125
Capt. David Burr Papers
Collection, Ms B114
1853 – 1861
Captain David Burr of Fairfield, son of Ebenezer Burr and Hannah Osborn (d. of Daniel of Fairfield) married Magdalen (Ellen) Grostephan of Marseilles, France. Children: James B. (b. 2/1/1859); Josephine; and David. Burr's sister, Angeline Burr, married Samuel Morehouse. Burr's brothers are William and Samuel (sailor lost at sea) and sisters Sara E. (m. James Buckley), Eliza A. (m. Benjamin Buckley), Cornelia (m. Andrew P. Wakeman), Mary, Emma, and Julia. Captain Isaac Jennings of Fairfield was David Burr's first cousin. During his career as a seaman, Burr sailed from American to Europe, including the Mediterranean Sea, and from Europe to Argentina. He conducted business in the ports of Licita, London, Marseilles, New York, Palermo, and Philadelphia. He was lost at sea serving as the first mate of the steamer Evening Star, off Cape Hatteras, October 1865.
The collection contains letters written between Burr and Morehouse family members with the usual concerns a family has about each other and about their loved ones at sea. There are letters between the very close in-laws David and Angeline Morehouse and David and Ellen Burr, often referring to each other as Dear Brother/Sister. Interestingly, many of the letters discuss the farming conditions, which were everyone's concern, even a sea captain's and his family. The letters of Samuel Morehouse, a schoolteacher in New York, also evidence this concern for farming. Morehouse writes many letters to his wife, Angeline, David's sister. Captain Isaac Jennings, a cousin, was also a correspondent. The collection contains the marriage certificate, written in Latin from the bishop of Marseilles, France documenting the marriage of David and Ellen. The collection also contains correspondence concerning maritime and shipboard business, and port documents.
Cpt. David Burr (created by)
Loading...