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TWO: BURNS(ES) AND HEDGES(ES)
"SFA" stands for the Smith Family Archives, assembled and transcribed over many years by Leanna Lois Claudia Smith, daughter of Alonzo; her great-nieces Mellie Morris Smith (daughter of Herbert Gustavus) and Gertrude Fairchild Smith (daughter of Maurice Leigh); and great-great-niece Mildred Aileen Nash (neé Mellie Agnes Smith: daughter of Francis See).
"DCB" stands for correspondence with David Coulon Burns, webmaster of the RootsWeb megasite ~burns/dcb—who cautions that the designations Sr., Jr., and III used below and in later chapters were not likely to have been used by any of the fathers/sons sharing a first name (except for King George). In most cases the present author has tried to indicate this with [square brackets].
Internet sources are indicated by tildes (e.g. ~internet). A complete list can be found on the Sources page. Due to the transient nature of Internet entries, only a few hyperlinks will be provided to outside webpages; such as ~a (www.ancestry.com), ~f (www.familysearch.org), and ~w (www.worldvitalrecords.com). The United States Federal Census records for 1850 through 1930 cited below are available at ~a (except for 1890's, which was badly damaged in a 1921 fire and later quietly destroyed).
B-6 Jacob,
Margaret, and the Dixons
● Dry Goods
The Time-Honored Version
According to the SFA, Mila Burns Smith's father Jacob G. Burns (born 1822 in Virginia) was the eldest son of William M. Burns and Jane [surname?]. He came with his family to Ohio between 1831 and 1834; settled in Medway in 1846; and there on September 16, 1847 married Margaret J. Dixon, who had been born in Pennsylvania in 1824; she was still living in 1907.
The Comprehensive Version
Jacob Garrel Burns, the third child and eldest son of William Burns [III] and Jane Marshall, was born Jan. 3, 1823 in Shepherdstown, Jefferson County VA. With his parents and siblings he emigrated to Montgomery County OH in 1832; by 1840 they had settled in Bethel Township, Clark County OH. There on Sep. 16, 1847 Jacob was married by "R.D. Fister, M.G." to Margaret J[ane?] Dixon. She was born Oct. 4, 1824 in Carlisle, Cumberland County PA. (See below for more concerning the Dixons). By the 1850 census, Jacob and Margaret had been joined by their first two children and a couple of farmhands:
Burns, Jacob (age 28) occupation farmer
Margaret (age 26)
Jas W (age 1 year)
Phineas G (age 1 month)
Dickinson, Jas (age 20)
Barr, Benj F (age 10)
By 1859 Jacob and Margaret were living in Medway, and Jacob was a charter trustee of the Medway Methodist Church built that year. In the 1860 Clark County census we find:
Burns, Jacob G (age 37) occupation farmer, $18,800 in real estate and $476 in personal estate
Margaret (age 35)
James (age 11)
Phineas (age 10)
Laura (age 4)
Maria [sic] (age 1)
In 1864 Jacob served as a private in Company E of the 153rd Regiment of the Ohio National Guard Infantry. According to ~153rd, this unit of 909 men was organized at Camp Dennison under Colonel Israel Stough; mustered in on May 12, 1864; and departed that day for Harpers Ferry. Attached to the Railroad Guard's Reserve Division, the 153rd provided picket duty along the Baltimore & Ohio Railroad until June 29th. During the first week of July the 153rd saw action, repeatedly: at Hammack's Mills, North Mountain, South Branch Bridge, Patterson's Creek Bridge, and Sir John's Run. "Virtually all of these summer soldiers would come under enemy fire during their term of enlistment," states ~100days, referring to all the volunteer regiments of "Hundred Days Men" raised in 1864. By the time the 153rd mustered out at Camp Chase in early September, one officer and two enlisted men had been killed and another 26 enlisted men had succumbed to disease.
Jacob Burns survived, though we have no record of how he felt returning to his native turf (Harpers Ferry is less than ten miles southeast of Shepherdstown) as an occupying soldier. Though only nine years old when his family left for Ohio, Jacob must have known close kin were fighting for the Confederacy: cousins like Mason, James Melvin, and Phineas Paxton Marshall (not to mention Belle Boyd). "Between June 1861 and September 1864, the [B & O] line was destroyed by Confederate troops and repaired by Union soldiers nine different times," says ~easternpanhandle. Control of local towns kept changing hands, and each time "the retreating forces typically destroyed the town's main buildings and infrastructure," adds ~history/jefferson. And only two years before, the bloodiest one-day battle in American history was fought at Antietam Creek near Sharpsburg MD, just across the Potomac from Shepherdstown.
Did Jacob see any familiar faces while guarding the railway? Were they hostile, in spite of Jefferson County's joining Unionist West Virginia the previous year? What would have been his reaction?
He went back home to Bethel Township and into the dry goods business. The 1870 census lists his household near the Enon post office:
Burns, Jacob (age 47) occupation dry goods merchant, $3000 in real estate, $1500 in personal estate
Margrett [sic] (age 45) occupation keeps house
Phineas (age 20) occupation clerk in store
Laura (age 13) attends school
Hilda [sic] (age 11) attends school
Clara (age 9) attends school
Lenna (age 7) attends school
Elliott (age 3) at home
Three houses away lived eldest son James—white male aged 22, occupation "[illegible abbreviation] Medway" (DCB interprets the entry as "postmaster"), $1000 in real estate and $300 personal estate—with his 22-year-old wife Laura and four-month-old baby Bertha.
Jacob's business might have been one of New Carlisle's "two fine stocks of dry goods" mentioned by 1881's History of Clark County in Chapter B-4, although the Burnses had moved to Dayton by 1880. That year's census located them at 811 N. 5th St., just east of what is today called the Oregon Historic District:
Burns, Jacob (age 57) occupation "retired"
Margaret (age 55) occupation keeping house
Catharine [sic] (age 18) occupation [blank]
Lenna (age 16) occupation [blank]
Elliott (age 13) occupation school
Mercer, Laura (age 23) occupation [blank]
Mercer, R. Perry (age 38) son-in-law, occupation school teacher
Lichter, David (age 27) boarder, occupation "Dr. M.D. Surg."
Cusine, Chas. (age 22) boarder, occupation "W. Brass Works"
Dayton city directories (available at ~a) allow us to track the Burns household through the next dozen years. In 1883 they moved half a mile east to 1724 E. 5th, on the corner of South Terry Street; and a year later a short ways north to 132 S. Terry. There the Burnses lived from 1884 till 1890, with Jacob evidently coming out of retirement to sell "teas and coffees." Daughter Clara M. (aka "Catherine") lived with her parents during this period, though with her own directory entry (sporting "saleslady" in 1887-89); as did Lenna (aka "Lena M.," dressmaker) through 1886, and son Elliott (clerk and stenographer) from 1883 to 1887. Also listed separately but back under the parental roof was daughter Mila (aka "Maria" aka "Hilda") Callison, whose story is told in Chapter S-4. She accompanied Jacob and Margaret to 45 E. Springfield in 1890; the Burnses, according to the directories, shifted next door to #47 in 1891-92 before returning to #45 in 1893. In 1896 Jacob and Margaret moved to 24 S. Van Lear, where they remained for the last two years of Jacob's life (still listed as "salesman" or "agent"). In 1897 a separate entry at the same address appeared for their grandson "Callison, Orie C." (also of whom more in Chapter S-4).
Jacob Garrel Burns died in Dayton on May 22, 1898, aged 75; he was buried in New Carlisle Cemetery [A-036-05]. Gone from the 1898 Dayton directory, Margaret was listed in 1899's as "Burns Margaret J. widow of Jacob G. res 60 S Huffman Av." In the 1900 census she lived alone, back in Bethel Township; by 1910 she was residing with daughter Lenna's family, again in Dayton. Margaret died there May 25, 1914 and was buried two days later in New Carlisle [A-036-06]. Nearby are four of her children who died young: "Infant Burns" [A-036-04]; "Infant Boy Burns" [A-036-08]; Elizabeth J. Burns [A-036-09]; and David O. Burns [A-036-10]—along with the mysterious "Elbert S. Burns" [A-036-07] whose identity will be considered below.
● The Fourth Generation
The Time-Honored Version
Most of what the SFA knew about the children of Jacob G. Burns and Margaret J. Dixon was gleaned from Mila Burns Smith's funeral arrangements. The eight children were:
* James W. Burns (born c.1849 in Medway OH; was living in Fort Wayne
IN in 1907)
* Phineas G. Burns (born c.1850 in Medway OH; was living in Chicago in 1907)
* Elliott S. Burns (born after
1850; was living in Cincinnati in 1907)
* Clara Burns (born after 1850;
married S.F. "Sam" Hart and had a son, Lawrence Hart; was
living in Dayton in 1907)
* Lenna Burns (born after 1850;
married F.R. "Frank" Gustin; was living in Dayton in 1907)
* Laura Burns (born after 1850;
married Perry Mercer; was living in Dayton in 1907)
* Elizabeth Burns (born after
1850; died in infancy)
* Mila Kathryn Burns (born May
21, 1859 in or near Medway OH; of whom see more in Chapter S-4)
The full story was not learned till the present author discovered ~burns/dcb in 2007:
The Comprehensive Version
The eleven children of Jacob Garrel Burns and Margaret J[ane?] Dixon were:
* James William "Willie" Burns:
born Sep. 25, 1848 in Clark County OH; married Lena J. Everheart
(Nov. 29, 1848—May 25, 1928) on Jan. 5, 1868 and had two children†; worked as a postmaster in
Medway OH, as a grocer in Springfield OH (1880) and
then for the
YMCA in Fort Wayne IN (where he moved no later than 1900); his address from
c.1910 on was 133 E. Suttenfield (shared with son Walter's family); died in Fort
Wayne on Aug. 18, 1938 and was buried with wife Lena in Springfield OH's Ferncliff
Cemetery
* Phineas G[arrel?] Burns: born
July 9, 1850 in Bethel Township; married Jane
"Jennie" Cory (Nov. 20, 1853—Jul. 15, 1934: a New Carlisle native)
on Oct. 15, 1873 and had four children‡; worked as a store
clerk, a bookkeeper for D.E. McSherry & Co., a traveling salesman for S.J.
Pattersons and Thresher & Co., a fence manufacturer and an insurance broker;
was living in Dayton at least through the 1880s; by 1910 was living at 552
Oakmont Ave in Chicago; died there Aug. 8, 1918 and
was buried in New Carlisle Cemetery [C-174-9], as was wife
Jane Cory [C-174-8]
* [Infant] Burns: buried with parents in New Carlisle Cemetery [A-036-04]
* [Infant Boy] Burns: born and
died Jan. 8, 1852 in Bethel Township; buried with parents in New Carlisle
Cemetery [A-036-08]
* Elizabeth Jane Burns: born
c.1852 in Bethel Township; died Jan. 17, 1855 and was buried with parents in New
Carlisle Cemetery [A-036-09]
* David O. Burns: born Nov. 21,
1854 in Ohio; died May 22, 1860 and was buried with parents in New Carlisle
Cemetery [A-036-10]
* Laura R. Burns: born Dec.
1856 in Ohio; married schoolteacher/principal Robert Perry Mercer
(Feb. 26, 1841—Mar. 28, 1918) on Nov. 27, 1879 and had seven children§;
lived in Dayton OH (at 26 S. Horton in 1900, then 126 Garfield in 1910, then
after husband's death with son Monte's family at 48 Simms); died Nov. 16, 1923 and was buried in Dayton's Shiloh Cemetery
* Maria aka Hilda
aka Mila Burns:
born "June 6, 1859"± (actually May 21, 1859) in
Medway (of whom see more in
Chapter S-4)
* Clara M. Burns
(aka "Catharine" Burns): born July 15,
1861 in [Medway?] Ohio; married railroad clerk and freight agent
Samuel F. Hart (Dec. 30, 1860—May 29, 1934) on Nov. 20, 1889 and had two children††;
worked as a saleslady; died after 1934
* Lenna Burns: born June 5,
1863 in Medway; married woodworker/stockkeeper Frank L. Gustin (Mar. 22, 1859—May
14, 1941) on June 1, 1887 and had two children‡‡; worked as a
seamstress; lived in Dayton; died there Dec. 1, 1939 and was buried in Dayton's Woodland Cemetery
* Elliott Spahr Burns: born
Oct. 6, 1866 in Medway (of whom more below)
● Elusive Elliott
The SFA includes an intriguing rumor concerning the youngest Burns: that he might have ended up in the Ohio State Penitentiary, where he might have reorganized the library. Although ~burns/dcb doesn't address this subject, its comprehensive version is almost as intriguing:
Elliott Spahr Burns received a "good" education and worked as a clerk (1883-85), stenographer (1886-92), and editor of Boys and Girls Monthly (1888). In two city directories his name appears in extra-large all-capitals: as a reporter for the Dayton Daily Herald (1893) and the Dayton Times (1894). His entry returns to a normal font in 1895, but displays two jobs: secretary for The Builders Exchange and correspondent for the Cincinnati Tribune. Elliott then worked for the Davis Sewing Machine Co., as bookkeeper (1896-97) and chief timekeeper (1898-99).
On Aug. 10, 1887 he married Wilminnie Florence "Minnie" Smith (Sep. 21, 1870—May 9, 1953) at Dayton's St. Paul Methodist Church; they had five children§§ between 1888 and 1895. By 1900, however, Minnie was still in Dayton while Elliott had relocated to Cincinnati. His later occupations included machinist and assembler in a fly screen factory. 1930 found him in the Montgomery County Infirmary; on Aug. 11, 1935 he died at the Montgomery County Home.
"In my family, Elliott wasn't spoken of much," says DCB (a great-grandson), who confirms that Elliott did receive a life sentence in 1911, but was pardoned in 1920 by Ohio Governor James M. Cox. There is speculation that Cox, in his pre-gubernatorial days as a newspaper editor/owner, had been acquainted with Elliott as a Dayton reporter and correspondent for the Cincinnati Tribune. DCB goes on:
As for reorganizing the library, that's a new one to me, but I wouldn't rule it out. They story we heard was that he edited the Ohio State Penitentiary internal newspaper... Unfortunately, all the records from that period have been lost or discarded. The only thing I learned was that the paper was for the guards and administration, not for the prisoners, but that it was likely that it was physically produced by prisoners (part of their rehabilitation and training).
Three days after his death, Elliott was buried in New Carlisle Cemetery—with "no marker," according to ~burns/dcb. However, ~newcarlisle records an "Elbert S. Burns" is buried in A-036-07—the same plot with Jacob, Margaret, and four of their children who died young. "Elbert" is said to have been born in Medway on August 17, 1865 and died in Dayton on August 11, 1935, aged "69y 11m 24d." The age, date and place of death all seem to identify this as Elliott; but what of the birthdate? Could Jacob and Margaret have had a twelfth child (fitting feasibly into the ranks, two years after Lenna and fourteen months before Elliott)? Could "Elbert" have been another one who died young, before the 1870 census (which shows Elliott aged three, not five)? Could Elliott have memorialized this possible brother by naming his own eldest son Elbert Spahr Burns (who would live till 1951, and be buried in Michigan)? And might Elliott himself have been tucked in beside the original Elbert at New Carlisle, sharing a single grave and marker?
Well, no. DCB clarifies the situation:
The New Carlisle Cemetery was formerly the Honey Creek Church Cemetery (I forget now whether it was a Methodist or Presbyterian church), and was essentially abandoned, at least administratively, sometime before 1950. All the burial records were lost. When the city took over responsibility, it had to reconstruct the records from reading the stones and from other material they found somewhere. They have a computerized record they made from the written records and maps made in the 1950s. The sexton told me that on the digital graphic of the plots, any place that had an (unknown) indicated that they had found evidence of a burial, but because there was no stone, they didn't know who or when—how they did this without digging up the place, I can't imagine. Maybe they stuck a long stick in the ground and probed for a casket...
As to Elliott Burns: when he died in 1935, his burial was arranged for by his son Elbert Spahr Burns. As no stone was erected, somewhere in the record keeping, someone put Elbert's name on the burial. I have Elliott's death cert and it clearly gives Elbert as the informant and says Elliott was buried at New Carlisle. In fact, I had gone to New Carlisle to find him and failed, although I found his parents and the children who died young, as well as some other Burnses who were unknown to me at the time. The sexton... revealed to me that there was this unmarked burial between the young children and Jacob and Margaret, and that was "Elbert." I explained to him that it was really Elliott, but I don't think he could make changes in the records without proof—I probably should mail him a copy of Elliott's death cert for that purpose.
DCB has done considerable research on Elliott and is working on a biographical article that should be of great interest. (In the meantime, the present author likes to think Elliott did a bang-up job reorganizing that library and/or editing that newspaper.)
● The Dixons of Cumberland County
While the Burnses were somewhat distant figures (and the Marshalls and Baneses unknown) in the SFA, the family of Jacob's wife Margaret Dixon were near and dear to Mila Burns's children. ~burns/dcb gives us the background of this family:
Andrew Dixon (c.1769-bef.1860), a machinist and gatekeeper, married Mary Ramsey (c.1780/84-bef.1850) on April 2, 1795 in Cumberland County PA. They had six children, including James Ramsey Dixon (c.1800-bef.1850), a "farmer or blacksmith." Circa 1823 he married Elizabeth Hutchison (born 1801: daughter of James Hutchison and Martha [surname?] of Ireland—a rare appearance of Irish folk in these chronicles).
Cumberland County is in south central Pennsylvania, west of the Susquehanna and Harrisburg; to the south is Gettysburg. The Dixons raised several generations of blacksmiths and machinists, and lived various places—South Middleton Township, Hopewell Township, the town of Carlisle—before moving to Ohio in the early 1840s. Elizabeth Hutchison Dixon outlived James Ramsey Dixon by many years, not dying till 1893 in Springfield OH; she was buried in New Carlisle Cemetery [A-037-7].
The Time-Honored Version
Of Margaret Dixon Burns's parents, siblings, and sibling-in-laws, the SFA knew only three:
* James Dixon: born c.1830 in
Pennsylvania; in 1850 was living with sister Margaret and Jacob Burns
in Medway OH
* Benjamin F. Dixon: brother of
Margaret and James, who married—
* Frances Swisher: "Mila Burns was
very fond of her Aunt Frances Dixon and planned to name her [third] baby after
her, whether boy or girl. Hence Granddad's name"—Francis See Smith—"producing one more person who disliked their name—Ha!" (As per F.S.'s
wife Ada Louise, who never cared for the name "Ada.")
The Comprehensive Version
The nine children of James Ramsey Dixon and Elizabeth Hutchison were:
* Margaret J[ane?] Dixon: born
October 4, 1824 (of whom see more above)
* Mary Ann Dixon: born circa
1825 in Carlisle PA; married blacksmith Henry Heckman (1824-1874) and had
eight children†††; by 1858 was living in Donnelsville, Bethel Township, Clark County OH; died after
1880
* Andrew Jackson Dixon: born
circa 1825/27 in Pennsylvania; married Sarah Stoneberger (1827-1898)
in Montgomery County OH in 1857 and had four children‡‡‡; worked as a blacksmith and farmer;
died April 5, 1903 and was buried in Medway Cemetery
* James Hutchison Dixon: born December
10, 1827 in
Pennsylvania; married Caroline Keifer (1829-1902) in Clark County
OH in 1858 and had four children§§§; worked as a blacksmith; died
November 6, 1918 in the Montgomery
County Infirmary; was buried in Springfield's Ferncliff Cemetery
* David Ramsey Dixon: born 1830
in Pennsylvania; married Lydia Steinbarger (born c.1840; any
connection to the Stonebergers?) in 1867; worked as a blacksmith and farmer; lived in
Greene County OH in 1870, and two farms away from his brother Andrew in
Montgomery County in 1880; died February 12, 1895 in Wayne Township, Montgomery County OH;
was buried in New Carlisle Cemetery [A-037-5]
* Maria Jane Dixon: born June
20, 1832
in Pennsylvania; married saddler Abraham L. Miller (1828-1866) in
Clark County OH in 1854 and had four children††††; after 1880 married Michael Leidigh
(1816-1897); lived in Clark, Montgomery, and Miami Counties; died in the latter
on December 12, 1916; was buried (as "Mariah J." Leidigh) in New Carlisle Cemetery [A-083-#?]
* Samuel Jackson Dixon: born
March 31, 1837 in Pennsylvania; lived in Urbana OH (with brother Benjamin's
family at first) from no later than 1870; worked as a
harness maker, fireman, coal dealer, and "merchant (retired)"; died August 10,
1911 in Urbana and was buried there in Oakdale Cemetery
* Benjamin Franklin Dixon: born
April 8, 1840 in Carlisle PA; married Frances L. "Fannie" Swisher
(born October 7, 1846 in Ohio) in Champaign County OH in 1864 and had four children (of
whom see more below); worked
as a saddler [1870], grocer [1880], insurance agent [1900], and real estate
agent [1910]; Fannie died on June 18, 1891 and Benjamin on February 23,
1918; both were buried in Urbana's Oakdale Cemetery [as "Benjamin F." and "Mrs.
B.F.," according to ~oakdale]
* Francis William "Frank" Dixon:
born c.1845 in Ohio; died there c.1875 and was buried in New Carlisle
Cemetery [A-037-6]
● The Dixons of South Main Street
The Comprehensive Version
The four children of Benjamin F. Dixon and Frances "Fannie" Swisher (all born in Champaign County OH) were:
* Flora B. Dixon: born August 20,
1865; was a factory worker in 1920, living with sister Jeanette at 422 S. Main,
Urbana OH; died in 1955
* Jeanette G. "Nettie" Dixon:
born January 20, 1869; worked as a bookkeeper [1900] and insurance agent [1920];
died March 26, 1942 in Urbana OH and was buried there in Oakdale Cemetery
* William M. Dixon: born 1878;
died in 1939; was buried in Urbana's Oakdale Cemetery (section 59)
* Benjamin P. Dixon: born June
[day?] 1880; worked as a clerk [1900] and restaurant caterer [1910]; was living
in St. Louis MO in 1910 and Alameda CA in 1920
The Time-Honored Version
More SFA reminiscences from Ada Louise (Mrs. F.S.) Smith:
* Flora Belle "Flo" Dixon (1865-1955): "Flo [was] small and quiet, but interesting to talk with—both Flo
and Nette were business women—but I've forgotten [in] what"
* Jeanette G. "Nette" Dixon
(1869-1942): "Nette had a delicious sense of humor—fun to be with—beautiful
contralto voice—member of a quartette who sang at funerals, weddings etc.
Rather large—developed diabetes in later life—leg amputated from the disease"
* William "Will" Dixon
(1878-1939): "I was fortunate to meet Will in the middle '30s and really liked
him. Tall—good-looking—good sense of humor and intelligent! When
young he had married into one of Urbana's leading families—had huge wedding and
lived 'high on the hog.' He was an electrical engineer with supposedly a
brilliant future. Was in charge of all the electrical engineering at the
Pan American Exposition for instance. Have no idea what happened, but
eventually the marriage failed and Will 'took to the bottle' to drown his
sorrows. Guess he went from bad to worse—not appearing in Urbana too
often. So I was always happy to have known him briefly, on one of
his rare visits home. Was found dead in a gutter in Brooklyn NY—just a
BUM! Sad ending—huh?"
* Benjamin "Ben" Dixon
(1880-1956): "Ben was short and fat and rather boring—don't remember what his
work was either. Married to Caroline [surname?], a real 'pill'—but
had plenty of money—guess they deserved each other—ha!"
Flo and Nette lived upstairs and Ben and Caroline downstairs, in the Dixon duplex on Urbana's South Main Street. This was "just two or three houses from the Hedges" (of whom see more in Chapter B-5) "and all were very friendly with each other."
In 1911 a booklet titled Stones from the Brook by J.E. Coulter (New York: Young Men's Christian Association, 1907) was presented to 15-year-old F.S. Smith. Inside its cover was written:
Proverbs III 5 and 6: Take heed and observe in your every day life what is written.
To Francis See Smith from your Uncle Will, Dayton, O. Oct. 29, A.D. 1911
On October 29, 1968, F.S. Smith gave this booklet to the present author in one of his intermittent efforts at playing godfather as well as grandfather. (Not quite erased from the booklet's title page is "Mellie Agnes Smith," scrawled in childhood by F.S.'s firstborn: later a prime assembler of the SFA.)
As early as 1983 I identified "Uncle Will" as Mila's brother James W. Burns; this would be confirmed by ~burns/dcb's calling him "Willie" and noting he was employed by the Fort Wayne YMCA. His booklet's introduction remarks:
There are many Goliaths for the Davids to meet and overcome, let us choose some stones from the brook, and putting them into our Sling (of Faith) hurl them at the enemy of our souls and overcome him... On the following pages are given Temptations that are common to men, and a choice selection of stones for use in the Sling of Faith. Commit them to memory that in the time of temptation you may be prepared.
Even after forty years, the present author is still startled to find the booklet's index contains (after "Thanksgiving," "Tithing," and "Tonic") an entry for "Topless"—presumably one of the capital-T Temptations for which we should prepare ourselves.
Notes
± For Mila Burns, ~burns/dcb displayed the name "Hilda Maria 'Mila' Burns" and a birthdate of June 6, 1859. DCB reports: "I have noticed that in the 1900 census, Mila gave her birth as May 1859, and I think I carried it so until just recently. I visited the gravesites of H.G. and Mila Smith last December or January [2006-07] and I think it was at that time that I made the change, although whether it was from the date on the stone or a calculated birth from YMD and date of death, I haven't recoded in my notes... I would certainly take that [May 21st birthdate] from the funeral record (along with the census notation) as pretty definitive—even though both might have come from H.G. and be subject to the same error."
†
Willie
The two children of James William "Willie" Burns and
Lena J. Everheart were:
* Bertha Burns:
born Feb. 1870 in Enon, Bethel Township, Clark County OH; died June
12, 1886 in Clark County and was buried in Springfield OH's Ferncliff Cemetery
* Walter G. Burns:
born Sep. 19, 1871 in Clark County OH; married Vina M. Stoner
(born 1875) in Clark County in 1897 and had one child; worked as a patent attorney; from
c.1910 shared a Fort Wayne home with his parents; died Sep. 23, 1951 in
Fort Wayne; was buried in Springfield OH's Ferncliff Cemetery
‡
Phineas
The four children of Phineas G[arrel?] Burns and
Jane "Jennie" Cory were:
* Edna R. Burns:
born c.1875 in Ohio; married Herbert W. Bonnell (c.1874-1956:
a salesman and sales manager) in Cook County IL in 1900 and had one child; was living in
Chicago in 1910, Milwaukee in 1920, and Elkart IN in 1930; died between 1930 and
1950
* Mary G.
"Minnie" Burns: born 1876 in Ohio; in 1904 married Everett
Lyle Axtell (born 1877: a cashier and eventual bank president—though in
1930, not the best year to be one); lived in Harvard City IL; Everett died after
1930, Minnie after 1950
* Edward C. Burns:
born 1880, died 1908; was buried with parents and brother in New Carlisle Cemetery [C-174-6]
* J. Brainerd
Burns: born 1883, died 1891; was buried with parents and brother in
New Carlisle Cemetery [C-174-7]
§
Laura
The seven children of Laura R. Burns and Robert
Perry Mercer were:
* William C. Mercer:
born 1882 in Dayton; married Ida Bell Ellis (born c.1884) in 1906 and had
one child; worked as a printer and composing foreman; died 1964
* Laura Minerva
"Minnie" Mercer: born 1884 in Ohio; married William
Arthur Pierce (1882-1953: a commercial trucker, steel company manager, and
foundry secretary-treasurer) in 1907 and had two children; lived in Wellston OH and Dayton;
died 1959; was buried in Dayton's Shiloh Cemetery
* Robert E.
Mercer: born 1885 in Dayton; attended cousin Mila Burns Smith's
1907 funeral; married Cora M. Moore
(1888-1983) in 1912 and had three children; worked as a printer and paint store manager;
lived in Dayton; died after 1930
* Adelba Maude
"Maud" Mercer: born 1888 in Ohio; attended cousin
Mila Burns Smith's 1907 funeral; that same year married foundry
manager Jesse A. "Jess" Chesman (born c.1887, died after 1920); had two
children; died 1917 in Montgomery County OH; was buried in Dayton's Shiloh Cemetery
* Alfred P.
Mercer: born 1891 in Ohio; married Martha M.
[surname?] (1890-1960) c.1924 and had one child; worked as an attorney; lived in Dayton;
died 1943; was buried in Dayton's Shiloh Cemetery
* Margaret
Ann Mercer: born 1894 in Ohio; married
stenographer/clerk/typist/artist Monte Clifford Nead (1891-1970) c.1916; lived
in Dayton and Centerville, Montgomery County OH; died 1976; was buried in Kettering
OH's David['s?] Cemetery
* [Infant]
Mercer: born/died before 1900
††
Clara
The two children of Clara M. Burns and Samuel F.
Hart were:
* Laurence Collet
Hart: born 1891 in Ohio; attended cousin Mila Burns Smith's
funeral in 1907; married Bernice Eva Van
Allen (1890-1948) in 1913 and had two children; worked as a cotton salesman and
eventually Vice President for Public Relations of the Johns-Manville
Corporation; died 1980 in Boulder, Colorado
* Gladys Pauline
Hart: born 1896 in Ohio; married chemist and dairy
technologist Neal Dow (born 1894) at New York's Little Church Around the
Corner in 1917; had one child; died September [day?] 1993
‡‡
Lenna
The two children of Lenna Burns and Frank L.
Gustin were:
* Arthur H. Gustin:
born 1888 in Dayton; died 1908; was buried in Dayton's Woodland Cemetery
* Walter B. Gustin:
born 1890 in Dayton; married Hazel B. Berryhill (1893-1971); worked as a
toolmaker, foreman, and tool inspector; lived in Dayton; died 1970
§§
Elliott
The five children of Elliott Spahr Burns and Wilminnie Florence
"Minnie" Smith were:
* Florence Pearl Burns:
born 1888 in Dayton; attended cousin Mila Burns Smith's 1907 funeral; married postal clerk/supervisor Alva Mather
Smith (1885-1967) in 1930 and had one child; worked as a stenographer; was a Jehovah's
Witness; died 1974 and was buried in Dayton's Woodland Cemetery
* Elbert Spahr Burns:
born 1889 in Springfield; attended cousin Mila Burns Smith's 1907 funeral; married Ellen Lucille McBride
(1891-1983) in 1915 and had three children; worked as head cashier and vice president of
Detroit's National Bank; was living in Pontiac MI in 1930; died in Detroit in 1951; was buried in Birmingham MI
* William Jacob
"Bill" Burns: born 1892 in Dayton; served as a mess sergeant in
1918; that year married Mary Marguerite "Margie" Kissinger (1897-1971);
had three children; worked as secretary and employment manager for National Cash
Register, and as an insurance agent; died in Dayton in 1943 and was buried in Woodland
Cemetery
* Harold Andrew
Burns: born 1894 in Dayton (or Springfield, but lived most of
his life in Dayton); graduated from Asbury College in Kentucky (a divinity school)
where he taught history during his last year; worked as a Methodist minister in Staunton VA;
was in failing health from September 1928; died in Dayton in 1930 and was buried in
Woodland Cemetery (some details taken from ~clarkobit/harold)
* Garrel Dixon
"Dick" Burns: born 1895 in Dayton; married
Leona J. Schmidt (1899-1984) in 1920 and had four children; worked as sales/promotions
manager for General Motors; was living in Pontiac MI in 1930; died in 1977 and
was buried in
Birmingham MI
†††
Mary Ann Dixon Heckman
The eight children of Mary Ann Dixon and
Henry Heckman were:
Anne Elizabeth Heckman (1846-1919: married Charles A. Bradley
in 1866, had one child); James W. Heckman
(c.1849-1880: born in Carlisle PA, married Rillie Lippincott in 1871,
had two children, worked as a blacksmith, buried in Donnelsville [OH] Cemetery);
Benjamin F. Heckman (1856-1922: born in
Ohio, married Kate Britton in 1877, had three children, worked as a
blacksmith and tool dresser, died in Columbus, buried in Springfield's Ferncliff
Cemetery); George W. Hickman
(1858-1942: born in Donnelsville OH, married Elizabeth H. "Bettie" Smeltzer
in 1879, worked as a machinist, buried in Springfield's Ferncliff Cemetery);
David A. Heckman (1862-1916: married
Bettie Thomas Heckman[?] c.1909, worked as a pump maker and machine shop
bench hand, died in Springfield and was buried in Ferncliff Cemetery);
Sarah L. Heckman
(born 1861, was a servant in the home of Benjamin Grimsbie in 1880, married farmer Benjamin F. Hawthorn
in 1896); Francis H.
Heckman (born c.1864); and Laura J.
Heckman (born 1864,
married fairground superintendent Willis Snyder in 1882).
‡‡‡
Andrew Jackson Dixon
The four children of Andrew Jackson Dixon and
Sarah Stoneberger were:
James A. Dixon (born c.1858, married
Edith Brown, had five children, lived in Greene County OH, died before
1900); Benjamin Dixon (born 1860);
Charles A. Dixon (born 1865, married Anna
V. [surname?] c.1887, had four children, lived in Osborn OH, died after
1910); and John
Edward Dixon (born 1869, married Phoebe J. Davidheiser c.1893,
had one child, lived in Dayton, died before 1903).
§§§
James Hutchison Dixon
The four children of James Hutchison Dixon and
Caroline Keifer were:
Andrew J. "Andy" Dixon (1858-1944: born in
Donnelsville OH, married Anna Kelly in 1884 and had two children, then
married Mary Elizabeth Richmond in 1899, worked as a blacksmith, died in
Dayton and was buried in Springfield's Ferncliff Cemetery;
David Dixon (born c.1859, died before 1870);
Lydia Margaret Dixon (1864-1953: married John M. Emes in
1884 and had three children, moved to California by 1910, died in Contra Costa CA);
and Charles E. Dixon (1869-1939: married
Sadie [surname?] c.1903 and had one child, worked as a machinist, died in
Springfield and was buried there in Ferncliff Cemetery).
††††
Maria Jane Dixon Miller Leidigh
The four children of Maria Jane Dixon and
Abraham L. Miller were:
James H. Miller (born 1856, married Rose
E. Cook c.1877 and had three children, lived in Dayton, worked as a lumber buyer
and car shop foreman, died after 1920); Ambrose J.
Miller (born 1856, married Anna F. [surname?] c.1884 and had four
children, lived in Dayton, worked as a summerman and salesman in nursery stock,
died after 1920); John F. Miller (born
c.1860); and Elizabeth Miller (born 1864,
married David F. Reighard c.1886 and had three children, was living in
Concord OH in 1910).
●
It's not impossible that Jacob Garrel Burns was named after his uncle Jacob
Gorrell (1782-c.1824), husband of William Burns [III]'s sister Isabella—and
grandson of Ruth Hedges and Abraham Van Metre [Sr.] (click
here for more);
although "Garrel," so spelled, was given as first name to Jacob's
second-youngest grandson.
● In ancestry.com's 1860 census for
Medway (a photocopy of
which was provided to the present author by DCB), Jacob
G. Burns is aged 37 and living with Margaret (aged 35), James (aged 11), Phineas (aged 10), Laura (aged 4), and "Maria" (aged 1).
[See Chapter S-4
regarding the last child’s name.]
● The "100-Day regiments" were lightly-trained volunteers who enlisted for
100 days during the summer of 1864 to serve as rear-echelon guards and
laborers, and so free up veteran soldiers for frontline combat duty. A day-by-day summary of one of
these regiments, the 155th Ohio Volunteer Infantry, can be found at ~100days;
it includes glimpses of Jacob Burns's
153rd Regiment.
●
H.H. Hardesty's The Military History of Ohio says the 153rd Ohio Infantry
mustered out on September 2, 1864; Dyer's Compendium says on September
9th. Both versions are provided by ~153rd.
● The presence of the B & O Railroad and Harpers Ferry's Armory and
Arsenal made it of paramount importance to include the Eastern Panhandle in the
new Unionist state of West Virginia. ~history/jefferson remarks that Jefferson County had nearly 2,000
registered voters in 1863, but the vote to join West Virginia passed 248-to-2
(with all known Confederate sympathizers kept under house arrest). Even so,
"Shepherdstown's residents were ardent supporters" of the measure, and the
Jefferson County seat was moved from Charles Town to Shepherdstown for a year.
After the war, many refused to recognize Berkeley and Jefferson's annexation by
West Virginia; not until 1870 did the Supreme Court finally settle the matter in
West Virginia's favor.
●
DCB says Jacob's brother Isaac James Burns "also enlisted in the Civil War, but
was sent home shortly after reporting due to ill health. He applied for a
pension around 1900, but it was denied."
●
"James William "Willie" Burns was apparently quite a beloved uncle (or great
uncle)—according to my late aunt Dorothy Jane Burns Freeman, she said everyone
looked forward to his visits when he would come back to Dayton from Fort Wayne"
(as per DCB).
● ~burns/dcb is uncertain about birth/death dates for
Elizabeth Jane Burns; ~newcarlisle shows 1852 and January 7, 1855.
●
~burns/dcb gives David Burns the middle initial "D."; ~newcarlisle
shows "O." DCB says David's gravestone "is heavily weathered and
ambiguous," but believes his middle initial was probably D for Dixon—since his
mother Margaret had an uncle, brother, and nephew each named David Dixon.
● DCB reports that "Robert Perry Mercer was the son of General Robert
Mercer (of the War of 1812), who owned vast tracts of land in Greene County and
some surrounding counties, but who lost most of his land in speculations or
swindles. Most of the land that is now Wright Patterson AFB was originally
owned by General Mercer."
● In Dayton, our Burns family at 132 S. Terry should not be confused with
another Burns household at 317 S. Perry.
● ~burns/dcb records Elliott Spahr Burns's birthdate as
October 6, 1866; Elliott's death certificate (courtesy of DCB) shows October
17th, and an age of 68 years 9 months 24 days. (It also calls him
"widowed," says cause of death was bronchopneumonia with stomach malignancy as
contributory cause, and lists Elliott's occupation as "news reporter.")
● DCB indicates that James M. Cox pardoned Elliott Burns shortly after Cox's defeat by fellow Ohioan (and newspaperman) Warren G. Harding in the 1920
Presidential election.
● ~burns/dcb says Elliott Burns's wife Minnie worked as a
saleslady, seamstress, and genealogist researching her mother's family, the Moores.
● An address book used by F.S. Smith starting in 1923 had entries for
the Samuel F. Harts (Broadway Apartments on North Broadway, Dayton OH) and the
Frank R. Gustins (512 Albany St., Dayton OH); so F.S. must have maintained
correspondence with his Burns aunts Clara and Lenna on at least a Christmas card
level. Phineas and Laura had died by late 1923; there were no entries for
Elliott or Uncle Will.
●
James Ramsey Dixon had a brother David Dixon (c.1798-bef.1850), a blacksmith who married Christina Young and had nine children.
Little is known of them except for James Ramsay Dixon,
a butcher and sheriff, who married Mary J. Allgeir and had four
children.
●
DCB credits Samuel Jackson Dixon's will (which named all his brothers and
sisters, including those already deceased, along with some nephews and nieces)
for finally untangling the confused Dixon family tree.
Samuel "also provided the gravestones for his mother and brothers at New
Carlisle cemetery, which apparently had not been erected at their burial.
I think that may explain why the marker for brother Frank is wrong—it was
erected 35 years after his death and somebody either misremembered (or
misinterpreted someone's handwriting) his death as 1895 (instead of 1875) or it
was miscarved. They got his birthyear wrong too."
●
~newcarlisle records two entries for a David R. Dixon born in 1830: one
dying in 1895, with a grave location; the other dying in 1917, with no grave location.
●
F.S. Smith's 1923+ address book showed Flo and Nette Dixon at "422½ So. Main" in
Urbana OH, with Ben P. Dixon's office at 117½ (changed to 422) South Main.
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Last updated November 16, 2009
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