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miniaturelovercollectionstuff · 7 years

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Wild Stories (and Most Likely Untrue) about John Christian Burgess

A Collection of Family Stories and Wild Rumors about Johann Christian Burgess

Story #1

JOHANN CHRISTIAN (CHRIS JOHN) BURGESS (BORGES) The following story of ChrisJohn or Christian Burgess has been told and passed down by his Burgess descendants, who received it from their fathers. It was sent to us years ago by Donna M. Burgess, wife of Ernest Hungate Burgess, a grandson of Horace Burgess, and great-grandson of William Burgess, Sr.

ChrisJohn (or Christian) was a Hessian from Germany. Both William and Christian spoke broken English. Christian was drafted in Hesse Kassel, Germany. He was an outstanding young man and in line for a high career in his own land, but the ruling power was jealous of him and wanted him out of the way. He was drafted in the Hessian Army. His father objected to the draft but was overruled. Christian tried to hire a substitute to take his place, but was rejected. Then 250,000 guineas for his release. But this failed. Therefore he was drafted and he sailed for America with the Hessian Army.

He corresponded with his father in Germany and told him he would never return to his native land. His father wrote to him that he would send him his share of the family fortune which amounted to 250,000 guineas, more than a million dollars in our money. He named the ship that would bring the money, but at that time, there were pirates on the high seas, and the ship never arrived. It was either robbed or sank en route.

He did not remain with the army as a Hessian very long. At the first opportunity, he deserted and became a man without a country. He settled in Providence, Rhode Island. He never revealed his name but adopted Christian as his first name.

Then Christian enlisted in the army, and fought in the Revolutionary War under George Washington.

Note: In spite of all the fighting, for a long time the colonies as a whole did not wish to be separated from England. They claimed that they were not fighting against England, but against the bad advisers of the King. They sent petitions to the King, but he refused to read them or to have any dealings with such disobedient subjects. When the Americans revolted, England had not enough trained men to put down the insurrection, so she appealed to Germany for help. At that time there were many greedy princes in Germany. These petty royalties were glad to hire out their troops to the British. The soldiers themselves received about twenty-five cents a day for facing death for a cause in which they had no interest. The king hired about 20,000 troops from the rulers of some small German states, among them Hesse-Cassel, and sent them over to help put down the rebellion. These German troops were called Hessians by the colonists, who hated them and resented having foreign hired troops sent over to punish them. They were first commanded in America by Gen. Phillip von Heister, but he was succeeded early in 1777 by Wilhelm von Knyphausen.

The Germans performed their duty bravely. They bore the brunt of much heavy fighting and were seldom deserters even though they had been sold into the service. About 550 of them were killed in the Revolution and perhaps as many more died of their wounds. That they were cruel and rapacious is now conceded to have been mere war propaganda. They seem rather to have been simple, well-meaning men who liked and were liked by the Americans. It is estimated that almost 11,000 remained in America after the war. {Encyclopedias)

An interesting incident is told by the great-grandson of William and Hannah Burgess, Frank T. Burgess (a grandson of Melancthon Wheeler Burgess (William Sr's youngest son) and Margaret Jane Mclntyre) about the end of Burgoyne's "Rule," before the surrender:

It seems that the opposing armies were camped not far apart on the opposite banks of a river. My Great Grandfather (John Chris John) went down to the river to bathe in the water. There were several on both sides of the river bathing, among them was Burgoyne on the opposite bank. He looked over and said "Why John Chris John is that you?" My great grandfather nodded his head "yes." And General Burgoyne pointed to a limb on a tree that projected out some distance and said "Tomorrow at 10 o'clock your body will be hanging from that tree." But it was not to be - as the British surrendered at that time the next morning to the American army.

(Frank adds this to the letter that he wrote to me: This was written by my Mother for Maggie, to send to a cousin who wanted to know. I have the letter she wrote. The letter that Frank wrote to me was September 12, 1971. He died in 2000) - Lois Burgess Beck, Alpine, Utah”1

[Marilee’s NOTE: This story is fun but completely false. John Burgoyne was a British army officer After his disastrous surrender of his entire army near Saratoga, New York on October 17, 1777, “Burgoyne’s army was taken prisoner and spent the winter of 1777 in Boston. However, General Washington pressured Congress to release Burgoyne’s army and in February 1778, Burgoyne and his men were sent to England on the condition that they would not fight against the United States again. Once cleared of any wrongdoing by the British War Office, Burgoyne returned to the life of a gentleman.”2

Thus, he was not even in the country nor continent when Christian fought for the American side in 1782.]

Story #2

A great-great-great grandson wrote down the Christian Burgess Legend as it was told to him.

“We have one scenario from John Burgess, son of Wilmer Burgess, son of William Burgess Jr., son of William who was Christian’s third son…

Here is John’s version of the Christian Burgess legend. Bear in mind that it comes to us via father-to-son orally over five generations, and that William was only 12 years old when Christian met his untimely death.

“Christian was drafted in Hesse-Kassel in Germany. He was an outstanding young man and in line for a high career in his own land. But the ruling power was jealous of him and wanted him out of the way. So he was drafted in the Army.

“His father objected to the draft, but he was overruled. Then Christian tried to hire a substitute to take his place, but was rejected. Then he offered 250,00 guineas for his release, but failed. Being drafted, he sailed for America with the Hessian Army.

“However he did not remain with the Army as a Hessian soldier for very long. For at the first opportunity, he deserted and became a man without a country and settled in Providence, Rhode Island. He never revealed his name, but adopted “Christian” as his first name.

“He corresponded with his father in Germany and told him that he would never return to his native land. Then his father wrote to him that he would send him his share of the family fortune which amounted to 250,000 guineas, more than a million dollars in our money. He named the ship that would bring the money, but at that time there were pirates on the high seas, and the ship never arrived. It was either robbed or sank in route.”3

Story #3

These paragraphs state facts but are included in the appendix because of the speculation or implication that Christian lived with Thomas and Dorothy Burgess. We do not have any evidence that this is the case.

“On arrival in this country, seven regiments of Hessian troops were stationed around Providence, Rhode Island. (New York City Library Archives: State of Rhode Island and Providence Field, Volume I, page 491, August 10, 1778.) Some of these troops were quartered with the Colonists, among whom were several Burgess families, descendents of Thomas and Dorothy Burgess who came from England in 1630 and settled in Salem, Massachusetts.

There is considerable circumstantial evidence that it was in the Providence, Rhode Island area that Christian Burgess defected and changed his name.”4

Story #4

This is speculation by Miles Burgess on how John Watters became Christian Burgess.

This story is an explanation of how John Watters changed

Newland (Neuland, Nuland) is a prominent family name in the history of Norton. Between 1702 and 1807, the Town’s Vital Records list 37 Newland marriages and 61 Newland births, including Hannah’s. She was the second child in a family of seven.

Strikingly, over that entire span of more than a hundred years of Newland marriages in Norton, the Vital Records list only one “intended marriage” that was forbidden by the Town Fathers. That was Hannah’s to a John Watters.

The printed record is clear.* In the listing of marriages under the surname, NEWLAND, it reads: Hannah and John Watters, int. Feb.15, 1777. “Cryed one time and forbid by the Select meen.” The same entry appears under the surname, WATTERS,* with the names John and Hannah Newland properly reversed.

Hannah was 19 at the time. We can only guess at her involvement with Watters, or why the marriage was banned. But in the Puritan New England environment of that day, with its Town Cryers and Select men, the “forbid” must have been a terrible shock to Hannah. That may explain why her marriage to Christian Burgess nine years later is said to have taken place in North Providence, Rhode Island, where he resided, rather than in her home town.

Adding to this puzzle, is the original handwritten entry #48 in the Norton’s “Intentions of Marriage” file. Here is a photocopy of that file.

Residing in Norton

John Watters/man ^and Hannah Newland both/of Norton Entered February 15th, 1777 and Cryed one Time and forbid by the Select meen –

It would appear that, after writing the name, “John Watters,” the recorder changed the “s” to “m” and added “an,” neatly changing the name to Watterman. Continuing “…and Hannah Newland both…” – the recorder changed the “both” to “of” and inserted “residing in Norton”above the altered Watters name.

To Christian’s descendents, long frustrated in our search for his antecedents, this confused handwritten entry gave new hope. John Watters (Watterman) was Christian Burgess before he changed his name!

At least, that was our assumption. And it precipitated yet another search of the Marburg Archives, now greatly facilitated by the publication of five volumes (HETERINA Series) listing all the Hessian soldiers involved in the “American War of Independence.”

Alas, another dead end. The lists contain one “Waterman” and one “Watterman.” The first, “Kurt Heinrich,” died in December, 1776, and the second “Karl,”joined the service in June, 1758.

*Vital Records of NORTON, Massachusetts.. To The Year 1850. Published by the New England Historic Genealogical Society, Boston, Mass., 1906, pages 113, 287, 330.

But wait! “Watters” and “Waterman” were family surnames in Norton in 1777. So, did John Watters (Watterman), the alleged Hessian defector, purloin a Norton family surname in order to marry a Norton family girl?

Apparently based on that assumption, the story has come down to us that, after their marriage was banned in Norton, John and Hannah left together, and, on a third try, succeeded in getting married in another town some 30 miles away. It’s an appealing story of young love finding a way. But is it true?

That marriage would have been early in 1777. John and Hannah would have remained childless for 10 years while he established himself as “Christian Burgess” in North Providence, Rhode Island, served most of 1782 in the Continental Army, and later moved to Lake George, New York, where their first child, Frederick was born circa 1787, to be followed by seven more children in normal biological sequence.

(Ed. note: If this account seems “inventive” one should read the Christian Burgess story in “O’ Ye Mountains High – the Story of Pine Valley,” pages 17 and 18 Heritage Press, St. George, Utah, 1980. In that account, imagination is permitted to soar higher than the mountains surrounding that beautiful little valley!)5

Story #5

This story is the imaginative story that the previous story referred to in the editor’s note. It was included in the history of Pine Valley.

“When Germany was made up of a group of German States, one of them was Hesse. One of the sons of the Royal House of Hesse became tired of belonging to the Royal family so he ran away from home and joined the army. When the Revolutionary War was going on King George in England found himself not too popular with many of his subjects, especially many of the members of Parliament, and was unable to get the soldiers he needed to come fight the colonies, so he sent back to his native country of Hesse in Germany and hired an army. The son of the Royal Family, who had run away from home, got his brother to join him and come over with the Hessian soldiers. After they got here and saw the situation they decided that the colonies were in the right, so they deserted General Burgoyne's forces and joined the American Army.

Burgoyne and his soldiers were held up on their march from Canada to New York, and were forced to surrender in the Battle of Saratoga which was fought on Phillip Schuyler's farm. This proved to be the decisive turning point in the war.

At the close of the war, these boys couldn't return to Germany because they could have been arrested for being deserters. They went out into western New York, where a family by the name of Burgess took them in and gave them a home, so they changed their name to Burgess.”6

Story #6

Another twist to the story is that Hannah Newland and C. Burgess are mentioned in the History of Clinton and Franklin Counties, New York. In a biography entitled “Levi R. Waters,” it is claimed that Levi is the grandson of Hannah Newland and John Waters. His father was their son but he was not named Benjamin. Instead he was named John.

“John Waters, only son of an English sea-captain by the name of John Waters, was born at Providence, R. L, Aug. 20, 1777. His mother was an Irish lady by the name of Hannah Newland. His father was lost at sea, hence nothing is known of him; and his wife married for her second husband C. Burgess, who was killed by the falling of a limb from a tree.”7

This article did not include any documentation or sources. We will examine the claims and what we know about each fact.

1. The son is named John Waters instead of Benjamin Newland: This contradicts the record found in the Massachusetts, Town Clerk, Vital and Town Records and other records.

2. His father, John Waters, was an English sea-captain: This could very well be true. We do not have any information on who the father John Waters really was.

3. The son, John Waters, was born at Providence, R.I, Aug. 20, 1777: Providence RI was about 20 miles from Norton, Bristol, Massachusetts, where Benjamin Newland was born. This puts them roughly in the same area. Also, Benjamin was born on Aug 14, 1777. This puts them roughly being born at the same time, but the information doesn’t match up exactly.

4. Hannah Newland was an Irish lady: Looking back along both of her parents’ lines, it is unclear that she had any Irish ancestors. Both of her Newland grandparents’ lines were from England. On her mother’s side, the Woodward line is also from England. However, we do not have records on her maternal grandmother’s line, so it is possible that they came from Ireland.

5. John Waters was Hannah’s first husband: We have no evidence of their marriage.

6. John Waters was lost at sea, hence nothing is known of him: This could be true.

7. His [John Water’s] wife married for her second husband C. Burgess, who was killed by the falling of a limb from a tree: a Hannah Newland did marry a C. Burgess or a J.C. Burgess and he did die from an accident with a tree.

Since the article was not documented, we have no idea where the author got his information. Newland was a common name at that time. It is possible that there were two Hannah Newlands and the author combined the facts to arrive at the information that she included in the biography.

NOTE: John and Levi Waters used to be connected to Hannah Newland in Family Search but now all connections have been deleted. I believe that this deletion was the correct thing to do.

Story #7

It has been a persistent tradition that CHRIS JOHN - as the name sounded in German* - "was a Hessian soldier who had been pressed into service to fight against the American Colonies.

When the Revolutionary War was going on, King George III in England was unable to get the soldiers he needed to fight the colonies. He sent back to his native country of Hesse in Germany and hired about 20,000 troops, and sent them over to help put down the rebellion. Some Hessians fought with Burgoyne's forces. Burgoyne and his soldiers were held up in their march from Canada to New York and were forced to surrender in the Battle of Saratoga. Near Saratoga the British suffered a disastrous defeat and on Oct. 17, 1777, with his army entirely surrounded, Burgoyne surrendered - the most noble victory that the Americans had yet won. Christian became sympathetic to the American cause and deserted from the army at Turkey Hill, Rhode Island on 21 Aug. 1778, and joined the American forces. He then served in the Rhode Island Regiment in campaigns in 1780-82 as the War continued."

Source: Donna Miles Burgess, wife of Ernest Hungate Burgess, who was a great-grandson of

William Burgess, Sr. Note: (Several descendants have questioned the tradition that Christian was with Burgoyne.)

*The pronunciation of the name Christian in German or with a German accent could sound like, or be written as - Christjan, Cris John, Chris John. (We will call him Christian.) It has been said he spoke in broken English. A great deal of research has been done in efforts to find out more about him…

The story goes that Hannah's brother Jabez served in the same regiment in Rhode Island as Christian did, and that he introduced Christian to Hannah.”8

Story #8

This version showed that Hannah couldn’t marry John Waters because he was married to someone else. She had a baby boy by John Waters and named him Frederick.

“Harrison and William Jr. were brothers. They had another brother named Horace. They were sons of William Burgess Sr., who was the son of John Christian Burgess Sr. and Hannah (Newland) Burgess. John Christian Burgess Sr. was a Hessian soldier who was conscripted to fight with the British during the revolutionary war under Gen John Burgoyne in the North Easter New York area around the Lake George region. He deserted the British forces and then later joined and fought with the Rhode Island 3rd Company Infantry for about nine months.

After the war he married Hannah Newland (who had previously tried to get married to a John Watters, or Watterman - but this is not the same man as John Christian Burgess). They settled in Putnam, which is on the shores of Lake George. There he took up lumbering and milling the vast supply of timber. As far as we can tell, John Christian Burgess, Sr. was killed in a timbering accident around 1806. He and Hannah had several offspring, as well as a son named Frederick, who was Hannah's but was fathered by John Waters, therefore the previous attempt at marriage, which was rejected by the town courts due to John Waters already being married to someone else.”9

Story #9

"John Christian Burgess, who was born in Hesse, Germany. He was with the hired Hessian Soldiers, they fought with the British Army in the Revolutionary War. After a period of service, he became sympathetic with the cause of the colonist and deserted the British Army and went into hiding in Eastern New York and around Port Ann to avoid capture…

And this response about one of the alleged deserters to ‘the other side.’

As far as John Christian Burgess, Sr. deserting from the Hessian forces, this is an accurate statement. It is almost certain that he was fighting with Burgoyne's forces in NY when he deserted. The reason he is known to have deserted is because he later enlisted in a Rhode Island regiment (3rd Company, I think) to fight for the revolutionary cause and is listed in the official Muster Rolls. He married Hannah Newland of Vermont and they settled in the Argyle/Fort Ann/ Dresden/Putnam region of NY, near the shores of Lake George, where he took up farming and lumbering.”

John C. Burgess, Sr. and Hannah had numerous children, as well as one, Frederick, which was Hannah's from a previous relationship, and the family presence in the Lake George area is well documented. It is thought that John C. Burgess, Sr. died in a lumbering accident around 1806.”10

Story #10

“William Burgess, Sr. was the son of John Christian Burgess, who was born in Hesse, Germany. He was with the hired Hessian Soldiers, they fought with the British Army in the Revolutionary War. After a period of service, he became sympathetic with the cause of the colonist and deserted the British Army and went into hiding in Eastern New York and around Port Ann to avoid capture. He changed his name to Burgess. He married Hannah Newland, 15 Feb 1727 under the name of John Waters. He was from the Royalty in Germany.”11

Story #11

“John Christian Burgess was born in Hesse, Germany. He was with the hired Hessian Soldiers, they fought with the British Army in the Revolutionary War. After a period of service, he became sympathetic with the cause of the colonist and deserted the British Army and went into hiding in Eastern New York and around Port Ann to avoid capture.

He changed his name to Burgess.

He married Hannah Newland, 15 Feb 1727 under the name of John Waters. He was from the Royalty in Germany.”12

Story #12

“Harrison Burgess descends from the Royal House of Hesse of Germany. A son of the Royal House of Hesse ran away from home and joined the army. He changed his name to Burgess so he couldn't be traced. When King George of England hired the Hessian soldiers to fight for him, during the American Revolution, this son and his brother joined this Hessian army and came to America. Here they fought under the British General Burgoyne. After coming to America and learning of the trouble between England and the colonies, they decided that the colonies were fighting for a worthy cause and were in the right. So they deserted Burgoyne's forces and joined Washington's Army. Upon one occasion, Burgoyne saw one of these boys across on the other side of a stream of water and called across to him that he was going to conquer the American forces and pointing to a large tree nearby, he said, "And when I do, I'm going to hang you from the highest limb of that tree."

The Burgess boy Burgoyne threatened to hang, became the father of William Burgess Sr., known as "Granddad Burgess" to all in Pine Valley. William Sr. became the father of Harrison, William Jr., and Melancton Burgess who all ran sawmills in Pine Valley for many years.

When the father of these sons of the House of Hesse grew old and was ready to divide his vast fortune, he tried to locate the sons and made it known that they were to share in his fortune if they could be found. As the sons had changed their names and didn't want to be found, they never let it be known where they were.”13

Footnotes

1Roach, Delbert E. and Barbara Bennett, A Heritage of Faith and Courage : William and Violate Burgess and their family, Murray, Utah : Family Heritage Publishers, c2006. p. 318-320.

2Holy, Nicholas C., John Burgoyne, George Washington’s Mount Vernon, Digital Encyclopedia, George Washington University, http://www.mountvernon.org/digital-encyclopedia/article/john-burgoyne/, See also, Kline, Pamela, General John Burgoyne, http://www.revolutionary-war.net/john-burgoyne.html)

3Burgess, Miles, The Legend of Christian Burgess, August 20, 1987.

4Ibid.

5Ibid.

6Beckstrom, Elizabeth and Snow, Bess, O' Ye Mountains High: The Story of Pine Valley Utah, Horizon Publishers, 1980 - Pine Valley (Utah) - 222 pages.

7Hurd, Diane Hamilton, History of Clinton and Franklin Counties, New York: With Illustrations and Biographical Sketches of Its Prominent Men and Pioneers, J. W. Lewis & Company, 1880 - Clinton County (N.Y.) - 508 pages, p. 264 https://books.google.com/books?id=rk4MAQAAMAAJ&pg=PA264-IA1&lpg=PA264-IA1&dq=husband+of+hannah+newland+burgess&source=bl&ots=67g4RbW0q5&sig=8MN1Tmaq-9AoC4jAh8EDHmn0JXk&hl=en&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwiV-4-e85HNAhUUTlIKHVERChQQ6AEIQTAG#v=onepage&q=husband%20of%20hannah%20newland%20burgess&f=false

8Roach, Delbert E. and Barbara Bennett, A Heritage of Faith and Courage : William and Violate Burgess and their family, Murray, Utah : Family Heritage Publishers, c2006. p. 2.

9Hunt, M, Feb 1998, Posted 01 Sep 2014 by Christine Kutler, Ancestry.com database, Trees, https://www.ancestry.com/mediaui-viewer/tree/72502660/person/30261804490/media/ef3d43e3-830c-4c60-8ea7-021cfb8a830d

10Hudson,Bob, Great-great-great-great-grandpa jumped ship and became a patriot! http://www.bobhudson.com/zeth/jumpers.html#BURGESS

11Posted 29 jul 2007 by ogdred23, Ancestry.com database, Trees, https://www.ancestry.com/mediaui-viewer/tree/3168788/person/-1766159696/media/488332d4-2aba-4eb4-9922-de08bef0f0

12John Christian Burgess Name change Posted 27 Apr 2015 by tedgcox, LIFE STORY OF MARY HARRIET BURGESS BULLARD 1842 – 1936, https://www.ancestry.com/mediaui-viewer/tree/58034690/person/30032292643/media/dc413513-9c6a-4d05-bf50-3598349513b1

13Adams, Sarah Bracken, “Harrison Burgess”, Library of Congress, Manuscript Division, WPA Federal Writers' Project Collection. [1935], http://www.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~utwashin/wpa/harrison.html

#John Christian Burgess #Johann Christian Borges #Hannah Newland #Story

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