Biographical Sketches of
Extraordinary Burpees
from North America
David A. Burpee
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Copyright 2011 David A. Burpee.
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without the written prior permission of the author.
Printed in the United States of America.
isbn: 978-1-4669-0499-6 (sc)
isbn: 978-1-4669-0497-2 (hc)
isbn: 978-1-4669-0498-9 (e)
Library of Congress Control Number: 2011960898
Trafford rev. 12/09/2011
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Contents
I have been very fortunate to have had the time, health and resources to complete this lengthy family research that has culminated in the biographical accounting of many extraordinary Burpees who lived in North America.
As any researcher or genealogists knows, it is sometimes nearly impossible to assure the accuracy of the information they are gathering. This certainly is the case with this book. I have attempted to list the most pertinent reference sources for each individual profiled in this manuscript. This was done to anchor my writings in the research and reports of those who came before me.
Although I have been diligent in attempting to verify the information contained within this writing, I am somewhat left to the reporting accuracy of those who have come before me. Therefore, if any errors and/or omissions have occurred within these profiles, one can only apologize in advance. The intent of this overall effort was to gather, report and preserve the varied accomplishments of these individuals who are in some way connected to each other.
As additional information on these profiled individuals, or others, becomes available it will be added to the overall information base of the Burpee family tree. Hopefully, my contribution will assist the next generation of researchers in continuing to tell the story of how the Burpee Family contributed to the history of North America.
I believe most of us wonder if there are any famous, or infamous, distant relatives lurking in our family backgrounds. This motivation is what started my personal journey of the past thirty years in search of not only distant relatives but also family members who made substantial contributions to the fabric of their communities, states/provinces or Nation.
Over time, thousands of these relatives surfaced in my research. However, like most large groups of individuals, the vast majority of these family members were just ordinary people going about their daily lives and that is remarkable enough. They worked their jobs and tended to the welfare of their immediate families.
On occasion, I would stumble on someone who was different; someone who rose above the bar of average; someone who contributed to a cause; someone who sacrificed everything; someone who committed their life; someone who created out of nothing; or someone with great courage, tenacity and commitment to a task. These were the family members that I was most interested in pursuing and documenting through my research.
As you will see in the biographical sketches within this book, the greatness of this group of relatives spans many generations over the last four hundred years. Their actions and achievements are in varied fields of endeavor. Some displayed valor and patriotism in times of need; such as, soldiers and military officers. Others relied on their innate talents to express what they saw and felt around them; such as, artists and writers. Still others used their formal studies to build great business empires of the time; such as, business men and industrialists. While others pushed back the boundaries of the wilderness; such as, early immigrants to North America and early settlers in both New England, America and New Brunswick, Canada.
Some of the individuals in the book knew each other quite well. They were grandfathers, fathers, sons, brothers, and uncles; while other individuals in this book would have no way of making the connection to any of these family members. Although distance and time separates most of them, the commonality is their surname. They are, indeed, all family members.
I suspect most of these individuals within this book would be a bit embarrassed, if not astonished, by my characterizing them as more than just ordinary people going about their daily lives. After you have had the opportunity to read about them, and what they accomplished in their lifetimes, I think you will agree with me.
This is truly an amazing group of individuals who vastly contributed to the advancement and quality of their communities, states/provinces or Nation. They just happen to be from the same family.
David A. Burpee
November 2011
NameDatesPage
Born: December 16, 1817, New London, Merrimack, New Hampshire, USA
Died: October 14, 1905, New London, Merrimack, New Hampshire, USA
Burial: After October 14, 1905, Village Cemetery, New London, New Hampshire, USA
Occupation: Farmer and Merchant
Notable Accomplishments: Colonel, State New Hampshire Militia;
Early College Trustee (1891), Colby-Sawyer College, New London, New Hampshire, USA
Anthony Colby Burpee was the eldest of six children born to Perley Burpee and Judith Colby. His name-sake and uncle, Anthony C. Colby, was the Governor of the State of New Hampshire in 1846 and Adjutant-General for the State of New Hampshire during the Civil War. Anthony Colby Burpee was a fourth generation resident of New London, Merrimack, New Hampshire.
He never married but he and his sister Sarah remained on the family homestead, built 1816, with his mother, Judith. He was very musical and was a member of the choir of the Baptist Church in New London for 65 years, for 54 years of which he was the choir leader.
Some years ago, the following account was published in a New London newspaper:
In the early days the voices were accompanied by the bass violin later this instrument was supplemented by the piano, flute and first and second violin, it being found that the piano, would drown any discrepancies which might occur among the voices... a little incident concerning the early days of this choir may be of interest to some. About the year 1845 it was suggested by some one that the ladies would sing much better without their bonnets, which were the large shining bonnets of these days, and as it would hardly be proper to attend church with uncovered heads a compromise was effected and small caps were substituted for the bonnets, substantial caps of lace, covering the ears and tied down under the chin. This fashion prevailed only one year. Mr. Burpees father and grandfather sang in the choir, and at the present time three of his nieces are singing there, making the forth generation of Burpees which have sung in the New London choir, covering a continuous period of 100 years.
References:
Burpee Family, FTW, Internet Webpage
th Century Biographical Dictionary of Notable Americans, Volume 2, Page 307.
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