Chapter 6A

Our Burks Family History

By means of introduction, the surname Burks is both Irish and English. Various genealogical sites claim the Irish origin, and say that the Burks family was one of the Tribes of Galway. It is said the name was originally deBurgo; Burgo a form of the German “Burgh” meaning “fortified place,” and Burks could refer to one who lived in a village. There are many different spellings of the name: deBurgh, Birk, Bourke, Burge, Burke, Burk, Burks, etc.

The genealogical history of the Burke family in Ireland is populated with people of considerable importance. William de Burgh was the progenitor [don’t you just love that word??] of the Burkes in Ireland and a brother of Hubert de Burgh, “the most powerful man in England next to King John.” These brothers claimed ancestry directly from Charlemagne.

And just so you know where this narrative is headed, my paternal grandmother was Kate Cameron Burks. Kate married Ray Miller Oakley in Quincy, Illinois, on 7 April 1897. So the “Oakley family” descendants of Ray and Kate are just as much derived from the Burks family as they are from the Oakley family.

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Generation 1: John Burks

John Burks was born in 1655 in Ireland. He died in 1721 in . He married Mary Partree Peartree in 1679. She was born in 1657 (some say 1660) in Virginia. She died in 1721 in Albemarle County, Virginia. So unlike our Oakley, Burr, and Miller ancestors who lived in New York, Connecticut, and Massachusetts, the Burks family that immigrated to America lived much farther south, in Virginia.

Several online genealogies state that John Burks was the son of another John Burks, who was born in 1635 in County Mayo, Ireland, and who died in 1735 in Ireland at the age of 100.

John Burks and his wife, Mary Partree Peartree, had the following child:

Samuel King Burks, Sr. – born about 1680 in Hanover, Albemarle County, Virginia.

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Generation 2: Samuel King Burks, Sr.

Samuel King Burks, Sr., was born in about 1680 in Hanover, Albemarle County, Virginia. Charlottesville, Virginia, is the county seat of the present day Albemarle County.

Samuel died before 12 February 1756 in St. Anne’s Parish, Albemarle County, Virginia. His occupation was “Indian Trader” and he was a Quaker.

Samuel King Burks, Sr., married Mary Elizabeth Davis in 1703 in Virginia. Mary Elizabeth Davis was born on 16 May 1685; she was one-quarter Indian. Her maternal line can be traced directly to the Indian Chief , whose Indian name was Wahunsonacook (sometimes spelled Wahunsenacawh or Wahunsonacock). Chief Powhatan, who died in1618, was the paramount chief of Tsenacommacah, an alliance of Algonquian-speaking Virginia Indians in the Tidewater region of Virginia at the time that the English settlers landed at Jamestown in 1607. [More on this towards the end of this narrative – keep reading …]

As an aside, Mary Elizabeth Davis had a brother named Robert Davis, who was a direct ancestor of President Jefferson Davis, the President of the Confederate States of America during the American Civil War (1861–1865). Jefferson Davis never publicly acknowledged his Indian heritage.

Samuel King Burks, Sr., and Mary Elizabeth Davis had the following children:

1. Elizabeth Burks (b. 1705, d. 21 September 1756) – she married William Cabell 2. Mary Partree Burks (b. 1706, d. 1777) – she married Obadiah Smith 3. Samuel Burks, Jr. (1707–1753) 4. Capt. John Peartree Burks (b. 1710, d. 1773) 5. Richard Floyd Burks (b. 1713, d. 12 July 1753) 6. Charles Richard Burks (b. 1715, d. 1753) 7. Frances Burks (b. 1718, d. 1795)

Samuel King Burks, Sr., must have been very successful. Court records show that on 9 July 1770, Samuel King Burks Sr. sold 600 acres in Albemarle County for 100 pounds to Obediah Smith, husband of Samuel’s daughter, Mary. This land was adjoining the Rivanna River, 200 acres of which were granted to Samuel by Patent date 28 September 1732 and 400 acres by Patent date 5 June 1754.

The book “The Cabells and Their Kin” states that Samuel King Burks Sr. and his wife were “the ancestors of the Burks family of Virginia”. He owned much land, both by Patent and by purchase. His will is recorded in Albemarle County Will Book 2 p. 23:

IN THE NAME OF GOD AMEN: I Samuel Burks of Saint Annes Parrish, county of Albemarle, being of sound mind and memory do make and declare this to be my last will and testament...First, I give to my son John Peartree Burks...my negro boy named Prince...to my daughter Mary Smith...my negro girl named Lyddia...to my beloved wife Mary Burks during her natural life the use of the following slaves now belonging to me...Toby, Frank, Nan, Phillis, Tom, Simon, Flora, Bess, Sammy, Will and Lucy...to my wife Mary Burks...the use of all my houses and lands...the use of all my personal estate not already disposed of...after my wife's decrease the tract of land whereon I now live containing six hundred acres shall be sold...money arising from the sale...distributed in the following manner...to my daughter Elizabeth Cabell one shilling sterling money...to my son Samuel Burks...one shilling sterling money...my son Richard Burks...one shilling sterling money, the residue of the said money shall be equally divided between my son John Peartree Burks, Charles Burks and my daughter Mary Smith and my Grandson Samuel Burks...it is my will that my wife shall have all the uses of my lands and of the slaves and the rest of my personal estate...during her life. I desire she may be undisturbed in that possession and...if any person or persons on any pretense whatsoever shall endeaver to disturb or molest her in her said right he, she or they shall be deprived of all benefit of this my will except one shilling sterling money and the rest of his or her legacies...shall be vested in my said wife...

Lastly, I do appoint my said wife Mary Burks and my friend John Smith, Jnr. Executors of this my last will and testament. In Witness Whereof I have hereunto set my hand and seal this 6th day of October in the year of Our Lord 1755. His Samuel X mark Burks (L.S.). Signed, sealed and published in the presence of Samuel Hopkins, Jos. Thompson and William X Moore (his mark)

Here is an original of his will:

It looks like he cut some of his children out of the will, since he only left them one shilling each. Elizabeth Burks Cabell was a very wealthy woman, so maybe he didn’t give much to his offspring who didn’t need it. And it pains me to note that Samuel King Burks, Sr., owned so many slaves.

Other lines of the Burks family continued to use the name Samuel King Burks name as late as 1888 – and that particular individual’s father was named Benjamin Franklin Burks. Is this a great family, or what?

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Generation 3: Samuel King Burks, Jr. (some say he was Samuel King Burks II – the first Burks II aka “B2”).

Samuel King Burks, Jr., was born in 1707 in Albemarle, Virginia. In 1725, he married Elizabeth Mims in Albemarle, Virginia. She was born in 1710 and died in 1753.

Samuel King Burks, Jr., and his wife Elizabeth, had seven children:

1. Samuel King Burks, III (1725–1784) 2. Mary Partree Burks (1726–1784) 3. George Richard Burks (1732–1792) 4. Elizabeth Burks (1736–1835) 5. David Burks (1740–1828) 6. Charles Burks (1741–1817) 7. John Burks (1742–1828)

Samuel King Burks, Jr., died on 12 July 1753 in Albemarle, Virginia.

Other than that his wife’s name was Elizabeth, there isn’t a lot of information for this Samuel. His death was prior to his father’s. Note the spelling of the family name Burks as Burk in his will, but when his wife qualified as the executor, her name was entered as Burks.

Here is the text of his will:

IN THE NAME OF GOD AMEN: I Samuel Burk Jr. of Albemarle County being sick and weak, but of perfect mind and memory, thank Almighty God for it, do this fifth day of January, One Thousand Seven hundred and forty-three, make constitute and ordain this my last will and testament in manner and form following to wit:

Item: I give and bequeath unto my sons David Burk, Richard Burk, John Burk and Charles Burk...to be equally divided between my said sons, when David shall attain the age of twenty-one years, my eight hundred acres of land I hold on Pedler River.

I give to my son George Burk...one hundred and fifty acres of land I now dwell on.

I give to my son Samuel Burk...my entry of one hundred acres of land I hold on Tye River.

I give to my daughters, Elizabeth Burk...Mary Partree Burk and Million [Milliam??] Burk and to their heirs, when they shall marry or attain twenty- one years, twenty five pounds current money of Virginia to each of them.

Item: I give and bequeath to my loving wife Elizabeth and to her heirs forever, fifty acres of land an entry I hold on Watt's Creek.

Item: I lend my said wife so long as she continues my widow and no longer, my negro man Adam and all the rest of my estate real and personal for the maintenance and bringing up of my children but in case my wife Elizabeth should marry or when she departs this life then...all my estate lent her shall be equally divided between all my children before mentioned.

My will is that my estate shall not be appraised. I do nominate...my wife, Elizabeth Burk and David Mims Executors...Samuel (X) mark Burk, Jr. (seal) Signed, sealed, published and declared this above writing to be his last will and testament, in the presence of us: Wm. Meggenson, James Freeland Jr., James Spears, William Howle-(by his mark)

“At a court held for Albemarle County the thirteenth day of July, 1753 this last will...of Samuel Burk deceased was presented...on the motion of Elizabeth Burks one of the Executors...on which she with William Meggenson and William Cabell her securities...acknowledged their bond for...execution of the said will. This will further proved in March 1754. Teste: John Nicholas, Clerk.”

As an aside, here is an interesting item about another member of Generation #3, Elizabeth Burks (c. 1706-1756):

Unlike her eventual husband, William Cabell, Elizabeth Burks was born in the New World, in 1706. Her parents, Samuel Burks and Mary Davis Burks, claimed that Elizabeth’s Virginia roots were more ancient still. Mary Davis’ grandmother, they insisted, had been a princess in the Powhatan Confederacy, the daughter of Chief Opechancanough. Elizabeth Cabell thus grew up on the still-wild Virginia frontier with stories of great-grandmother “Nicketti,” whose Indian name meant “she sweeps the dew from the flowers.”

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Generation 4: Samuel King Burks III or Samuel King Burks Jr. or Richard Burks – take your pick

Here is where our Burks family genealogy gets pretty murky. Some Burks family genealogists think that Samuel King Burks III was the father of our ancestor, William Burks, who was born in about 1740. But that would have made him only fifteen when William was born. Other Burks family genealogists claim that William was the son of Richard Burks, but that would have made him only eight when William was born. Heck, for all I know right now, William Burks was the son of Samuel King Burks, Jr., since Samuel Jr. was certainly fathering children at the time of William’s birth.

Samuel King Burks III was born about 1725 in Albemarle, Virginia. He married Elizabeth, and they had a number of children between 1760 and 1779. So my guess is that this guy was NOT the father of our ancestor, William Burks, who was born in 1740.

It is as good a guess as any that Samuel King Burks, Jr., was the father of William Burks. Except that William wasn’t mentioned in his will.

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Generation 5: William Burks

William Burks was born about 1740, and died about 1830. He married Eliza (or Elizabeth) about 1767. Eliza was born in 1750 and died in 1789.

William served in the Revolutionary War as a soldier in the Virginia Continental Line (see: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Virginia_Line). Here is a copy of his Land-Office Military Warrant for 200 acres of land from 24 May 1784:

William Burks appeared on the 1820 US Census, living in Culpeper, Virginia.

William Burks and his wife Eliza had three sons:

1. George Burks, b. 1768, Virginia; d. 1851, Hendricks County, Indiana. 2. Allen James Burks, b. 1771, Lunenburg, Virginia; d. 1864, Old, Forsyth County, North Carolina 3. Levi Burks, b. 1784, Orange County, Virginia; d. July 12, 1854, Salvisa, Mercer County, Kentucky. Levi was our ancestor.

Levi Burks was born in Orange County, Virginia – and Culpeper, Virginia is just to the north of Orange County:

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Generation 6: Levi Burks

Levi Burks was born 1784 in Orange County, Virginia, and died 12 July 1854 in Salvisa, Kentucky. He married Sarah Pigg on 29 June 1802 in Lincoln County, Kentucky. Sarah was the daughter of William Pigg and his wife Mary. Levi Burks and Sarah Pigg had seven (some say nine) children.

Levi appeared in the 1810 US Census in Casey County, Kentucky – note that his name was spelled “Levey Burkes” and he owned one slave (last column on right):

Levi appeared in the 1820 US Census in Mercer County, Kentucky – and in this record, his name was spelled Leve Burks.

After Sarah’s death in 1830, Levi married Amy White Griffey on 1 July 1830 in Mercer County, Kentucky. [Some records say her first name was Anny, but I can understand how difficult it could be to distinguish Amy from Anny written in cursive]. Amy was born about 1784 and died around 1854. She was a widow when she married Levi Burks.

I remember going to Harrodsburg, Kentucky, with my parents when I was a child. Harrodsburg is county seat of Mercer County. Presumably my father was doing some genealogy research on the Burks family. And how wonderful that now we can do this research online!!

Levi Burks and Amy White Griffey had a son, James Alfred Burks, who is our ancestor. James was born on 3 May 1831 in Mercer County, Kentucky (10 months after Levi and Amy were married).

According to the 1850 US Census, Levi Burks (age 80) was living with his son William Burks and William’s family in Mercer County, Kentucky. His occupation was listed as shoe maker (as were his sons William and John). Since Levi’s wife Amy White Griffey Burks didn’t die until 1854, it is interesting to learn that she wasn’t living in the same household.

Levi Burks died of cholera on 12 July 1854, in Salvisa, Kentucky, at the age of 68. As an aside, it is very difficult to research Levi Burks online, since in various records his name appears as Levy, Levi, Levey, Levvy and Burks, Burk, Burke, Birk, Burkes, Bourke, etc.

I am bothered by the fact that Amy White Griffey was born in 1784 and then James Alfred Burks was born in 1831. That would have made her 47 years old at the time of his birth!! But I have seen numerous references online stating that Amy White Griffey was the mother of James Alfred Burks. So maybe her birth year is wrong, or else she was just fertile well into her forties….

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Generation 7: James Alfred Burks was born on 3 May 1831 in Mercer County, Kentucky.

James A. Burks married Mary Jane Crawford on 1 January 1857 in Johnson, Indiana – presumably this is where Thomas Crawford Oakley got the “Crawford” part of his name. And that name was passed down to the late Thomas Crawford Oakley II, as well as to Cameron Crawford Oakley (the older daughter of Tim and Denise Oakley).

Mary Jane Crawford was born on 1 September 1837 in Grayson County, Virginia. She was the daughter of Daniel Crawford and Elmony Lester.

James Alfred Burks and Mary Jane Crawford Burks had nine children – the seventh was our ancestor, Kate Cameron Burks. Their first three children died very young (ages 1, <1, and 5 years).

1. Anna Laurie Burks, b. 17 October 1857 2. Frank Oscar Burks, b. 27 September 1860 3. Charles Terhune Burks, b. 30 April 1863 4. Maude Dehiter Burks, b. 9 January 1865 5. Lola Lisle Burks, b. 15 January 1865, Marshall, Illinois 6. Paul Dore Burks, b. 5 April 1870, Des Moines, Iowa 7. Kate Cameron Burks, b. 23 October 1873, Burlington, Iowa 8. Mary F. Burks, b. 24 November 1877, Burlington, Iowa 9. Marshall Connor Burks, b. 1 May 1881, Burlington, Iowa

The 1870 US Census had the family living in Burlington, Iowa:

Note that James’ occupation is listed as “Painter”.

Here is a classic photo of the Burks sisters (plus a friend) from Hal’s book about Uncle Allen:

James Alfred Burks died on 12 November 1899 in Quincy, Illinois. He is buried in Greenmount Cemetery in Quincy (Block 4, Lot 174, Section SW, Grave C). His gravestone has 1831-1900.

Mary Jane Crawford Burks died 26 December 1902. She is buried in Greenmount Cemetery in Quincy (Block 4, Lot 174, Section SW, Grave N). Her gravestone has 1837-1901. Here are photos of their gravestones:

Recall that James Alfred Burks was listed as being a “Painter” in several U.S. Census records –and I had assumed that meant that he was a house painter. Not so!!

In reading the book written by his son Paul Dore Burks, I learned that he painted works of art in oil! This book, published in 1932, was entitled “Fireside Yarns - 1001 Nights - Reminiscences of an Old Coin Man”. In it, he wrote about the family of James A. Burks and Mary Jane Crawford Burks:

“Only one son out of nine children born to the couple lived through childhood, he being named after the noted artist, Paul Gustave Doré. The father [James Alfred Burks] being a painter in oil, whose creditable words of art were eagerly purchased by residents of the community, doubtless wished his son to follow in his footsteps, and that the name might inspire him to become a real artist.”

As an aside, Paul Dore Burks dedicated his book to his father, James Alfred Burks. And he wrote that his father went by his nickname of “Jim Burks”.

More about Paul Gustave Dore at: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gustave_Doré

Paul Dore Burks is buried in Forest Lawn Memorial Park in Glendale, California, which is where his nephew William B. “Bill” Oakley and Bill’s wife, Gladys Toebben Oakley, are buried.

But I digress… So back to the Burks family tree.

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Generation 8: Kate Cameron Burks was born on 23 October 1873 in Burlington, Iowa. She married Ray Miller Oakley on 7 April 1897 in Quincy, Illinois. Ray Miller Oakley was born on 2 April 1876 in Mechanicsville, Iowa. His parents were Aaron Burr Oakley and Hannah Mariah Miller Oakley.

Kate Cameron Burks Oakley and her husband, Ray M. Oakley, had five children:

1. Burks Oakley 2. Elisabeth “Ebby” Oakley 3. William Burr “Bill” Oakley 4. Allen Miller Oakley 5. Thomas Crawford “T.C.” Oakley

Ray died on 12 May 1948 in Quincy, Illinois, and Kate died on 19 January 1954 in Quincy. They both are buried in Woodland Cemetery in Quincy, Illinois.

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Generation 9: Burks Oakley, Elisabeth Oakley, William Burr “Bill” Oakley, Allen Miller Oakley, Thomas Crawford Oakley

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Generation 10: Burks Oakley II, Thomas Allison, Tony, David Ray, Susan Burks, Ann, Mary Cameron, and William Henry “Huck”.

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Generation 11: Hal, Peter, Tommy, Ralph, Mary, Dave, Mike, Tim, Susie, Cathy, Mark, David, Andrew, etc.

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Generation 12: Ben, Abigail, Allen, Allison, Sullivan, Tom-Ben-Jack Van Ness, Katie, Meghan, Anna Ray, Laura, David, Josh, Cassie, Allie, Jake, Clayton, Cameron, Carlee, Oakley, Brittany, David, Mary, Renae, Kacy, etc.

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Generation 13: Olivia, Sterling, William Daniel, Harper, Hannah, Paul, Charlie, etc.

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Recall that in Generation 2 of the Burks family in America, Samuel King Burks, Sr., married Mary Elizabeth Davis. So now let’s go back and look at Mary Elizabeth Davis’ ancestors.

Mary Elizabeth Davis was the daughter of Nathaniel Davis and Mary Elizabeth Hughes. Mary Elizabeth Hughes was born in 1654. Her parents were Trader John Rice Hughes and the Indian princess, Nicketti Powhatan (born in 1630). “From these alliances of Indian and white man many notable families in Virginia are descended.”

Princess Nicketti was the daughter of Chief Opechancanough Mangopeesomon Powhatan and his wife, Matachanna “Cleopatra” Powhatan. “Nicketti” is an Indian name meaning “she sweeps the dew from the flowers.” Princess Nicketti was born in 1625 – and Opechancanough was thought to be born around 1545, so the description of Princess Nicketti as “the child of his old age” seems appropriate.

Opechancanough Powhatan was the younger brother of Chief Powhatan (Wahunsenacawh), the paramount chief of the alliance of Algonquian-speaking Virginia Indians in the Tidewater region of Virginia. Chief Powhatan was the father of Matoaka Pocahontas Powhatan, who is usually just called Pocahontas.

So this makes Princess Nicketti a first cousin of Pocahontas, even though Nicketti was much younger than Pocahontas. Recall that Pocahontas was captured by the English during Anglo-Indian hostilities in 1613, and held for ransom. During her captivity, she converted to Christianity and took the name Rebecca. W hen the opportunity arose for her to return to her people, she chose to remain with the English. In April 1614, she married tobacco planter John Rolfe, and in January 1615, bore their son, Thomas Rolfe. Here is a famous painting of Pocahontas from 1616:

In case you haven’t been paying close attention, Princess Nicketti, my g-g-g-g-g-g- g-g-g grandmother, was a first cousin of Pocahontas, even though Nicketti wasn’t born until about eight years after Pocahontas’ death in 1617.

Pretty cool! We are descended from Pocahontas’ grandfather! And some genealogies trace Chief Opechancanough Mangopeesomon Powhatan back another four generations (or more). So through Mary Elizabeth Hughes (my g-g- g-g-g-g-g-g grandmother), our ancestors undoubtedly were living in America well before anyone in the Oakley, Burr, Miller, or Burks family!!

I wonder if this is enough Native American ancestry to get anyone in our family a special admission to Harvard or Yale or Stanford…..

And with that musing, I’ll end this narrative about our Burks family ancestors.