CHAPTER FIFTEEN
BURCH FAMILY
4 November 2016
Josie Cronkhite Jones’ mother Nancy White
Burch Cronkhite died when she was quite young. The most distant ancestor that
is known is John Burch [Birch] who was Nancy Cronkhite’s 3rd great grandfather.
JOHN BURCH and unknown
4TH Great grandparents of Josie
Cronkhite Jones
John Burch was a
tobacco planter in Prince George County, Maryland in the late 17th Century.
Prince George's County was created by the English Council of Maryland in the
Province of Maryland in 1696 from portions of Charles and Calvert counties. The
county was divided into six districts referred to as "Hundreds":
Mattapany, Petuxant, Collington, Mount Calvert, Piscattoway and New Scotland.
The Burch family lived
in Piscattoway Hundred which is part of Washington DC today. Whether John Burch
was born in America or was an emigrant is unknown. He was a successful tobacco
farmer and was married twice and all of his children were born to his first
wife whose name has been lost. He married again and his widow Elizabeth is
mentioned in his will dated 12 April 1720 and probated 7 months later 12
November 1720. “John Burch, planter, Prince George Co.,12th April, 1720; 12th
Nov., 1720. To wife Elizabeth, executrix., ½ of estate, absolutely. To son
Francis and dau. Easter Holly, remaining ½, equally. To Mary Panty and son
Francis, personally, boy of Stephen Cawley. WitnessesThomas Edelin, James
Green.
FRANCIS BURCH and ALICE OWENS
3rd Great grandparents of Josie
Cronkhite Jones
Nancy White Burch
Cronkhite’s 2nd great grandfather was John Burch’s son Francis Birch [Burch].
He was born circa 1695 in Prince George County, Maryland. Francis was married
in St. John's also known as Piscataway Parish, Prince Georges County, on 20
July 1720, to a Welsh woman named Alie [Alice] Owens. Upon the death of his
father Francis inherited a portion of his father’s estate and was also a
tobacco farmer until his own death about 1765.
JOHN BURCH Sr and MARY ANN HARRIS
2nd Great grandparents of Josie
Cronkhite Jones
John Burch Senior was Nancy White Burch’s
great grandfather. He was baptized 18 October 1721 in St Johns Parish, Prince George's,
Maryland and became a tobacco farmer also like his father. He married circa
1745 in Piscattoway Hundred Prince George County, Maryland Colony to Mary
Harris. She was the daughter of a planter named John Harris, Sr. and his wife
Mildred Webster.
John Burch Sr.’s family shortly after their
marriage moved south to neighboring Charles County, Maryland as their first
child was baptized in Trinity Parish Charles County, Maryland in 1746. Evidently
they also continued to moved back and forth between Prince George County and
Charles County. However they lived mainly, after 1762, in Charles County until
after the War for Independence began.
In 1769 when his son Leonard Burch was about
18 years old, an African American slave named Pompey, the property of Benjamin
Davis was condemned in a court held in Charles County, Maryland in August 1769
“for having attempted to Poison a certain Leonard Burch of the said County.” A
Council held 12 September 1769 before “His Excellency Robert Eden Esqr
Governor” and a board of prominent Marylanders ordered “that a Death Warrant
Issue for the Execution of the aforesaid Negro Pompey, on Wednesday the 6th day
of October next, which issued accordingly.”
A Maryland Census of
1778 lists John Burch Sr. and his grown sons John Burch Jr. and Leonard Burch
as residents of 1778 Port Tobacco in Upper Hundred, Charles County. In the
1775-1778 Charles County Maryland Census (18 years and upward) the Port Tobacco
Parish lay between Nanjemoy creek & Mattowoman creek on the west and north and
the upper part of Wicomico River/Creek as it continues through the Zachia Swamp
on the east side.
Due to the large area
covered by the aforementioned description entire area was most likely divided
into two areas. Settled by the English in the 17th century and established in
1727, the town on the Port Tobacco River soon became the second largest in
Maryland. The first county seat of Charles County, it was a seaport with access
to the Chesapeake Bay and Atlantic Ocean.
All of John Burch Sr’s
sons served in the Revolutionary War. Leonard Burch was a Corporal in Captain
Samuel Smallwood Company of Militia. His younger brother John Burch Junior
joined the same company as a private. His son Francis Burch was in the
Continental Army serving under General George Washington until he lost one of
his leg from infection due to a bullet wound.
Francis Burch had enlisted
as a private in the First Maryland Regiment, on the Twenty-ninth day of March,
1777 when he was 16 or 17 years old and was discharged on the 29th March 1780.
Francis' pension records are marked "invalid". He was a private in a
regiment commanded by Colonel Stone, of the Maryland Line, for the term of
three years. He stated in his pension application “That he the said Francis
Burch in March 1777 in Charles County in the State of Maryland enlisted as a
common soldier in a company at that time commanded by Captain Ford of the First
Maryland Regiment on Continental establishment for three years; that he served
the term for which he enlisted, and was regularly discharged at Kombia (?) Farm
in the Jerseys, which discharge is long since lost.
“That he had no other
evidence nor proof of his said service-That
he was at the several Battle of Brandy Wine-Mud Island Fort-Monmouth
Courthouse-Stony Point and Paulus Hook- and that reason of his age of reduced
circumstances, he needs the assistance of his country for support and I having
examined Captain Francis Gray, who solemely affirms and says that he is
acquainted with the aforesaid Francis Burch, and that he the said Francis Burch
is a person of credibility and that he is chiefly dependent upon his own
personal labour for his support and maintenance, does to appears to the
Secrtary for the department of War of the United States, that it appears to my
satisfaction that the said Francis Burch did serve the United States as a
common Soldier against the Common Enemy in the Revolutionary War for nine
months and more and that his is on reduced circumstances and needs the
assistance of his country for support, which I send under my hand and seal,
there being no official seal of the Superior Court of Law in County of Campbell
this 22 June 1818. Wm. Daniel”
During the war the
family moved to Prince William County, Virginia probably after 1778. After the
war ended and prior to 1788, John Sr. and his sons John Jr., Leonard and
Francis Burch relocated to Fauquier County, Virginia. There they are all listed
on the 1788 Fauquier County tax list. John Sr. and John Jr. were listed in one
household while Leonard and Francis in separate households.
The 1793 Fauquier tax
rolls list John Jr., Leonard, and Francis but John Sr. is missing and
presumably had died. It is likely that he was deceased, as at that time he
would have been about 66 years of age.
In 1794, Leonard and
John Jr. remained in Fauquier County while Francis and some neighbors, Nichols'
and Vermillion brothers departed for Amherst County, VA. In 1796 John Jr.
married Elizabeth Benham in Fauquier County. They must have moved to Amherst
Co. shortly thereafter as their first child Robert Benham Burch was born there.
Leonard followed shortly thereafter.
By 1801 all of the
Burch brothers were all residents of Amherst County, Verginia. Francis must
have left Amherst County prior to 1810 as he is listed on the 1810 U.S. Census
for Campbell County, Virginia along with his sons Nicodemus and Eli Burch. He
applied for a pension according to the Revolutionary Claim Act of 1818.
Francis Burch of
Lynchburg, Campbell was granted a pension “at the rate of 8 Dollars per month,
to commence on the 22 of June, 1818” The last mention of Francis was dated 4
September 1819 and probably died before the 1820 census in Campbell County
Virginia Leonard died ca 1816 probably in Kentucky, and John Jr. left about
1817 for Barren Co., Kentucky where he lived the remainder of his life.
John Sr. and Mary Harris Burch Children
1. Oprah Burch baptized 16 Feb 1746 Trinity
Parish, Charles County, Maryland, USA
2. Leonard Burch born Sep 1750 Trinity Parish,
Charles County, Maryland married Monokey "Monica" Guy Webster a
cousin
3. James Burch born 22 Oct. 1752 St. John's
Parish, Prince George, Maryland 1752
4. Mary Elinor Burch born 14 May 1754 • Prince
George's Co., Maryland
5. John "Long" Burch born 8 Jan 1759
• St Johns Parish, Prince George's, Maryland, married married Elizabeth Benham
6. Francis Burch born 1760 • St Johns Parish,
Prince George, Maryland, 1760
7. George Burch born 1763
JOHN “LONG” BURCH and ELIZABETH BENHAM
Great grandparents of Josie Cronkhite Jones
John Burch Junior nicknamed “Long” Burch
Born 18 January 1759
St Johns Parish, Prince George's, Colony of Maryland
Died 01 MAR 1834
Glasgow, Barren, Kentucky,
Wife Elizabeth Benham
Born 18 March 1778
Loudoun County, Virginia,
Died 16 June 1853 •
Knoxville, Marion, Iowa, USA
Buried in Teter
Cemetery Marion CO, IA
John Long Burch was the grandfather of Nancy
White Burch Cronkhite. He was born to a prosperous Tobacco farmer in Prince
George’s County, Maryland on the eastern shores of the Potomac River. When he
was a small child his father moved the family south to neighboring Charles
County where he was living when at the age of 18 years old he joined in the
fight for American Independence. Burch joined the patriot militia 31 May 1777
as a private in Captain Samuel Smallwood regiment. His older brother Leonard
Burch was a corporal in the same outfit.
Fifty five years later in 1832 John Long Burch
applied for a pension for his Revolutionary War service in which he detailed
his military service the best he could remember at the age of 74 years.
“State of Kentucky
Barren County and circuit court on the 17th day of December 1832 John Burch
personally appeared in open court before the clerk of the County court of
Barren County now setting. John Burch is a resident of said county and state,
aged 74 years who, being first duly sworn according to law doth, on oath, make
the following declaration in order to obtain the benefits of an act of Congress
passed June 7th 1832. That he entered the service of the United States and
served as hereinafter Stated.
He was born in Prince
George County Maryland on the 18th day of January 1759. And when he was quite a
child was taken by his father to Charles County, Maryland. He lived there until
he was, he thinks, near about 19 or 20 years of age.
When it was reported
Dunmore [Lord Dunmore was the British Royal Governor of Virginia at the time of
the American Revolution and a foremost adversary of the colonists] was coming
up the Potomack [Potomac] River and he [John] was called out with others to
meet him, marched about 30 miles down the river when news was brought that the
vessel had gone down the river and sailed off & after about a week’s
service on this duty he returned home & was discharged and went home with
directions to await further orders. No written discharge was given, as it was
from the beginning only an expedition gotten up for to meet the emergency.
Samuel Smallwood was his captain, Elija [Elijah or Elisha] Smallwood,
lieutenant [both of Charles County, Maryland]. The other officers not
remembered. He thinks there were two other companies but they were little
together and he does not now remember their officers. In the second year of the
Revolutionary War [1778] he moved with his father to Prince William County,
Virginia [across the Potomac River] & shortly after he was called out in
the militia of Virginia and marched down to Alexandria [Virginia] under Captain
Peter Evans [commanded a company in the Revolutionary war, and was one of the
first settlers of Boonesborough Kentucky], Lieutenant William Jacobs, 2nd
lieutenant William Peck and under Col. Henry Lee [also known as Light-Horse
Harry Lee, an early American Patriot] who commanded. He lay there for about two
months during which time the British vessels lay in the Potomack just below
Alexandria. At the end of probably a week or so the vessels moved off down the
river and the company of Captain Peter Evans followed after them by a very
rapid march (the men running all the way) down to Mount Vernon, Genl.
Washingtons mills which contained something like 400 barrels of flour and
which, it was feared, would by attached by the enemy.
While they lay at
Mount Vernon the vessels had stopped on the opposite side of the river &
burnt Col. Lyles [William Lyles of Prince George County, Maryland] buildings.
The soldiers then moved off down the river & Captain Evans Company followed
on after. Their march was, however, intercepted by a creek which he thinks was
called Chappawanipsick & while the company was marching around this creek
the enemy burnt Brandts buildings. When the Company arrived at the head of the
creek orders were received from Col. Henry Lee that the enemys shipping had
gone and for the company to return to Alexandria. Which it did, the applicant
among the rest.
They lay at Alexandria
for some time to see if the vessel would return and were then discharged,
receiving no written discharge-were marched home by his captain. He thinks this
tour or term of service lasted about two months & a half. The applicant
cannot now supply all the particular periods of his service on the Potomac
River. But as he lived near the river, he was continually on every alarm of the
approach of vessels up the Potomac River, called upon to march to the river to
watch the vessels. He thinks he can safely say he was two years in actual
service of this kind upon the Potomac in the same Company above named and under
the same officers above named.
He could, in fact
safely say that he was in the service well on to three years, sometimes he was
out a week. Sometimes two weeks & sometimes 3 or 4, not being allowed to
stay at home sometimes not more than a day or two & he cannot now remember
that he was ever permitted, during the time, to stay at home for the space of
one whole week. So that it may be said in fact that he was on service all the
time, never being permitted to stay at home long enough to work a crop or do
anything else for himself.
The company of Captain
Evans was kept enrolled for that purpose and was subject to be called on at any
moment that it might be demanded by an emergency. It is impossible for the
applicant now to relate every particular period which he Spent in actual
service of this kind, but he is confident he actually served 2 years of not 3.
He was drafted in the
summer [1780] before Cornwallis was taken [British General Cornwallis had taken
command of the army. Cornwallis' movements in Virginia were shadowed by a
Continental Army force led by the Marquis de Lafayette.] & marched down to
Fredricksburg on the Rappahannock River under Capt. Peter Evans, first Lieutenant
Robert Overhaul, he thinks & 2nd Lieutenant Pur. Harrison & were
commanded shore by Genl. Weedon [George Weedon at the request of Governor
Thomas Jefferson led his militia unit in the Yorktown campaign, where his
brigade successfully repelled the feared and infamous unit of Colonel Banastre
Tarleton, thus closing the one means of British escape at Gloucester Point]
& Major Armistead.
While at
Fredricksburg, orders were received from Genl. Washington to clear out a road
around the tidewater of Ockoquon river in order that Genl. Washington, the
troops & baggage from the north might march along that road down to Little
York where Cornwallis was besieged. While he was engaged with the rest in
cutting out the road, Genl. Washington & some other officers passed on to
the Little York, and the baggage & troops came on after the road was
finished.
After they (the North
Army) had gone on some days the applicant & company were marched down the
Little York by Captain Evans and were stationed with the militia on the
opposite side of York River from Little York, for the purpose, as was said, of
preventing Cornwallis from escaping. He continued there until the surrender of
Cornwallis, [October 1781] when he was marched home by his Capt. &
discharged. He does not remember having received a written discharge at any
time. If he did it is now lost.
In this last term of
service he served out, within a few days, the tour for which he was drafted. He
is now unable to say for what time they were drafted or how long this tour was.
He has no documentary evidence, nor does he know of any person whose testimony
he can procure, who can testify to his service. He hereby relinquishes every
claim whatever to a pension or annuity except the present & declares that
his name is not on the pension roll of the agency of any state.
In answering to the
questions prescribed by the War Department he sayeth that he was born in
Charles County Maryland. He has no record of his age except an old bible at
home of his fathers in which it is set down.
When first called out
to meet Dunmore he lived in Charles County Maryland afterward he lived all the
time in Prince William County Virginia. From that county he moved [circa 1783
or 84] to Fauquier county where he lived 16 or 17 years . Thence he moved to
Amherst Co., [circa 1800] and lived there near about 16 years. Thence he moved
to Barren County Kentucky [circa 1817] where he has lived 15 years and still
lives.
During the time he
served on the Potomack River they were called out by Company by orders, as the
applicant thinks, from Col. Henry Lee. The tour of duty he served when
Cornwallis was taken, he was drafted. He was so little with the regular troops
that he can not name the regular officers that he served with & continental
regiments. He will however name Genl. Weedon & Major Armistead. He saw
other officers at the Little York but cannot now remember.
The regiment he does
not now remember. He served on the Potomack River to guard the county against
the enemy's shipping, helped to cut the road round the tidewater of Ockagnon
River for the Northern troops & was on the opposite side of York River when
Cornwallis capitulated.
He does not remember
ever to have received a written discharge, neither did he ever receive a
commission. In answer to the 7th [character witnesses] he would name: William
Glover, Andrew Nuckolls [Nichols], John Nichols, John Glover, William Bailey,
Francis Scott, James Bennett Esqr, William Bennett, William Elliot, William
Pursley, James Wood, Abner Wills, Samuel Marshall, & Thpmas Brandford,
William Heffenander Tolle & he could name others. Mr. Andrew Nuckolls, a
clergyman, residing in the county of Barren, Kentucky & William Glover,
residing in the same county, hereby certify that we are well acquainted with
John Burch who has subscribed & sworn to the above declaration: that we
believe him to be about 71 years of age, that is reputed and believed in the
neighborhood where he resides to have been a soldier of the Revolution and that
we concur in that opinion.
Sworn to and subscribed
the day & year aforesaid. And the said Court do hereby declare their
opinion after the investigation of the matter and after putting the
interrogations prescribed by the War Department that the above named applicant
was a Revolutionary Soldier and served as he states. And the court further
certifies that it appears to them that Andrew Nuckolls, who has signed the
preceding certificate is a clergyman residing in the county of Barren Kentucky.
And that Wm. Glover, who has also signed the same, is a resident in the same
county & that their statement is entitled to credit.” He was granted for
his service a pension of $80.00 per year.
After the war ended,
John Long Burch moved with other members of his family to Fauquier county,
Virginia where he met and married .
“Know all men by these presents that we John
Birch and Roger Benam ______ are held & firmly bound to his excellency
Robert Brooke esq. Governor of Virginia in the just sum of one hundred and
fifty Dollars to which payment will and truly to be made to the said Brooke and
his sucessors for the use of the Common Wealth we bind ourselves our heirs and
admors jointly and severally firmly by these presents seated with our seals and
dated the 15th of March 1796. The Condition of the above obligation is such
that whereas there is a marriage shortly intended to be solemnized between John
Birch and Elizabeth Benam for which a licence hath issued. Now if there be no
lawful cause to obstruct the said intended marriage then the above obligation
to be void else to remain in force.”
After John's death,
his wife Elizabeth Benham Burch applied for his pension. State of Kentucky,
Barren County On this the 13th day of November 1850 personally appeared before
me William N. Alexander, an acting officer of the Peace in and for the County
and State and Elizabeth Burch who after being first duly sworn according to Law
doth on her oath make the following Declaration Towit: That she is the widow of
John Burch Deceased who was as she verily believes a soldier in the army of the
Revolution and was a Revolutionary Pensioner of the United States at a rate of
Eighty dollars per annum under the act of Congress of 7th June 1832. That she
is now Seventy one years old. That she was married to her aforesaid husband
when she was in her seventeenth year By one Richard Majors in Louden County,
Virginia. That she and her aforesaid husband had seven children the oldest one
of which is Robert B. Burch and is Fifty three years old. That she has not a
record of her marriage but she has a record of the ages of her children which
is herewith presented. That she and her aforesaid husband lived together as man
and wife until his death which took place of the 1st day of March 1834 and that
she is still a widow never having married since the death of her said Husband.
She makes this declaration for the purpose of obtaining a Pension under the act
of Congress of the 2nd of February 1848 and believing that she is entitled to
receive the same rate of Pension that her aforesaid Husband received she most respectfully
asks the Hon Commissioner of Pensions to cause the allowance made and the
certificate evidencing the same to be enclosed to her attorney Isaac W. Gratin of
Frankfort, Kentucky.
Robert Benham Burch’s
Statement: State of Kentucky Barren County On this the 13th day of November
1840 personally appeared before me William N. Alexander an acting justice of
the Peace in and for the county and state aforesaid, Robert B. Burch who after
being first duly sworn according to law doth make the following statements
Towit: That he is the Child of John Burch and Elizabeth Burch. That he was
fifty three years old on the 11 day of July last. That his Father was a
Pensioner of the United States under the act of Congress of 7th of June 1832 at
the rate of Eighty Dollars per annum. That he does verily believe that his
aforesaid Father and Mother were married about the year of seventeen hundred
and ninety six and that they lived together as man and wife until his father's
death which took place on or about the 1st day of March 1834. That he has three
sisters and three brothers younger than himself. Viz Margaret H. Burch, Landon
J. Burch, Anne Burch, Fanny P. Burch, William D. Burch and John Burch. That he
was married on the 21st day of May 1821 and is now a man of family and has only
twelve children. Further Deponent saith not. Sworn to and subscribed before me
on the day and year afsd. I the just subscribed magistrate do certify that the
above Deponent is a man of the first respectability unto of whose statements
the fullest faithe and credit should be given. I do further certify that he is
personally known to me and is a farmer of this county and a man of family.
“In the old Nichols graveyard, about one mile
east of Elbow Springs, and near the present home of Mr. Will Bowles, rests one
of Barren County's numerous veterans of the Revolution. To his neighbors he was
known as "Long" Burch, which was probably due to stature, being much
taller than the average person. It has been ascertained from Mr. Bowles that Mr.
Sandusky Burton, a Union veteran of the Civil War, would journey to the grave
of the valiant old soldier each decoration day and place a flag there. Mr.
Burton passed away several years ago and is buried in the same plot. Since that
time Mr. Bowles has been caring for the grave. Markers of rather soft stone
have been erected, but because of deterioration the crude lettering cannot be
made out.This information was provided by Dale V. Key. Since then, the Burch
family has erected a new headstone.”
Children of John Long Burch and Elizabeth Benham
1. Robert Benham Burch b July 11, 1797 married
a cousin Ann Nichols the daughter of John Nicholas and Nancy Burch the daughter
of Leonard Burch and Monica Webster.
2. Margaret Frances Burch Nichols b June 21,
1799
3. Landon J. Burch b August 9, 1801
4. Ann Burch b September 20, 1803
5. Fannie Poil Burch Nichols b December 19,
1806
6. William D. Burch b October 9, 1809
7. John Burch b February 12, 1816
LANDON J BURCH and MARY ELIZABETH PURSLEY
Grandparents of Josie Cronkhite Jones
Landon J. Burch
birth August 9, 1801,
Amherst County, Virginia
death March 17, 1882,
Niwot, Boulder County, Colorado
buried Niwot Cemetery,
Niwot, Boulder County, Colorado
Mary Elizabeth Pursley
Birth 18 JANUARY 1811
• Glasgow, Barren County, Kentucky, USA
Death 19 JANUARY 1890
• Marion County, Iowa, USA
Landon J Burch was born the son of John “Long”
Burch Jun, and Elizabeth Beham. He moved with his father’s family to Barren
County, Kentucky about 1816 and there he married Mary Elizabeth Pursley on 16
October 1832 while living at Elbow Springs, Barren County, Kentucky. She was
the daughter of William Pursley and Nancy Buckley. About six years after their
marriage Landon J. Burch settled in Van Buren County, Iowa Territory in 1838.
Later his brother William Burch also came to Iowa Territory but did not remain
in the state but a few years. He later moved to the southern part of Missouri.
Both Landon and William Burch are shown as living next to each other in Van
Buren County, Iowa in the 1840 Census.
LJ Burch Home in 1840 Van Buren, Iowa
Territory
Free White Male age 30
thru 39 [1801-1810] Landon J Burch
Free White Female age
20 thru 29 [1811-1820] Mary Pursley
Free White Male age 20
thru 29 unknown
Free White Female age
- 5 thru 9 [1831-1835] Manturia Burch 1833
Free White Female age
Under 5 [1836-1840] Nancy Burch 1835
Free White Male age
Under 5 [1836-1840] Orestus Burch 1837–1849
2 Persons Employed in
Agriculture
After
central and western Iowa was opened to settlement with the removal of the Sac
and Fox Indians, they brothers moved to Marion County and settled on
Whitebreast Creek, in Knoxville Township. Whitebreast Creek runs through a
beautiful country, and it was on the bank of this stream, within the northern
limits of Knoxville township, that Landon J. Burch erected the first mill in
the county. The construction of mill was began in the summer of 1845 and
completed in about a year and a half.
Landon and
Mary moved to what is now known as Knoxville in Marion County, Iowa in 1844.
The following is an abstract from an article Landon submitted to the "Old
Settler's Association" of that county, describing the hardships of being
one of the first settlers of that county.
THE HISTORY OF MARION COUNTY IOWA
“Landon J.
Burch, a prominent old settler in the northern part of this township, and still
a well-known resident there, was born in Virginia in 1801. He became an orphan
early in life and was subjected to many hardships and adventures during a long
career of changes of place and occupation, till he finally located here in
1844. In relation to his adventurous experience as a pioneer, we will let him
speak for himself, quoting from an elaborate paper, submitted by him to the
" Old Settlers Association" of Marion county.
"I
and my brother William shouldered a parcel of provisions, a coffee pot, and axe
and a gun, and left Winchester [community in Van Buren County] sometime in
January [1844]. We traveled up the Des Moines Valley to White Breast Creek, and
there took the claim where I now live for myself, and my brother took that
whereon John Fry now lives. We stayed there eight or ten days, made some little
improvement, lived in camp and suffered a great deal from cold.
During
one day of the time it snowed, after which the weather became warm enough for
the bees to come out, but still cool enough for some of them to become so
chilled that they could not fly far. Then we went bee hunting. Instead of
looking up into the trees we traced the hives by the fallen bees; and by this
means we found several swarms, some of them quite rich.
"Then
we had plenty of honey, but our bread and coffee soon gave out, and we went to
an Indian trader at Red Rock, (or where the town now stands) and got a supply
of coffee, meal, and a little whiskey. But the snow was so deep and the weather
otherwise so bad, that we could not go on with our improvements; so we
concluded to go home and move our families up at the earliest practicable time.
"A
thaw commenced about the time we started which was about the last of January
and continued till the ice broke on the river, and we began to prepare for
moving. We had now been several years in Iowa, encountering all the
difficulties attending up a newly settled country, and I had spent what money I
had brought from [Barren County] Kentucky. Besides improving several lots in
Winchester, [Van Buren County] I had built a small boat on the Des Moines
River, with which I had carried lumber from Passmore's mill, on Lick Creek, to
Ottumwa, to build the first frame house there and took my part in trade.
"On
the 1st of March [1844] we loaded our plunder on the boat, at the mouth of Lick
Creek, and started up the river. A man named Miles Wilkinson took passage with
up intending to take a look at the country, and join with me in building a
mill, provided he liked the situation.
"Soon
after we got on the way the weather became cold and stormy, and as our boat was
an open one, and our children small, we had to camp on shore every night for
the sake of fire. Besides, Wilkinson had the ague, [an illness involving fever
and shivering] and was not able to work the boat more than half the time. In
this way we got along very slowly, and were twenty-one days getting to our
claims. But here we were at last, with our wifes [wives] and little ones, five
children each. Not a neighbor's dog could we hear bark, nor a chicken crew.
Wilkinson
spent two days in prospecting between where Knoxville now stands and the Des
Moines River, and came to the conclusion that the country would never be
settled enough to justify the building of a mill, that the toll [money] from
all the custom [customers] we would get would hardly feed a few pigs. So he
went back and built a mill somewhere in the southern part of Wapello County.
"As
for Bill and me, we were located, and if we had no kind neighbors to hold
friendly conversation with, we had frequent opportunities to listen to the
howling of wolves. Yet we were not quite destitute of neighbors. The Joneses
[Jehu Jones’ family] had settled in the timber west of Knoxville; Elian Fuller
had made a settlement on White Breast, and Wm. McCord had located between there
and Red Rock, and he was my nearest neighbor. Two bachelors living on the
river, named Johnson, I also became acquainted with.
"As
soon as we got into a shelter brother Bill took my boat and went to work on the
river, carrying flour from Meek's Mill, (Bonaparte) to the garrison on
"Coon River", where Des Moines City now is. The river was high and my
brother worked hard to make even small wages. At the same time I worked about
home, planted three or four acres of corn, fixed up my smith tools, did some
little jobs in that line for my distant neighbors, and also for the Indians,
repairing their guns, etc., for which they paid me punctually with one
exception. The children also traded with the Indians in little trinkets, and
thereby obtained quite a friendly understanding with them. Both the children
and I acquired a knowledge of their language very rapidly; but they left too
soon to enable us to become perfect in it, or to make it useful to us. [1845]
"The
creek [WhiteBreast] was full nearly all summer, and as I had a patch of corn on
each side of it, I had to cross pretty often in a little unwieldly canoe. On
one of these trips I came very close to losing 2 of my children.”
"This
was the summer of '44, during the latter part of which my brother Bill moved to
his own claim, and we lived about 3/4 of a mile apart. In August, our families
all got sick, I being the only well one. We had got our stock [livestock] up
from Van Buren county, during the summer, and when sickness came the care and
labor that fell upon my unaided shoulders were enough to have employed three
men.
Our
eldest daughter [Manturia Burch] died [October 30 age 11 years] after a
lingering illness of about 3 months. She died from the want of medical aid and
attention, when there was not a soul present except I and my sick family. My
wife was unable to turn herself in bed and as for me, trouble and the loss of
sleep had so nearly worn me out that I scarcely knew anything. But for the fact
that I was in good health, we must have all perished.
"When
I say that my daughter was dying, I went out every few minutes and blew a
little tin trumpet as loudly as I could, hoping to attract the attention of
someone who might be within hearing. As is happened, a young man named Moyer,
was crossing the prairie at day dawn, and hearing the blast, surmised it to be
a note of alarm or distress, and came to the house. He and my brother laid out
the corpse, and then went abroad among our scattered neighbors, who came in and
assisted us to bury our child in a tolerably decent manner.
"Having
failed, on account of sickness, to make a trip in the fall, our provisions gave
out. We had plenty of milk, but no bread. During Sickness and after, I had to
beat corn in a mortar and sift it for bread; and now this process had to be
kept up until the ice broke out of the river in the spring following [1845].
Then I made a voyage to the old neighborhood [Winchester, Van Buren County] for
a cargo of bread stuff. I shall never forget the rejoicing of the children on
our return. Little ones that could scarcely utter their words plainly would cry
out "we'll have plenty o'bread now, mother!"
"On
reaching Eddyville, during one of these trips, we fell in with one of the
agents of the contractor, names [J.B.] Scott, [hauler of supplies] who was
there after corn for the garrison at Ft. Des Moines, and who prevailed on us to
ship a load to that place, offering a high-price. There was no available means
of transporting it by land just then, for the roads were so bad that a team
could not draw much more than would feed it for the trip.
"So
we agreed to turn back. The weather was good to start with, and if it so
continued we calculated to make the trip in eight or nine days. It was
important to get provisions enough to last us for that length of time. But
after insisting very hard, all the meat we could get were a couple of small
thin sides of bacon.
We
had plenty of tea, and could have supplied ourselves with plenty of molasses,
but could procure only one small jug to hold it. Meal we had none to start
with, but supposed that when we should reach the horse mill, (or rather ox
mill), just above where Coal port now is, we could get a supply. But here we
could get only about 3 quarts. We could have got some of our cargo ground, but
didn't, thinking we could surely get a supply at Red Rock. But we were again
disappointed, for the only eatable thing we could get there was a peck of very
small potatoes, and what whiskey we wanted.
"Here,
the weather turned cold, and the wind blew so strong against us that we had to
lay by. It grew so cold that the water froze on our poles, making them so
slippery and heavy that we could not use them. And to add to our troubles, our
small potatoes, the only substitute we had for bread, froze and became utterly
worthless. We, however, made the best we could of them by trading them to the
Indians for maple sugar. And they in turn, made the best of them by thawing
them and drinking the juice with much relish.
"Having
at last reached the Fort and delivered our load, we started on our return
voyage with nothing to eat, hoping to reach Red Rock before we should suffer
much. At that time there was but one settlement between the Fort and Red Rock,
on what is now called Butcher's Prairie. By the time we reached this point the
wind blew so hard up stream that we could make little or no progress, through
one hand went on shore with a rope to pull while the others paddled on board.
"The
situation was by no means promising, and we were compelled to land and wait for
fair weather. So I went to the house to see if I could get something to eat. It
was occupied by a man and his wife, whose name I have forgotten. The man was a
surly fellow. No dry joke, that I could pass in stating my case, could make him
smile, and he looked suspiciously at me and talked as though he thought the
whole world was composed of robbers, and that I had come to impose upon him. In
reply to my request for something to eat, he gruffly said he had nothing for
himself. But the woman wore a different countenance, and from her pleased
expression I was able to glean a hope. And not only her words but her works
soon confirmed it. She said we were suffering and must be fed. So she went out
and killed the only chicken she had, and with that and some flour, butter, and
milk, she provided us a full meal, cooked. I carried it to the boat, and after
our feast, when I returned the vessels, she would receive only the moderate sum
of fifty cents. She was truly a sister of charity. Blessed be her memory.
"Next
morning the weather was quite calm, and we finished our voyage without any
further difficulty.
"Some
time in the Spring or Summer of 1845, I commenced building a mill, and in about
20 months began to grind. It was a poor thing. I could not make more than 16 or
18 bushels of meal per day, but every bushel of toll was worth .50 cents, and
as many settlers had came into the neighborhood, I got all the grinding I could
do. My customers extended twelve or fifteen miles around; and after this there
was no scarcity of bread."
On
June 10, 1845, William Edmondson, sheriff of Mahaska County, proceeded to
organize Marion County. He divided the county into five voting precincts and
appointed the voting places and judges of election in each. In the Knoxville
precinct the voting place was at the house of Landon J. Burch. John Babcock,
William Burch and Richard R. Watts were the election judges in this precinct.
An
election was held on September 1, 1845 (the first Monday) to accept the
organization of Marion County. 187 votes were cast with 28 votes being from
Knoxville Precinct. At an election in April, 1846, to organize Knoxville
Township there were twenty-five votes cast in the Knoxville precinct. The names
of these voters were the early settlers of the township. They are as follows:
L. W. Babbitt, James Bothkin, Christopher Cox, Thomas S. Thompson, Emanuel
Jenkins, John M. Jones, John Essex, Samuel H. Robb, W. M. Bassett, G. B.
Greenwood, Lawson G. Terry, Moses Tong, Gerret W. Clark, Conrad Walters, Nathan
P. Cox, Joseph Tong, Landon J. Burch, George Gillaspy, Francis Daygraaton,
Francis A. Barker, Noah Bonebrake, John R. Welch, Reuben S. Lowry, Eli
Wickersham, David Immel, Benjamin Casner.
At
a called meeting of County commissioners, in November, 1846, it was ordered
that townships seventy-five, and all of seventy-six lying south of the Des
Moines River, both of range nineteen, and townships seventy-five and
seventy-six, of range twenty be included in Knoxville township. This included,
besides all the present territory of the township, all of Polk south of the Des
Moines River and part of Union. Lawson Terry, Landon Burch and Moses Tong were
appointed judges to lay out the boundaries of Knoxville precinct which “shall
consist of township seventy-five, range nineteen and all of township
seventy-six, range nineteen, south of the Dee Monies River, and east and south
of Whitebreast creek, also of townships seventy-five and seventy-six, range
twenty, east of the old Indian boundary line; elections arc to be held at the
place of holding District Court.”
The
1850 United States Census of Marion County, Iowa taken 12 September 1850
Household 487
Landor
J Burch age 48 born Virginia occupation Miller $2000
Mary
E Burch age 38 born Kentucky
Nancy
W Burch age 14 born Kentucky
Oceantha
Burch age 10 born Iowa
Newton
C Burch age 7 born Iowa
Semantha
B Burch age 3 born Iowa
Charlotte
Burch age 1 born Iowa
Two
children of this family had died before the census was taken. His oldest
daughter died in 1844 and his eldest son Son Orestus Ducalion Burch died 28
February 1849 at the age of 11 years. His brother William D Burch was
enumerated as household 487. He is listed as a 40 year old farmer with a wife
and seven children.
Between
1850 and 1853 Landon J Burch’s widowed mother moved to Marion County probably
in 1851. Her sons William and Landon’s families there and Landon was prosperous
enough by now to take care of her. She died 16 June 1853 at the home of Landon
at the age of 76 years.
Landon
J. Burch received about 160 acres in grants from the government between 1852
and 1858. On 10 March 1852 he received 40 acres located in the northeast
quarter of the northwest quarter of section 30 in the 76 township range 19. He
also received another 40 acres located in the southeast quarter of the
southeast quarter of Section 24 in Township 76 in the 20th range. Two years
later he received a grant of another 40 acres on 15 September 1854 located in
the northeast quarter of the northeast quarter of Section 30 in township 76
range 19. On 15 January 1858 he received 40 acres in the southeast quarter of
the southeast quarter in Section 14 of the 76 Township range 20.
The
1856 State Census of Iowa listed “L J Burch” as 56 years and born in
Pennsylvania with his residence being Knoxville township, Marion County. He
gave his occupation as a Miller. He, his wife and daughter Nancy all stated
that they had lived in Iowa for 17 years or since 1839. He must have made his
living primarily from his mill as he had no agricultural products except 150
pounds of butter. Others in his household were his wife Mary Burch age 45,
daughter Nancy W Burch age 21, daughter Acantha Burch age 16, son Newton Burch
age 14, daughter Samantha V Burch age 9, and daughter Olive Burch. Absent from
the census is the daughter Charlotte who died 18 September 1851.
Landon
Burch’s family was enumerated in the 1860 United States Census on 12 June 1860.
He was household #321 and his brother had moved to Missouri by this time as his
neighbor at household #322 was John Fry who had bought out Bill Burch. Landon
Burch was listed as a 58 year old Miller by occupation and worth $3000 in real
estate and $600 in personal property. Others in his household was his wife Mary
Burch age 49, A [Arcantha] Burch age 20, Newton Burch age 18, Samantha Burch
age 13, Oliver [Olivia] Burch age 7. At the time of this census their oldest
surviving child Nancy White Burch had married a widower named Abraham Cronkite
in 1857.
Landon Burch’s first grandchild Mary Josephine
"Josie" Cronkhite Cronkite was born in November 1858 and his daughter
Nancy White Burch Cronkhite was pregnant with his second grandchild who was
born in November 1860.
In
November 1861 Landon Burch’s married daughter Nancy White Burch died leaving
two young daughters under the age of three. The widower remarried and the girls
were raised not near their Burch relatives.
Landon’s
daughter Acantha known as “Cantha” married 23 August 1862 William Marion Davis
during the Civil War. His daughter Samantha Marriage married 18 Nov 1863 in Marion
County, Iowa, Augustus Caesar Cronkhite, the half-brother of Abram Cronkhite
who came to Iowa to visit from Warren County, Indiana. The couple would return
to Warren County, Indiana to raise a family there.
While
his son Newton Burch was old enough to enlist in the Civil War he more than
likely stayed home to assist his aging parents as the only surviving son.
The
1870 United States Census of Iowa listed the family of Landon J. Burch as still
living in Knoxville Township as household 190. The family was enumerated on 16
June 1870 as L J Burch age 68 born in Virginia, M.E. Burch age 59 born in
Kentucky, N.C. Burch age 25 born Iowa and Olive Burch age 17 born in Iowa.
Newton Clay Burch and his sister Olive were the last of the children to still
be at home.
Oliver
Burch married on 21 Dec 1876 Albert M Jones the son of Isaac and Mary Booth
Jones. They moved to Pocahontas, Arkansas where they had one son before Olive
died there. The 1880 census listed Albert as a widower with a two year old son
Frederick born in Arkansas.
Albert’s
younger brother Silas W. Jones had married Olive’s niece Josie Cronkhite the
previous year on 28 Feb 1875. Landon J. Burch’s family now had four connections
with the Jones and Cronkhite families. His daughter Nancy White had married
Abram Cronkhite, his daughter Samantha had married Abram’s half brother
Augustus Cronkhite, his daughter Olive married Albert Jones, and his
granddaughter Josie Cronkhite had married Albert’s brother Silas Jones.
Some
time in the 1870’s the marriage between Landon Burch and his wife Mary Pursley
fell apart and the couple separated after all their children were grown. Landon
Burch left Iowa and went to Boulder County, Colorado where his brother William
Burch had children. The 1880 Census shows that Landon and Mary were living in
separate households. Landon is enumerated the 26th of June 1880 within the
218th household of a 28 year old Swede farmer named JH Andersen who is listed
as single. They lived in Left Hand, Boulder County, Colorado.
L.
J. Burch age 78 Birthplace Virginia Marital Status Married
Father's
Birthplace Maryland Mother's Birthplace Virginia
Occupation
Blacksmith
The
Burch’s divorce record is recorded in book 2, page 208, case # 1202 on 12
August 1880 -Divorce- Landon Burch vs Mary E. Burch". That doesn't say
whether it was the filing date or the decree date. A newspaper item said
"Divorce - Burch, L.J. versus Mary E. Burch (1881 trial)". So it may
be that he filed in 1880, had the hearing in 1881 and died in 1882. Landon's divorce petition can be found in the
book "Boulder County, Colorado Marriages, Anniversaries, Divorces, Births
and Birthdays-1859-1900, Newspaper Abstracts" by Mary McRoberts, July
1991.
Landon
J Burch’s gravemarker reads: L. J. Burch, died Mar 17, 1882, aged 80yrs, 7M's
8D's, and he was buried in Niwot Cemetery in Boulder, Colorado.
Mary
Elizabeth Pursley Burch remained in Iowa after her husband left for Colorado
and the 1880 Census shows that she was still living in Knoxville Township in
Marion County. On the 23rd of July she is enumerated in the household of her
son Newton Burch. He is the head of household 451 and Mary is listed as his
mother. She is 69 years old “keepinghouse” and born in Kentucky. She stated
that both of her parents were born in Virginia. Her Marital Status was
“Married”. Newton is listed as a single 37 year old farmer.
The
1885 census of Iowa is the last record for Mary Elizabeth Pursley Burch. The
census was taken 1 Jan 1885 and she is recorded in the household of her son
“Nuten” [Newton]. Newton is listed as a 42 year old farmer living in the
Northwest quarter of the Southeast quarter of section 30 Township 76 Range 19.
Mary E Burch is listed 74 years old born in Kentucky. Also within the household
was her grandson Francis Jones age 7. His father Albert M Jones had died in
1884 making him an orphan. The census says he was born in Kansas but he was
born in Arkansas.
Mary
Elizabeth Pursley Burch died 19 January 1890 probably at her son Newton’s
residence Marion County. She was buried in the Greenwood Cemetery with a large
obelisk marking her grave. She had lived in Marion County for 45 years.
The
following is from the hand written pages of Landon J. Burch's Holy Bible,
This holy
Bible was a present from M. M. ______, Pastor of the _____ton Creek Baptist
Church to Landon J. Burch, 1821.
Landon J.
Burch was born Aug. 9th,1801
Mary
E. Burch was born Jan. 13th 1811
Mantura
E. Burch was born Aug. 13th 1833
Nancy
W. Burch was born Feb. 4th 1835
Orestes
Ducalion Burch was born August 26th, 1837
Acantha
Frances Burch was born January 21st, 1840
Newton
Clay Burch was born March 23rd, 1842
Samantha
Victoria Burch was born November 18,1846
Charlotte
Burch was born November 11th, 1848
_______
______was born August 24th, 1852 [Olive]
Mantura
E. Burch died October 30, 1844
Orestes
Deucalion Burch died September 18th, 1851
Charlotte
Burch Died September 18, 1851
Buried:
Burch Cemetery plot north of Knoxville, Marion Co, IA. [Greenwood]
Landon
and Mary Ekizabeth were divorced in 1881 in Boulder Co, CO.
Landon J Burch and Mary Elizabeth
Pursley had the following children
1. Mantura
Elizabeth Burch b August 13, 1833 Barren County, Kentucky died October 30, 1844
at the age of 11 years in Marion County, Iowa Territory
2. Nancy
White Cronkhite born February 4, 1835 Barren County, Kentucky married Abraham
Cronkhite 30 December 1857. She died 6 November 1861 age 26 years and was
survived by two daughters Mrs. Josie Cronkhite Jones and Mrs. Augusta Victoria
Neve
3. Orestes
Ducalion Burch b August 26, 1837 Barren County, Kentucky died 28 February 1849
age 11
4. Acantha
Frances Davis b January 21, 1840 Winchester, Van Buren County, Iowa Territory.
She died 18 December 1923 age 82 years in Lafayette Colorado. The Lafayette
Leader, Friday, December 21, 1923: Mrs. Cantha Davis Dies Last Tuesday Passes
Away Dec 18, At Her Home Aged 82; Funeral Thursday Cantha Frances Davis, died
at her home in this city last Tuesday, December 18, aged 82 years and 11
months. Death followed an illness due to the infirmities of old age. Cantha
Frances Burch was born in Winchester, Iowa, January 21, 1841. August 21 1861,
near Knoxville, Iowa she was united in marriage to William M. Davis. To this
union were born six children, three of whom survive, Mrs. Emma Noftsger and D.
D. Davis of Mt. Harris, and O. O. Davis of Denver. In 1903 the family came to
Colorado and five years ago Mr. and Mrs. Davis moved to Lafayette, where Mr.
Davis passed away in 1921. Because of her advanced years Mrs. Davis lived a
retiring life but those who knew her speak of her as a consistent Christian
woman. Funeral services in charge of the Henning mortuary were held at the M.
E. church Thursday afternoon, conducted by Rev. J. C. B. Hopkins and the
remains were laid to rest in the Lafayette cemetery.
5. Newton
Clay Burch b March 28, 1842 Winchester, Van Buren County, Iowa Territory. He
married Sarah Malissa Timmerman circa 1892 when he was 50 years old and she was
42 years old. They had one son Newton Clay Burch Jr. who married but had no
children. Newton Clay Burch Sr, died 7 Apr 1922 Knoxville, Marion, Iowa, at the
age of 79.
6.
Samantha Victoria Cronkhite b November 18, 1846 Knoxville Township, Marion
County, Iowa married Augustus Caesar Cronkhite. She died 29 November 1880 in
Warren County, Indiana, at the age of 34 years and left two daughters.
7.
Charlotte Burch b November 11, 1848 Knoxville Township, Marion County, Iowa She
died 18 September 1851 2 years of age.
8. Olive
Jones b August 24, 1852 Knoxville Township, Marion County, Iowa. She married
Albert M Jones on 21 December 1876. They moved to Pocahontas, Randolph County,
Arkansas where they had just one son before she died circa 1879.
I am a descendant of Robert Benham Burch.
ReplyDeleteGigi McCullough, Mother- Elizabeth Ruth Burch, Elizabeth 's Father - Edgar Artemus Burch, His Father- Jerome Powell Burch, His father- Robert Franklin Burch, His Father - Robert Benham Burch.
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