Introduction
The Burch family has been an amorphous blob for me! In part, this is because this family lived in both the colonies/United States and in Canada. And as I learned recently, the Burch family was not particularly diligent about recording births!
The first breakthrough was when Doug MacFarlane reached out to me, based on seeing Parthenia Burch in my Ancestry tree. (He is descended from Parthenia's brother, Benjamin.) He pointed me to a source that helped validate that Parthenia's father was Benjamin Burch Sr.
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| History of the Counties of Argenteuil, Quebec...;by C. Thomas; p. 222. |
The son-in-law in question, is William Johnson, whom Parthenia married! This implies that Parthenia's father Benjamin was living in Argenteuil County!
Doug also acquainted me with the Strong family lineage, since Parthenia's mother was Sally Strong. There are numerous famous people related to Elder John Strong, including Princess Diana and Franklin Delano Roosevelt. (See the post, "Related to Royalty and a President", dated September 2, 2014.)
The second item that piqued my interest was when Nancy B. reached out to me, based on a common connection with the Johnson family. Her research enabled me to identify one of the persons, Emily or Emma Perrin, who appears in my Carroll Family Album, dating back to the last half of the 1800's. Emma Perrin is a granddaughter of Parthenia Burch!
Purpose
The purpose of this blogpost is to attempt to identify the children of Benjamin Burch and Sarah/Sally Strong.History of Argenteuil: Parthena Burch, Child #1
I am starting with Parthena, because she is my most recent Burch ancestor! At one time, I thought her name was Parthenia, but I now believe that Parthena is more likely.
Cemetery records
Cemetery records
One of the key sources for Parthena comes from the transcriptions made of the Greenwood Cemetery by Ross Cotton, Roger Belanger and Leslie Higginson in conjunction with the Ottawa Genealogical Society.
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| Greenwood Cemetery, Ottawa Genealogy Society, p. 14. |
The Greenwood Cemetery is located in West Hawkesbury Township, in Prescott County, Ontario, Canada. The cemetery is about 1 kilometer west of Vankleek Hill. The full transcriptions are listed at the link below.
The 2 inscriptions on the west side of the stone are for William Johnson and his wife, Parthena. Parthena was born December, 1791, and died February 9, 1835, about 3 years after her husband. Based on other research, the two persons listed on the south side of the stone, Eden Johnson and Elizabeth Johnson Griffen, are the 2 oldest children of William and Parthena. Mrs. Rhoda Green, one of the 2 persons erecting the stone, is another child of William and Parthena.
Birth information
One logical next question is 'where was Parthena born'? Was she born in Canada? Was she born in Europe, perhaps Scotland or England? Was she born in the United States, perhaps Vermont? I thought it was fairly likely that she lived in Vermont because so many of my Vermont relatives had ties to Canada! But I have checked the Vermont Vital Records Index, and she is not to be found!
Because she died in 1835, the number of records available are limited. But I did view the United States census data for her 4 children who moved to the States: Susan, Rhoda, William and Parthena. The 3 daughters state that their mother was foreign-born in the 1870 census. For the census data that I did find for these 4 offspring, 5 reported that she was born in Vermont, 2 reported that she was born in Massachusetts, 1 reported she was born in Connecticut and 1 reported that she was born in Canada! It is rather a hodge-podge, but there is reasonable evidence that Parthena was born in Vermont!
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| 1910 U. S. census; Stockholm, New York; Parthena Dyke and Rhoda Green. |
Burch Family in Lachute: Benjamin Burch, Child #2
At this point, it is fairly evident that Parthena Burch and her father, Benjamin Burch, lived in Lachute, in Argenteuil County, Quebec. |
| Google Maps; Montreal to Lachute. |
History of Argenteuil County: Benjamin Burch
Returning to the History of the Counties of Argenteuil County, Quebec, and Prescott County, Ontario, we find references to 2 Benjamin Burches in Lachute, a father and son. The father came from Vermont, and according to this source, married an Annie Burch.
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| History of the Counties of Argenteuil, Quebec...;by C. Thomas; p. 221. |
Based on Doug MacFarlane's research, the eldest Benjamin Burch in this account actually married Anna CHURCH and I have seen documents confirming that.
Cemetery records
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| Find A Grave; memorial #66341788; photo by Graceti. |
Annis Church Burch is buried in the Lachute Protestant Cemetery. There is no tombstone picture for her husband Benjamin. Based on her death date and age at death, Annis must have been born about 1787. So it would appear that the first Benjamin Burch in the account above is likely Parthena's brother, not father. So now, we have 3 Benjamin Burches in Lachute. One is Parthena's father, one is her brother and one is her nephew!
History of Argenteuil County: Inhabitants in 1810
Returning to the History of Argenteuil County, we find a list of the residents in Lachute in 1810. They include a Benj. Burch, a Benj. I. Burch, a Jonathan Burch and a Jonathan Burch, Jr.
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| History of the Counties of Argenteuil, Quebec...;by C. Thomas; p. 233. |
Canadian 1825 census
Looking at the 1825 census for Lachute, we see 3 relevant entries. First, there is an entry for Benjamin Burch, Senior. Two place away, there is an entry for Benjamin Burch, Junior. Immediately after, there is an entry for William Johnson! So now we have evidence that Parthena's father and brother lived in Lachute from at least 1810-1825.
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Census of Lower Canada; 1825; Argenteuil, Chatham, Gore between Chatham and Argenteuil, Ile aux Chats, LachuteBurch Family Origins in Woodstock, Vermont
After reviewing the Burch family research by other researchers, I found the connection between Lachute, Quebec, Canada, and Woodstock, Vermont! (Lachute is the county seat of Argenteuil County and is on the Ottawa River.)
History of Woodstock, Vermont; Henry Swan Dana; page 78.
The young Benjamin Burtch mentioned here was 20 years old in 1804, and therefore born about 1784. This is Parthena's brother and will be referred to as Benjamin Burch III. His father, although not named here, is Benjamin Burch, who left Woodstock in 1806, although his destination is also not provided here. But from the History of Argenteuil County, it is fairly clear that the older Benjamin Burch, Parthena's father, was in LaChute by 1810! Going forward, he will be referred to as Benjamin Burch Jr....From this source, it is evident that there are multiple spellings for the surname, including Burtch, Birch and Burch. Going forward, however, I will use the spelling 'Burch'.
According to History of Woodstock, John Strong and Benjamin Burch Jr. moved into Woodstock, Vermont, from Hartford, Vermont in 1772-1773. (Benjamin Burch Jr. married John Strong's daughter, Sarah or Sally Strong.) Their home was on North Branch and they were the first to settle in that area. They opened a tavern, or public house, at their dwelling place, which they had for the duration of their time in Woodstock. They also owned a saw mill together on the North Branch. The two men appear to have lived together until 1788, when Captain John Strong moved to the jail house on the Green in the capacity of jailer and inn-keeper. In 1792, Benjamin Burch leased his farm and took possession of the jail-house. There appears to have been a falling-out between John Strong and his son-in-law, Benjamin Burch Jr., because John Strong, John's wife, Benjamin III, and 'other members of the family', moved to Argenteuil in 1804. Sometime after the death of John Strong and his wife, Benjamin Jr. also moved to Argenteuil, although he may have lived for a while in an intermediate location.
Google Maps; Hartford VT to Woodstock VT to Lachute Quebec.
As one can see from the map, the move from Hartford, Vermont, to Woodstock, Vermont, was an easy move in terms of distance. But what would have prompted them to move to Quebec? It appears that business opportunities took them north.
So what else have we gleaned from the History of Woodstock in terms of members of the Burch Family? We are told that Benjamin Burch Jr. had a fine flock of children, but no one is named besides Benjamin III. We do learn, though, that Benjamin Burch Jr. had brothers Jonathan and William. Jonathan was a physician and moved to Canada with other family members. (This is consistent with the 2 Jonathan Burches in the 1810 inhabitant list for Lachute!) William was a trader and moved west to Ohio and Indiana.
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Vermont Vital Records: John Burch, Child #3
According to Ancestry trees, Sarah/Sally Strong was born between 1758 and 1764 and died in 1803. Since John Strong, Sally's father, and Benjamin Burch, Sally's husband, moved to Woodstock in 1772-1773, it would appear that all of their children were born in Woodstock, Vermont. There is a very slight possibility that early children were born in Hartford VT.
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| Ancestry.com; Vermont, Vital Records, 1720-1908, John Burtch.
Here is the birth record for John Burtch. His parents are named as Benjamin and Salla Burtch, which must be Benjamin and Sally! As noted earlier, Benjamin and Sally were not diligent about reporting births, so I could not find any of their other children reported in the Vermont Vital Records!
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Sons of the American Revolution: Wealthy Burch, Child #4?
According to the following SAR application, Wealthy Burtch was a daughter of Benjamin Burtch and Sally Strong and married Ozias Hoisington in 1794. However, there are no references providing the source of this information.
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| Sons of the American Revolution application #19281; Chancellor Jenks, descendant of John Strong.
If Wealthy married in 1794 and she was married when she was 18 years old, she could have been born as early as 1776. Since it appears that Sarah Strong was born in 1758, she could have birthed Wealthy when she was 18, which would make Wealthy one of her first children. This Wealthy married Ozias Hoisington.
According to the History of Woodstock (page 78), Sally Strong's father John had a second wife named widow Hoisington. She had a son from this earlier marriage, named Ozias Hoisington, who married 'this Benjamin Burch's sister'. There are multiple Benjamin Burch's running around, but based on the footnote, this refers to the Benjamin Burch who was born in 1751. The source of this information is an Alex. McV. Burch, who lived in Lachute in 1870. If this is correct, Wealthy is a SISTER of Benjamin Burch, not a DAUGHTER.
On the other hand, numerous Ancestry trees state that Wealthy, daughter of Benjamin Burtch and Sally Strong, was born on July 6, 1803, in either Woodstock or Hartford, Vermont. Since it appears that Sarah Strong died in 1803, this would make Wealthy her youngest child! This Wealthy Burtch married Michael Byrnes and raised her family about 60 miles away from Lachute. However, I am unable to find the ultimate source of her birth information, although it appears to be One World Tree, which is a collection of old Ancestry trees without source information.
Minerva Burch, Unlikely Child?
The information concerning Minerva Burch is simply too vague. Supposedly, she married Francis Joseph Durant. But other sources state that Francis Joseph Durant married Freedom Burch or Freelove Burch. Ancestry trees do state that Minerva was the daughter of Benjamin Burch and Sally Strong, but I do not see any supporting evidence other than other Ancestry trees. Other sources, e.g., message boards, state that her parents were John Birch and Catherine Prince.
On the other hand, according to Find A Grave, she was born in Woodstock in 1780. And Benjamin Burch and Sally Strong did live in Woodstock, Vermont, in 1780. And her husband, Francis Durant, was born in Lachute, Quebec, which is where Benjamin Burch moved by 1810.
Children of Benjamin Burch and Sarah Strong
Minerva Burch
1. Based on Thrulines, I have 2 DNA matches to her descendants, both through John Volyn.
2. According to Find A Grave, she was born in 1780 in Woodstock, Windsor County, Vermont. I don't know what the original source was. 3. A Francis Durant, born about 1812 in Lachute, P. Q., names his parents as Francis and Freelove! At the time of his marriage, he was residing in Williamsburg, Dundas, Ontario. 4. According to Find A Grave, Minerva died in 1850 in Cornwall, Stormont, Dundas and Glengarry United Counties, Ontario. She was buried in the Elma United Church Cemetery in Elma, Stormont. Again, there is no information concerning the original source and there is no photo of a tombstone. We know that she does not appear in the 1851 census with her husband Francis. 5. Minerva and Francis had 4 children: John Volyn, Francis Joseph, Charles A. and Alexander. (This information is based on notes of other researchers.)
Benjamin Burch
1. Based on Thrulines, I have 4 DNA matches to his descendants.
Wealthy Burch
1. Based on Thrulines, I have 3 DNA matches to her descendants.
Anna Burch
1. Based on Thrulines, I have 4 DNA matches to her descendants.
Sarah Burch
1. Based on Thrulines, I have 10 DNA matches to her descendants.
Parthena Burch, 3g-grandmother
1. Based on Thrulines, I have 7 DNA matches to her descendants, including 5 via my great-great-grandmother.
2. Parthena was born December 1791. (Tombstone) Most evidence indicates that she was born in Vermont, and probably in Woodstock, Vermont. She is the daughter of Benjamin Burch. (History of the counties of Argenteuil, Que., and Prescott, Ont.) 3. In 1806, she would have been 15 years old, so she would have moved with her parents to Lachute. 4. In about 1809, she married William L. Johnson and they had at least 7 children together. 5. The children were all born in Canada. We know that Eden Johnson was born in Hawkesbury, Prescott County, Ontario, Canada. (The Munson Record) Most likely, all 7 children were born there. Hawkesbury is about 20 miles west of the Lachute area via the Ottawa River. 6. Parthena died February 9, 1835, in Ontario, and was buried in Greenwood Cemetery in Vankleek Hill. (Vankleek Hill is about 7 miles southwest of Hawkesbury.) 7. The older 3 children stayed in Canada, but the younger 4 children went to Chittenden County, Vermont, after both parents died.
John Burch
1. Based on Thrulines, I have no DNA matches to any of his descendants.
2. John Burtch was born July 11, 1799, in Woodstock, to Benjamin Burtch and Salla ---. (VVRI; tombstone)
3. In 1806, he would have been 7 years old, so would have moved with his parents to Lachute. 4. He married Lydia Hogaboam between about 1818 and 1820. 5. His children were born in Ontario, Canada. Two children, Charlotte and Henry, were born about 1833 and 1835 in London, Canada. (London is about halfway between Toronto and Detroit.) 6. By 1840, John Burch was living in Winnebago County, Illinois.
7. John S. Burch died May 31, 1864, and is buried in Grandview Cemetery in Fayette, Fayette, Iowa, USA. (FAG; tombstone)
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