G2G: Correcting Samuel Burgess of Bucks, Pennsylvania (___-1714)

Question

Considerable misinformation is seen regarding Samuel Burgess who died in Falls Township, Bucks County, Pennsylvania about 1714.

In WikiTree he is seen with a year of birth of 1623 that appears highly improbable for a man who arrived in Pennsylvania 1685 and is believed to have fathered his six known children here (the last in 1701). Several astute researchers believe the father attached in WikiTree was, in fact, born 1614 (not 1599) and with no known relationship to Samuel in Bucks. Samuel's origins are presently unproven though there is significant speculation. He is frequently seen as the father of Joan (Moon) Burgess who lived adjacent but is much more likely his sister (she is not among the children of Samuel named in his will) (A duplicate Joan is still attached as daughter of Samuel.)

Are there members of Penn Project and Quakers Project willing to assist with some additional research to help untangle things?

Comments

Found another profile for Samuel Burgess and initiated a merge.

Falls MM records should have a notation concerning Samuel Burgess’ certificate (rocf - received on certificate from) from the Meeting he belonged to in England.  That would help you then find records for him there.

He is likely the same Samuel Burgess who married in 1671 to Eleanor Peers.

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Great catch, T! Very doubtful he was siring children in his late 70s.

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The Peers/Peeres connection has never been documented. There has been speculation that he had a first wife named Eleanor in England and second named Ellen in Pennsylvania. The known evidence has lead most researchers to believe he married not long before coming to the colony in 1685 with all children born here. I hope that the next round of research in records held by Mercer Museum (Bucks County) uncovers the familial relationship between Samuel and Joan (Burgess) Moon who lived next door to each other. If they can be documented as brother and sister it greatly increases the potential of finding the correct family group in England.

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I no longer have an Ancestry membership, but it may be possible to glean from their Quaker collections the Meeting in England from which Samuel Burgess came. He appears to have held some leadership role in the creation of Falls MM and so there are likely Meeting minutes that could hold more information.  

If you’re local to the Mercer Museum, a trip out to Swarthmore may also be worthwhile. It is another great repository - though I don’t know if it or the Mercer Museum are open these days due to COVID19.

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Jana, thanks for the notes. I've not yet found anything in the Falls MM records (nor have others who've researched this for much longer) regarding their membership transfer and I suspect they were part of a different meeting before Falls. Unfortunately, quite a number of the meeting minutes in this area in this period are not yet transcribed and images not yet available at Ancestry leaving a trip to one of the TriCollege Library archives probably necessary. But, still looking around as quite a few things are improperly indexed at Ancestry so you sometimes get a surprise.

Answer 1

Edit: just realized this info already in the profile.  

History of Bucks County states:

The will of 
Samuel Burges, made in 1713, mentions 
wife Eleanor, sons Joseph, Samuel, John 
and Daniel, and daughters Priscilla and 
Sarah.

Answer 2

I am a direct descendant of Samuel Burges.  Over the years I have spent many weeks in England and Pennsylvania researching the family of Samuel Burges. He was born in Styal, Cheshire, England. I see many references online that associate him with Bristol, England but this is absolutely false. He and generations of his family were tied to Cheshire. And, once he settled in Bucks County, Pennsylvania (Fallsington and Wrightstown mostly) his offspring stayed in the area until 1860’s.

References of his line with births or marriages outside of Pennsylvania prior to 1860 should be considered incorrect. The records of the Society of Friends Meetings provide the most accurate information on births, marriages and deaths until well into the 19th century.

Comments

Thanks for the note Margery. This is not a direct ancestral line for me. If you have the primary source documentation for the parentage (or anything else on the profile where this is absent), can you add it to the profile or place it in the Comments on the profile? This information may help resolve other issues in the Burgess family in Pennsylvania.

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Also, if you have primary source documentation for the parentage, does it provide information on the relationship between Samuel and Joan (Burgess) Moon who lived adjacent to him?