Genealogy Is An Adventure

Tag: Burgess

  • Charles Burgess 1843-1928

    Charles was the son of Stephen T. Burgess and Elizabeth Bentley. He was born 2 September 1843 in Tomkinsville, Monroe County, Kentucky. Charles had three siblings, Sara, Plesent and Jessie. In the 1860 Census, Charles’s father was probably not alive.

    In 1864 Charles served in the Civil war as a private in company F, First Tennessee mounted infantry. U.S. Civil War Soldier Records and Profiles

    NameCharles M Burgess
    Enlistment Age18
    Birth Date2 Sep 1843
    Birth PlaceKentucky
    Enlistment Date8 Mar 1864
    Enlistment RankPrivate
    Muster Date21 Mar 1864
    Muster PlaceTennessee
    Muster CompanyF
    Muster Regiment1st Mtd Infantry
    Muster Regiment TypeInfantry
    Muster InformationEnlisted
    Muster Out Date22 Jul 1865
    Muster Out InformationMustered Out
    Side of WarUnion
    Survived War?Yes
    Last Known Residence PlaceStevens County, Washington
    Death Date26 Feb 1928
    Death PlaceHunters, Washington
    Burial PlaceHunters, Washington
    CemeteryGreenwood Cemetery
    Additional NotesWife: Rachael L.
    TitleIndex to Compiled Military Service Records; Civil War Veterans Buried in Stevens County by Roger W. May; Report of Adjutant General State of Tennessee

    Source: Ancestry.com

    Charles married his sweetheart, Rachel Williams, aka Rose, at Independence, Kansas, in 1866 according to his obituary, however the official date was in 1871.

    NameChas M Burggess
    GenderMale
    Age25
    Birth Dateabt 1846
    Marriage Date30 Jul 1871
    Marriage PlaceMontgomery, Kansas, USA
    SpouseRechael S Williams
    Film Number001404520

    Source: ancestry.com

    The couple had a large family:

    • 1. Rosetta, born 1866 in Kansas City, Kansas, died 1935 in Colfax, Washington. She was married to Thomas Adams and they had 4 children. Second marriage to Thomas Elliott, they had one child.
    • Stephen Henry born 1871 in Kansas, died 1940 in Spokane, Washington. He was married to Carrie Crook, they had 1 child. Second marriage to Anna Woodcock.
    • Ida born in 1875, no other information available
    • Loretta Rachel born 1876 in Iowa City, Iowa, died 1909 in Peach, Lincoln, Washington. She was married to William Lee Brannan and they had 4 children.
    • Anna born 1878 in Iowa, died 1936 in Hunters, Stevens County, Washington. She was married to Peter Wayne Heber, they had 3 children.
    • Mary Florence born 1880 in Iowa, died 1953 in Spokane, Washington. She was married to Charles Waters and they had 7 children.
    • Charles Andrew born 1882 in Iowa, died 1958 in Spokane, Washington. He was married to Mary Glasford Gildersleve and they had 4 children.
    • Edith Martha born 1885 in Springfield, Oregon, died 1928 in Colfax, Washington. She was married to Ed Hickman and they had 2 children.
    • Myrtle born 1890 in Stevens County, Washington, died 1963 in Spokane County, Washington. She was married to Arthur Owen and they had 3 children.
    • Robert born 1891 and died 1976 in Washington. He was married to Zelva Little and they 10 children.
    • Pearl born 1894 and died 1982 in Washington. She was married to Thomas Andrews Lantzy and hey had 2 children.

    In 1880, Charles and his family lived on a farm in Pottawattamie, Iowa. According to the federal census, Charles was illiterate. His parents supposedly were from Virginia and Tennessee.

    NameCharles M. Berges
    Age37
    Birth DateAbt 1843
    BirthplaceKentucky
    Home in 1880Waveland, Pottawattamie, Iowa, USA
    Dwelling Number192
    RaceWhite
    GenderMale
    Relation to Head of HouseSelf (Head)
    Marital StatusMarried
    Spouse’s NameRachel L. Berges
    Father’s BirthplaceVirginia
    Mother’s BirthplaceTennessee
    OccupationFarmer
    Cannot ReadY
    Cannot WriteY
    NameAge
    Charles M. Berges37
    Rachel L. Berges28
    Roseta Berges12
    Stephan H. Berges8
    Ida F. Berges5
    Rachel R. Berges4
    Anna Berges2
    Florence M. Berges4/12

    In 1884 Charles and his family settled in Roseburg. A year later, in 1885, my husband’s Great Grandmother, Edith was born.

    A photo of Edith Martha Burgess Hickman, taken a day after her wedding in 1906 in Washington.

    In 1890, Charles and his family settled in Gifford, Stevens County, Washington. The last child, Pearl, was born in that county in 1894.

    Charles died 26 February 1928 in Stevens County, Washington.

    Source: The Spokesman-Review

    Spokane, Washington • Sun, Feb 26, 1928Page 20

    His widow Rachel received his Civil War Pension.

    Source: Ancestry.com

    Charles’s death certificate poses more questions than answers.

    According to the informant on Charles’s death certificate, his parents Stephen Burgess and Elisabeth Bently were from Ireland. In the 1880 census Charles gave the locations as Virginia and Tennesee. The informant was one of his children. There is a lot of unknowns about Charles’s parents. There is more than one couple with the names Stephen Burgess and Elisabeth Bently who lived in the same vicinity in Kentucky. That makes it even more confusing. Looking at the facts I have gathered for them, I even made mistakes and will have to correct them.

    Charles is buried in the Greenwood Cemetery in Hunters, Steven County, Washington. You can find him on Find A Grave!

    I always like to include a map. Charles lived many places, from Tompkinsville, Kentucky to Kansas City, Kansas, to Waveland, Iowa, to Springfield, Oregon to Gifford and Hunters, Washington.

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  • Joseph Henry Hickman 1852-1933

    Henry Hickman was the son of Richard Hickman and Elizabeth Jane Canutt. He was born 25 September 1852 in Warren County, Indiana and died 15 July 1933 in Colfax, Washington. Henry came from a rather large family, as his father was married four times. Seventeen children altogether, two of whom died in infancy. When Henry was eight years old in 1860, the family lived on a farm in Ash Grove, Iroquois County, Illinois.

    NameJoseph H Hickman
    Age8
    Birth Yearabt 1852
    GenderMale
    RaceWhite
    Birth PlaceIndiana
    Home in 1860Ash Grove, Iroquois, Illinois
    Post OfficeAsh Grove
    Dwelling Number2170
    Family Number2001
    Attended SchoolY
    NameAge
    Richard Hickman
    Elizabeth J Hickman35
    Sylvester Hickman19
    John W Hickman
    Franklin Hickman14
    Mary C Hickman12
    Joseph A Hickman8
    Alexander Hickman6
    Thomas Hickman
    Richard Hickman2/12

    In 1870 the family still lived in Iroquois County. Henry’s mother, Elizabeth Jane Canutt had died in 1867 and his father was married to Mariah Sanders.

    NameJoseph H Hickman
    Age in 187019
    Birth Dateabt 1851
    BirthplaceIndiana
    Dwelling Number115
    Home in 1870Stockland, Iroquois, Illinois
    RaceWhite
    GenderMale
    Post OfficeMilford
    Attended SchoolYes
    Inferred FatherRichard Hickman
    Inferred MotherMaria Hickman
    NameAge
    Richard Hickman52
    Maria Hickman37
    Joseph H Hickman19
    Alxander Hickman17
    Sarah F Hickman8
    Liza J Hickman6
    Elmer C Hickman3

    In August of 1874 Henry got married to Mary E Davis who was the daughter of Henry Davis and Mary Elizabeth Collins, in Prairie Greens, Iroquois County, Illinois. Mary was only sixteen years old and needed the permission from her father to get married.

    The couple had seven children:

    • Charles born 1876 in Illinois, died 1903 in Mockonema, Washington
    • Nellie born and died 1878 in Illinois
    • Edward born 1880 in Whitman County, Washington, died 1946 in Redding, California. He was married to Edith Martha Burgess. They had two children
    • Maude born 1883 in Almota, Whitman County, Washington, died 1961 in Lewiston, Idaho. She was married to George Thomas Smith and they had four children.
    • Anna born 1885 and died 1913 in Washington
    • James Chester born 1887 in Washington, died 1953 in Sandpoint, Idaho. He was married to Lillian Blanche and they had five children.
    • Will Hickman born 1890 in Whitman County, died 1977 in Walla Walla, Washington. He was married to Geneva and they had four children.

    On April 2nd, 1879 according to a newspaper article, the Hickman family left Illinois on a train and headed west to San Francisco. From there they a took a boat to Portland, Oregon and then another one up the Columbia and Snake River to Almota, Washington where they settled. Henry’s uncle Abe Ensley had arrived in the area a few years before him and planted the first wheat in Whitman County. The region also known as Palouse Country is world famous for wheat growing. Many of Henry’s descendants, including my husband’s uncles, still farm in that area today.

    Henry became a very successful and wealthy farmer. Besides wheat farming, he also had an orchard full of apple, pear and nut trees. He had flocks of chickens, geese and ducks. He had lots of horses, goats and sheep. During the school year, Henry moved his family to Pullman, so that his children had a chance at a good education. He was one of the first farmers to have a telephone installed. He also owned automobiles and trucks for his business. An example of a GMC truck Henry owned to transport wheat. He is not in this picture.

    Henry loved his family. In 1903 tragedy struck! His oldest son, Charles Hickman, was killed by a accidental discharge from a rifle.

    Charles was only 27 years old and engaged to be married. On a happier note, the younger brother Ed got married three years later in 1906 and received a house as a wedding gift from his father.

    Henry retired in a house he had bought in Colfax.

    In 1920 his beloved Mary died in their home.

    In 1932 Henry celebrated his 80th birthday with 100 friends. He was well liked in the community.

    Less than a year later, Henry died of cancer.

    Henry was my husband’s second Great Grandfather. I have found so many articles about him in old newspapers and books. It would take months or even years to read them all. His life has been well documented. Below is a map of Henry’s journey from Indiana via San Francisco and Portland to Almota and Colfax where he died.

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  • Edith Martha Burgess Hickman 1885-1928

    Edith Martha Burgess Hickman was my husband’s paternal Great Grandmother. She was born 28 January 1885 in Springfield, Oregon. Her parents were the farmer, Charles Burgess and his wife Rachel Lucinda Williams. In 1892 we find Edith in the Washington State and Territorial Census together with her parents and her siblings. They lived in Stevens County, Washington.

    Her father, Charles, is 47 years old, he is a farmer and he was born in Kentucky. Her mother, Rachel, is 39 years old, a housekeeper and she was born in Missouri. Her brother S. H. was 20 years old, a farmer and he was born in Kansas. Her sister Rettie was 16 years old and she was born in Iowa. Her sister Annie was 14 years old and she was also born in Iowa. Her sister F. was 12 years old and she was also born in Iowa. Her brother Charles was 10 years old and he was the last child born in Iowa. Next came Edith at 7 years old and she was born in Oregon. The last child, a sister, M., was only 1 year old and she was born in Washington.

    Eight years later in the 1900 Federal Census, Edith was the oldest of her sibling living at home and going to school.

    Her father Charles was now 56, her mother Rachel was 46, Edith was 15, her sister Myrtle was 9, her brother Lee was 8, and her youngest sister, Pearl, was now 6 years old. The family lived in Lake Creek, Stevens County, Washington. Six years later, on 11 July 1906, Edith got married to my husband’s Great Grandfather Ed Hickman near Colfax, Whitman County, Washington.

    Edith and her husband Ed received a generous gift from her father in law, Henry Hickman. Henry was a very successful farmer and business man in Whitman County. I will write about him in another post.

    Ed and Edith are in the 1910 Federal Census. They lived in the city of Almota, which is nowadays a ghost town. Back in the day Almota was an important wheat shipping point during the days of river navigation.

    Census records can be a great genealogical source, however one always has to be careful to double check facts and dates. According to this census, Edith’s parents were born in Oregon which we know is incorrect. Her father was born in Kentucky and her mother in Missouri. You never know who gave the information to the census taker.

    Ed and Edith had two children together, a son, Lloyd born in 1912 and my husband’s Grandmother, Lucille born in 1916. A picture of the children below.

    Edith Burgess Hickman died 7 May 1928 in the St. Ignatius Hospital in Colfax, Washington. She was only 43 years old. She is buried in the Onecho Cemetery.

  • Rachel Lucinda Williams 1851 -1931

    Rachel Lucinda William was my husband’s paternal second Great Grandmother. She was born 25 December 1853 in Bethany, Harrison County, Missouri. Her Father was the farmer, A.J. Williams and his wife, Nancy Lucinda Pruitt or Prewitt. The first time we can find Rachel, is in the 1860 census in Missouri together with her parents and her siblings. She and her siblings were attending school, except for the youngest.

    We find Rachel and her family also in the 1870 census. At that time they were living in Sycamore, Montgomery County, Kansas. Rachel is now the oldest of her siblings.

    A year later, Rachel married my husband’s second Great Grandfather, Charles Burgess, 30 July 1871 in Montgomery County, Kansas.

    Nine years later the couple lived with their children in Waveland, Pottawattamie County, Iowa. He was a farmer, she a housekeeper and their older children attended school.

    The Burgess family went west and they settled in Lake Creek, Stevens County, Washington. In the 1900 census we find them living with their children, Edith, Myrtle, Lee and Pearl. Edith was my husband’s Great Grandmother.

    In the 1910 census we learn that the couple had been married for 40 years and they lived together with their youngest three children. We also learn that they had ten children together and that eight of them were alive at the time.

    In 1920 Lucinda, her husband and their youngest son lived in Lincoln, Lincoln County, Washington.

    In the 1930 census, Rachel is a widow and lives together with her son in law, R W Heber, and her daughter, Anna Heber, in Hunters, Stevens County, Washington. Rachels’ parents birth places are given as Indiana and Illinois, which is incorrect. They were both born in Kentucky.

    Rachel Lucinda Williams died 7 September 1931 in Hunters, Stevens County, Washington. From the obituary below we learn that her husband was a Civil War Veteran. It also states that they first settled in Roseburg, Oregon before coming to Stevens County, Washington. It makes a lot of sense, as one of their daughters and my husband’s Great Grandmother, Editha Martha Burgess was born in Oregon in 1885.

    On her death certificate we learn that her Father’s calling name was Jack instead of Andrew Jackson. Her daughter whom she had lived with, was the informant on the certificate.

    I use Family Tree Maker to create family group sheets.

    Rachel Lucinda William had a long, but probably a hard life. She had 13 children and moved around a lot with her husband and her children to make a better life for themselves. Her birth date was in 1853, however I switched to 1851 because it was on the death certificate. Her first child was born in 1866. She would have been only 15 years old. Girls back in the middle of the 19th century had to grow up fast. Despite having 13 children and moving several times, she made it almost to 80. Rachel must have been a strong and healthy woman to do all the things she did her in her life.

    A map below shows where Rachel came from and where she died. She covered a lot of territory in her life. Almost 3000 miles!

  • Edward “Ed” Hickman 1880-1946

    Ed Hickman was my husband’s paternal Great Grandfather. He was born 16 May 1880 near Almota, Whitman County, Washington and died suddenly during a visit to his daughter in Redding, California, 24 June 1946.

    Ed’s parents were Joseph Henry Hickman and Mary E Davis. He had three brothers and three sisters. Ed got married to my husband’s Great Grandmother, Edith Martha Burgess, 11 July 1906 in Whitman County, Washington.

    A copy of this picture was given to me by his Granddaughter, Claudia Hickman Young (1936-2019). It shows Ed and his wife Edith. Ed received a wedding gift from his Father Henry Hickman.

    The Colfax Gazette

    Colfax, Washington • Fri, Jul 27, 1906Page 2

    Ed and Edith Hickman had two children together. Lloyd (1912-1972) and Lucy (1916-1997), who was my husband’s Grandmother. A picture of the children below.

    Ed’s wife Edith died 7 May 1928 in Colfax, Washington. Three years later he married his second wife Nancy Bartlett. Ed and Nancy did not have children together. At the time of Ed’s death, they lived together in Moscow, Idaho. Ed died suddenly in 1946 in California. He is buried in the Onecho cemetery in Whitman County, Washington.

    The picture above shows Ed in the middle with his brothers Will and Jim Hickman. The copy was given to me by his Granddaughter Claudia Hickman Young (1936-2019).

    Ed lived most of his life in Almota, Washington and moved later in his life to Moscow, Idaho. He died in Redding, California. Whenever possible, I will include a map.