Genealogical information on the Burnett’s of Morris County, Kansas, and their ancestors going back to Vigo County, Indiana and Suffolk County, New York
Burnett Genealogy Connections - Morris County, Kansas; Vigo County, Indiana; Suffolk County, New York Burnett Genealogy Connections Morris County, Kansas; Vigo County, Indiana; Suffolk County, New York I am Paul Ross Burnett, a safety consultant in Silicon Valley, California. My father, Otis Lefon Burnett, Junior (here is his pedigree), was born in Council Grove, Morris County, Kansas, March 15, 1916. My father was one of eight siblings, and I had nineteen cousins. (I will follow convention and give no details on anybody still alive.) My goal in this web page is to show Burnett connections from Morris County, Kansas, extending back in time to Vigo County, Indiana, and further to Long Island, Suffolk County, New York. Otis Lefon Burnett, Junior's, father was, of course: Otis Lefon Burnett, Senior (...but because everybody called him "Fon", that's what I'll call him here, too) Born 5 June 1884, Council Grove, Morris County, Kansas Married Anna Maude Wiggins 20 Dec 1905 Died 6 Nov 1974 Anna Maude Wiggins Born 29 Jan 1885, Wilsey, Morris County, Kansas Died 6 Dec 1973 Fon and Maude had eight children: Wilma Maude Burnett Metcalfe (d) Chester Lewis Burnett (b 13 Feb 1909, d 28 Jan 1995) Mildred Eliza Burnett Schoof (d) Fern Margaret Burnett Simmons (b 3 Feb 1913, d 1 Jan 2001) Otis Lefon Burnett, Junior (b 15 Mar 1916, d 1 Jul 1996) Ross Wiggins Burnett (b 20 Jan 1917, d 1942, in WW II; never married, no children) Velva Leora Burnett Blanton (d) Leland Eugene Burnett Here is a picture of Fon and Maude in front, and (from the left) Mildred, Chester, Wilma, Fern, Otis Jr., Velva and Leland. The picture must have been taken about 1955. Fon's main vocation was raising Jacks and Jennies, and mules and hinnies, and the horses necessary to their production. A Jack is a male donkey, or jackass, and a Jenny is a female donkey. A mule is the product of a male donkey and a female horse; a hinny is a cross between a male horse and a female donkey (jenny > hinny). He traded pretty much all over the country. Some people were looking for small "cotton mules", or "Jennie Mules". He also raised a lot of cattle, hogs and chickens, and the necessary grain to feed the whole menagerie. Anna Maude Wiggins was born on a farm near Wilsey, Kansas. Her family moved to Pomona, Kansas, about 1892. She returned to Wilsey to visit her Berry cousins about 1904, at which time she took a job as a hired girl for the Burnett's. Here's a summary of this story from my Aunt Fern: "When Uncle Ed (Sydner Edward Burnett, Fon's half brother) saw that grandmother (Margaret Denny Burnett) needed help in the house, he sent Fon to Wilsey where he knew the Berry girls who helped in homes. When Fon got to Wilsey, the Berry girls were all employed; but they had a cousin there visiting them. She was from Franklin County. He asked if she would come to work. She said. "No, I came to visit, not work." So Fon went home without her. Uncle Ed knew that Grandma needed help, so he went to Wilsey and talked Anna Maude into coming home with him. William Burnett asked her what her name was and she said, "Anna Maude." But all he understood was the "Maude." So from that time on, she was "Anna" to the Wiggins' and "Maude" to the Burnetts. (My Aunt Fern says that she thinks Fon thought it was cheaper to marry Maude than pay her. Fern has Maude's last paycheck, signed 'M.D. Burnett by OLB'." Anna Maude's father, William Wiggins, was born 26 Jun 1846 in London, England - William Wiggins and his wife Anna Eliza Berry (known as "Eliza") had 15 children. William was apprenticed as a wagonmaker and blacksmith. When he was 24 years old (1870) he and the Berry family migrated from Iowa to Wilsey, Morris County, Kansas, by wagon train. (Anna was not supposed to come to Kansas, but was in love with William and hid in a wagon so she could go with him.) They farmed in Wilsey until 1892 and moved to a farm near Pomona. In 1900 William moved into Pomona and built and operated a store. In 1917 he sold the store and retired. He died in 1938 in Ottawa, Franklin County, Kansas. William and Anna are buried in the Appanoose Cemetary about eight miles north of Pomona. Here is my listing of Anna Maude Wiggins' Ancestors Anna Maude's mother, Anna Eliza Berry, was the daughter of Peter Stephen Berry and Tabitha Piatt, married 25 May 1852 by Justice of the Peace J. P. Tunis in Marion County Ohio. Tabitha Piatt Berry was the daughter of Stephen Piatt (b ~1790 in VA) and Mary McConnell (b ~1786), who were married 29 June 1813 by Joseph Tharp. Tabitha's siblings included Hannah (b 1829), Mary (b 1833), possibly Susan (b 1811), Sarah (b 1816), Andrew, four other sisters. (Summarized from Laverne Ingram Piatt, 5 Dec 2004 - (see http://boards.ancestry.com/mbexec/msg/an/Z.2ACBAEB/1.5.7.17.89.151.1.1.1.1.1.1. Peter Stephen Berry's parents, Henry (b 30 Sep 1797; d 20 May 1880) and Mary (b 14 Nov 1803; d 11 Aug 1877) Berry, are buried just outside New English, Iowa - info from Beth Elaine Montgomery Hotaling of Ottawa, Kansas; via Sandra Adams [email protected] There was a Wiggins Family Reunion held every summer from 1916 to the 1970's in Ottawa, Franklin County, Kansas - I went to several as a child. It is now held in Melvern, Kansas, hosted by the Elmer William Burnett family, per their daughter-in-law Donna Burnett, [email protected]. I understand there is another Wiggins Family Reunion from this same line held in Washington State. I would appreciate any information on this. William Wiggins' father Reuben Wiggins and his wife Martha Bourd had 15 children. Reuben came to the United States and sent back money for Martha and (then) seven children to come in 1853 in a sailing ship. William was seasick all three weeks of the way. Reuben and his family moved to Illinois and then to Iowa City, Iowa. (Coming soon: Reuben and Martha's obituaries and Reuben's will, courtesy of cousin John Stevenson, [email protected], a descendent of Reuben's daughter Lavina.) Otis Lefon Burnett, Senior's father was: William Burnett Born 10 Dec 1828, Terre Haute, Vigo County, Indiana Married Mary Emily Cunningham 4 July 1852 (Mary b 1 Oct 1835, d 1864-1865?) Married Margaret Denny (Otis' mother) 9 Mar 1865 (Margaret b 30 Dec 1843, d 5 Apr 1925) Died 24 Feb 1908 Here is a picture of William Burnett and Margaret Denny Burnett. William and Mary were married in a small town named Burnett Post Office (formerly Otterville, in Otter Creek Township), in Vigo County, Indiana, and had five children: Sydner Edward Burnett ("Uncle Ed") (b 1855, m Jessie F. Smith, d 1930, one child: Edward Jesse. Uncle Ed was a drummer for Scudders Canadian Maple Syrup. He traveled on trains from one town to the next and set up his sales promotion place then move on the the next town. He retired to the Alamo Hotel in San Antonio, Texas) Linus Albert Burnett (m Ruth Dean, 8 children: William, Mary E., Edward Amos, Sidney Grover, Arthur J., Harry, Jessie Florence, Charles O. - Linus had the farm next to Otis' farm) Charles Austin Burnett Stephen Grover Burnett (known as "S. Grover Burnett" married Florence L. Barbier - he practiced medicine in Kansas City and had his own hospital and medical school; he is variously described as a neurologist and an "alienist," which today would be a psychiatrist) Hannah E Burnett (m William M. Staggs; Hannah had one child: Blanch). William Burnett and Margaret Denny had five children: Hanna Burnett Mardella Burnett (m John LeMay, children: Bessie, Grover, John, Clyde, George, Edna, Lilla, James, Ruth, Louis, Jesse, Flossie, Charles) Jesse Morton Burnett (buried at Four Mile Cemetary in the Burnett family plot) Otis Lefon Burnett (Senior) William Junior I don't have much other information on any of these children except for my grandfather Otis - any information would be appreciated. Margaret Denny was born in Circleville, Ohio; her parents were David O. Denny and David's second wife Clarinda Cresap (for some reason incorrectly identified as Corinda Sample in some records) (b 1819, d 16 Sep 1846); David and Clarinda had four children: John (b abt 1840); Daniel (b 1842); Benjamin T. (b 1843, d bef 1868); and Margaret. Here is a picture of David O. Denny and his third wife, Elizabeth Thompson Dulin Denny. (Information from Denny scholar Audrey Moran, [email protected] ), and Ron Bachman (see below); picture from my Uncle Leland Burnett. More DENNY information, from a new correspondent: my fifth cousin once removed, Ron Bachman, [email protected]): "Elizabeth Thompson Dulin Denny is my great-great grandmother. Her son, Benjamin Franklin Dulin, was the stepson of David O. Denny. Benjamin grew up with your ancestor Margaret Denny. I know quite a lot about the Denny family and am continuing to research it." "Margaret Denny Burnett was the second cousin once removed of my great-grandmother, Sarah Denny Dulin. My Sarah met her future husband, Benjamin Franklin Dulin, while working in the household of David O. Denny, her second cousin. The Dennys and Dulins were impossibly intertwined -- beginning back in Pickaway County, Ohio, and getting even more so in Vigo County, Indiana. The woman in the photograph (above) is the mother of Benjamin Franklin Dulin. She was born in 1801 in Pennsylvania and died in Terre Haute on January 2, 1883. (I have a copy of her death certificate). She was the third and last of David O. Denny's wives. David O. Denny was killed in a boiler explosion on Thanksgiving day, November 23, 1870. This was a doubly tragic event, as his grandson, David Denny, was killed along with him. Even though David O. Denny and his third wife (my ancestor) had no children together, they had grandchildren together! David, the boy killed in the explosion, was the son of David's son, James B. Denny, and Elizabeth's daughter, Frances Jane Dulin, who were married in Vigo County on January 8, 1857. I won't go into all the other incredible interconnections of the Dennys and Dulins." "As a descendant of David O. Denny, you have TWO Denny immigrant forbears, who undoubtedly were brothers: William Denny the Elder, born February 1708 in Ulster, died October 8, 1784, in Uwchlan Township, Chester County, PA, is the closest ancestor you and I share. I have visited his grave in Forks of Brandywine Church, near Downington, PA. He and some of his sons and numerous other relatives are buried near the beautiful Presbyterian church there, and the tombstones are in superb condition. William the Elder had at least one brother who came to America, and his name was David. Your great-great grandfather David O. Denny was descended from this immigrant, too. As a matter of fact, David O. Denny was the product of three generations of David Dennys who married cousins named Margaret Denny! This is the truth. So you are much more of a Denny than I am!" "Most of the information I have on the earliest Dennys comes from the three-volume work titled "Denny Genealogy," by Margaret Collins Denny Dixon and Elizabeth Chapman Denny Vann. The earliest information is probably the most accurate in the trilogy -- it is based on family papers, bibles, tax records, etc. In the later generations, especially in Vigo County, the authors made some major mistakes. Apparently they ran out of steam, because they failed to discover the 1812 pension records of my ancestor William R. Denny, and the Civil War records of my great-grandfather Benjamin F. Dulin, which present a clear picture of the Dulin-Denny relationship." - from Ron Bachman, great-grandson of Benjamin F. Dulin and Sarah Ann Denny. William Burnett's father was named Stephen Grover Burnett; he had a brother named Stephen Grover Burnett; and he named a son Stephen Grover Burnett. William Burnett's father was: Stephen Grover Burnett, Senior Born Sep 1796, Hanover, New Jersey Married Hanna Creal (William's mother) (b 17 Mar 1799, d 7 Dec 1829) Married Ann/Anna/Almy Scully on March 20, 1830 Married Kate (Catherine) Adams (b about 1794, d March 5 1864) Died 21 May 1861, Terre Haute, Vigo County, Indiana. Here is Stephen Grover Burnett's pedigree; here is Stephen Grover Burnett's obituary and here is Stephen Grover Burnett's tombstone in Woodlawn Cemetery in Terre Haute, IN. Stephen and Hanna had five children; William was the last - he was a one-year-old babe-in-arms (literally!) when Hanna was thrown from a horse and killed. Stephen re-married; he and Ann Scully produced another Stephen Grover Burnett, Junior - then they divorced (Ann and Stephen Junior moved to Warrensburgh MO). Stephen then married Kate (Catherine) Adams, a widow with three children. Stephen, Catherine and William are listed in the 1850 Census for Vigo County, Indiana's Nevans Township. The Adams family is the immediate next census listing. Hanna's brother Anthony Creal, Junior, and his family are listed in the neighboring Otter Creek Township. Stephen was a veteran of the War of 1812, an "artillerist", enlisted 23 June 1814. He was in Capt. Green's Company of Artillery, transferred to Capt. James R. Hanhams Co. Corps of Artillery July 6, 1814, transferred to Capt. Richard L. Howell's Co. May 1, 1815. I have a photostat of his army discharge. He was discharged in New York 12 May 1815, described on discharge paper as "about 21 years of age, five feet 8 inches high, ruddy complexion, blue eyes, dark hair." ("...Captain Callendar Irvine’s Company of Artillerists and Engineers, organized on 27 April 1798. Later the unit fought courageously as Captain James R. Hanham’s Company in the War of 1812 earning its first letter designation and campaign streamer as Company K, Corps of Artillery, Northern Division." - http://www.globalsecurity.org/military/agency/army/1-62ada.htm) After Stephen and Hanna married they moved to London, Ontario. On May 2, 1821 they, with their son Linus Anthony, then three years old, and others including Hanna's brother Anthony Creal, Junior, started for Indiana. They went down the Thames River across Lake St. Clair, up the Maumee River, over the mountains and down a tributary to the Wabash River to Terre Haute - all on a pirouge - a type of raft made by themselves from a large pine tree, hollowed out, with a cabin at one end. This was their only conveyance to Terre Haute. Stephen and a small party had made a trip as far south as St. Louis about two years earlier (about 1819). They were attacked by Indians on the return trip and lost all their possessions. Stephen's first wife Hanna Creal was one of eleven children of Anthony Creal, Senior (b 13 Dec 1770 in Ballstown NY, m 10 Oct 1793, d 17 Mar 1817 in Ellery NY, killed by a falling tree) and Hannah Seymour (b 8 Apr 1770, Ballstown NY, d 9 Nov 1850, Centerville PA), daughter of Ezra Seymour. Ezra Seymour, son of Captain Thomas Seymour, served in Captain Reuben Scofield's Company, 9th Regiment, Connecticut Militia, commanded by Col. John Mead, in the Revolutionary War. This Seymour line goes back to the Plantagenet kings of England in the 1200's, and even to the Danish god Woden (or Odin) through the official genealogy of the royal family of Denmark. (My cousin Jim Fina says I also have Byzantine Emperor ancestors, and several Pharaoh's as well. Shosenq I, Pharaoh of Egypt is approximately my 105th GGF.) Stephen's first wife Hanna Creal's father Anthony Creal, Senior, and his brother came from Wales with their father John; the family name there was McCreal. Anthony Creal, Junior, married Malinda Williams and had a large family, including sons Mark and Henry. He built a tannery in Otter Creek Township, Vigo County, Indiana. He was a Whig, and a Methodist - he gave the ground on which the Union Methodist Church was built. He managed the tannery until he bought a mill, which his son Henry later owned. Henry married Hannah Gray and had six children; Mark married Catherine D. Gray and they had six children. A Peculiar Connection With US President Grover Cleveland (from Henrietta Beardsley, Nov 1910): "Stephen Grover Burnett was born in Caldwell, New Jersey, a few blocks from the house in which Grover Cleveland was born. (Grover Cleveland's) mother's father and grandfather were named Stephen Grover. At the library of the N.J. Historical Society, in the records of the First Presbyterian Church, I found that he was one of the first pastors of the church, and was ordained and installed July 23, 1788. Justus Burnett and his wife Lois had united with this church Dec. 1784 and were intimate friends with the pastor. When their first son was born Mr. Grover asked that it be named for him, but the parents had decided on another name. When the next boy came, they took him to be baptized. The minister did not ask them the name for the baby, but taking him in his arms said, "I baptize thee in the name of Stephen Grover Burnett," giving him his own name. He then turned to the parents and smiling said "I have waited long enough for a name-sake in this family." But is this story true? Click here. Stephen Grover Burnett's son Linus Anthony Burnett's daughter Octavia Burnett (b 1855, d 1935) (my first cousin twice removed) married Dr. William C. Eichelberger. She left her genealogical research material to the Vigo County Historical Society, which in turn left it to the Vigo County Public Library. Here are some newspaper clippings from her scrapbook: Cousin Octavia's Genealogy Research Cousin Octavia joins the National Society, Daughters of Founders and Patriots of America Stephen had a sister named Hanna, a wife named Hanna, and a daughter named Hanna. Stephen Grover Burnett, Senior's, father was Justus Burnett Born 1760, Bottle Hill, New Jersey Married Lois Crane 1783 (Lois b 1767, d 7 Nov 1831) Died 1826, Hanover, New Jersey Justus and Lois were married in the Presbyterian Church in Caldwell, New Jersey. They had twelve children: Mary K Burnett (b 1784) Linus B Burnett (b 1785) William Burnett (b 1788) Rhoda M Burnett (b 1790) Sarah Burnett (b 1792) Hanna Burnett (b 1796) Stephen Grover Burnett (b Sep 1796) Eleazer Burnett (b 1799) Roselinda Burnett (b 1801) John M Burnett (b 1804) Eliza S. Burnett (b 1807) Virgil Justus Burnett (b 1809) Justus was a musician and singer. He used to have singing schools in and around Caldwell, New Jersey. He helped to build the road up over Orange Mountain. There was one place near the top of the mountain where the road made quite a turn. There were immense boulders here that they could not get out of the way. Mr. Burnett was given the contract to clear the way. He blasted the rocks and removed them so that the road could be completed. Justus and Lois are buried in the Church Yard at Hanover, New Jersey. Lois Crane's parents were Stephen Crane and Rhoda Holloway - here is a listing of their children: Benjamin. b. 1758. {could be 1753, copy unclear} Stephen, b. Sept. 1. 1787; was the father of Benjamin Azariah, b. 1754; m. - Tooker Jeremiah Lois, baptized May 11, 1760; m. Justice (sic) Burnet (sic) Polly; m. Dr. Bone Rhoda, b. about 1760; m. Linus Baldwin Abigail; m. Caleb Martin Keturah; m. Ira Williams; went to Now York State, had a large family Sarah; m. Nehemiah Baldwin Bradford ...from Genealogy of the Crane Family Vol. 2, by Ellery Bicknell Crane. Published Worcester, MA, Press of Charles Hamilton, 311 Main Street (approx 1895 - 1900) Lois Crane's father Stephen Crane was a son of Azariah Crane, Junior, who was a son of Azariah Crane, Senior, who was a son of Jasper Crane - here is Stephen's pedigree. Also, here is a web-page of information on Stephen's great-grandfather, Jasper Crane: http://www.altlaw.com/edball/html/d0108/i01216.htm#NOTESI01216 . Justus Burnett's father was: William Burnett Born about 1724 Married Mary Miller (Mary b 1726, d 1787) William and Mary had: William Junior (b 1754, d 1829, m Annah Dodd, children Caleb Dodd, Mary, Joanna (m John Ketchum; Joanna lived to age 102) John Justus Johanna Sarah Mary Eleazer (Mary and Eleazer were twins) William served in the Revolutionary War as a private in the New Jersey state troops, and in the Continental Army. His service is docu… truncated (10,344 more characters in archive)