The History of the Burnetts of the North Fork of the Swannanoa

 ancestry/history by Terrell Ledbetter, summer of 2026

 This ancestry blog is a compilation of stacked stories, documents (wills, transactions, census records, marriage and death details) and now, scientific methodology. This is history of a Scottish lad who immigrated to Colonial Virginia, his two sons that pioneered in early Brunswick County, his descendants that remained in Virginia and others that settled in fertile lands in Rutherford County. After the Revolutionary War some descendants remain in the Carolina piedmont and others, spotlighted in, “This Is My Valley”, moving to a rugged mountain valley called North Fork of the Swannanoa.

A primary source of the Burnett history (from Scotland, through Surry County to Brunswick County to Rutherford County and to the southern slopes of the Blue Ridge Parkway at Mount Mitchell), is from the detailed work of the Rutherford County Burnetts of NC FTDNA Surname project. The work of this group (Susan Kromer Hunt, Mary Nell Burnett and Don Quigley) has engaged Virginia, North Carolina and international testers over the last eight years to collect Y-DNA (from male Burnett descendants) and autosomal DNA from all other descendants). Compiling the data, analyzing, and separating into mutational Private Variant and Single Nucleotide Polymorphian groupings has been successfully completed and final published findings of this group have determined the ancestral line described within this blog. We would not know the true identity and stories of this particular Burnett line without the conclusions reached by this group.

Also involved on a more upstream mode is Terry Barwin Burnett who works with the House of Burnett and seeks Scottish testers to link subgroups back to Crathes Castle. There is Jamie Burnett who provides access to Scottish testers and publishes Y‑DNA articles in the Burnett Banner.

An impressive number of the Big Y-700 tests, which are pricy, have been taken and results compiled by Don Quigley who added his charts online. This is a huge project and has taken over a decade now. You can call up his chart and see how complicated and comprehensive the work and results are.

For your general information, the DNA testing process works similar to this:

•   A man takes a Y‑DNA test, with the best being a Big Y‑700 because 700 markers in the Y-chromosome are tested. The man identifies his closest Burnett ancestor and his location/county/country.

•  The testing DNA laboratory — FamilyTree DNA etc.– sequences his Y chromosome and identifies all Single Nucleotide Polymorphisms (SNPS) he carries. The SNPS have a more stable mutation rate than STRS so the Burnett Y-DNA testing is more precise for identifying the Most Recent Common Ancestor.

•  The SNPs are compared to existing haplotrees and if his SNPs match a known branch, he is placed there.

•   If he carries a new mutation not seen before, that SNP may become a new branch which named after the lowest-level defining SNP. In the Rutherford County Burnett line, it is I-FT154879 for a line from Jesse Burnett. The letter “I” indicates a major haplogroup tens of thousands of years old. The SNP labeled FT154879 is Jesse Burnett descendants most recent branch over the last 300 or so years. The father and uncles of Jesse show to be Haplogroup 155159.

The Burnett paternal line is:I‑M253 (ancient); I‑Z58; I‑Z138; I‑S2293; I‑FT155159 (Thomas the Elder’s generation) and I-FT154879 (Jesse Burnett’s descendants).

This blog reflects the best available evidence as of June 2026; additional updates will be incorporated if new material from ongoing Burnett Y‑DNA research becomes available.

The story begins in Aberdeenshire, Scotland in 1648.

 Generation 1 – John Burnett (1648-1684) – Scotland to colonial Virginia

 Aberdeenshire, Scotland was the birthplace of John Burnett. It occupies the northeast portion of Scotland and touches the North Sea.  It is nearly the same latitude as Norway and 500 miles from the Norse country. The area has been occupied for over 8000 years beginning with Picts and Gaels. Perhaps in the summer there might be a few 65-degree Fahrenheit days but otherwise it is commonly rainy, cloudy and cold which is appealing to many. In 1648, Aberdeen was still cleaning up from ransacking during the Three Kingdoms War. During the next decade, Charles II would become monarch of Scotland and would ease religious tolerance, thereby allowing the growth of Calvinism or Presbyterianism. There was a troubling situation called “Witch Hunts.” Unfortunately, in this era around 600 Scots would be accused of being witches with hundreds severely punished.

John was not listed on any immigration records or those of indentured servants. The crown wanted more settlers in Virginia and offered 50 acres of land to those that would gain transportation themselves. This is the likely incentive for John Burnett to immigrate, and the destination was Surry County, Virginia. Land grants were offered in Surry County in 1670, and this appears to be John’s destination.

Keep in mind that this John Burnett was not affiliated or to be confused with:

• Burnett of Leys
• Burnett of Crathes
• Burnett of Kemnay
• Burnett of Kemnay cadets
• Burnett of Monboddo
• any English Burnett
• any German, Irish or Norwegian peoples

The first four generations in America:

John Burnett — his one son David Burnett — his two grandsons Thomas Burnett and Joseph Burnett– four sons of Thomas (Jesse, Thomas, Joseph and John Burnett) and two sons of Joseph (Joseph and Peter Claiborne Burnett).

And back to John Burnett—-

Surry County was originally a part of James City County and the portion of James City County that changed was on the south side of the James River and Jamestown. This land was inhabited by the Quiyoughcohannock, a part of the Powhatan Federation. Up and down the James River, the Powhatan Federation massacred settlers living in settlements on Friday, April 11, 1622. On the south side of the James, an Indian named Chanco warned his settler employer and saved some lives, however three hundred and forty-seven English colonists were killed with only 1277 people left alive in the colony. There were only 16 settlers on the south shore of the James in 1622, but this changed when the crown of England granted lands to encourage settlement. Individuals could acquire one headright by paying the transportation cost of one person into the colony. One headright could be exchanged for fifty acres of Virginia land. By 1645 there was enough settlers south of the James to create a new county, Surry.

In the later 1600’s, the shore country of Surry was a mixture of warehouses and tobacco plantations of the more affluent Virginians, so the less affluent began settling further west. A primary target for settlement was near the Blackwater Swamp where lands were rich and fertile soils. Growers here raised maize, wheat, cotton and other grains. The Blackwater River itself runs southeastward to empty into the Albemarle Sound in North Carolina.

In 1670, land grants opened up in the Lawnes Creek and Cyprus Swamp area as you can see below. My reasoning for picking this area is explained in the David Burnett segment. This should be the area John Burnett settled in, which would be somewhere between Hog Island and the Cyprus Swamp.

It should be noted that in 1670, Surry County continued southwestward all the way to the North Carolina border and included future settlements in White Plains and Gasburg, Virginia. However, remember that settlements were not open in Meherrin until after 1720. John and David Burnett’s home was in old Surry County near the James River as shown on the above map.

Surry County

 

 Generation 2 – David Burnett – – Surry County/ Brunswick County, Virginia

John Burnett passed away in 1684, long before lands opened up westward in Meherrin. David Burnett had been born around 1672 and at age of twelve he was orphaned. John Edwards, one of the sons of a prominent Jamestown family, had previously been appointed Deputy Clerk for the court, Surry County, in addition to his attorney, sheriff, and landowner duties. On March 1, 1686, David Burnett, as an orphan, was apprenticed to John Edwards.

The Edwards holdings in 1686 can be placed near the north side of Upper Chipoakes (now Chippokes) Creek within 3–5 miles of the Surry courthouse. This was along the main road leading to the James River ferry landings and was in the administrative center of the county and the location of where county clerk, sheriff, and major planters lived. This area was south of the James River across from Jamestown.

There are some assumptions that can be made about the Burnett family in 1686. John Burnett’s estate was insufficient to support John or other children. If the estate had been large, the court would not have bound out David. However, David was considered of good enough standing to obtain literacy instead of binding him to an artisan or a laborer. He was apprenticed to a legal and administrative person. You probably can assume the Burnetts were somehow previously connected to the courthouse community.

Most likely his apprenticeship taught him how to format deeds, describe boundaries, record wills, and calculate tithable and levies. John Edwards was also a landowner so some work could be done in that area as well.

Using a geographic argument, you can support the Burnetts are placed at the Lawnes Creek and Cypress Swamp areas because the only families who later appear with them in Brunswick/Meherrin Parish are those who originated in that exact parish and watershed. This was around twelve to fifteen miles from the court. The families who appear around the Burnetts in Meherrin Parish (Clack, Goodrich, Brewer, Tomlinson) are the same families who appear earlier in the Lawnes Creek, Chippoakes and Blackwater region. The migration followed the opening land sectors which were from Lawnes Creek / Cypress Swamp to Blackwater to the Nottoway frontier to Meherrin Parish / Brunswick County (after 1720) and then to Granville and Rutherford after the 1750’s. Migration was initiated by the opportunity to obtain more or better land or opportunities. In this case, many of the same families followed the same pattern. The map inserted above shows many land grants in 1670. I think this clarifies John Burnett’s early location.

By 1720, there were few Native Americans in the Virginia Piedmont or the Shenandoah Valley to the west. The Monacan had moved west or north. and the Piscataway who had been displaced from Maryland were moving north to live. Virginia Gov. Spotswood considered that the primary potential for conflict in the Shenandoah Valley and the Piedmont was with the Iroquois. The Iroquois lived in towns in New York but traveled through the Piedmont and Shenandoah Valley on raids against the Cherokee and the Catawba. To minimize conflict with the Iroquois, Spotswood helped negotiate the 1722 Treaty of Albany which had terms excluding the Iroquois from the Piedmont east of the Blue Ridge. With this treaty secured, lands were opened to settlers along the Meherrin River and Rattlesnake Creek in Brunswick County. Oddly, the treaty allowed the Iroquois to continue their raiding trips through Virginia but restricted them to westward of the piedmont but allowed the Shenandoah Valley open despite the scattering of German and Scotch-Irish immigrants who were squatting on the land. Keep in mind that in 1720, Meherrin and the Shenandoah Valley were rich in forests and grazing animals.

There was a perceived threat from Native American attacks in Meherrin in 1720 due to a 1710 Meherrin retaliation incident, the aftermath of the Tuscarora War and the fragility of small settlements. The actual risk of attack was low but the fear of them was high. This precaution and the fragility of small, isolated settlements shaped settlement and militia growth.

  My Ledbetter ancestors arrived in colonial Virginia, Appomattox River southwest of Petersburg, in 1636 and lived there for eighty years, but in 1716 it is thought that Richard Ledbetter and his brothers squatted on 800 acres of land on the Rattlesnake River/Meherrin River. After Gov. Spotswood opened Meherrin to grants in 1620, the Ledbetter brothers filed legally for 800 acres. In 1726, Richard Ledbetter was granted another large section, and a Burnett family was granted a section south of Richard Ledbetter’s tract in the year 1748. 

 

Both the piedmont and Shenandoah Valley in Virginia were considered back country in 1720, but population ramped up when Lieutenant Governor William Gooch issues nine land grants totaling close to 400,000 acres west of the Blue Ridge. Within 15 years there were over 160 families are residing west of the Blue Ridge Mountains and by 1745, nearly 10,000 lived in the valley. The French and Indian War after 1754 forced settlers into more town founding and further militia growth. The need of the British military forces stimulated the need for wheat and flour and the piedmont and valley responded.

After the grants were opened in Brunswick County after 1720, road segments for transportation of reaped crops and access to Fort Christanna were cleared and maintained. Some of the segments were:

1. Meherrin Christanna Road (Primary Backbone) from the Meherrin River settlement (Burnett-Ledbetter-Brewer-Goodrich tracts) to Fort Christanna along old indian path for militia and trade.
2. Upper Meherrin Ridge Road from east of Rattlesnake Creek to the Nottoway River ridge to connect land patents along high ground thereby avoiding swamp bottoms.
3. Plantation‑to‑plantation movement; access to rolling roads
4. Brewer–Goodrich Rolling Road to connect to tobacco hogshead rolling road required by Tobacco Act.
5. Meherrin River Landing Road to move tobacco from settlement cluster to Meherrin River landings and warehouses that had access to ferries and flatboats.
6. Nottoway Path Road (North–South Corridor) to Meherrin River tracts for trade and community travel
7. Ft. Christanna to upper Roanoke as an east/west movement to facilitate migration
8. Gristmill and river fording access roads as crossing point for livestock and wagons. 

All these roads were needed for militia musters, tax collection, migration and business. These are short, functional segments that existed by necessity.  

David Burnett, son(s), and grandsons became present in Brunswick County just before 1750. My short summary of what the Deed books reveal are:

•  A Burnett tract existed before 1750.
• The earliest Burnett in Brunswick records is John Burnett who was a witness (1757–1762).
• The first known Burnett land transaction is Burnett to Ledbetter (1768).
• The first surviving deed is Jesse Burnett to John Wall (1770). John Wall was a Militia Captain and a frequent candidate for the House of Burgesses.
• Multiple references to “Burnett’s old line” and “Burnett’s branch” confirm the tract was established early and recognized by surveyors.
• The Burnett tract sat in the Rattlesnake Creek / north Meherrin cluster, surrounded by Brewer, Ledbetter, Tomlinson, Goodrich, and Clack. There were transactions that mentioned “Burnett’s line,” “Burnett’s corner,” “Burnett’s branch” (1748–1752).

 Research by Susan Hunt:

Royal Land Patents and Commonwealth Land Grants of Brunswick County, Virginia by Ray R. Sasser; Brunswick Deeds 1755-1764 Drapper Papers University of Wisconsin copies held at Allen County Library Ft Wayne; Brunswick Will Book Vol 2 Will books 4 and 5 1761-1780 ;1780 Caswell County NC Census; Property 12 Jul 1762 • Brunswick County Virginia 400 acres, along Rocky Run and up a branch; adj. NATHANIEL EDWARDS and SIMS (VPB 34:1030) [B Map 32]; Royal Land Patents and Commonwealth Land Grants of Brunswick County, Virginia by Ray R. Sasser; Marriage Bef. Mar 1763 • Brunswick County, Virginia Elizabeth named on deed 18 Mar 1763 and all Deeds until 1776; Property 18 Mar 1763 • Brunswick County, Virginia Thomas Burnett wife Elizabeth Meherrin Parish to John Tomlinson 50 ac part of a patent to Thomas Burnett 12 Jul 1762 east side of Tomlins Run joining John Burrow, Sims Brunswick Deeds 1755-1764; Property 26 Sep 1763 • Brunswick County, Virginia; Thomas Burnett Elizabeth & Meherrin Parish to Robert Gwaltney 50 acres a part of a patent to said Thomas Burnett, joining said Burnett, joining line John Burrow, Thomas Freeman, and Edward Freeman Brunswick Deeds 1755-1764; Property 22 Sep 1766 • Brunswick County, Virginia John Tomlinson to Thomas Lyall 50 acres east side of Tomlin Run part of a patent to Thomas Burnet who sold to said Tomlinson joining a line made by John Burnett Brunswick Deeds 1765-1770; Property 22 Sep 1767 • Brunswick County, Virginia Thomas Burnett wife Elizabeth to Thomas Loyall 100 acres part of a patent to said Thomas Burnit

12 Jul 1762 joining Buck Water Branch, Timber Tree Branch Brunswick Deeds 1765-1770

 Poll Taken 26 Nov 1768 • Brunswick County, Virginia A poll taken for Nathaniel Edwards an election of Burgesses

Thomas Burnett, Thomas Burnitt, Littleberry Robinson Brunswick Deeds 1765-1770

 Property 10 Mar 1769 • Brunswick County Virginia Thomas Lyal & wife Susannah of Meherrin Parish to Thomas Underwood 100 acres east side of Tomlins Run & part of a patent to Thomas Burnitt on 12 Jul 1762, then to Thomas Lyal & then to Thomas Underwood [B Map 32] DB 1769 bk 9 450-1

 Property 28 Sep 1772 • Brunswick County, Virginia Jesse Burnett and his wife Judith to William Goodrich 50 acres which was part of a patent to Thomas Burnett joining Tomlinson, Sims Brunswick Deeds 1770-1775

 Property 23 Sep 1776 • Brunswick County, Virginia Thomas Burnett of Meherrin Parish to Rebecca Stewart 200 acres which was a patent to said Thomas Burnitt in 1762 joining William Edwards, Rocky Run, a branch, Elizabeth Underwood’s spring branch, Goodrich. Brunswick Deeds 1776-1787

Property 6 Feb 1777 • Brunswick County Virginia John Mosely of Brunswick to Luke Matthews of same 285 acres near Rattlesnake Creek & John Steed. Wit Thomas Burnitt. [ ] Brunswick County Deed Books 1770 Book 9, 617-618

Marriage Aft. 1777 • Brunswick County Virginia Elizabeth Robinson Not Proven (1759–1829)

Estate 26 Jan 1778 • Brunswick County, Virginia Account for estate of Isaac Row Walton by Littleberry Robinson, Thomas Burnett Jr bought at estate. Brunswick Will Book Vol 2 Will books 4 and 5 1761-1780 (

David Burnett Suing George Carter as representing Thomas Burnett

John Edwards, John Price and David Burnett 3 tithes Surry County VA Tithable 1668-1703 by Edgar MacDonald and Richard Slatt

Thomas Burnett exe of David Burnett decd sues George Carter. Brunswick Order Book 13

Generation 3 – Thomas Burnett the elder (birth year not recorded but thought to be from 1700-1710) and Joseph Burnett born around 1730-1740

As discussed above and according to Susan Hunt’s research, an adult John Burnett was documented in Surry County in 1677. This would be John Burnett the first to immigrate. Also, David was documented as present in Surry County. In 1670, a John Burnett is documented as being born in Surry County who could either be a son or brother of David.

There is no documentation for birth years for David Burnett’s children, but we know Thomas lived his adult life in Brunswick County, Virginia, where he appears in land transactions along the Meherrin River. His wife’s name is unknown, but his legacy is unmistakable: he fathered the three Burnett brothers who migrated into the Carolina backcountry and another son, Joseph who remained in Virginia. A logical discussion of his possible wife of Thomas Burnett (I choose to call Thomas Burnett the elder) to follow below.

The Draper Manuscripts confirmed Thomas the elder as father of Jesse, Joseph and Thomas. These brothers — Jesse, Joseph, and Thomas — are named as siblings in the Draper Manuscripts and are confirmed as a tight Y‑DNA cluster in the Rutherford County Burnett Project.

A 1772 Brunswick deed, in which Jesse and wife Judith sell land originating from Thomas’s holdings, provides the strongest surviving documentary link between Thomas the elder and Jesse Burnett.

Around these land parcels lived the Prince, the Clack, Tomlinson, Mangum, Goodrich, and Brewer families.  These families had multiple daughters that were potential matches for Jesse Burnett. Remember that the Prince family was ruled out by DNA studies. Here are the area and the family groupings:

 

 

 We know Joseph Burnett was the second son of David Burnett, but little information has been found. The Burnett DNA Surname group has identified Rebecca Gaultney as the probable wife with the marriage around 1757 as the first child was born in 1758. This would make Joseph’s birth no later than 1740 but considering his brother Thomas was likely born in the 1700–1710-time frame, Joseph could have been born closer to that period, say 1730. . First son Joseph Burnett was born in 1758. and son Peter Claiborne Burnett was born in 1770. Rebecca Gaultney Burnett married Joseph Prince around 1779. This would imply Joseph Burnett’s death several years before 1779.

 Generation 4: Sons of Thomas Burnett the elder– Jesse Burnett (1733–1829). Joseph Burnett (1737 -October 1,1780). Thomas Burnett Jr. (1735 -1780) and John Burnett (~1745). All were born in Brunswick County to Thomas Burnett the elder.

Jesse moved into Rutherford County, North Carolina in the 1770s, most likely 1776, becoming the patriarch of the largest and best‑documented Burnett line in western North Carolina. Jesse and his wife Judith raised a large family and their descendants spread across Rutherford, Polk, and neighboring counties, forming the core of the Burnett DNA cluster recognized today.

There has been long term misconception that Jesse Burnett married a Judith Prince. I believe the source of this misinformation or claim derives from the 1729 will of Thomas Prince, which names an older Jesse Burnett (born around 1695–1705) as executor. This older Jesse belonged to the Prince George/Henrico Burnett line and cannot be the Jesse born in 1733. No Prince daughter named Judith exists in the records, and no documentary or DNA evidence links the Brunswick Burnetts to the Prince family.

These brothers lived in the Morgan District of Rutherford County, North Carolina at the outbreak of the Revolutionary War. The Burnett family had taken up land on the Second Broad River north of Cathays Creek near present day Bostic. When the Revolutionary War broke out the Burnet brothers were considered Loyalists or those supported of the British rule and this was confirmed by the Draper Manuscripts. It has been written in various accounts that Joseph and Thomas died the same day, October 7, 1780. Local history states that Thomas had been taken by the Overmountain Men (Patriots), tied to a tree and shot. It is most likely he died during the war but the killing by the Patriots by tying to a tree seems overly dramatic when their history involves trials, clemency and limited executions. The locals had suspicions as to who were Loyalists or Patriots and were occasionally wrong, thus conflicting stories.  During the battle the militia on both sides looked and dressed the same, except the Loyalists stuck a pine needle in their hats while the Patriots stuck a paper in their hats.  It should be noted that a grandson applied to be a Son of the American Revolution, cited Thomas Burnett to be a Patriot. The Patriots and Loyalists that fought were all Americans except for British officers. There were widespread violence, property damage and general hatred between the factions well before the final battles.

My own observation about a potential capture of Thomas Burnett by the OverMountain Men, (John Sevier and other patriots from East Tennessee, Virginia blue ridge and western Carolina), was quite possible by location. The Burnetts lived along the Second Broad River just north of Cathy’s Creek. My ancestor Col. John Walker (Patriot) had a 400-acre plantation just south of Cathy’s Creek on the Second Broad River, which in those days was called Cathy’s Plantation. A large group of the Overmountain Men camped within Col. Walker’s grounds before and after the Battle of Kings Mountain. There was both opportunity and proximity.

Major Patrick Ferguson of the 70th Foot was tasked with protecting Lord Cornwallis’ flank in the Tryon area in 1780. Ferguson built his Loyalist militia by recruiting them himself. He was in the 71st Regiment of Foot, a British army regiment unofficially known as Fraser’s Highlanders. The regiment was raised at Inverness, Sterling, and Glascow, Scotland. Ferguson was born in Aberdeenshire, Scotland in 1744. I suspect this was influential in the recruitment of the Burnett brothers to support the British side. He was reputed to be personable and driven. He had a leg injury during his tour in the Holy Roman Empire and a right elbow injury at Brandywine.

Gilbert Town was Ferguson’s western headquarters, a Loyalist recruitment center, an interrogation site, and the place where he issued the threats that provoked the Overmountain Men to march. These men were not British regulars but local Loyalists who carried out much of the violence. The key agitators in the region (Loyalists) were Ambrose Mills (executed after Kings Mountain), Captain Grimes, Captain Chitwood, Captain William Lytle (Lytell), Lt. Anthony Allaire, and Col. Samuel Bryan’s men (some detachments operated with Ferguson).

These Loyalists were responsible for raids on the upper Catawba. arrests and rough treatment of Patriot families, seizure of property around Gilbert Town and intimidation campaign that triggered the Overmountain Men to respond. This was the more probably method of obtaining local participation in the Loyalist cause and that applies to the Burnett brothers.

Joseph Burnett, third son of Thomas Burnett the elder, married Rachel McDaniel (1748-1815) before 1775. His first child, Patsey Burnett was born in 1776, and his second child, William Burnett was born in 1780 the year in which Joseph was killed.

(1) Patsey Burnett (1776-1840) – Anthony Enloe (1765-1835)

(a) Jesse Enloe (1794-1870)

(b) Agnes Enloe (1796)

(c) Felix W. Enloe (1797-1861)

(d) Sarah Enloe (1800)

(e) Julia Ann Enloe (1807-1858) – William Mermac Renick (1805-1858)

(f) William Alfred Enloe Sr. (1807-1870) – Rebecca Gasperson (1812-1911)

(i) Francis Marion Enloe (1810)

(j) Anthony Porter Enloe (1811-~1870) – Lacretia Taylor (1821-1876)

(k) Noah C. Enloe (1812-1880)

(l) John D. Enloe (1817-1878)

(2) William Burnett (~1780) – Elizabeth Baker (~1780)

(a) David Burnett (1809-1900+) – Betsey Smith (~1798-~1882)

Joseph Burnett, thirty-seven, reported to Captain Hezekiah Williams of Steve’s Creek Regiment of Loyalist Militia (British).  Loyalist reported to British Major Patrick Ferguson of the 71st Foot. Two hundred-ninety of the Loyalists were killed that day. The Patriot Militia with men such as John Sevier, Joseph McDowell and Isaac Shelby lost twenty-nine killed that day.   Some reports from Gilbert Town, Rutherford County in 1780 indicated that Jesse was a Tory at the time of the battle. Reports show that Joseph was killed in battled fighting for the British.

 John Burnett, the fourth son of Thomas Burnett the elder is thought to have been born before 1745 and lived until 1815 in Virginia. John married Phoebe Livesay (Nov. 17, 1745- after 1816) in the year 1774. Their immediate descendants were:

son Lewis Burnett (~1745-~1815) who married Elizabeth Vaughn (~1790-1838) in the year 1806. Their children were:

(1) David Peterson Burnett (~1810-~1875) married Martha Tombs (1816-~1850) on June 25, 1828

(2) Eliza Louisa Burnett (1811-1904) married Stephen Slocum (1797-1875) after marriage to James Nelson in 1827.

(3) Martha Lewis Burnett (1815-1840) married William Hudson (~1811-1844) in 1831.

Controversy, the Littleberry Burnett conundrum***

Not much was written about Thomas Burnett, the third son of Thomas Burnett the elder because DNA evidence and family history collide. In short, I believe Thomas Burnett was married to Elizabeth Littleberry and the Burnett Y-DNA subgroup denies this re short of DNA evidence.

The DNA subgroup has not proven the identity of the Thomas Burnett’s wife or possible children. The probable identity is family history coming from the North Fork Burnetts and the Nacogdoches, Texas wife of Littleberry Burnett. This is the story but keep in mind that there was (1) Littleberry Burnett the son of Thomas Burnett (married Rebecca Dobson) and (2) Littleberry Burnett the son of Swan Pritchett Burnett (married Francis Bell).

The first child of Frederick Burnett Sr. and Peggy Null Burnett was Eldridge Burnett who was the first to marry into the Shope family before 1817. Eldridge and Nancy gave birth to their first child Alfred Alexander Burnett in 1818. Alfred married Nancy L. Burnett who was from Rutherford County and the daughter of Littleberry Burnett and Rebecca Dobson.

Nancy L. (Burnett) Burnett named one son Littleberry (after his grandfather), one son Swann Burnett signifying her relationship with prior Littleberry and Burnett families. She also had a daughter named Nancy Jane Burnett who married John Gragg and kept Bible records which were published. I have included the Bible records in the last parts of this blog. This family believed that Thomas Burnett was the patriarch married to Elizabeth Littleberry.

Swan Pritchett Burnett born in Rutherford County in 1779 was linked as possible son to Thomas Burnett and Elizabeth Littleberry. Swann Pritchett’s son Joseph Jefferson Burnett would write the controversial letter of 1886 describing his “grandfather” Thomas Burnett who was killed before the Battle of Kings Mountain.

 This is a snippet from the 1886 letter: “My knowledge of the history of our ancestors is quite limited. I can not go back of my grandfather, and two uncles, Joseph and Jesse. They were called Virginians or Buckskins. My grandfather, Thomas Burnett, married a Littleberry, a native, I think, of Delaware, or Maryland.  Her Christian name was Elizabeth. You might learn something through the Littleberry family, should you ever meet up with any of them.”

Joseph Jefferson Burnett was sixty-two years old when he wrote this letter to his nephew. The events of Thomas Burnett’s death was almost a hundred years before. Thomas could have been his great-grandfather but not grandfather. This is the basis of the Thomas Burnett and Elizabeth Littleberry connection.

Then there are the writings of Maria Louisa Hamilton Burnett of Nacogdoches, Texas. Maria married Littleberry Burnett (the son of Swan Pritchett Burnett) and she wrote about Littleberry’s grandfather Thomas Burnett who was pushed against a tree and shot during the Revolutionary War and the grandmother, Elizabeth Littleberry.

The children of Thomas Burnett’s sons all acknowledged that Elizabeth Littleberry was their grandmother and that Thomas had been shot against a tree.

There is a lot of smoke here. This is the line I am going with.

And because I can never let history slip by, a nugget concerning the brother of Maria Louisa Hamilton Burnett (Littleberry Burnett’s wife). After Littleberry’s death in Georgia in 1835, Maria moved to Nacogdoches, Texas with her father and brother. Her brother Alias Hamilton joined a group called the Nacogdoches Volunteers under Captain Hayden Arnold. This unit fought at the Battle of San Jacinto and this company was then called the First Company under Col. Sidney Sherman’s Second Regiment of Texas Volunteers. Alias was one of 6 privates to locate and capture Mexican General Santa Ana. Alias’ name is carved on the San Jacinto Monument. I drove by the San Jacinto Monument hundreds of times on the way to my company headquarters. Sam Houston was living in Nacogdoches in 1735 and was actively recruiting volunteers of Texas independence. I know he recruited Jacob Walker from Nacogdoches.

Sadly, Maria Hamilton and Littleberry Burnett had no children. Littleberry died at age 31 and Maria died just two years later in Nacogdoches. As far as Alias Hamilton, he broke his leg racing a horse just four years after the Battle of San Jacinto and died without marrying.

Alfred Alexander Burnett Sr. and his son Alfred Jr both served in the Civil War. Alfred Sr. was 42 at enlistment and was in the calvary. If the Thomas Burnett and Elizabeth Littleberry connection holds up, Alfred Alexander Burnett Jr. would have been a great grandson of Jesse Burnett and a great grandson of Thomas Burnett.

Misinformation, and the sons of Joseph Burnett, second son of David Burnett

It is important to discuss Judith Prince or Rebecca Prince, the misinformation that has penetrated family trees.

Despite countless attempts to connect a Judith Prince to Jesse Burnett, there is no documentation proof or DNA supported evidence. We know that Jesse was married to a Judith. There was not a Judith Prince nor was a Prince family in Brunswick County, Virginia connected to the Burnett family. The first wife of Jesse Burnett, the mother of his four sons, is still unknown. His second wife was Sarah Coles.

A Rebecca Prince and her sons Joseph Burnett and Peter Claiborne Burnett were documented in several land transactions in Rutherford County, North Carolina with a witness, Lewis Burnett. We know from that information that Rebecca was married to a Burnett and that specific Burnett was Joseph Burnett, second son of David Burnett and brother of Thomas Burnett the elder.

The Burnett surname YDNA research subgroup has found that Rebecca descendants through Joseph and Peter Claiborne Burnett do not share snps with the descendants of Jesse Burnett. This proves that this Rebecca Prince was not a wife of Jesse Burnett but was a wife of Joseph Burnett, Jesse’s uncle.

Rebecca descendants have DNA matches with Gaultney family of Brunswick County, Virginia. Benjamin Galtney, born around 1743 in Brunswick County, is one of the earliest documented members of the Gaultney family in the area and his father, John Gwaltney, was born around 1710 in Surry County, VA, and appears in land and probate records in Brunswick by the 1740s–1750s. The Gaultney family migrated to Meherrin Parish from Surry County and intermarried with families like Cook, Connolly, Bawes, and Prince.

Rebecca Gaultney Burnett became Rebecca Prince when she married Joseph Prince around 1779. This would imply Joseph Burnett death several years before 1779.

Sons of Joseph Burnett and Rebecca Gaultney: Joseph Burnett (1758) and Peter Claiborne Burnett (1770)

 Generation 5- Sons of Jesse: Frederick Thomas Burnett Sr. (May 11, 1770 – July 5, 1854) and Lewis Burnett (May 10, 1771-1818)

Lewis Burnett was born in May 1771. He married Jane Lucinda John in 1797, Ohio. He was a private in the War of 1812 in Capt. Robert Morrison’s Company of the Ohio Militia in Col. William Key’s Regiment from 7/29 to 9/9/1813. Lewis and Jane’s children were:

(1) Hiram Burnett (1799-1881) – Ann Hixson (1800-1891)

(2) George Washington Burnett (1800-1807)

(3) Cynthia Burnett (1802-1895) – Jospeh Hoskins (1798-1881)

(4) Noah Burnett (1805-1828)

(5) Narcissa C. Burnett (1811-1898) – Eli Hoskins (1802-1843)

(6) Claiborn Burnett (1811-1898) -Mary Ann Van Winkle (1817-1873)

(7) Mary Myra Burnett (1813-1881) – John Hixson (1807-1897)

(8) Sarah Ann Burnett (1816-1841)- William Hixson (1812-1900)

Frederick Burnett Sr. (the first Burnett to settle in Buncombe County) moved to Rutherford Co., NC about 1776 and later moved to Buncombe Co, NC in 1808)

The home of the North Fork of the Swannanoa Burnetts has been the beautiful slopes, streams and valleys below the high Black Mountain Range in western North Carolina. The Black Mountain Range consisting of twenty 6000 feet mountains forming a “J”, stand majestically over a mostly wilderness land that is (for most purposes) preserved from settlement, hunting and rampant logging because it serves as the watershed for the City of Asheville, North Carolina. You have seen the valley with the large lake supplied by steep mountain streams in movies. One movie in particular showcases the valley, “The Last of the Mohicans.” There is a family story to this land which falls below Black Mountain Gap and Potato Knob on the Blue Ridge Parkway near Clingman’s Dome and Mt. Mitchell. The prominent family in this picture is the Burnett family of the North Fork of the Swannanoa River.

Frederick McCloud Burnett (March 24, 1882-February 4, 1961) published “This Was My Valley” in 1960, a year before his death. Fred M. Burnett was the great-grandson of Frederick Thomas Burnett Sr. and the son of Marcus Lafayette (Fate) Burnett.  He was former district supervisor of the Interstate Commerce Commission from which he retired in 1949 to live in Ridgecrest.  The stories he portrayed had occurred as long as three generations before or about a hundred and sixty years.  It is easy to understand why there would be confusion among his readers.  Here in 2026, we have the benefit of census records, marriage and death certificates, land transaction records, copies of personal letters, grave markers, and many collaborating stories of past times and DNA studies. Based upon public and personal records, the following is my depiction of the North Fork Burnetts (Burnet) who were a remarkable American family characterized as strong fighters and adventuresome settlers.  The stories told by Fred. M. Burnett saved tales we would otherwise never hear, and we are all grateful to him for saving our history.  In this blog, I attempt to unwound the confusion over dates and names that have been erroneously used over settlement of the North Fork upper valley. The fact that the opening chapters of the book stated that the Burnett family settled in North Fork is 1762 magnifies the many inaccuracies in the book.  Land records and census records clearly show the Burnett family was in Morgan, Rutherford County in 1800.

Before beginning the story, it is appropriate to build background on general settlement in the Swannanoa Valley.  In 1784, Col. Samuel Davidson settled on Christian Creek, a tributary of the Swannanoa River.  He was killed by Cherokees and his wife retreated to the safety of Old Fort, some sixteen miles to the east.  Samuel’s twin brother, Maj. William Davidson, along with volunteers such as Capt. William Moore and Col. Daniel Smith, tracked the Cherokee raiders down and killed them near present day Biltmore Forest.  In 1785, these men moved into the Swannanoa Valley and were granted land to settle. Maj. Davidson settled at Bee Tree. 

Subsequently, Buncombe County was formed in 1792.  Soon the State of North Carolina issued Land Grants to those that would file on unsettled land.  Here men began to file and claim parcels of land along the branches of the upper Swannanoa headwaters called Right Fork of the Swannanoa and the Left Fork of the Swannanoa. During the following years, Major Davidson claimed land of the upper North Fork of the Swannanoa, now part of the Asheville Watershed and Burnet Reservoir.  Years later, he transacted acreage to Hamilton and Thomas Kyle.  

Sometime before 1808, Frederick Burnett must have scouted land around the Swannanoa River and found the upper reaches of the North Fork of the Swannanoa to his liking for hunting.  On August 15, 1808, Frederick Burnett Sr. purchased 130 acres from the Kyles.  It had been recorded that the land was on Laurel Creek.  While that was all the acreage recorded, it is quite likely that additional land was bought but the records are not clear. There have been reports that additional acreage was purchased in 1814.

Frederick Burnett Sr. built a two-room cabin on Laurel Branch (he most likely had the cabin built before he moved the family). He was a skilled hunter, farmer, and operated the “Burnet Mill”. It was a grist mill in the valley powered by a water wheel and later combined with a sawmill owned by Mr. Hart from the north. Laurel Branch drops into the North Fork of the Swannanoa River just southwest of the current damn spillway. The Branch drops down the ridge from vicinity of Craggy.

The 1800 United States Federal Census lists Frederick Burnet in Morgan, Rutherford, North Carolina.  He was over 26, his wife under 26, and three children under 16.  Frederick Burnett Jr. (Fed) was born in 1800. He was eight years old when his family moved to North Fork. He 1810 census indicated that the Frederick Burnett Sr. family of eight was living in Buncombe County.  First son Eldridge had been born in Rutherford County in 1796.  This is conformation to the 1808 move from Morgan to the North Fork Valley, Buncombe County

It was the year 1808 that Frederick Thomas Burnett Sr., Peggy Null Burnett and children loaded up wagons in the Morgan District of Rutherford County, travel northwest to Old Fort, then climbed the steep descent to what is now Ridgecrest. Frederick Sr. and Peggy’s children and ages when they loaded the wagons for North Fork were Eldridge (12), Margaret (11), Henry (10), Frederick Jr. (8), twins Virginia and Julia (5), Thomas (3), and John (1). The identity of Frederick Sr’s brothers has yet to be proven but it has been written that several of his brothers helped with the move, perhaps Jesse and others as well. This was a minimal five-day trip.

The wagons would begin following gentle terrain northwest from Cathey’s Creek toward Rutherfordton following the natural valley toward Cane Creek and the McDowell County foothills. At Rutherfordton, continue on the base of the Blue Ridge via the Old Stage Road and Rutherford Trace to Pleasant Gardens (Marion area). That would be the last of relatively flat terrain.

From Pleasant Gardens the wagons would follow where Rutherford’s 1776 troops and all other 18th-century wagon traffic would travel, west toward Davidson’s Fort (Old Fort). From there the group headed up the 2700-foot gradual incline from Davidson’s Fort through the Swannanoa Gap. Once at the top of Swannanoa Gap the valley opens up into a wider valley and the descent is gentler. A scattered settlement along the valley to Bee Tree, Flat Creek and Tomahawk Branch was called Gray Eagle, probably because it was old Cherokee land or from a mountain profile. Here the wagons would pivot north along previous wagon tracks laid down by the few settlers along the south side of the Black Mountain range. In 1879 a railroad opened through the Swannanoa Valley and the community of Grey Eagle was called Black Mountain.

The trip required around fourteen creek crossings including Cathey’s Creek, Second Broad River, Little Camp Creek, Hunting Creek, Cane Creek, Cove Creek, Mill Creek, Catawba River, Curtis Creek, the North Fork of the Swannanoa, Tomahawk Branch and Flat Creek. It was written that the wagons had to be stripped for the Catawba River and Swannanoa River crossings, but all others should have been a simple but cautious crossing.

Now is the time to talk about Granny Else because Peggy Null’s impression of riding a white horse at Old Fort (Davidson’s Fort). The original Granny Else was not Peggy Null (see next paragraph) because of the ages of the two women on that October 7, 1780, date. Peggy Null was about 7 weeks old when the Battle of Kings Mountain occurred.  It has been said that Revolutionary War Granny Else was named Margaret Peggy Else. You can see confusion, here, both women were named Margaret (Margaret Else and Margaret Null). I think she was married to some member of the Burnett’s, possibly an older generation than Thomas. Fred. M. Burnett wrote that “Granny Else who had enthusiastically adopted herself to pioneer conditions and drove the “spike team” consisting of five horses was riding the saddle horse and driving in the lead with a magnificent white stallion.” Apparently, Peggy Null’s grandchildren years after hearing Fed Burnett talking of the original Margaret Else with her stallion at Kings Mountain in 1780 and Peggy Null with her stallion at Old Fort in 1808, confused the two and began calling Peggy Null “Granny Else.” Homespun stories passed down over time were often enhanced or altered.  Panther stories attributed to Granny Else were also attributed to my great-great-grandmother Sophronia Jane Burnett. These stories of Sophronia were substantiated by her grandson John Walker.  While Peggy was not “The” Granny Else, she became Granny Else when her grandchildren began calling her by that name.

As Fred McCloud Burnett stated in his book, all the grandchildren called Peggy Null Burnett by the name of Granny Else all of their lives.  There is no explanation for this.  I suspect that the tales of Margaret Else on the back of a white horse at Kings Mountain and the tale of Peggy Null Burnett on the back of a white horse in Old Fort became intertwined.

On April 14, 1795, Peggy Null, age fourteen, ran away from home and married Frederick Burnett Sr. in Rutherfordton, North Carolina.  The marriage document was misinterpreted as her name was listed as Peggy Neill.  Peggy’s parents were enraged.  A family history of the Null descendants does not show Peggy Null; she had been ignored.  If talk of Peggy Null receiving a magnificent white stallion from relatives in Pennsylvania are true, and they probably are, who gifted the horse? Could her father have forgiven her? Was the gift from a brother?

Captain Phillip Null used his officer script from the Revolutionary War to obtain 1600 acres of land along the Poca River in Kanawha County (now West Virginia).  He discovered coal deposits on the land in 1790.  It has been offered by Donald Quigley that there was a court judgement against Capt. Null and that there was a Sheriff’s sale of his property in 1802 to satisfy that judgement.  The Nulls moved to West Virginia in 1803.

 Captain Philip Null was one of the Colonial Revolutionary War heroes, having fought most of the major wars in the conflict. He himself had his throat cut earlier in the war in North Carolina and was found and nursed to health by his wife Anna Marie Margaret Bushong (her parents had migrated from Germany two generations before). Philip and Margaret had a first child, a daughter named Margaret Peggy Null born on August 22, 1780. She was about seven weeks old when the Battle of Kings Mountain was fought. Her father was the second generation in America from a French Huguenot family which had moved from the Alsace/Lorraine area of Germany. The Nulls had settled along the South Fork of the Catawba, west of present day Lincolnton, North Carolina. Philip’s land was directly west of where the battle of Ramsaur’s Mill was fought. The Null farm was about thirty miles east of the Burnett farm.

more on Jesse Burnett

The first American census, the 1790 census, had Jesse Burnett still living in Morgan, Rutherford, North Carolina along with son Frederick Thomas Burnett (May 11, 1770-July 5, 1854). New family tree information has revealed that Jesse and his wife had a number of children besides Frederick Thomas.  Jesse’s children were Frederick (1770-1854), and Lewis (1771-1818). I think that confirmation has to be completed by DNA testing before accepting this information as fact.

 Jesse Burnett lost his first wife in 1772. He did not make the move to Buncombe County with his son but moved there late in life after he had lost his second wife (Sally Coles). He moved to Mecklenburg County, Virginia in 1820. He died in North Fork in 1824. He had lived to be 96 years old, Peggy Null lived to be 95, and Sophronia Burnett Walker lived to be 95. Jesse’s burial site is likely under the water of the Burnett Reservoir.

Life in North Fork

Fred. M. Burnett wrote that Fed Burnett (Frederick Burnett Jr), at age 16, climbed the ridges to the Blue Ridge and walked along the ridges to Big Lick (Roanoke, Virginia). where he was to get an auger from relatives. This trip took two months. What an incredible undertaking. This route is slower and much more difficult than taking the old Indian Trading Trail to Old Fort and the Holston River Trail up to Big Lick. Someone knowledgeable of the Blue Ridge (before the road was established) must have talked of this route and it was most likely picked over the traditional wagon route because of potential threats from highway robbers and other bad sort. It is possible that by 1816, some small trails had been worn along the Blue Ridge, although it is hard to imagine that there would be horse trails due to the rocky and steep terrain. There were supposedly known relatives at Big Lick, but the bulk of the family had settled in Brunswick County, Virginia and Rutherford County, North Carolina. Questions remain: how was Fed supposed to bring back supplies (peach and apple seeds) and an auger with no wagon or horse; how was he able to provide himself food and water for the reported two-month journey; what exactly was he to bring back and from whom; is there any significance that the new Springfield Musket was produced in 1816? Could Fed have gone to retrieve the new Springfield? At any rate, this was a remarkable journey for a sixteen-year-old accompanied only by the super hunting dog Tige. I view this journey to be a bigger mystery than the Granny Else confusion.

Somewhat after 1823, Peggy and Frederick’s relationship changed for the rest of their lives.  Frederick Sr. moved westward and lived with his eldest daughter and her family in Franklin (about 60 away) which is in Macon County, North Carolina. Peggy stayed in the North Fork Valley and lived primarily with her son Fed and his family. Several Federal Census’ confirms this. Peggy in her later years had long white hair and was deaf.

Fed Burnett and his wife Elizabeth Smart had ten children. Five boys died from the Civil War — battle, disease or injury: Drury, Berryman, John, Thomas, and William. Another son, Marcus Lafayette Burnett (Fate) joined the Confederacy at a very young age (see “This Was My Valley” for his story. and returned to North Fork at war’s end). Elizabeth Smart Burnett had lost her grandfather John Smart at the Battle of Kings Mountain and suffered the loss of five of her sons to the Civil War. She passed away in 1864 before she learned the fate of all of her sons.

The mystery of how did Fed Burnett and Elizabeth “Betsey” Smart meet has been solved.  Initial information indicated that Fed lived in North Fork in 1808 and Elizabeth Smart lived in Morgan, Rutherford until 1820, when she married Fed.  However, I have read a deed of 1817 that shows that Frederick Burnett Sr. sold 100 acres of his land to William Smart.  Witnessed were Fed Burnett (age 17) and Betsy Smart (age 15).  This William Smart is the father of Betsey Smart, and at some point, the Smart family moved adjacent to the Burnett family.   It has been recorded that Fed and Betsy were not married until 1820, when she was eighteen years old.  The Smart family must have moved to North Fork after 1820.  There were three other Smart siblings to Betsey.  At this time there is no history for those three.

My great-great-grandmother Sophronia Jane Burnett was born in 1824 (second child to Fed and Betsey). She was deeded land on Shope Creek after her marriage to James Washington Walker. In the 1997 book by Joan and Robert Goodson entitled “On the North Fork of the Swannanoa River, ” a great tribute was made to Sophronia Jane Burnett Walker (an article by Deward Edgar Walker, Sr.)

This article by Deward Walker read: “She was tall, six feet plus, a gorgeous, intriguing figure, beautiful twinkling hazel eyes, a face that could light up with a smile that was most enchanting, and Scottish red hair which seemed to change colors from the morning sunrise to the golden sunset. Her voice must have been like heavenly music.  Her commanding personality could subdue the most stubborn person.”

Peggy was living with Fed when Sophronia was born and was obviously a huge influence on her as she grew up. There seems to be many similar features between the two. From Deward Walker’s comment about Scottish red hair, the Burnetts were under the belief that they were Scottish descendants. Years later Sophronia would live with her son’s wife Nancy Creasman and my grandmother Bertha Walker. The influence of Peggy Null Burnett ran for ages.

Don’t believe the articles written in Black Mountain and Asheville stating that the reservoir was built in 1903.  In my early youth, I witnessed the construction of the dam (Burnett Reservoir, or the City of Asheville Water supply). I remember walking up the north banks of the damn, stopping to pick up pieces of wiring that were remnants of blasting. Sadly, the waters covered much of the Burnett holdings and graves. Some were dug up and reburied at a new cemetery at a beautiful spot at the Mountain View Church in Walkertown. What wasn’t covered was the legends, stories and memories of these pioneers. This was around 1955. The North Fork Road from Jack Cordell’s store to the damn site was a hard packed dirt road but was built up as an inverse penetrated paved road also during 1955. I remember the road chain convicts that worked on it. Before the damn was constructed, you could drive the loop from the right fork of the North Fork Road back to the left fork while crossing the undammed Swannanoa River. The “Old Swimming Hole” was nearby and was wider and deeper in those days.  Many people were swimming there after Sunday church. Without the dam, the river could easily swell as my dad had a car washed away during a seemingly innocent crossing in 1950.

As the water was rising around 1955, I went bird hunting with my dad up above the headwaters of Walker Branch and all the way up to just east of Chestnut Cove. In the same period, I was a straggler in a bear hunt with my Uncle Dick Reed up to Big Cove. In a bear hunt a kid gets left behind by the hounds and the adults. Those wonderful days are gone.

GENEOLOGY: some, not all

1st generation

John Burnett (1648-1684)

 

2nd generation

David Burnett (1672-?)

3rd generation:

Thomas Burnett, the elder (1700-?)

Joseph Burnett (possibly around 1730-1740

 

4th generation:

Jesse Burnett (1733 Brunswick County, Virginia-1724 Buncombe County)

brother Thomas Burnett (1735-1780) born in Brunswick County, Virginia, died during the Revolutionary War buy not proven to be killed at the Battle of Kings Mountain. First wife was Elizabeth Littleberry, and second wife was said to be Elizabeth Robinson, but this has not been proven. Thomas and Elizabeth Littleberry’s son Littleberry Burnett married into the Dobson family, story below. Rebecca Dobson/Littleberry Burnett had a daughter Nancy L. Burnett who married into the North Fork Burnetts, who was Alfred Alexander Burnett, the first grandson of Frederick Thomas Burnett Sr and Peggy Null Burnett. This is a known connection between descendants of Jesse Burnett and his brother Thomas Burnett.

I know the story of Rebecca Dobson because her sister Mary Katherine “Hazy” Dobson is my 4th great-grandmother on my Ledbetter side. Rebecca and Hazy’s father was Capt. Joseph Dobson MD who immigrated from London, England before the Revolutionary War. He was the first university trained physician in North Carolina, and he served as a Captain and a surgeon during the war. Upon establishment of Burke County, North Carolina, he became the director of deeds. He also was awarded thousands of acres for his service as a captain and surgeon during the war. His family and descendants were land rich.

brother Joseph Burnett (1743-October 7, 1780) born in Brunswick County, Virginia, died at Battle of Kings Mountain

brother John Burnett born in Brunswick County, Virginia and remained there

 

5th generation:  

Sons of Jesse Burnett:

Frederick Thomas Burnett (May 11, 1770 – July 5, 1854); Married Peggy Null on April 14,1795, Rutherfordton, North Carolina. The only DNA proven child of Jesse Burnett.

Lewis Burnett (1771-1818); Jane Lucinda John (1773-1846)

The core of the Burnetts of North Fork

Frederick Thomas Burnett Sr. (1770-1854) — Margaret Peggy Null (1780-1875)

their Descendants: 

(1) Eldridge Burnett (1796-1880) — Nancy Shope (1800-1866) and Hattie Ann Cordell

a. Alfred Alexander Burnett – Nancy L. Burnett (daughter of Littleberry Burnett and Rebecca Dobson): parents of Littleberry Burnett born 1851 (not to be confused with his grandfather) and Swann O. Burnett born 1867 Alfred was the g-grandson of Jesse Burnett and Nancy was the g-granddaughter of Thomas Burnett, so second cousins.

Alfred Alexander Burnett Sr. and his son Alfred Jr both served in the Civil War. Alfred Sr. was 42 at enlistment and was in the calvary.

Alfred and Nancy’s daughter Nancy Jane Burnett, married John Gragg, kept Bible records which were published. I have enclosed the Bible entries below. Nancy Jane Burnett’s entries highlight the continued use of Littleberry and Swan as male names.

b. Burnett daughter (1830-1850)

 (2) Margaret Sally Burnett (1797-1860) — John George Shope (1794-1859)

a. William Soloman Shope (1815-1858)

b. Margaret Eliza Shope (1816-1904)

c. John Crockett Shope (1818-1901)

d. Isabella Drucilla Shope (1820-1920)

e. Elizabeth Shope (1823-1904)

f. Sophronia Shope (1825-1908)

g. Jacob Shope (1830-1907)

h. Phillip Nicholas Shope (1836-1915)

 (3) Henry Burnett (1797-1860) –Rachel Morris (1797-1881)

a. George W. Burnett (1815-?)

b. Cynthia Ann Burnett (1824-1891)

c. James H. Burnett (1827-?)

d. Sarah Ann Burnett (1831-?)

e. Mary A. Burnett (1834-1919)

f. Enoch John Burnett (1837-1861)

g. Nancy Jane Burnett (1839-?)

 (4) Frederick Thomas Burnett Jr. (1800-1886) – Elizabeth Smart (1802-1864) 

a. Drury S. Burnett (1822-1865)

b. Sophronia Burnett (1824-1919 (my g-g grandmother)

c. Berryman Hicks Burnett (1827-1861)

d. John Burnett (1831-1861)

e. Willaim Henry Burnett (1833-1871)

f. Sarah Elizabeth Burnett (1834-1855)

g. Daniel Burnett (1836-1899)

h. Mary Jane Burnett (1840-1855)

i. Nancy Ann Burnett (1840-1855)

j. Thomas Frederick Burnett (1842-1864)

k. Marcus Lafayette Burnett (1843-1933) (called Fate Burnett who was the father of the author of “This is My Valley”)

 (5) Virginia Isabella Burnett (March 3,1803-1880)- Jacob Shope Sr. (1800-1876)

a. John Baxter Shope (1830-1857)

b. Margaret Lucinda Shope (1831-1860)

c. Francis Isabella Shope

d. Jacob Shope Jr.

 (6) Julia Ann Burnett (March 3,1803-1884) – James Nicholas Shope (1801-1875)

a. Nancy Shope (1824-1904)

b. Harriet Elizabeth Shope (1828-1865)

c. Mary Jane Shope (1830-1873)

d. Sarah Lucinda Shope (1832-1880)

e. William F. Shope (1835-1916)

f. Mary Francis Shope (1837-1911)

g. Leah Leer Shope (1840-1860)

h. Irvin Shope (1841-18500

i. Clara Louisa Shope (1844-?)

j. John Patton Shope (1846-1929)

k. Martha C. Shope (1848-1927)

 (7) Thomas Wade Burnett (1805-1882) – Martha Ann Melton (1811-1886)

a. Jane Burnett (1827-1881)

b. Margaret Elizabeth Burnett (1832-1925)

c. Alfred Burnett (1833-1864)

d. William Andrew Burnett (1834-1924(

e. James Merritt Burnett (1836-1919)

f. Robert G. Burnett (1838-1936)

g. Mary Burnett (1843-?)

h. Nancy Minerva Burnett (1846-1931)

i. Leticia Sophronia Burnett (1850-1914)

j. Mary Elinor Burnett (1853-1935)

k. David Carmichael Burnett (1854-1927)

 8. Rev. John H. Burnett (1807-1868) – Nancy Margaret Goforth (1810-1895)

a. Margaret Maranda Burnett (1827-1914)

b. James Eldridge Burnett (1828-1853)

c. Henry Powell Burnett (1831-1865)

d. Sarah C. Burnett (1834-?)

e. George Mitchell Burnett (1836-1912)

f. Thomas L. Burnett (1838-?)

g. Nancy Malcena Burnett (1841-1932)

h. Henrieta Matilda Burnett (1843-1880)

i. Louisa J. Burnett (1846-?)

j. Frederick Monroe Quail Burnett (1850-1914)

k. Oliver Cicero Burnett (1853-1929)

Note that the above Burnett daughters all married Shope men and all of the Shope men were brothers. Margaret and Virginia lived in Franklin, Macon County, North Carolina with the Shope brothers. In 1823 Peggy Null Burnett remained in North Fork and Frederick Sr. moved to Franklin to live with his oldest daughter Margaret and son-in-law John Shope.

Virginia Isabella and Julia Ann Burnett were twin sisters born on March 3, 1803.

The oldest Burnett child, Eldridge also married into the same Shope household, Nancy Shope.  Eldridge’s son Alfred married Nancy Burnett who was the daughter of Rutherford County’s Littleberry Burnett.

There is a huge concern or mystery, Pvt. Henry Clay Burnett was said to be born in 1823 in Franklin and history has him listed as the son of Frederick Thomas Burnett Sr., who was living in Franklin and Peggy Null Burnett, who was living in North Fork. Why would Peggy Null Burnett name a second son Henry? Why this child eight years after the last one of a previous 10? Why wouldn’t she raise the son in North Fork?  Does anyone have an answer?

9. Phillip Frederick Burnett (1812-1895)- Mary Elizabeth “Polly” Elliott (1817-1880)

a. Marion Burnett (1836-?)

b. Margaret Elizabeth Burnett (1837-1918)

c. William Frederick Burnett (1838-1915)

d. Cyrus Elliott Burnett (1844-1924)

e. Eldridge Burnett (1845-1922)

f. Rachel Burnett (1845-?)

g. Sophia Maria Burnett (1848-1922)

h. Elizabeth Ann Burnett (1849-1919(

10. Clarisa Lucille Burnett (1815-?) – Joseph Stroup (1811-?)

11. Henry Clay Burnett (1823-1898) – Matilda Eleanor DeHart (1838-1868) (see my doubts about the parentage above for Henry Clay Burnett)

a. James Washington Burnett (1860-1946)

b. John Burnett (1862-1942)

c. William A. Burnett (1864-1943)

d. Amanda Burnett (1866-1947)

Henry Clay Burnett’s second spouse Louisa Delila Byrd (1831-?)

a. Leander Burnett (1870-1935)

b. Mary Caledona Burnett (1872-1928)

c. Iowa Pallie Burnett (1874-1957)

 

7th generation, my g-g–grandmother, Sophronia Burnett (I have seen Sophronia Matilda Burnett also used. There was a Sophronia Jane Burnett who was the wife of Berry Burnett). I have erroneously used Sophronia Jane Burnett in my tree but now I have changed it to Sophronia Burnett as Jane is incorrect in that line. How do I know? Death certificates.

 children of Sophronia Burnett and James Washington Walker were:

 Albert W. Walker (1854-1927) married Nancy Creasman. Nancy Creasman was from a German immigrant family named Christman. She was blond, light skinned and blue eyes. My mom said that I inherited those traits from her. My grandmother was Bertha Lillian Walker, who was Albert and Nancy’s daughter.

Sarah Elizabeth Walker (married Bill Daugherty)

Mary Jane Walker (married a Burnett)

Harriet Elizabeth Walker (married a Cordel)

Rhoda Eliza Walker (married a Daugherty)

Robert Albert Walker

Amanda Sophronia Walker (died young0

Julius Alexander Walker (married Alice Roxanna) children included Oden Walker, Maude Walker Morris, and Deward Walker. Oden Walker was a contributor to the Black Mountain News and a source of local history. Maude Walker married Blaine Morris who, with his sons, had a 400-acre dairy farm on both sides of Wallace Mountain. Their grandsons Jeff and Mike Morris were my childhood neighbors and friends.

Lula Marsh Walker (died young)

Lena Walker (died young}

 

NANCY JANE BURNETT’S BIBLE RECORDS

note: Nancy Jane was the great- granddaughter of Frederick Sr. and Peggy Null Burnett. The grandfather was Eldridge and Alfred Alexander the father of Nancy Jane Burnett.

Burnett, Nancy Jane Bible Records Filed under Family Bibles NANCY JANE BURNETT’S BIBLE RECORDS Published in New York by Sheldon, Blakeman & Co., 1856 These bible records are located in the vertical file at OBCGS and are copied exactly as written.

The submitter is not noted on these records. Bettie Albright

1st page Willard O. Gragg was bornd Dec the 17 1876   Sarah M. Gragg was bornd Julie the 3 1879   Allen A. Gragg was bornd Julie the 26 1881   F.E. Gragg was bornd May the 21 1885   Shebly H. Gragg was bornd August the 16 1888   Homer Gragg was born Aug 16 1888

2nd page   Nancy Burnett deceased April the 30 1866   Margaret Burnett deceased March the 31st 1870   E. Burnett deceast March the 26 1880   Alford Burnett departed this life April the 18 1883   Mary Gragg was born April the 29 1805   Allen Gragg was born January the 29 1807   Nancy Jane Gregg died Feb 15 1817

3rd page   Alfred Burnett was married March 5th 1842   Rebecca Creasman was married July 15th 1863   T.W. Burnett was married Nov 20th 1867   Berry Burnett was married December the 15th 1872   Willard Gragg was born December the 17 1876   Sabina Gragg was born Sept 1877   G.W. Clement was married to Sarah E. Barnett October the 19 1879   Willard Gragg and Sabina Ballard was married died May the 24 1894 April 7 1938

4th page   Alfred Burnett was born August 5th 1818   Nancy Burnett was born June 25the 1822   T. W. Burnett was born Dec 12th 1843   Rebecca M. Burnett was born Nov 15th 1845   Nancy J. Burnett was born Feb 8th 1848   Berry Burnett was born July 25th 1851   Alfred Burnett was born August 27th 1853   Sarah E. Burnett was born June 25th 1855   Eldridge Burnett was born Dec 7th 1857   Isabel L. Burnett was born Dec the 27 1859 Swan O. Burnett was born July 15th 1867  John A. Clement was born Oct the 3 1881   Orron Osco Burnett was born June the 1 1875   Bertha Lee Clement was born Feb the 6 1880   Georgie M. Burnett was born May the 24 1892. 

 

The identity of the wife or wives of Thomas Burnett the elder and the wife of Jesse Burnett, his son, have not been confidently identified. I am offering some suggestions, but this is only a “maybe” and not to be taken as fact.

 Discussion about probabilities of Jesse Burnett’s wife

A large but compelling assumption to grab is that Jesse married one of the neighbor eligible daughters from the Clack, Tomlinson, Mangum, Brewer, and Prince Families.  The Prince family has been eliminated as Jesse Burnett descendants did not displace autosomal DNA as assessed by the Rutherford County Burnett DNA Surname Project. Initially the probabilities of family tie-ins were the Clack, Tomlinson, Mangum families. Sarah Clack married William Maclin, Mary Clack married Mr. Twitty and Judith Clack died at age 4, thereby the Clack girls are likely not candidates.

Temporarily, until better evidence is found, my pick for Jesse’s wife is Rebecca Tomlinson. This is not final and most likely will change; however, it is the information and logic that will remain, don’t put Rebecca Tomlinson in your tree just yet. Jesse’s wife has been noted as Judith but that could just be the called name.

Reconstructed map of the Rattlesnake Creek–Great Creek corridor of Meherrin Parish, Brunswick County, Virginia, around 1760–1775. This figure depicts the landholdings of the Tomlinson, Goodrich, Loyal, and Burnett families, with approximate boundaries derived from surviving deed descriptions and natural landmarks. Jesse Burnett’s 1770 purchase from Thomas Loyal is shown in relation to adjacent Tomlinson parcels. The map illustrates the close geographic proximity of the Burnett and Tomlinson households, supporting the likelihood of a marriage between the two families.

Traditions incorrectly assumed Jesse had a wife from the Clack family or the Prince family, one named “Judith,” but no contemporary record supports this claim. All documented Clack daughters of the appropriate generation are accounted for through marriage or early death, and no surviving Clack daughter remains who could have married Jesse during the 1763–1767 marriage window. The Prince family connection has been disproven with DNA Burnett Subgroup findings.

The Tomlinson families lived directly adjacent to the Burnett–Goodrich–Loyal corridor along Rattlesnake Creek and Great Creek, forming a coherent geographic and social cluster. They were English and Anglican and integrated into the same parish community as the Burnetts which ws a critical cultural alignment not shared by the Scots‑Irish Mangum family.

Multiple independent Tomlinson reconstructions identify a Rebecca Tomlinson, born around 1740–1748, daughter of John Tomlinson of Meherrin Parish. Rebecca appears in Tomlinson household listings but disappears from the record before adulthood.The geographic adjacency, cultural and religious alignment, DNA correlation, elimination of alternative candidates, and the disappearance of Rebecca from Tomlinson records supports the a preliminary conclusion that The wife of Jesse Burnett is strongly suggested as a Tomlinson daughter, most probably Rebecca Tomlinson of Meherrin Parish. Autosomal DNA cluster analysis from descendants of Jesse Burnett shows some matches to Tomlinson lines of Brunswick County.

Tomlinson Family Summary:

John Tomlinson, born around 1710–1720; he died after 1770, Meherrin Parish, Brunswick County.

Children (order approximate):

William Tomlinson, 1735–1740

John Tomlinson Jr., 1738–1745

Thomas Tomlinson, 1740–1746

Rebecca Tomlinson, 1740–1748 (probable wife of Jesse Burnett)

Mary Tomlinson, 1745–1750

Elizabeth Tomlinson, 1748–1755

 

Discussions about the possible wife of Thomas Burnett the elder born approximately 1700-1710

The appearance of the names Frederick, Jesse, and Claiborne as well as the Granny Else stories strongly suggest that the wife of either Thomas Burnett the elder or Jesse Burnett was of German (Palatine) descent where a father, grandfather or brother (and a female relative or wife in the case of Else) carried those names. Obviously, Jesse was a new name to the Burnett line, so this points to Thomas.

Sorting records that show German families in the Meherrin region using the names Frederick and Jesse yield some results. A search for Palatine tie-ins to Thomas the elder begins with the migration of Palatine families from Pennsylvania, down the Shenandoah Valley and into the Meherrin/Roanoke frontier including Lunenberg, Brunswick, Meherrin and Roanoke River corridors. The search continued with families who used Frederick and Jesse frequently, who lived in proximity to Thomas and those with a similar timeline. Looking at genetic, geographic, name patterns and oral history, the suggestion is:

Thomas Burnett the Elder possibly married a second‑generation Palatine woman, born around 1710–1715, most likely from the Fulk/Volk family and alternatively from the Wagner/Wagoner family., with the name “Margaret Else” (Else/Elsa/Ilse/Elcey) as his wife or as a maternal figure in this generation.

The name Frederick appears suddenly in the generation of Thomas the Elder’s children and is absent from earlier Burnett lines, indicating a likely maternal origin. A survey of German families living in the broader Brunswick/Meherrin frontier between 1730–1760 shows that only a few sed Frederick consistently across generations and produced daughters with Elsa/Else/Ilse‑type names and appear in descendant lines where Jesse also recurs. Two families meet these combined criteria: Fulk/Folk/Volk and Wagner/Wagoner.

Multiple independent descendants of Thomas the Elder—including lines from Jesse, Frederick Thomas, Thomas Jr., and daughters—share autosomal DNA segments with documented descendants of Fulk/Folk/Volk families from Pennsylvaniah lines and lesser so the Wagner/Wagoner families.

Keep in mind that this has not been confirmed by records and may never be.  This analytical determination is a starting point to ascertain the actual wife of Thomas Burnett the elder.

 

 

 Picture credits

purchased from i-stock

Virginia Forest, ID2187626133, credit Christine Kohler

Cairngorms National Park, ID 1138474409, credit Iweta 0077

Southern Virginia Lake, ID 645616044, credit Karen Aguilar

from Mark Reese, Burnett Reservoir from overlook

others, public domain