Frederick Burgess 1827

Frederick Burgess was the son of Violate Stockwell and William Burgess Sr. He was born 5 February 1827 in Hague township, Warren County New York. Frederick was four years old when his parents were baptized members of the LDS Church and he was five when his family moved to Kirtland, Ohio to join the group of LDS members living in that area. Frederick's childhood was somewhat turbulent as his family moved to Missouri where their home was burned and they were forced out by mobs. They fled across the river to Illinois where they took refuge; first in Adams County and later moving to Nauvoo where they were living at the time of the martyrdom of the Prophet Joseph Smith and his brother, Hyrum. Frederick was baptized in Nauvoo on 6 October 1843.

Frederick Burgess was my second great grand uncle. Frederick Burgess left home after a family disagreement. This happened while the family was still in Nauvoo before the journey to Utah so he would have been in his late teens. We know very little of him after he left. He is mentioned in two family books-

In the book, "A Heritage of Faith and Courage - William and Violate Burgess and Their Family" by Barbara Bennett Roach it states:

A tradition is that one time some young men were wrestling and boxing in friendly sport,
then serious trouble came up with a fight between two boys which became really troublesome.
Fred was red headed and would go the limit in a fight. He hurt the other boy very bad. His father
interfered and wanted him to apologize, but he would not. He thought everyone, and his own
family were against him. He left home and never came back. He went south and got in bad
company and went from bad to worse, and finely took the lead ofa gang known as Quantrill, and
was later one of the night raiders in the Civil war. He came west to see his mother, but did not
claim to be her son, said he was a friend of Fred Burgess, who wanted him to call on her and give her a message from her boy. She said, "You are my boy Fred." But he said , "No, he was just his friend." At that moment his father was coming in the front gate. She said , "Here comes
William, he will know you." Fred looked and saw him, then left through the back way, got on
his horse, and they never saw him any more. His father searched, but could not find him.
Source: John F. Burgess, and shared by Steven James Burgess, Ogden, Utah

And in the Perry A. Burgess Diary - 1866 (Perry was the son of Frederick's brother, Abram) which is a part of the book "Beyond the Land of Gold: The Life & Times of Perry A. Burgess" by Rebecca Valentine and Travis Thompson we read:

"April 17. Hitched up and travelled until three o'clock when we came to the Missouri River, passed through Glennwood [Glenwood} 7 miles east of the Missouri. It commenced raining and as we reached the river we were obliged to wait an hour or so until the ferry boat came and set us over to Plattesmouth [Plattsmouth], Nebr. territory. The river was very swift and muddy and the bank kept dropping down as the currant of water undermined it. At Plattesmouth I was introduced to my Uncle Fred Burgess whom I had not seen for 21 years. The country we traveled over today was hilly, but well timbered. Distance to-day 20 mi."

"Stayed in Plattesmouth 7 days.  ... Plattesmouth is a dirty place and drinking, fighting etc. are the principle amusements, there was two shooting brawls during my stay there. At one of them there were 30 or 40 shots fired and no body hurt although one drunken man in crossing the street fell down and scratched his face a little and stoutly maintained that he had been scratched with a bullet or knife but did not know which...."

The previous two mentions as well as his brother, Harrison Burgess's statement in November 1846 that "My other Brother Fredrick had gone to Galena and has not been heard from since" were all that we knew of Frederick Burgess for over 150 years.  So last winter I decided to try and find him...

I first looked into the claim that he'd been a part of Quantrill's Raiders. Quantrill was a confederate guerrilla operating in Missouri so there was a chance that Fred could have been a part of his raiders. He is not one of those listed but there is one mention of a W.H. Burgess listed on the July 11, 1862 roster found on a dead Missouri Partisan Ranger. So it could be him if he used another name at that time. So far I haven't found him on any Civil War rosters or pension lists so maybe this is what he did during the war. Quantrill Raider reunions were held after the war so some mention of him may yet be found in a reunion article or other news item...

I began my search using census records. I found a few Frederick Burgess listings but the one that was the most promising to me was one in Wisconsin in the 1970 census:

Levina J Hinton-56, Fredrick Burgess-39 (lumberman), Huldah C Burgess-24

Because this Fred's age was close to right and his profession was a lumberman (his family's chosen profession) I kept this census as a "maybe". At first I just thought this Fred and his wife might be renting rooms with Mrs. Hinton but the next day I realized Huldah could have been the daughter of Levina Hinton. So I looked at earlier census in that area and found that I was right. I found the Hinton family in the 1950 census in Stevens Point, Wisconsin:

Thomas Hinton-36 (Lumberman), Lavina Hinton-36, Helen M Hinton-7, Harriet E Hinton-5 and Hulda Hinton-3 months

And in the 1860 Census we see that Hulda's father, Thomas Hinton is a lumber merchant and they have lumbermen and laborers boarding with them. That could be how Hulda and Frederick met.

Thomas Hinton-45 (lumber merchant), Elvina Hinton-41 (Levina), Hattie Hinton-15,
Cathrin-10 (this is Hulda Cathrine), Math DeCoyrsey-26, Helena DeCoyrsey-18 (this is Hulda's sister, now married) 

I found Thomas Hinton on findagrave.com showing he died 11 June 1867. There is a nice history at that site and here is another short sketch:

*Born in Ohio, Aug. 13, 1813. Came to Wausau in 1843. Engaged in lumbering. Was particularly active in the early government of the county. He was a very kind-hearted, honest man, and a year or so before his death exhibited much enthusiasm on religious subjects, devoting his time to fighting the evils visible in the community. He died in the early Summer of 1867. Source: The History of Northern Wisconsin, Marathon County, Wis. (1881) page 556

Although I wasn't sure I was on the right track I kept researching this family and Fred Burgess in that area and found the following marriage.

Licenses issued in Marathon county, Wisconsin:

232 Burges, Frederick                                    Hinton, Huldah Catherine         17 Oct 1867                         1-264

I don't know if Frederick and Huldah separated but I found that they also bought a marriage license in Nebraska although it seems they may not have used it.  I found the following listing in the book, "Douglas County, Nebraska Marriages, 1854-1881" by Keith Kay

There are several things we learn from this listing such as they are now going by George F. and Kate and are living in Sarpy County, Nebraska. But the most important fact is the listing of his parents so... I finally found the proof that I was researching the right Fred Burgess! 

I haven't yet found the family on the 1880 census but I did find them on a 1885 Nebraska state census:

G F Burgess-55 (miller), H C Burgess-35, Frank H Burgess-14, L J Hinton-74

So we see that Hulda's mother is still living with the family and they have a 14 year old son named Frank H. Burgess as well as some boarders.

I lose Hulda Catherine/Kate and her mother after this census. I did find their son, Frank on a 1900 census in Colorado living with a Bell family - not the same given names as those in the above census and I found him on the 1910 census in Sunshine, Park County, Wyoming. His is listed as a 40 year old single hired-hand. I haven't found him after this. 

Frank is listed on line 79

As far as my gg uncle Fred Burgess he may also be lost but I did find a death record for a Fred Burgess in North Platte, Nebraska in 1913.  I have no proof that this death record is our Fred but hope to find proof  in local records someday. And the age is right.

Here is the death record that may be our Fred Burgess from the The North Platte semi-weekly tribune., January 24, 1913, Image 1

I will continue research to finish Frederick Burgess's story and would love to hear from anyone else having information on Fred and his family. --cba
=====================

new finding as of 18 Sept. 2013...

Fred Burgess is on line 59

Thanks to Chris Utley for finding Fred Burgess in Rosedale, Lincoln County, Nebraska on a 1910 census. This Fred Burgess is 83 years old, widowed, and he and his parents were all born in New York. And Rosedale is only 13 miles from North Platte.

Clay Meadows Cemetery, Bolton township, Warren county, New York

On our trip in May 2013 we were able to find the Clay Meadows cemetery and I've decided to write about it today so others can find it more easily than we did.

We stayed in Bolton Landing on the banks of Lake George for two days. It was early May and not much was open yet including the historical museum. So I went to the library and asked about the Clay Meadows cemetery that I had learned about online. The librarian found the same webpage as I did but then made a few phone calls and found someone who told her that it was about five miles north of Bolton Landing in the northwest bay area of Lake George. And that the cemetery was near a state park and you needed to climb a hill at the end of the guard rail just past the creek.

We drove north that day but didn't have time to find it since we still needed to go south to the county offices/historical room before it closed. (Which we had a difficult time finding because of the town/village designations which we didn't understand.) But the next day after we checked out we headed north towards Ticonderoga and were able to find the cemetery on the way!

So to find it: drive north out of Bolton Landing on Lake Shore Drive/9N for a little over six miles to Northwest Bay Brook. We didn't find a state park but there is a turn-off road to a fishing access area right before the brook - we parked there.

Northwest Bay Brook (looking down from the road)

There is an unmarked trail up the hill just past the guard rail - see arrow

Cross over the brook and right at the end of the guard rail climb the unmarked trail up the hill.

Circle is around my husband climbing toward the cemetery

My husband climbed the hill and after a bit found the cemetery. It had been fenced and there was a sign. There aren't many grave markers left intact. Through the years time and vandals have taken their toll. The fence was added in the 1990s and in 2003 the cemetery was cleared of brush and overgrowth by members of the Bolton Historical Society and seniors from Bolton Central School.

And he found Burgesses!! Martin Burgess is a brother to my ancestor, William Burgess Sr. Martin Burgess and his family are interred in this cemetery. I think that Christian Burgess lived in this area until the family moved to Putnam Station area in the early 1800s.

Mike coming down the hill from the cemetery

At one point in time there was a community in the area called Clay Meadows. The residents had clear cut the trees to sell and so they could farm. In the 1930s a Civilian Conservation Corps camp was located on the old Burgess farm in this area. The CCC boys replanted the area with thousands of 5-inch seedling pine trees. These trees are now 80+ feet tall and it is hard to find any sign of the early settlers other than this cemetery. Read more about this camp in the wonderful article found here: http://www.lakegeorgemirrormagazine.com/2013/04/24/the-civilian-conservation-corps-comes-to-bolton/

Map:

43.627126,-73.607154 - Clay Meadows Cemetery

Rebecca Nurse Homestead visit part two: The Cemetery

Rebecca Nurse home from the parking area

Nurse Homestead Cemetery

Across the field from the house is the Nurse Homestead cemetery. It is believed that the Nurse family surreptitiously took her body in the night and buried it on the family farm. There are two unmarked rocks in the cemetery. This could be where Rebecca was interred.

You can see the cemetery under the trees across the field from the house.

Nurse Homestead Cemetery

Two plain stones that may mark the graves of
Rebecca Nurse and her husband, Frances Nurse.

A beautiful monument for Rebecca is found in the cemetery.
Sorry for the reflection that obscures the words.

The monument states:

REBECCA NURSE

YARMOUTH ENGLAND

1621

SALEM MASS

1692

~~~

O Christian Martyr

shoe for Truth could die

When all about thee

owned the hideous lie!

the world redeemed

from Superstition's sway

Is breathing freer

for thy sake to-day

back side of monument

close view of back of monument

The cemetery has many burials mostly those of the Nurse and Putnam family. There is also a stone honoring those who supported for Rebecca Nurse.

I took four shots and sadly this is the most readable I think it says:

This tablet contains the names of those who at

the risk of their lives gave written testimony

in favor of Rebecca Nurse in 1892

Elizabeth Porter  Israel Porter

Nathl Putnam  Saml Abbey  Danl Rea

Hannah Bishop  Lydia Putnam

Sarah Rea  Hepzibah Rea  Edw Bishop

Sarah Putnam  Sarah Andrew

Danl Andrew  Sarah Leach  Joshua Rea

Jonathan Putnam

I think this is a newer section or a family section.

The cemetery was still in use as late as 1930. It has some original markers that are too weathered to read, some broken markers and some that have been placed later by descendants. It is a peaceful resting place for those who lie there.

Here are a few of the grave markers:

weathered

replacement

replacement

Descendant of Francis and Rebecca Nurse
Revolutionary War Veteran

broken stone

Rebecca Nurse Homestead

On the morning of May, 4 2013 we were able to visit the Rebecca Nurse Homestead in Danvers, Massachusetts. This was one of the highlights of our trip since Rebecca was my 9th great grandmother (to see how we are related see earlier blog post). It was difficult for my husband to believe that something like that witch-hunt could have ever happened even over 300 years ago. It is wonderful that the Nurse Homestead and some of the surrounding land has been preserved. It was a blessing to visit there.

Looking down the lane from the parking area towards the Nurse Homestead

Nurse home. The original house stopped at the middle chimney.

Entry/First room in the house

Main living room:

large, deep fireplace in main room

Musket hanging on joist

Large loom all furnishing are
from that period but didn't belong
to the Nurse family

Cabinet and small loom

flax for linen

Window with old glass

tape loom - used for ribbons,
flat tape for closures

Upstairs Sleeping Room

Upstairs Fireplace

Upstairs beds and cradle

Back of Nurse Homestead

Snake beneath the homestead

Salem Village Meeting House Replica 

A replica of the Salem Village Meeting House was built in 1984 by Night Owl Productions on the Nurse Homestead. It is very close representation of the original church which stood from 1672 to 1702. The church was used for a PBS film called "Three Sovereigns for Sarah" starring Vanessa Redgrave about Rebecca Nurse's sister, Sarah.
I'm not sure why I don't have a picture of the main part of the meetinghouse but here are the pictures that I did take...

Meetinghouse at the Nurse Homestead replicating the original church.

front of church with pulpit and side balcony

back balcony

----------------
visit continued in part two: Nurse family cemetery