Burbanka
Transcribed from "History of North Washington, an illustrated history
of Stevens, Ferry, Okanogan and Chelan counties", published by Western
Historical Publishing Co., 1904.
ANDREW S. BURBANK. In the
seventeenth century three brothers of the Burbank family came to the colonies
and located in Connecticut. From that time to the present the family
has been identified with the American cause and were real Americans before
there was any United States. Seventy-seven of the different branches
of the Burbank family were enrolled in the Revolution and they all fought
with the spirit and patriotism born of true principle and fearlessness
in standing for the right. Various ones held official positions.
Among these patriots was the grandfather of our subject who fought all
through the struggle for independence and then also in the War of 1812.
Also various members of the family were in all the Colonial and Indian
struggles. Out of the seventy-seven in the Revolution, seventy-two
had Bible Christian names, thus indicating their Puritanic origin.
Our subject served all through the Civil War after his enlistment in 1863,
being in the Seventh Vermont Infantry, Company F. His only brother,
Charles H., captain of Company C, Third Vermont Infantry, was killed in
the battle of the Wilderness.
Reverting more particularly to our subject,
we note that he was born in Bath, New Hampshire, on November 24, 1848,
the son of David and Olive (Smith) Burbank, natives of New Hampshire and
Vermont, respectively. The father died in Groton, Vermont, in 1863.
The mother died in Barnett, Vermont, in 1898. Our subject was reared
mostly in Vermont, the family moving thither when he was four years old.
The father was a miller and our subject assisted him until the time of
his enlistment in the Civil War. After the war Andrew returned to
Groton and completed a course in the academy. In 1867 he came west
to Montana and there mined, freighted and prospected. In 1883 he
came to Washington and soon thereafter we see him near Ellensburg, where
he took a homestead and wrought for eight years. From there Mr. Burbank
came to Wenatchee and selected his present place on the Wenatchee river,
three miles from Mission. He commenced in the fruit industry and
since then he has devoted himself to it with the gratifying result that
today Mr. Burbank has an orchard which would do credit to the most skilled
manipulator in this excellent industry. He sold last year over three
thousand dollars worth of apples from eight acres. He has over thirty-five
acres in fruit and it is one of the finest in the entire state, and where
can the state of Washington be beaten for fruit? The farm is improved
with fine large residence, barns, fruit houses and so forth and is one
of the choicest places in this section. Mr. Burbank has two sisters,
Flora Fairchild, and Helen Buchanan.
On February 21, 1882, Mr. Burbank married
Miss Ellen Gray, and six children have been born to them, Carrie, wife
of Joseph Fetters, of Ellensburg; Charles, Edna, Alice, George D. and Olive.
Mrs. Burbank was married in Boise, Idaho, and has two brothers and one
sister, Frank, Lewis, Orilla. She was born in Maine, being the daughter
of Eben and Phoebe (Harris) Gray, natives of St. John, New Brunswick, Canada.
Mr. Burbank is a Republican and is often in the county and state conventions.
He stands exceptionally well and is considered one of the most expert orchardists
in the valley.