I hope that the BURNS FAMILY DNA PROJECT will help solve some of your genealogy questions. It will definitely tell you if you're "barking up the wrong tree".
The 12/25 marker test is simple - just swab the inside of your cheek. The costs start at $99. This test will tell you within 14 generations whether you are related to someone.
We need males with the BURNS last name for this study. Please ask your male BURNS relatives to join our study. Click on the BURNS DNA link above to join our study or write to nfarmilo@comcast.net Subject: BURNS Genealogy Date: Mon, 27 Sep 1999 09:36:33 EDT From: BFOSTER854@aol.com To: norma@naples.net
NORMA,
I tried to edit the file you sent yesterday, and I just couldn't seem to do a satisfactory job. I'm hoping you will use the enclosed .txt file as a substitute. It was created using the Family Origins "book" report. I hope
you'll think its better as well. Sorry to have caused the confusion.
BOB FOSTER
Below is an outline BOB sent. He gives references and then more names. After that is a detailed report taken from his gedcom (this is the file he couldn't edit).
JAMES BURNS
JAMES BURNS b. 1/23/1790 Mifflin, PA d. 26 Dec 1853 Montezuma, Parke IN age 63 years, 11 months and 3 days bur. Montezuma, Parke IN. The 1850 census gives his age as 59 years and the birth location as Pennsylvania.
JAMES BURNS volunteered for the War of 1812 at Jefferson, Ohio (three miles south of Circleville) on 27 April 1812. He served as 4th Sergeant in CAPTAIN FRYATT's company of the Ohio Militia.
In an engagement at Aux Canards river, JAMES BURNS was wounded in the leg by a musket ball, and captured by the Indians. He was later purchased by a British officer from the Indians "at the paltry sum of a gallon of rum" and remained his captive until the surrender of Detroit by GENERAL HULL.
After the surrender, JAMES BURNS was released on parole, and was discharged 7 May 1813. He was allowed bounty of 160 acres of land and a $4.00 per month pension as a result of his service.
After the war, he returned to his Ohio home and followed his trade as a tanner and shoemaker. He was a "staunch advocate of the Whig party and a HENRY CLAY man". (History of Parker County, 1893) On 23 October 1828 he arrived at Armiesburg, Parke County, Indiana and stayed in that county until his death.
Nothing is known about JAMES' father except that he died as a result of being thrown from a horse in Pennsylvania (possibly on the JAMES BURNS ESQ. link). JAMES appeared in the 1850 Parke County census with his son JOSEPH BURNS, 85th District Parke County, household 1060.
JAMES BURNS' first child by his second wife was born 17 December 1825, indicating a marriage about 1824. JAMES was identified as JOSEPH BURNS' father on JOSEPH'S death certificate.
JAMES BURNS was married to MARY WOLFE (WOLF) about 1811. MARY WOLFE (WOLF) was born in 1781 in Bedford Twp., Bedford, PA. MARY'S son JOSEPH BURNS' death certificate gives her birth location as Ohio instead of Pennsylvania. She died on 24 Apr 1824 in prob. , Pickaway, OH.
It is believed that MARY died before JAMES BURNS relocated to Parke County, Indiana. However, a document sent by a ROBERT BURNS to a BETTY STAIR of Lafayette, Indiana, indicates that she died in 1831, three years after JAMES made the move (sent to me by the Pickaway County Historical Society). A cemetery record held by the Rockville Public Library shows a MARY who died either 1831 or 1834 (probably due to difficulty in reading the stone).
The MARY identified by ROBERT BURNS as well as the cemetery record probably was MARY THOMPSON, JAMES' second wife. MARY had a brother (and apparently also a father) who was a Captain in the War of 1812. The record for her apparent brother, GEORGE, has been found. No other Officer with the surname Wolfe or Wolf has been located.
Descendants of JAMES BURNS
JAMES BURNS and MARY WOLFE (WOLF) had the following children:
1) MARY ANN BURNS (JAMES) b. abt 1812 d. 8/5/1818 Pickaway OH. This is possibly the MARY ANN BURNS buried at Boggs cemetery on Ohio State Highway 361 .7 miles east of U.S. highway 23. There was a JOHN BURNS also buried there, who died 25 August 1818 age three, but this name has not appeared in other information about the BURNS people.
2) SARAH BURNS (JAMES).
3) MARGARET BURNS (JAMES) b. abt 1818 OH m. 2/1/1844 Parke IN to JOHN ABRAMS b. abt 1819 OH
4) ROBERT BURNS (JAMES)
5) JANE BURNS (JAMES) m. 3/18/1847 Parke IN to JAMES BONWELL
6) JOSEPH BURNS (JAMES) b. 3/17/1822 Pickaway OH d. 17 Dec 1903 Montezuma, Parke, IN 81 years of age bur. 30 Dec 1903 Montezuma, Parke, IN.
JOSEPH'S death certificate gives his birth location as Kentucky but his obituary gives his birth location as Pickaway County, Ohio. The 1850 census gives his birth location as Ohio. The death certificate is probably incorrect on this point.
JOSEPH BURNS' early years were spent on a farm, probably in the southern part of Pickaway County, Ohio. In 1828 JOSEPH'S father JAMES BURNS moved the family to Parke County, Indiana. One write-up about JOSEPH BURNS passed down through the generations states that he was reared by his uncle, CAPTAIN WOLFE.
At the age of 18, JOSEPH BURNS decided to quit farming and began business for himself, initially working on flatboats on the Mississippi. In 1849 he managed a rented ferry which he later bought (in 1851). He continued in this business until 1892 when a bridge was built over the Wabash river. In 1872, he established the Montezuma Fire Brick Company located one mile north of Hillsdale in Vermillion County. The company originally employed 10 men, but eventually the organization grew to between 40 and 50.
Products of the firm were sold in twelve states around Indiana. He initially was one-fourth owner of the brick company. Later, he became full owner. Some details about the brick plant can be found on page 250 of the Vermillion County source.
JOSEPH BURNS also owned 600 acres of land in Vermillion County. JOSEPH was a Whig and later a Republican. His first wife, CAROLINE VANLANDINGHAM, died soon after the birth of their daughter, who was also named CAROLINE.
His second wife was PERMELI VANLANDINGHAM, sister of CAROLINE. Death again robbed JOSEPH of his wife and he married Mary Millikin of Vermillion county as his third. Six children were the product of this marriage.
His fourth wife, ELIZABETH, had been previously married to the brother of Speaker Cannon of Danville, Illinois. His wife listed on his death certificate was ANNA BURY, while his obituary identifies her as ELIZABETH (DONALDSON) CANNON. I believe that the death certificate is incorrect on this point.
JOSEPH BURNS' death certificate gives his father's name as JAMES BURNS, born in Pennsylvania. The death certificate gives his mother's birth location as Ohio but does not name her.
JOSEPH BURNS' obituary is quoted as follows. "The subject of this sketch was an enterprising citizen, a man of broad views and noble disposition, a kind husband and an indulgent parent. He was a self made man who earned the love and esteem of all with whom he came in contact by his sterling worth and good qualities of mind and heart, and he was an honest man - the noblest work of God."
A large oil portrait of JOSEPH BURNS, which was painted by his daughter MARY L (BURNS) HANCOCK, is in the possession of the Montezuma, Indiana Public Library.
JOSEPH BURNS' assets in the 1860 census were $2000 real estate and $2000 personal estate. The reply to a letter sent by me to the Pickaway County Historical and Genealogical Library indicates that JOSEPH was reared by his uncle, CAPTAIN WOLFE, indicating MARY, his mother, had a brother.
The only Ohio CAPTAIN WOLFE I have found was GEORGE WOLFE who volunteered in Pickaway county in August of 1812. The fact that he volunteered in Pickaway county has to be more than coincidence, since JAMES BURNS and MARY WOLFE lived there. I, therefore, am of the opinion that MARY WOLFE'S brother was GEORGE WOLFE who was a private in CAPTAIN MCNEAL'S company and later was a Captain in the 3rd Ohio Militia.
JOSEPH BURNS was married to CAROLINE VANLANDINGHAM on 10 Nov 1847 in , Vermillion, IN.(8) CAROLINE VANLANDINGHAM was born on 24 Jan 1828 in prob. , , IN.(2) Based on the census, CAROLINE'S older sister LAURA VANLANDINGHAM, and younger brother JOHN VANLANDINGHAM were both born in Indiana. This leads to the probability that CAROLINE VANLANDINGHAM was born there as well. The source gives age at death as 21 years, 2 months, and 6 days. This leads to a birth date of 24 January 1828. She died on 30 Mar 1849 in Montezuma, Parke, IN(9)
CAROLINE VANLANDINGHAM BURNS died about sixteen days after giving birth to her first child, who was also given the name CAROLINE. JOSEPH BURNS and CAROLINE VANLANDINGHAM had the following children:
CAROLINE BURNS (JOSEPH, JAMES) b. 14 Mar 1849 in Montezuma, Parke, IN. Her death certificate also gives birth date of 14 March 1849. She died on 19 May 1937 in Lawrence, Douglas, KS. She was buried on 21 May 1937 in Oak Hill Cemetery, Douglas, KS.
CAROLINE BURNS lost her mother within days after her birth. Although it has not been verified, it has been passed down that CAROLINE was taken by her grandmother to the Hamilton plantation in Kentucky immediately after her mother died. Reportedly, she was nursed by a slave. About a year after her birth, she appeared in the 1850 Parke County, Indiana census in the household of MARY VANLANDINGHAM (MARY HAMILTON, her grandmother). Her father appears in the same census in another household with CAROLINE'S aunt, PAMELIA, who had already become her step mother. It has also been passed down through the generations that CAROLINE BURNS was educated in a convent, "St. Mary's in the woods" in Terre Haute. Reportedly, she was there in 1865 when President Lincoln was assassinated. She appears in the 1860 Parke County census with her father and the second of three step mothers, MARY MILLIKIN.
JOSEPH BURNS was married to PERMELI VANLANDINGHAM on 12 Jun 1850 in , Parke, IN. PERMELI VANLANDINGHAM was born about 1822 in , , KY.(15) She died before 1857. 1850 Parke County Indiana census shows "PAMELIA" living with JOSEPH BURNS and his father JAMES BURNS.
CAROLINE, JOSEPH'S daughter by his first wife (PERMELI'S sister), was living with MARY VANLANDINGHAM, her grandmother in a separate household. It has been passed down that PERMELI, like her sister, died in childbirth. If this is so, the child must also have died since we have no record of a child by the marriage between PERMELI and JOSEPH BURNS.
JOSEPH BURNS (JOSEPH, JAMES) m. 3 Nov 1857 Vermillion, IN to MARY F MILLIKIN b. abt 1836 OH. 1860 CENSUS SHOWS MARY, AGE 24. 1880 CENSUS SHOWS HER, AGE 45. She died about 1882. JOSEPH BURNS and MARY F MILLIKIN had the following children:
ROBERT BURNS (JOSEPH, JAMES) d. aft 1938. A copy of a 1938 letter written by ROBERT was sent to me by the Pickaway County Historical and Genealogical Library. It stated that JOSEPH BURNS' grandfather, CAPTAIN WOLFE, was crippled. This could have been due to an injury received in the war of 1812.
FRANCIS BURNS (JOSEPH, JAMES).
MARY LOUISE BURNS (JOSEPH, JAMES) b. abt 1859 IN 1860 Census shows MARY BURNS, age one, living with JOSEPH, MARY, and her half sister CAROLINE BURNS.
1880 CENSUS SHOWS MARY BURNS, AGE 21. She died after 1921. 1880 census gives her given name as "LOUISE M BURNS"
EDWARD H BURNS (JOSEPH, JAMES) b. 23 Sep 1861 Montezuma, Parke, IN d. 2 Jun 1921 Chicago, Cook, IL bur. Rose Hill, Chicago, Cook, IL. Middle initial shown as "E." in 1880 census.
BELLE BURNS (JOSEPH, JAMES) b. abt 1866 IN d. aft 1921. 1880 CENSUS SHOWS BELLE, AGE 14.
JOSEPH H BURNS (JOSEPH, JAMES) b. 14 Mar 1877 IN d. 28 Apr 1962. 1880 Census shows JOSEPH H BURNS, AGE 3. JOSEPH had correspondance with a pension office concerning his Grandfather, JAMES BURNS. We have a copy of the 27 December 1933 reply, indicating JOSEPH was still alive at that time.
JOSEPH BURNS was married to ELIZABETH DONALDSON after 1882. "History of Vigo and Parke Counties" by BECKWITH, 1880
JAMES BURNS m. abt 1824 prob. , Pickaway, OH to MARY THOMPSON b. 24 Jan 1793 d. Mar 1834 Montezuma, Parke, IN.
JAMES BURNS' and MARY THOMPSON' children:
7) ISABELLA BURNS (JAMES) b. 17 Dec 1825 d. 7 Jan 1850 Montezuma, Parke, IN, 24 years, 21 days old m. 9 Aug 1849 Parke, IN to SEPTIMUS C (S?) VANLANDINGHAM b. abt 1821 KY d. 2 Sep 1906 in Montezuma, Parke, IN. 1860 census shows SEPTIMUS, age 40 years. He died on 2 Sep 1906 in Montezuma, Parke, IN bur. probably Montezuma, Parke, IN.
Cemetery record held by Rockville Public Library lists a "SEPT.". This could be SEPTIMUS. No dates were given.
There was an AREPSEMAIUSION VANLANDINGHAM, age 28 shown in the 1850 Parke County census in the same household as MARY VANLANDINGHAM, age 52. Believe this is SEPTIMUS and his mother MARY HAMILTON. Also in the household were JOHN VANLANDINGHAM, MARGARET VANLANDINGHAM, and CAROLINE BURNS.
1860 census shows SEPTIMUS VANLANDINGHAM, age 40. This census also shows SEPTIMUS as a warehouseman. SEPTIMUS had real estate in the amount of $700 and personal property in the amount of $200 at the time of the 1860 census.
8) SAMUEL BURNS (JAMES) b. 28 Dec 1828 OH d. 25 Mar 1854 age 25 years, 2 months, 28 days, Montezuma, Parke, IN bur. Old Morgan Cem., Parke, IN.
SAMUEL BURNS is shown in the 1850 Parke County census, 85th District, family 1058, age 2. His occupation was farmer and he was in a household of the MORGAN family, two households away from his half brother JOSEPH.
9) JAMES BURNS (JAMES).
10) ELIZABETH BURNS (JAMES).
Prepared by: ROBERT B. FOSTER, 20 East Del Norte Street, Colorado Springs, Colorado 80907-7411, (719) 473-2483 Email: BFoster854@AOL.COM
SOURCES
1. 1850 Census, Parke County, Indiana.
2. Parke county Indiana Cemetery Records Copied from records in the Rockville Library.
3. 1850 Census, Parke County, Indiana. 85th District, dwelling number 1041.
4. Ibid. 85th District, dwelling 1041.
5. Biographical and Historical Record of Vermillion County, Indiana. The Lewis Publishing Company 113 Adams Street, Chicago 1888. pages 250 and 397.
6. Parke County Indiana Death Certificate.
7. Ibid. Gives burial location as Oakland Cemetery in Montezuma.
8. Compiled by ROBERT E. & PHYLISS J. SELBY. Vermillion County, Indiana Marriage Records, 1824 - 1861. SELBY Publishing & Printing, Kokomo, Indiana, 1982. Page 8.
9. Parke county Indiana Cemetery Records Copied from records in the Rockville Library. Page 124.
10. Complete Tombstone Census of Douglas County Kansas. Douglas County Kansas Genealogical Society, Inc. Copyright 1987. Page 147.
11. State of Kansas Death Certificate. Number 13043 of 15 July 1937.
12. Ibid. Number 13043 of 15 July 1937.
13. Complete Tombstone Census of Douglas County Kansas. Douglas County Kansas Genealogical Society, Inc. Copyright 1987. page 147.
14. Indiana Works Progress Administration. Index to Marriage Record, Parke Co., Ind. 1850 - 1920. 1940. Page 61.
15. 1850 Census, Parke County, Indiana. gives birth location as Kentucky and age in 1850 as 28 years.
16. LOWELL M. VOLKEL. Marriage Records of Vermillion County, Indiana. Page 27.
17. Compiled by ROBERT E. & PHYLISS J. SELBY. Vermillion County, Indiana Marriage Records, 1824 - 1861. SELBY Publishing & Printing, Kokomo, Indiana, 1982. Page 8.
18. 1860 Census, Parke County, Indiana. Dwelling No. 413, Family No. 408.
19. Obituary for EDWARD H. BURNS, SR. Montezuma Indiana Newspaper.
20. Parke county Indiana Cemetery Records Copied from records in the Rockville Library. Page 125.
21. Ibid. Page 131.
22. Ibid. Page 131.
23. DAR. Parke County, Indiana Marriage Records 1831 - 1860. SELBY Publishing and Printing. Page 77.
24. W.P.A.. Index to Death Records, Parke County, Indiana 1882 - 1920. Indiana Works Progress Administration, 1940.
25. 1850 Census, Parke County, Indiana. 85th District, page 337.
26. Cemetery Record held by Rockville Public Library.
IN KENTUCKY, INDIANA & KANSAS
CAROLINE BURNS lost her mother within days after her birth. Although it has not been verified, it has been passed down that Caroline was taken by
her grandmother to the Hamilton plantation in Kentucky immediately after her mother died. Reportedly, she was nursed by a slave.
About a
year after her birth, CAROLINE BURNS appeared in the 1850 Parke County, Indiana census in the household of MARY VANLANDINGHAM (MARY HAMILTON was her
grandmother). Her father appears in the same census in another household with CAROLINE'S aunt, PAMELIA, who had already become her
step mother.
It has also been passed down through the generations that CAROLINE was educated in a convent, "St. Mary's in the woods" in
Terre Haute. Reportedly, she was there in 1865 when President Lincoln was assassinated.
She appears in the 1860 Parke County census with her
father and her second of three step mothers, MARY MILLIKIN. BIRTH: 14 MAR 1849, Montezuma, Parke, IN; DEATH: 19 MAY 1937 Lawrence, Douglas, KS
BURIED: 21 MAY 1937 Oak Hill Cemetery, Douglas, KS
In OHIO, INDIANA & PENNSYLVANIA
JOSEPH BURNS - JOSEPH BURNS' early years were spent on a farm, probably in the southern part of Pickaway County, Ohio. In 1828 JOSEPH BURNS' father JAMES BURNS moved the
family to Parke County, Indiana.
