George Washington Burks

George Washington Burks

      In a letter dated 25 Feb 1965, Samuel Victor Burks (1890-1979) wrote:
My Grand Father operated a freight boat on the James River long ago. My Grand Father, George Washington Burks and his wife Mary Jane Dennis migrated from Rockbridge County Va., to Choctaw County Miss., perhaps about 1845-50. ... I remember my Aunt speaking of close relatives in Virginia named Taylor and I believe Gordon.

George Washington Burks 1817-1884

      According to the family Bible, George Washington Burks was born December 15, 1817. Although Rockbridge County records show many people with the name of Burks, George Washington Burks has not been found among them.

      The possible kinship to the Gordons led to the Nelson County records, and there we found the marriage records.

      The marriage records for Nelson County, just south of Rockbridge, show
on page 38: April 17, 1839 Wm. H. Burks to Margaret Dennis George Gordon, Security
and page 42 April 12, 1841 George W. Burks to Jane Dennis Wm. Dennis, Security
    After George Burks and Mary Jane Dennis married, they apparently lived in Virginia until after their first child, Albert Lafayette, was born.

Virginia to Mississippi

     George W. Burks was in Choctaw Co., Mississippi by 1845. He was there on June 21 when he testified for Elizabeth Gordon's pension application.

Albion Gordon family connections
    In pursuing the Gordon family connection, George Burks was found as a witness from Choctaw Co., Mississippi, in the application file of Albion Gordon based on Gordon's service in the Revolutionary War. The record shows:
...personally appeared Archibald Gordon and George Burke...well acquainted with Albion Gordon, dec'd, Revolutionary pensioner and also with Elizabeth, his widow. Well acquainted with her in Virginia and also since her removal to Mississippi. 21 June 1845
and
21 June 1845 personally appeared Elizabeth Gordon, widow of Albion Gordon who was a Master Sgt. in Cavalry, Revolutionary War, Reason for transferring from Nelson County, Va to Choctaw County,Miss...she is aged and helpless; one of her sons resides in Choctaw and other two are removing to that county, so she accompanied them.
    In the Session Minutes of Old Lebanon Presbyterian Church, in Choctaw County, Book 1, page 1, it says, "Original Members Archibald Gordon transfer letter from Cane Creek Union So. Ca. also Jane Gordon." On December 28, 1845, "Mr. George W. Burcks presented himself before the Session and on satisfactory examination of his faith in Christ was rec'd into Communion of this Church." The Burks' family Bible also noted "George Washington Burks joined ch. and baptized December 28, 1845."

    The connections between the Burks and Gordon families appear to have been numerous. How they were kin, if at all, remains a mystery. Mary Jane Dennis' family has not been traced, so she might have been kin to the Gordon family. Elizabeth Gordon's maiden name was Pigg. George Washington Burks' parents' names are unknown. G W Burks was born 15 Dec 1817. The three Gordon brothers were all older than George W Burks by almost a generation.

    The 1850 Choctaw County census also lists our G. W. Burks, only the last name is spelled "BIRKS", as family #517. Besides Albert Lafayette, the family included Elizabeth, John, and Margaret. A near neighbor may well have also been a near relative. The W. H. Burks family is #500. From the Nelson County, Virginia, marriage records, one is tempted to conclude that the Burks brothers, George and William, married the Dennis sisters, Margaret and Mary Jane.

    Perhaps they heard from their friend Arch Gordon about opportunities in Mississippi, and went to join him there. Choctaw County had many early immigrants from South Carolina, often by way of Alabama, but not many from Virginia. Residents in 1850 listing place of birth as Virginia included G. W. and Mary Burks and W. H. and Margaret Burks. The children of W. H. and Margaret were Nancy, born 1842 in Virginia, and James, Rebecca, and Sarah, born in Mississippi. This does not prove that this William H. Burks was a brother of our George W. Burks, but it is a strong possibility.

Children

    
Albert Lafayette Burks
The eldest child of George and Jane Burks was Albert Lafayette. He was born 17 April 1842 in Virginia. His military record says, "Killed Jan. the 19 1862 at Fishing Creek".

    Our family treasures include a letter from Albert Lafayette Burks to his family back in Virginia, written during the war. Although the letter does not give the year, it must have been written on September 23, 1861, because Lafayette was dead before the next September. He addressed his letter to his father because his mother could neither read nor write.

    Albert Lafayette Burks was only 19 in July 1861 when he enlisted in the 15th Regiment Mississippi Volunteers. His service records show he was "Killed Jan. the 19, 1862 at Fishing Creek." The family Bible says, "killed at battle of Fishing Creek, Ky. in Civil War". That battle took place in a constant rain, making many of the troops' flint-lock muskets unserviceable. Of nine southern units in this battle, the Fifteenth Mississippi sustained the greatest losses. Major-General G. B. Crittenden, Commander of the forces at Fishing Creek, reported, "The reputation of the Mississippians for heroism was fully sustained by this regiment. Its loss in killed and wounded, which was far greater than that of any other regiment, tells sufficiently the story of discipline and courage...Suffice it to say that it is entiled to all praise."

    Our family keeps a knife Lafayette carried during the war. It was made from an old file they called a "rasp", still showing the cross-hatch markings found on such a tool. A neighbor of the Burks family, named Hodges, is believed to have returned the knife after Lafayette was killed. One old tintype we have may have been Albert Lafayette in soldier's coat, carrying a large gun.

Sarah Elizabeth Burks
      The second child of the family was Sarah Elizabeth Burks. She was born September 27, 1846, in Mississippi. She married Thomas J. Boone on December 22, 1874. He was born April 17, 1851, in Alabama and died April 12, 1912. They are both buried in Lebanon Presbyterian Church cemetery near Ackerman. Sarah died March 1, 1917. It is said that "all the Boones died of TB". The children of Thomas J. and Sarah E. B. Boone were: 1) Mary Bingham - baptized 3rd Sabbath in May 1876 2) Margaret Emma - June 30, 1878 - January 10, 1916 3) Annie Blanche - August 11, 1879 - April 1, 1960 4) Louise Kate - June 7, 1881 - March 21, 1882 5) Samuel James - October 22, 1882 - August 12, 1887 6) William Augustus - June 1884 7) Hobe Robertha - January 1886 8) Laura Elizabeth - November 2, 1887 - November 22, 1915 9) Martha Lillian - March 29, 1889 - July 25, 1913 Blanche Boone's married name was Addkison.

John Calvin Burks
      The third child of George and Jane Burks was John Calvin Burks, born in Mississippi September 4, 1848. He was married January 23, 1879, to Victoria Ann Wood. Victoria was born March 23, 1859, daughter of John Pink Wood and Amanda Parkerson. J.P. Wood died in 1877, and his wife in 1879. At that time, Belle, Mattie, and Agnes, Victoria's younger sisters, moved in with Vic and John Burks.

      John Burks died March 31, 1882. He and Victoria had two children, Jennie Viola and John Renna. Jennie Viola, who was called Daisy, was born January 8, 1880. She married Sid Moss and died at age 27 on January 15,1907. John Renna Burks was born October 2, 1881, and died August 4, 1882. On December 8, 1892, Victoria Burks married Robert P. Moss (August 13, 1855 - December 11, 1914). Victoria died January 6, 1902. She was called `Aunt Vic' by the family. Victoria and R. P. Moss had a daughter named Lucy, who was born in October 1894. Most of the family is buried at Old Lebanon, but there is no grave marker there for John Calvin Burks.

Margaret Jane Burks
      Margaret Jane Burks was born January 4, 1850. She married Lewis/Frank (?) Lucus about 1887. He had several children by a previous marriage. He and Margaret had a daughter Kate, born in February 1891.

Charles William Burks
      Charles William Burks was born January 4, 1852. He was married three times. On November 21, 1872, he married Cylena J. Keen (December 28, 1854-September 15, 1876). He married second Amanda J. Weatherall on March 22, 1877. She died September 16, 1883. He married 3rd Lucinda R. Clanton on June 3, 1886. She died September 6, 1905. C. W. Burks was mayor of French Camp in February of 1897. The children of Charles William Burks were:
Egbert Eustace 1873 - 1948
Hattie Belle 1875 - 1887
Lafayette 1878 - 1901
Earl Dennis 1879 -
Anna 1880 - (believed to have died in infancy)
Mary 1881 - April 3, 1882
Paul 1883 - 1956
Adison Clark 1887 - 1966
Ruth Webb 1889 - 1893
Vernon Harvey 1894 - 1962
Percy Stuart 1897 - 1946
      C. W. Burks died February 6, 1909. Having survived three wives, he left Vernon Harvey and Percy Stuart in the care of their eldest brother, Egbert. Most of the above information is recorded in the Bible which belonged to C.W. Burks. It was kept by his sons Egbert and then Vernon Harvey. A daughter of Vernon Harvey Burks, "Rinky" (Mrs. Walter) Rogers who lives in Clarksdale, Mississippi, has the Bible.

Martha Ann Burks
      The sixth child of G. W. and Mary Jane Burks was Martha Ann. She was born September 7, 1853. She married John B. King April 11, 1895. In 1900 they still had no children. King apparently died by 1917 when Martha remarried. The August 24, 1917 issue of the Plaindealer contains the following notice:

Married at the home of Mr. Ben McGarity, Chester, on 9 August 1917 Mr. G. W. Hodges and Mrs. Martha King, by Rev. Patrick S. Rogers. Mr. & Mrs. Hodges live in the New Zion neighborhood and are highly respected by all who know them. Their many friends wish them the very best in life.
Ida Catherine Burks
      Ida Catherine Burks was born July 1, 1855 and died March 11, 1828. She is buried at Old Lebanon. The young folks in the family called her `Aunt Ti'. She was remembered as having a pleasant `dry wit'. It was probably she who S V Burks referred to as the aunt who talked about relatives in Virginia. She was not married.

George Samuel Burks
      George Samuel Burks was born December 28, 1859. He was married on November 23, 1882, to Amanda Burt Wood. Her parents were John Pink Wood and Renna Amanda Parkerson. Amanda Wood was born September 13, 1867. She was 11 years old when her widowed mother died. She lived with her older sister Victoria and Victoria's husband, John C. Burks, until her marriage to John's younger brother, Sam. Her third son was named for his father and Aunt Vic, but Mattie insisted he be called Victor, not Sam. His son was named Samuel Victor Burks, Jr., and named his first child Victoria Ann to continue the name. Aunt Vic was born on March 23, and her fourth generation namesake on March 22, 89 years later.

      The children of George Samuel and Mattie Wood Burks were:
1 Charles Edward8 May 1884 - 30 January 1965
2 Joseph Lee20 January 1886 - 21 November 1972
3 Renna Agnes13 May 1889 - March 17, 1968
4 Samuel Victor 28 Oct 1890 - 21 December 1979
      Amanda (Mattie) Burt Wood Burks died February 22, 1894, probably from tuberculosis. She is buried at Old Lebanon. Her grave is marked with an old original stone, and her name also appears on the triple marker with her husband's. After her death, G. S. Burks married Hattie Pauline Burford on August 8, 1894. Some of the older children found it difficult to accept their step mother, but she was a good mother to those who would let her try.

      Hattie moved to Choctaw County in 1872 with her parents, Mr. and Mrs. William Burford. She and G. S. Burks had one daughter, Mamie Lou Burks, who was born March 2, 1898. Hattie Burks died August 3, 1970. She was born in Birmingham, Alabama, on January 14, 1869, making her 101 years old at her death. George Samuel Burks died June 5, 1953. He was 93.

Mary Ella (or Ellen) Burks
      The youngest child of George W. and Mary Jane Burks was Mary Ella (or Ellen) Burks. She was born November 29, 1862. She was married February 24, 1881, to W. M. Weeks. They are not found in the 1900 census for Choctaw County.


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