Born about 1789 in Virginia

Husband of Dica (Burns) Burdette — married 7 Oct 1811 in Monroe, Virginia, United States

Descendants

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Biography

Joseph Burdette, the father of Lewis, was born in 1789 in Virginia, this date being calculated from census information. He married Dicy Burns, the daughter of Thomas Burns (said by Oren Morton to have had a brewery in Union), on 7 October 1811 in Monroe County, VA/WV. Dicy was born around 1788 in Virginia. Neither death nor burial information has been found for either Joseph or Dicy.

Ten children have been documented for Joseph and Dicy:

Christopher, b. 6 April 1812 George St. Clair, b. 1813 Isham, b. about 1817 Elizabeth, b. about 1819 Robert Burdette, b. about 1821 John, b. about 1823 Joseph, b. about 1824 Mary, b. about 1825 Sylvester, b. about 1829 Lewis Austin, b. about 1834. Research by David Fridley says that Sylvester went to Kanawha County, and Christopher migrated to Indiana, along with perhaps others of the Burdettes.

Monroe County school records for 1831-1842 found on Monroe County genweb list two of Joseph's children in 1836 and 1838: Joseph Burdette at age 13 and 14, and Mary at age 11 and age 15. Their teacher was Samuel Wiseman.

At this point the trail goes very cold. Some researchers, in the absence of documented proof, say the most probable parents of Joseph Burdette are Giles Burdette, b. 1749 and Sarah Dunbar Burdette, b. 1753. Giles died in 1829 in Monroe County, VA/WV.

In A History of Monroe County, West Virginia by Oren F. Morton (1916), the early Burdettes in Monroe County are outlined. William Burdette, who died in 1836, came to Monroe County from Culpeper County and was a son of James Burdette. Morton also mentions Giles Burdette who died before 1829 and married Sarah Dunbar. He lists only one child, John (1794-1882), for Giles, but this history is not meant to be a genealogical study, and most assuredly Giles and Sarah had other children. On the website www.hackerscreek.com, Don Norman says that Giles was the son of James Burdette and was born ca 1775. If this is the case, it's doubtful that Giles is the father of Joseph who was born around 1789. The more logical conclusion would be that Joseph and Giles were brothers, both the son of James.

In West Virginia and Its People, Vol. 3, Thomas Miller (1913), Miller says the James Burdette from Culpeper County died in Harrison County, WV, and had the following children: Dorothy, married Alexander Davidson; Frederick; Stephen; James; and Joshua.

A problem arises in reconciling the differing birth dates of Giles Burdette: if he were born in 1775 (Don Norman's records), he would not be the father of Joseph; if he were born in 1749, as reported in other research, he certainly could be the father of Joseph. There may also be a Giles, Sr., and Giles, Jr. It's possible that James, b. 1729, who had a son also named James, and James, Jr. was the father of Giles Burdette, who could then be the father of Joseph.

In Early Virginia Immigrants, 1623-1666, George C. Greer (1912), we find William Burdette arriving in Accomack County in 1639, and Chris Burdette arriving at the York River in 1649, which is around 100 years before James Burdette appears in the Culpeper records.

This is a skein of yarn that appears to have no ends at all. It's certainly a puzzle, but it would also appear quite certain that Joseph Burdette was related in some way to these early Burdettes. The tricky part will be to prove exactly how he's related to them.

Timeline

He is listed as age 61 and head of household in the 1850 US federal census for Monroe Co. Virginia.^[1]

He is listed as age 70 and head of household in the 1860 US federal census for Greenbrier Co. Virginia.^[2]

Sources

1. ↑ "United States Census, 1850," database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:M8D6-F6V : 12 April 2016), Joseph Burditt, Monroe county, Monroe, Virginia, United States; citing family 666, NARA microfilm publication M432 (Washington, D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration, n.d.).
2. ↑ "United States Census, 1860", database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:M41K-695 : 12 December 2017), Joseph Burdett, 1860.

• http://secondchances-jbestep.blogspot.com/2014/03/the-burdette-family-in-summers-county.html

Second chances from Janet Ballengee Estep

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