Query: #1A Seeking PROOF of the parents for Cumberland Presbyterian Minister, Rev. Jonathan Burleson b 15 February 1790 Rutherford Co NC; d 28 July 1866 Hopkinsville, Gonzales, TX;m 12 August 1811 Warren Co KY to Rebecca McClure b 15 Oct 1794 KY (probably Madison Co.) d. Dec 1884 TX
(I've seen 3 locations for her death: Comfort TX ; Center Point, Kerr Co, TX & Sonora, Sutton, TX) Comfort & Center Point makes the most sense to me, although, I believe their son, John Garvin Burleson lived in Sonora with his family.
Anyone have PROOF of the city of Rebecca's death or the exact date of death?
I have Rebecca McClure's family traced back to 1660 in Ireland. I would LOVE to be able to do the same for Jonathan!
Query: #2A Seeking PROOF of the burial site of Rev. Jonathan Burleson and his wife Rebecca McClure.
Query: #1 Seeking PROOF of the parents for Cumberland Presbyterian Minister, Rev. Jonathan Burleson b 15 February 1790 Rutherford Co NC; d 28 July 1866 Hopkinsville, Gonzales, TX;m 12 August 1811 Warren Co KY to Rebecca McClure b 15 Oct 1794 KY (probably Madison Co.) d. Dec 1884 TX
(I've seen 3 locations for her death: Comfort TX ; Center Point, Kerr Co, TX & Sonora, Sutton, TX) Comfort & Center Point makes the most sense to me, although, I believe their son, John Garvin Burleson lived in Sonora with his family.
Anyone have PROOF of the city of Rebecca's death or the exact date of death?
I have Rebecca McClure's family traced back to 1660 in Ireland. I would LOVE to be able to do the same for Jonathan!
Query: #2 Seeking PROOF of the burial site of Rev. Jonathan Burleson and his wife Rebecca McClure.
These queries are from Margaret Fields.Send your information to me at Sigur Lassiter, slass60@yahoo.com and I will forward it to Margaret. She will then contact you.
The next query:
I am working on Bastrop County Texas history and am seeking information on George Washington Jones, son of W.D.C. Jones and Rachel Burleson. Came to Texas in about 1848. Has research been done of this family on the Jones side? I am trying to find descendants of W.D.C. because George Washington had no children.
Can you point me in any direction?
Thanks
Ken Kesselus
Send me any information of what is going on in your group, family or anything which you think the members will enjoy. That way we can keep up with members all over the US and beyond.
Thanks and hope to hear from you.
Sigur Lassiter
PRESIDENT’S LETTER
It doesn’t seem possible that it has been 6 months since our last BFA Reunion. It won’t be long until April, 2008 when we will be meeting in Nashville, Tenn.
Everyone has been busy working on various projects and committees for the past several months now and are doing a great job and accomplishing a lot.
We were sorry to hear that Board Member, Davis Hopkins has decided to resign from the board due to several illnesses that have curtailed his activities temporarily. Also, Board Member, George Burleson, has been ill and undergoing chemo. We are hoping & praying for his speedy recovery.
Chaplain Hollis Bond, is home from the hospital after having a heart attack. Our prayers are with him & wife, Dorothy during this time.
Margaret Fields is working on getting the replacement marker for the Texas Camp in Tyler that has disappeared for the second time. She is doing an excellent job of contacting people regarding this.
Margaret’s brother, Marvin, had to have open heart surgery and Margaret went to MS. to help out.
Our Newsletter Editor, Sigur Lassiter has been working hard to get our first newsletter out. She needs information from everyone in order to be able to fill up the newsletter. Please help her by sending anything of interest so she can put it in the next newsletter.
Bob Burlison has recruited Rita Bryan to help with the task of setting up State representatives from each region. Since Texas is such a large part of our membership, they are slicing it into 6-7 sections to cover the state.
Board member, Jim Mullins is helping Kaye with the membership list and getting checked out on Kaye’s job, and to have a back-up for the list.
The By-laws committee will be meeting in Boerne , TX on Oct.16 to review the by-laws. The committee consists of J.W. Walsh, Kaye Mills, Nancy McLarry, Janey Dutnell and Nancy O'Massey.
The committee was also assisted by Dick Dutnell.
We are always searching for members that would be willing to serve on committees or as board members. Please let me hear from you if you have any interest along those lines. It takes a lot of people to run an organization like the BFA and the more willing workers we have, the better job we can do to make the BFA a vital association.
Contact me @ rjdut@cox.net or call me at (405) 691-4543.
Hope you are making plans to attend our Annual Reunion and Board meeting in April.
Janey Polk Dutnell
President, Burleson Family Association
Editor’s note: If you did not attended the BFA reunion in Austin this past April, you missed a great t
ime. There was wonderful Texas Barbecue, access to tremendous research, the presentation of the bust of General Edward Burleson at the Texas State Cemetery Museum and tour of the French Legation Museum. It was in the truest sense a family reunion.
Member news
Keep these members in your prayers: Marvin, brother of Margaret Fields, Davis Hopkins, George Burleson, and Hollis Bond and Dorothy.
Note received from Boots Dunn’s daughter, Charlotte. She wrote that her mother is suffering from Alzheimer’s and had been move to a Senior Living Facility in Converse, Texas about 11 miles from her home. She asked that members send a note to her as she would love to hear from you. Her address is Boots Dunn, c/o Esplanade Gardens, #413; 10790 Toepperwein Road, Converse, Texas 78109. Charlotte’s email address is edehn1945@hotmail.com
Margaret Fields is working with Smith county groups; SRT and the Smith County Historical Society in Tyler, TX to replace the historical marker that was stolen. It reads “on Burleson Lake, 3.5 miles west of here was last Cherokee war camp of the Army of the Republic of Texas. It was suggested to put the new marker behind a fence further away from the road to protect it from vandals.
Family Group News
Burleson Family Research Group in Albemarle, N.C. The group has put together several books of their families. John Hoyle gave a quick summary of his DNA testing as it relates to Burleson kinship- basically, how close the kin of our local Burlesons to those in Texas, in the mountains, etc. In reaching back into the history of our family name, the Burlesons migrated in the same pattern of the Vikings as they conquered lands from northern France to Germany to England, to Scotland, etc. John learned that his DNA matched closely to other Burlesons in the study which looked at 37 distinctive markers. At their last meeting, members J.D. Burleson and John Hoy Burleson clarified several details relating to the home places of Isaac Sr. and possible his parents. In the discussion, the topic of how to include in the 2007 book the Afro-American Burlesons who took the family name after they gained freedom. This year’s book will cover family history from roughly the Revolutionary War to the Civil War. It was decided that the freed slaves will be listed in the book, but there will be no attempt to connect them with a particular family.
The group’s web site is www.bfrg.net
If you have not heard, BFA members have begun a project to use DNA to establish the Burleson heritage. This project is in cooperation with Family Treemaker DNA Company and began last year. Below is the article written by John H. Burleson. He is a member of the Burleson Family Research Group in Albemarle, N.C.
We Do Not Need To Fear The Vikings Anymore
Family historians and genealogists have been the only group to write our family history. We can thank them for what knowledge we have today. Records in deeds, will's and other documentation have all this information. But it is the family historian and amateur genealogists that have spent hundreds of hours seeking and compiling the facts that pertain to our family.
Today since the 1990's we have another tool. Have you heard the old expression" Blood is thicker that water"? Modern Science and Mathematics now have proven the saying to be true. Our new tool today is DNA testing. DNA testing and specifically the Y -chromosome test can identify individual markers in the male genetics. Only the Y-chromosome is passed from Father to Son through hundreds of generations with only slight but measurable changes.
The Burleson Family Association, in cooperation with Family Treemaker DNA Company, has recently established the Burleson DNA Project. Their goal is to identify the kinship of the several branches of our Burleson Family. Hopefully we can identify how close the branches are. Example: The northern Burlesons have been documented in the United States since the last half of the 1600's and the southern clan is only documented back to 1746. To my knowledge there is no documentation that proves kinship of any of the southern clan prior to the American Revolution War. That leaves 10 or 20 Fan1ilies that we do not know their kinship. The Burleson DNA project will provide answers if we can get a broad representation from these separate families. Ideally with participation from England and other countries we will define where we came from. The results of the tests are furnished to the male Burleson that has participated in this project. It was very enlightening to me and I would like to offer my analysis for some of the information that I have been able to view.
First the Y-chromosome was tested to identify the 37- markers. Each marker is given a number value. In my case, most were two digits nun1bers; I had three markers that were single digits. They were 8's and a 9. The other 34 markers ranged from 10 to 35. Of the other four male Burleson participants that matched my DNA, one matched with only I digit of one marker distance, two matched with only 2-digit distance from mine, and one was only 3-digits from mine. This placed us into the I1A haplogroup. It is not my intention to evaluate the closeness of kinship. The Project Director will give us that report as the project progresses.
I would like to talk about the results of the determination of the haplogroup. By following the haplogroup we can see the migration patterns of that specific group, in my case it is the I1A haplogroup. The Family Treemaker DNA Company definition of the I1A haplogroup is "the I1A linage likely has its roots in northern France. Today it is found frequently 'within Viking/Scandinavian populations in Northwest Europe and has since spread down into Central and Eastern Europe, where it is found at low frequencies". I don't know how many haplogroups there are but I would guess the number is in the dozens at least. Family Treemaker states that the I1A haplogroup dates to 23,000 years ago or longer.
The important fact in this definition "is found within Viking/Scandinavian population of Northwest Europe". The earliest documentation and almost the only population of Burleson's outside the US are found in England on the coast around Durham County today. This fit's the "Northwest Europe" description. Does it fit into the Viking/Scandinavian population?
Here is a short timetable of Viking history in England.
793- The monastery of Lind is fame (Northumberland) is sacked on June 8 by raiding Viking, within two years, monasteries on Iona (Scotland) and at Jarrow (Northumberberland) are attacked, and this is known as the start of the Vikings age. Raids became an annual event.
835- Viking switches from raiding monasteries to raiding inland.
845- Britain is under constant harassment, Viking search out new conquests in France and Germany.
851- Viking raiders decide to stay in Britain over winter.
866- York is conquered and becomes a Viking State. With most of northern England conquered a line was drawn east to west, all to the north lived under the Danelaw. The law was administered by Viking rulers.
876- The Viking of Northumberland began to settle their families and farm the land.
1016 -King Canute (the last Viking king) ruled all of England and Scotland. By 1027 he was ruler of all the British Isle, Denmark, Norway, and parts of Sweden.
1066- The Normans conquer all of England. This was the last invasion of England.
England and the Danelaw
The map shows where settlement or parish place-names which are of Scandinavian language origin is mainly found.
The Viking presence in Durham began in 851 and they came to stay. So far the DNA trail is correct. My haplogroup takes me back to Northern England and genealogical research takes me back to the same place. Can the DNA take us any farther back than England?
To help find the "Recent Ancestral Origins" Family Treemaker produced a work sheet showing all the countries that they have had participants with matches with my DNA, and the numbers found in each country. Of 12 marker matches with only one digit distance there are 24 countries represented. The country with the most matches was England with 45 matches, Scotland with 25 matches, Germany with 21 matches, Sweden with 10 matches, and Netherlands with 8 matches. Denmark was 7th with 5 matches and Norway had 4 matches.
The worksheet that shows 12 markers with two-digit distance has England with 229 matches, Germany with 129 matches, Scotland with 87 matches, Ireland with 53, Sweden with 22. Norway had 15 and Denmark had 14. 42 countries were represented plus Africa and Australia.
England, Scotland, Germany, Ireland, and the Netherlands were raided and occupied by the Vikings starting from 851. Viking blood was introduced into these countries but did not originate there. Sweden was in the top five on both lists. Sweden could well be the source of our Burleson Blood. Sweden was ahead of both Norway and Denmark in the number of matches.
How does all this fit into the widely accepted Burleson tradition of Aaron who lived in Wales, sailed to America and settled in Buncombe County? He may have lived in Wales for a time but his DNA does not identify him as Welch. (I am assuming Aaron's DNA was the same as mine.) The Vikings never occupied Wales. They did raid on the coastal towns and did set up stop over points for their long boats, but they never established a permanent settlement. To my knowledge there has never been a Burleson Family found in Wales prior to 1800, while there were thousands in Durham and Northumberland since the 13th Century.
I suppose we can believe in oral tradition but when it conflicts with DNA, I'll go with the DNA. Earlier it was believed and was printed that the Burlesons were from Celtic or Anglo--Saxon decent. DNA findings do not support this to be true. I think I like my newfound Viking Blood.
Chaplains Corner
THE SUN WILL RISE
Each night the weatherman gives a summary of the weather expected on the morrow, and always says during the broadcast, "the sun will rise at such and such a time".
That statement is immediately reassuring, "the sun will rise". There are times when one may think "the sun will never rise again". Life turns sour for a time - everything goes wrong during the day - and tomorrow seems far away. This is the time when we should hear the words of the weatherman, "the sun will rise."
Until God is ready for this universe to end, the sun will rise each morning, chasing away the gloom of darkness and the shadows of night. Something fresh, inspiring, and beautiful happens each morning at dawn. The world around us takes on new light; the world within us begins new also. Things which seemed somber and hopeless the night before are found to be not nearly so threatening as they had seemed.
A sickly lady was found happy and rejoicing one morning. She shared her secret. She said, "Last evening I was depressed and blue, then I found this verse in the Bible, 'The day is thine, the night also is thine.' "
God is in charge of the night, and he delivers to each of us the bright, new dawn. The Psalmist said, "Weeping may tarry for the night, but joy cometh in the morning."
Thank you, Mr. Weatherman, for your assuring words which we hear each night. “the sun will rise."
(Submitted by Hollis H. Bond, BFA Chaplain hdbond@charter.net - (817-477-2826)
Submission Information
QUERY We will have a “Query section but try to limit your question to three 6-1/2” lines. You may use the standard genealogy abbreviations. You questions will be assigned a number and will appear in the next Newsletter. Answers to your question will be printed in a later issue. With permission from the member answering, you will be given their name and address so that you may contact them personally.
FAMILY NEWS Items to be sent:
1. Upcoming Weddings of members or their immediate family
Wedding invitation information and relationship to member
2. Upcoming Reunions of Burleson families
Time, place and Burleson family holding reunion.
3. Current birth of member’s grandchildren, great grandchildren, etc.
Birth announcement information and relationship to member.
4. Current deaths of members and /or their immediate family.
Date of death, place and time of visitation and/or funeral, relationship to member.
5. Current honors recognitions or awards of members and/or relationship to member.
6. BFA news such as meetings, changes in officers, etc.
SUBMISSION OF ITEMS TO EDITOR
Editor:Sigur Lassiter, 901 Rolling Drive, Athens, TX 75751 slass60@yahoo.com
E-mail is the quickest and easiest way to submit information. The editor will confirm that the information has been received. If information is not complete, the editor will request additional information.
