5 generations of Burbeens 1660-1800s
Someone was recently kind enough to send me a copy of the following book. Burbeen has been a difficult surname for me and as for the internet, I find it mostly a waste of time. There are days when I look at "waiting for pages to open to find useless information" equivalent to "that portion of our lives when we have to sleep." Some friends have the opinion that it is the highway to knowledge but frankly, the day I can press the "on" button to my computer tower and be translocated to the Library of Congress, is the day I will agree with that opinion. Therefore, regardless of my ignorance with copyright laws (I figure if the author is dead and the publishers have not reprinted), I feel it's safe to share this on the internet. It has been my experience that the best gift of this machine has been it's ability to connect me to the people that have shared in their generous nature,... for them and to you, I have to pass this on.
There are a few original typos in this work that I did not correct, the only one I consider important is that of Molly Burbeen on page 12; she is #15-4,.. I expect her birth year is supposed to read 1729. I have omitted the Appendix because I expect that there are people who make their living through selling copies of old books, therefore, it is (perhaps) proper that I leave something for your curiosity (?) Mainly, I just don't need some jerk ripping off my face in regard to posting this material.
Since this surname is a bit of a dead end without treading into Scotland and since there are many surnames that descend from it, I personally don’t care if you cut and paste this to another forum or send it in and email.
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1660-1799
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An Account of
JOHN BURBEEN,
who came from Scotland and settled
AT WOBURN, MASSACHUSETTS, ABOUT 1660,
and of such of his descendants as have borne
the surname of
BURBEEN,
compiled from the town records of Woburn, epitaphs of its first and
second burying-grounds, manuscript records of Charles Walker,
Esq., of Concord, NH and sundry other sources.
BY JOSEPH BURBEEN WALKER.
_____
CONCORD NH:
Printed by The Republican Press Association.
1892
_____
150 Copies.
_____
To
The Descendants of
JOHN BURBEEN,
A Scotchman, And An Early Settler of
Woburn, Massachusetts.
This Record of Those Who Have Borne His Surname
In America Is Affectionately Inscribed
By Their Fellow-Kinsman,
JOSEPH BURBEEN WALKER.
______
PREFACE
The surname Burbeen has been spelled variously. In an old deed, bearing date 1696, of John Burbeen to his son James, it appears as “Berbeene;” it is found elsewhere as “Burbeane;” in the probate records of Middlesex County of 1730 as “Burbeen;” –and by most members of the family this last spelling has been adopted.
The whole number of persons in this country who have borne the surname of Burbeen has been, so far as I have been able to discover, only nineteen. In about one hundred and forty years from the time of its introduction it had become extinct. Two reasons for this will be likely to occur to persons perusing the following pages, viz.:
1st. The phrase “never married,” so often appearing upon them, suggests one. Of the whole nineteen members of the family who have borne the name, but five of its male members are known to have married.
2nd. All of John Burbeen’s descendants, born since 1746, have come from female scions of the original stock. The blood is still in the country, but is found only under names other than that of Burbeen.
The following Genealogy has been largely compiled from—
1. The Woburn Records of Births, Marriages, and Deaths, edited and arranged by Hon. Edward F. Johnson; and the Epitaphs of the First and Second Burying Grounds, transcribed by William F. Cutter and Nathan Wyman, Esquires.
2. Manuscript notes of Charles Walker, Esq., of Concord, NH made about 1830. Mr. Walker was the son of Susannah Burbeen Walker and grandson of Rev. Joseph Burbeen, and had been familiar with the history of the Burbeen family all his life.
3. Sewell’s History of Woburn, old Burbeen papers in the possession of the compiler, and sundry other sources of information to which he has had access.
4. For a sketch of the old Burbeen house, or “castle” as it was sometimes called, the compiler is indebted to Leonard Thompson, Esq., of Woburn. His letter describing the same may be found in the Appendix, page 28.
J.B.W.Concord, NH, March 15, 1892.
_______THE BURBEEN FAMILY_________begins on page 7
FIRST GENERATION.
(1) I. JOHN BURBEEN, the first Anglo-American ancester of the family, was born in Scotland about 1627, and came to Woburn, Mass., as early as 1660* certainly, and perhaps earlier. He was a proprietor of the township, possessed some property, was a tailor by occupation, and seems to have been a devout man.+ He married Sarah Gould, April 16, 1660. She died May 14, 1670. He died January 8, 1713-’14, aged about 86 years, and was buried in the
[*He “first settler in Woburn, on the easterly side of the hill, a little to the north of Mr. Lawrence’s. The remains of his cellar, and also some old apple-trees near by, planted by him, are now to be seen.”—C.Walker MS., p.3.]
[+This remark has been suggested by items in his will as follows: “To each and every of my daughter, Mary Houghton’s children, a good new bible” etc. “And further my will is that, my son James shall give his two sons James and John, each of them, a bible out of what I have given him.”]
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old Woburn burying-ground, where his gravestones may now be seen. Their children were,----
2-1. Mary, born July 2, 1661. She was married February 15, 1681, to Jonah Houghton, of Lancaster, Mass., and died July 20, 1733.
3-2. John, born August 9, 1663. Little is known of him. In his will, dated November 15, 1701, his father says of him,---
“That my son; John Berbeene, y is gone to sea and I am satisfied is lost, if he returne again alive, or any that legally represent him, my executor shall pay him or them fifty pounds” etc.
4-3. James, born May 15, 1668.(2)II.
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SECOND GENERATION.
(2) II. JAMES BURBEEN (4-3) (John1), born May 15, 1668. He married Mary ______, who died October 14, 1724. He married a second time, but whom it does not appear.* He lived in Woburn, and was a business man of much enterprise. He was engaged more or less in shipping, as appears by charter parties still in existence. His estate was appraised at £2,038-16-5.+
“His shop was in that part of the old Burbeen house which adjoined south, on the old castle, and stood on the ground where Leonard Fowle has lately built a new house.” –C.Walker MS., p.6.
He died September 4, 1729, aged 61 years. His children were,----
5-1. Mary, born March 6, 1694, and died July 20, 1733. **
[*1748, Oct. 27. Mr. Walker attended the funeral of his aged mother-in-law.----Diary of Rev.T.Walker]
[+The real estate of James Burbeen, at his decease, consisted of sixteen different parcels of land, situated in six different towns, and appraised at £1,970. See Appendix, pp.32-37
**Mary Burbeen left a respectable estate, as appears by her will dated April 12, 1733, and proved Sept.3,1733.]
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6-2. Sarah, born March 6, 1694, died March 17, 1794.
7-3. James, born August 21, 1696.(3) III.
8-4. John, born March 12, 1699, and died September 5, 1724.
“John Burbeen . . . lived with his father in the old Burbeen house. All that seems to be known of him is that he belonged to a troop of horse, under Colonel Tyng, of Dunstable (who at that time lived in Woburn), and that on the way to Dunstable the party fell into an ambuscade of Indians between Chelmsford and Dunstable, and in the affray he was slain.” ---C.W.MS., p.11.
9-5. Sarah, born June 17, 1701.(4) III.
10-6. Ruth, born March 28, 1708.She married Dr. Jonathan Haywood, of Woburn, February 4, 1735, a man of large property, who died in 1749, leaving one son, Jonathan, who pursued his preparatory studies with Rev. Timothy Walker, of Concord, NH, and graduated at Harvard college in 1756. He inherited one of the largest estates in Woburn. He left his native town and lived for some time in the state of New York, but subsequently returned to Woburn, where he died in straitened circumstances May 13, 1812, aged 73 years.
11-7. Joseph, born March 3, 1712.(5) III.
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THIRD GENERATION.
(3) III. JAMES BURBEEN (7-3) (James2, John1) was born August 21, 1696. He was a saddler, and built the shop which adjoined the old Burbeen house on the north. He married Mary Richardson, September 5, 1721, who was a sister to Noah Richardson, the hatter. After living in Woburn many years, he moved to Boston, where he died. He had three sons and two daughters, viz.,---
12-1. James, born July 11, 1722.
13-2. Paul, born April 6, 1724. He graduated at Harvard college in 1743, and his name stands the thirtieth on the roll of his class of thirty-one members. He became a man of much learning and an able mathematician. He claimed that he had discovered the great desideratum in mathematics, viz., the squaring of the circle. He entered the army, and was at the taking of Louisburg in 1745. He served under Captain Ebenezer Eastman, of Pennycook, from November 18, 1747, to April 30, 1748. He was
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afterwards with Major Robert Rogers, in the French and Indian War. He never married, and spent his last years in Concord, Mass., where he died June 8, 1795, aged 71 years.
14-3. John, born February 9, 1725-’26. He lived for many years in Boston, and was employed in the postal service. Charles Walker says that “after Dr. Franklin took charge of the Post Office Department, he was concerned in transporting the mail.” He never married, and died in Boston, October 5, 1759.
15-4. Molly, born July 6, 1759. For a time she kept a shop in Boston. She never married, and lived by herself. She subsequently removed to Concord, Mass., about the same time as did her brother Paul and sister Sarah. She was a follower of the fanatic, Shadrach Ireland, who was at the head of a company of French prophets. She died October 10, 1799, when the surname of Burbeen became extinct in America.
16-5. Sarah, born March 7, 1733. She lived in Boston for many years with her father, and after his death with her brothers. She never married, and was for a time insane. She recovered her reason, and moved to Concord, Mass.,
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where she lived with her brother Paul, and died July 4, 1792.
(4) III. SARAH BURBEEN (9-5) (James2, John1) was born June 17, 1701.
“On the evening of the 12th of November 1730 (being the day of the General Thanksgiving) she was married to the Rev. Timothy Walker, who had recently been engaged by the Proprietors to settle in the ministry at Penny Cook. Preached there on the 15th. The Council of Ministers arrived on the 17th, and on the 18th of November 1730, Mr. Walker was ordained by the Proprietors and Council, Minister of Penny Cook.*
[*The large and fertile tract of Merrimack intervale at Pennycook, or “the crooked place,” where, as shown by the early maps, the river made three distinct ox-bows in less than a mile, was early known to the Bay settlers upon the coast. It was granted to several companies, all of whom, one after another, forfeited their grants, except the last. This, composed of one hundred carefully selected members, went there in 1726 and began a permanent settlement, which has since developed into the city of Concord, and become the capital of New Hampshire.
This locality had formerly been the head-quarters of Passaconaway, the renowned chief of the Pennycook Indians—a man skilled in magic and of much influence over his people. The Rev. John Barnard, of Andover, Mass., in his sermon at the ordination and settlement of Mr. Walker, spoke of Pennycook as “a Place where Satan, some Years ago, had his seat, and the Devil was wont to be Invocated by forsaken Salvages.”
It was far back in the Indian country. Its nearest white neighbors, on the south, were the Scotch-Irish at Londonderry; on the south-west, the settlers at Hinsdale, on the Connecticut; and on the north, the inhabitants of the French settlements on the St.Lawrence.]
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“On Monday, the 23rd of November, Mr. Walker sat out for Woburn, and arrived there on the 24th.After spending a few days in visiting his friends, Mr. Walker and his wife mounted their horses on the 1st of December, 1730, and sat out on their journey for their new settlement at Penny Cook. They lodged the first night at their brother Samuel Walker’s, in Wilmington: the second night at Nutfield (now Londonderry), and on the 3rd day of December, 1730, Mrs. Walker, with five other women (wives of the settlers), arrived at Penny Cook. These were the first white women who had ever been seen in the town, excepting the wives of Rolfe and Uran, who had lived in the Block House the winter previous.
“Mrs. Walker, in common with her neighbors, endured her full share of privations and hardships, incident to a new settlement in the Wilderness, thirty miles beyond any white inhabitants. During two Indian wars, the settlers were obliged to take refuge within their garrisons, to secure themselves and families from the tomahawks and scalping-knives of the Indians. This confinement was particularly irksome and disagreeable to the female part of the community, inasmuch as it destroyed that friendly intercourse among the inhabitants which is so pleasant and desirable.
“Mrs. Walker, it appears, during the whole of her life, enjoyed the esteem and respect of all her parishioners. She died at Penny Cook, now Concord, on the 19th day of February, 1778. Her monument by the side of that of her husband, is to be seen in Concord Burying Ground.”---C.W.MS., pp.22-24.
…Her Children Were,---
_____page 15:
17-1. Sarah, born June 18, 1732, died December 21, 1736.
18-2. Timothy, born June 26, 1737. A justice of the court of common pleas from 1777 to 1809. He died May 5, 1822.
19-3. Sarah, born August 6, 1739: married, 1st to Colonel Benjamin Rolfe, of Concord; 2nd in November, 1772, to Benjamin Thompson, afterwards to Count Rumford.
20-4. Mary, born December 7, 1742: married Dr. Ebenezer Harnden Goss, May or June, 1768.
21-5. Judith, born December 24, 1744: married, 1st to Captain Abiel Chandler; 2nd to Nathaniel Rolfe.
(5) III. JOSEPH BURBEEN (11-7) (James2, John1) was born March 3, 1712, and graduated at Harvard college in 1731. He studied theology, and is said to have been a popular preacher, but was never settled as a minister. Evidence is found of his preaching in different places, but not, probably, with any view to a settlement.* Judging from the character of a few of his theological books, which are now in the possession
[*”During the summer of 1760 Rev. Mr. Burbeen preached several Sabbaths” at New Boston, NH.—Hist. New Boston, p.105.]
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of his descendants, he must have been a scholarly man, and possessed a good library for his time.
He married Esther Pool, of Woburn, only daughter of Jonathan Pool, and granddaughter of Colonel Eleazer Flagg. Charles Walker says that
“It is stated upon pretty good authority that Joseph Burbeen, about the time he became of age, became attached to Miss Esther Pool, only daughter of Jonathan Pool, Esq., of Woburn, whose wife (Mrs. Pool) was sole heiress of Co. Eleazer Flagg. The attachment appears to have been mutual. The Pools, however, disapproved of the match, wishing to have their daughter Esther married to Rev. Edward Jackson, who had been settled about eight years as colleague to the Rev. John Fox, the then minister of the town.
“The young couple, finding their wishes likely to be thwarted, and apprehending severe measures would be resorted to to prevent their union, mounted their horses and galloped off to Hampton Falls, in New Hampshire, where they were married, on the 8th day of October, 1736, by the Rev. Joseph Whipple, minister of that town, by license of the Governor.*
[*The following is Mr. Whipple’s certificate of their marriage, now in the possession of the compiler:
“Hampton Falls Oct:15, 1736.
“These may certify whom it may concern that Mr. Joseph Burbeen & Mrs. Esther Pool were married on the 8 day of this instant October by virtue of a license from the Gov. by Joseph Whipple.”]
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“The Pools, upon hearing what had taken place, were much incensed, and would not suffer Mr. Burbeen to come to the house. However, finding the marriage to be legal, they began to relax in their resentment, and soon after cordially received Mr. Burbeen as their son-in-law, and treated him accordingly.
“Joseph Burbeen had some portion of his father’s estate. He was sole owner of the old Burbeen house and land adjoining, which he obtained (probably) partly by heirship and partly by purchase from the rest of the heirs of the estate.
“Soon after his marriage with Miss Esther Pool he removed her home to the old Burbeen house, where they lived together till her death, which happened on the 28th March, 1776, aged 59 years.”---C.W.MS., pp.13,14.
…They had three daughters:
22-1. Esther, born May 29, 1738.*(6) IV.
23-2. Bridget, born July 17, 1742. (7) IV.
[*”It seems the whole Grannhood of Esthers (being four in number) was assembled at Mr. Burbeen’s on this joyous occasion. The ladies, who met at Mr. Burbeen’s at this time, are stated to have been Granny Esther Wiley, of Malden or Stoneham, Granny Esther Green, of Malden, Granny Esther Flagg, of Woburn, and Granny Esther Pool, of Woburn.Mrs. Burbeen’s name was Esther, and her infant child, on whose account the Grannyhood met, was named Esther.
“It has been stated in the annals of those times that the following passage of scripture was completely verified on that occasion.
‘Arise, daughter, and go to thy daughter, for thy daughter’s daughter has got a daughter.’
“It is remarkable that there were six generations (all of them Esthers) on the gournd at one and the same time, at Mr. Burbeen’s.”---C.W.MS., p.16.]
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24-3. Susannah, born April 11, 1746.(8) IV.
After the death of his wife, March 30, 1776, Mr. Burbeen lived for a while with his daughters, but afterwards returned to the old Burbeen house, where he lived by himself. He died at Woburn, June 7, 1794, aged 82 years, and, at his own request, was buried in the grave of his grandfather, John Burbeen.*
[*”Statement of Col. Leonard Thompson, of Woburn, who was present at J. Burbeen’s obsequies.”---W.R.Cutter.]
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FOURTH GENERATION.
(6) IV. ESTHER BURBEEN (22-1) (Joseph3, James2, John1), born May 29, 1738, married, 1st to Capt. Jesse Wyman, of Woburn, May 1, 1760; married 2nd to Samuel Thompson Esq., on October 22, 1789. Captain W. left three children:
25-1. Jesse who died January 21, 1807 aged 42 years.
26-2. Esther, who married Leonard Thompson of W., October 30, 1786, and died October 2, 1846, aged 30 years.
27-3. Randolph, who died April 14, 1854, aged 75 years. After the death of Capt. Wyman, Mrs. Wyman lived with her children until her marriage with Samuel Thompson, Esq., of Woburn. She died August 5th, 1818. Esquire Thompson died August 17th, 1820.
(7) IV. BRIDGET BURBEEN (23-2) (Joseph3, James2, John1) was born July 17, 1742. She married, December 28, 1759, John Fowle, of Woburn. Mr. Fowle, son of Capt. John
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Fowle, Jr., of W., was born Feb. 1, 1796, and graduated at Harvard college in 1747. He was for a time a clerk for Col. Jacob Fowle, one of the most respectable merchants of Marblehead, Mass.
He became a teacher, and taught school in his native town from 1758 to 1770, some twelve consecutive years, on a salary of £40 a year. Some of his pupils became very distinguished men. Among them were Loammi Baldwin, and Benjamin Thompson, afterwards known as Count Rumford. Rev. Mr. Sewell, in his History of Woburn, says of him that for many years he was
“distinguished by way of eminence, in Woburn, by the title of Master Fowle; one whose stern manners, strict discipline, and aptness to teach rendered him the terror of all idlers and rogues in his school; but recommended him to the esteem of the diligent and ingenuous, and whom such eminently scientific men as Col. Loammi Baldwin and Benjamin Thompson, Count Rumford, were not ashamed, in their younger days, to attend upon instructions and to call their master.”---Hist. Woburn, p.225.
After the death of her husband, Mrs. Fowle lived most of the time alone in the Old Burbeen house, a part of which she owned. The last
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three years of her life were passed at Concord, NH, with her sister, Mrs. Timothy Walker, where she died Dec. 26, 1824, and was buried in the old North Cemetery of that town.
(8) IV. SUSANNAH BURBEEN (24-3) (Joseph3, James2, John1) was born April 11, 1746. She married Hon. Timothy Walker, of Concord, NH, where she afterwards lived, and died Sept. 28, 1828, in the 83rd year of her age. Her children were,---
28-1. Sarah, born Jan. 21, 1764.
29-2. Charles, born Sept. 25, 1765.
30-3. Paul, born April 14, 1767.
31-4. Timothy, born Feb.2, 1769.
32-5. Joseph, born June 21, 1771.
33-6. Susan, born March 17, 1773.
34-7. Esther, born April 17, 1775.
35-8. Susannah, born Jan. 4, 1777.
36-9. Esther, born Oct. 13, 1778.
37-10. Betsey, born April 15, 1780.
38-11. Joseph, born Jan. 12, 1782.
39-12. Bridget, born Jan. 1, 1784.
40-13. Polly, born March 22, 1786.
40-14. Clarissa, born July 27, 1788.
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The foregoing genealogy embraces all the persons who have borne the surname of Burbeen in America – twenty-four in all. For an account of others of the family, who, while they had Burbeen blood in their veins, had not the surname, reference may be had to Sewell’s History of Woburn, to Bouton’s History of Concord, N.H., to the Memorial of James Thompson and his descendants, and to the Genealogies of the Hayward and Wyman Families. It has been almost entirely restricted to persons who have borne the surname of Burbeen, which, as has been before remarked, became extinct by the death of Miss Molly Burbeen, October 10, 1799.
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APPENDIX.
I. John Burbeen’s Will, . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25
II. Letter of Leonard Thompson to J. B. Walker,. . . . . . . . . . .28
III. Bill of Sale of Negro boy Dick, by John Desilveir, to
John Burbeen . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .31
IV. Inventory of the Estate of James Burbeen, Nov.3,1729 . . 32
V. Report of the Committee appointed to make a Division
of the Real Estate of James Burbeen, in the county of
Middlesex, Mass., June 19, 1730 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 38
VI. Decree of Judge of Probate relative to the Division of
the Real Estate of James Burbeen, in the County of
Middlesex, Mass., Nov. 13, 1730,. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .46
VII. Additional Account of James Burbeen, Administrator
of the Estate of James Burbeen, November, 1731 . . . . . .49
~ ~ ~ Index is on page 51.
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Re: 5 generations of Burbeens 1660-1800s
Marilyn Sigler 5/14/03