, and the glory of the final victory.
- Served
as: Deputy for Fairfield to the CT General Court (various dates between Oct.
1727 and May 1746);
- Assistant
Oct 1746-May 1763, inclusive;
- Lieut.
2ns Co. Fairfield Oct. 1731;
- Capt.
May 1733;
- Major
4th Regt Oct 1739;
- Appointed
Colonel of CT forces to be sent on Expedition against Cape Bretton Feb. 1745;
- Commissioned
Colonel same Regt Oct 1749,
- Appointed
one of the commissaries on Expedition to West Indies July 1740;
- Commissary
again May 1746;
- Member
of Committee of War, New Haven County, May 1746.
- He
was also Assistant and Magistrate and a lawyer of eminence.
Generation 5a – Peter Burr (1727-1795)
- Helped build the ca. 1751 wood frame house that still stands in Jefferson County, WV
- Helped found the Elk Branch Presbyterian Church that continues to hold services
- Helped found the Charles Town Presbyterian Church that continues to hold services
- Farmed a 406-acre farm without owning slaves
- Furnished supplies to the Continental Army and earned himself the status of patriot which is documented for descendants desiring membership in the DAR or SAR
- Died at his prayer table with an open Bible in front of him
Generation 5b – Colonel &Vice
President Aaron Burr (1756-1836)
- The
great manager of the political change for our country in 1800
- One
of the most controversial of the founders of our nation
- War
hero and attorney
- Senator
from NY
- Shot
Alexander Hamilton in a famous duel
- Was
found not guilty of treason by Chief Justice John Marshall
- Vice
President (1756-1836) of the US under Thomas Jefferson
- Col
Aaron Burr tied Thomas Jefferson for President of the US and after 34 votes by
congress, the tie was broken and Burr became Vice President of the US
- He
accomplished many things that have long since been forgotten in contrast with
events that history may have distorted. Newer evidence reveals that his side of
the story should be reviewed.
- He
was the first to introduce legislation in New York to outlaw slavery (Note:
that probably did very little to endear him to the founding fathers from the
tidewater plantations of Virginia)
- He
was an advocate for the equal education of women and their right to vote.
- He
paid for the education and supported the career of the great painter John
Vanderlyn
- He
actually stopped a duel between Monroe and Hamilton (1791)
- He
introduced Dolly to James Madison (1794)
- His
newspaper hired Washington Irving as a writer
- He
served with distinction in the Revolutionary War
- He
implemented his political plans in New York that led to the surprising victory
of Thomas Jefferson as the third President of the United States.
- He
counted among his friends: Andrew Jackson, W.H. Harrison, Zachary Taylor, John
Hancock, Martin Van Buren, James Madison, James Monroe, Henry Clay, Luther
Martin, John Marshall and David Crockett, among others.
- Founder
of the Manhattan Company which became Chase Manhattan Bank and now J. P. Morgan
Per
Charles Burr Todd: “Col. Aaron Burr, mentally and physically at least, the most
perfect man American ever produced. Other men have been great in some one
specialty; he was great in the very versatility of his talent, and in his
capacity for performing every work of humanity. Notice some of his
qualities—his iron resolution, strength of will, physical hardihood, and his
almost absolute mastery of men, and how nearly they coincide with those
exhibited by his ancestors; his career too was an epitome of theirs. A soldier
without fear and without reproach—a lawyer who always won his cases, —as an office-holder, remarkable for strict
integrity, and amazing dispatch of business—as President of the Senate, with
sturdy independence, restraining the angry torrent of partisanship, and always
deciding in the interests of truth; lastly a pioneer—I think his career would
have been incomplete without that—aiming to found in the South-western
wilderness, a model state, which, with its genial sun and fertile soil, and
equal rights to all, should eclipse that other commonwealth, founded by his
ancestors on the rocky shores of New England.”
Generation 5c – Thaddeus Burr (1735-1801)
Answer to the Name That Ancestor question above.
Thaddeus Burr was a close friend of John Handcock's and other known patriots, and
Member of George Washington's Culper Spy Ring that was credited for info that
led to victory in the American Revolution for Independence. See details at top of this page.
The Next Generations
Peter Burr's family continues on. In 2008, descendants from six of Peter Burr's 13 children assembled for the first time in 200 back at the old home place where all of those 13 children were born.
Descendants of Peter Burr 2nd include
many interesting people (Ph.D.s, engineers, even a person in the Space Camp
Hall of Fame at Huntsville and trainer with NASA for astronauts from
various countries who are going to the International Space Station)
Homecomings on even-numbered years are held so descendants can stay in touch and new cousins can join us as they are found.
