Benjamin J Burton (1826 - 1885)

Born 1826 in New London, New London, Connecticut, United States

Descendants

Died 6 Oct 1885 at about age 59 in Newport, Newport, Rhode Island, United States

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Benjamin Burton is a part of US Black heritage.

Biography

Benjamin was born in 1826. He married Roseanne Babcock. In Census records he is seen as a Teamster which then meant a driver of horse cart deliveries.

From "Gilded Age in Color" ^[1]:

One of Newport’s most successful 19th century entrepreneurs, Benjamin Burton arrived in Newport in 1845 from Connecticut. He would later established the “Original Express” company, one of the earliest Black-owned businesses operating in various forms at 4 Travers Block.

Benjamin J Burton passed away from gunshot wounds on 6 October 1885 at his home in Newport, Rhode Island. A long and complicated investigation determined that he was murdered by his own family members led by his son-in-law^[2] He was laid to rest at the North Burial Ground also located in Newport.^[3]

Sources

1. ↑ Gilded Age in Color
2. ↑ Smithsonian Article
3. ↑ Find a Grave, database and images (https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/124400946/benjamin-j-burton: accessed 30 November 2022), memorial page for Benjamin J Burton (6 Oct 1826–6 Oct 1885), Find a Grave Memorial ID 124400946, citing North Burial Ground, Newport, Newport County, Rhode Island, USA; Maintained by Scout (contributor 47319613) .

"Rhode Island, State Births Index, 1819, 1852-1900", database, FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:FZBH-TGS : 4 November 2020), Benj. Burton in entry for Ann H. Burton, 1858.

"Rhode Island Births and Christenings, 1600-1914", database, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:F87L-X3D : 17 December 2019), Benjamin Burton in entry for Rugene Burton, 1860.

"Rhode Island Town Births Index, 1639-1932", database, FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:F8XZ-47Q : 4 November 2020), Benj. Burton in entry for Elizy. J. Burton, 1862.

"United States Census, 1880," database with images, FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:M4S8-3P6 : 14 January 2022), Benj. J. Burton, Newport, Newport, Rhode Island, United States; citing enumeration district , sheet , NARA microfilm publication T9 (Washington, D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration, n.d.), FHL microfilm .

"The Murder of Benjamin Burton", New York Times, 6 Dec 1885, page 7. https://www.nytimes.com/1885/12/06/archives/the-murder-of-benjamin-burton.html

https://narratively.com/a-gilded-age-tale-of-murder-and-madness/?utm_campaign=The%20Weekly%20Genealogist%20&utm_medium=email&_hsmi=236010413&_hsenc=p2ANqtz--v7w-kQtQ3teN7Rg024evfZOqtM6x7_JXQ8fG1tOQ9ofazP2n-EixPC2pqerfEIctBrZN19siNYn_CQVOIaBDYKcAmtQ&utm_content=236010413&utm_source=hs_email

http://genealogytrails.com/ri/bio_burton.html

http://www.gildedageincolor.com/?p=77

"The Burton Case", Section on Medical Jurisprudence, at the Thirty-Eighth Annual Meeting of the American Medical Association, June, 1887.. ://jamanetwork.com/journals/jama/article-abstract/424459