TWO:  BURNS(ES) AND HEDGES(ES)

"SFA" stands for the Smith Family Archives, assembled and transcribed over many years by Leanna Lois Claudia Smith, daughter of Alonzo; her great-nieces Mellie Morris Smith (daughter of Herbert Gustavus) and Gertrude Fairchild Smith (daughter of Maurice Leigh); and great-great-niece Mildred Aileen Nash (neé Mellie Agnes Smith: daughter of Francis See).

"DCB" stands for correspondence with David Coulon Burns, webmaster of the RootsWeb megasite ~burns/dcb—who cautions that the designations Sr., Jr., and III used below and in later chapters were not likely to have been used by any of the fathers/sons sharing a first name (except for King George).  In most cases the present author has tried to indicate this with [square brackets].

Great Britain and its American colonies did not adopt the Gregorian Calendar until 1752.  Years began on March 25th; the last day of the previous year was March 24th.  This is reflected below in winter dates displayed with split years: e.g. "January 1, 1751/52."  (Other split years may indicate uncertainty as to an exact year.)

           B-3    The Second of the Burnses
 

  
● William Jr. and Magdalena

The Time-Honored Version

William Burns [Jr.], the seventh child and fifth son [but see below] of William Burns [Sr.] and Joanna Van Metre, was born circa 1775 in the recently-created Berkeley County VA.  He may be the William Burns who appeared in the county's militia list for 1782; it's unlikely to have been his father/namesake, who by then was not only in his sixties but said to be a Tory.  As recorded in ~sims (the Sims Index to Land Grants in West Virginia) "Burns, William Jr." received land grants on Opequon Creek of 17½ acres in 1798 and 14 more in 1802.

Like so many in his family, William Jr. married a cousin: Magdalena Van Metre, known as "Leny" or "Lany," the eldest daughter of Jacob Van Metre and Isabella Evans.  (Lany's brother Abraham married William's sister Hannah.  Lany's father's brother Abraham married William's sister Elizabeth.  That Abraham's father—Lany's grandfather, ALSO named Abraham—was the half-uncle of William and Elizabeth's mother Joanna.  And they all had chicken and dumplings when she came.)

~vm/smyth (page 103) provides only dashes for Magdalena's birth and death dates; ~evans/aqwg05 estimates she was born "about 1770"; ~fitzgeraldsisters says 1772, but gives no source.  ~evans/aqwg05 states that William Jr. died before September 9, 1822.

The Comprehensive Version

William Burns [Jr.], the eldest child of William Burns [Sr.] and Johanna Van Meter, was born in 1752 in "Kearney[s]ville, Jefferson County" [which in 1752 would have been Frederick County].  Before 1780, he married his second cousin Magdalena "Lany" Van Meter (born circa 1760, one of ten children of Jacob Van Meter and Isabella Evans).  William Burns [Jr.] was recorded as a farmer in Berkeley County's 1810 and 1820 censuses.  He died intestate before February 11, 1822—a date taken from the lawsuit over his estate, which was settled on September 9, 1822.  DCB says "his children filed suit to have the land divided to give their mother her dower share of the land so that the children... could sell the remaining land.  A drawing of the land, location of the house, and division was filed with the suit."  To the right is a modern recreation of that original drawing:

Lany died after 1830, the year she was recorded in the county census as living by herself.  Five of her granddaughters were given her name.

(The present author admits to an irrational fondness for Magdalena, whose standout monicker unlocked the further reaches of Fine Lineage; and likes to think she was cut from similar cloth as her contemporary Dolley Payne Todd [1768-1849], who in 1794 married James Madison at Harewood near Charles Town—just a few miles down the road from Kearneysville.)

● Lany's Family

Magdalena's father, Jacob Van Metre [Sr.], was born circa 1744/45 in Frederick County VA: the son of Ruth Hedges and Abraham Van Metre [Sr.]. (Click here for more about them and their other children.)  Lany's mother was Isabella Evans (born 1746: the daughter of John Evans [Sr.] and Polly Van Metre; of whom see more below).  Jacob and Isabella lived east of the Opequon at "Killdare," a plantation of 200 acres that Jacob's father sold him on April 12, 1780.  ~evans/aqwg03 quotes Don C. Wood's article in The Berkeley Journal (Issue 10, 1981) concerning their home there:

The Jacob Vanmetre House is located off Route 9 across from Newton D. Baker Hospital.  The log house was built by Jacob Vanmetre Sr. about 1785.  It is located on land he had received from his father Abraham Vanmetre, son of John Vanmetre [Indian Trader] who died in 1745.  The house was built with exceptionally large logs and has a very large fireplace in the basement (first floor). 

The ten children of Jacob Van Metre/Meter [Sr.] and Isabella Evans were:

* Isaac Van Meter:  born June 26, 1766; in 1793 married his first cousin Mary "Polly" Evans (daughter of Isabella's brother John Evans [Jr.]; see below); had eleven or twelve children; died January 15, 1828 in Berkeley County VA; buried at Killdare; click here to see his headstone (plus one for his son Isaac, who died in 1831)
* Abraham Van Meter:  born March 24, 1769; in 1791 married his second cousin Hannah Burns (born 1773: daughter of William Burns [Sr.] and Jo(h)anna Van Meter, of whom see more in Chapter B-1); had eleven children (click here for a list); died July 3, 1833
* Magdalena "Lany" Van Meter:  born c.1760/72 (of whom see more above/below)
* Isabella Van Meter:  born c.1774; in 1792 married her first cousin Abraham Willis Gorrell (son of Jacob's sister Mary Ann Van Meter—click here for more); had twelve children; died October 19, 1853; buried at Killdare
* Elizabeth Van Meter:  born when?; married Thomas Tabb (born c.1776) in 1796 and had four children; died before 1812
* Ruth Van Meter:  born when?; in 1799 married her first cousin Joseph Gorrell [Sr.] (son of Jacob's sister Mary Ann Van Meter—click here for more); had three children; died when?
* Mary Van Meter:  born 1779; in 1797 married her first cousin John Evans III (son of Isabella's brother John Evans [Jr.]; see below); had seven children (including the memorably named Tillotson Fryatt Evans); died 1850
* Joseph Van Meter:  born when?; in 1802 married his first cousin Nancy Ann Evans (daughter of Isabella's brother John Evans [Jr.]; see below); had three children; died when?
* Anna "Nancy" Van Meter:  born 1784; in 1805 married her first cousin Abraham Van Meter III (son of Jacob's brother Abraham Van Meter [Jr.]—click here for more); had eleven children; worked as a physician; died February 9, 1859
* Jacob Van Meter [Jr.]:  born c.1790; in 1831 married Clarissa Larue (1802-1857); had one (or as many as four) children; worked as a farmer; died after 1850

You have to wonder whether Jacob Jr. got whispered about for marrying a girl who wasn't the child of an uncle or aunt.  (As for Elizabeth, see the Notes for an especially consanguine appearance in one webgen.)

Jacob Van Metre/Meter [Sr.] died on October 22, 1806 and was buried on his plantation; click here to see his headstone (plus an undated one for another "Jacob Van Meter Sr.")  According to www.vanmetre.com, the Killdare family cemetery is now part of Pleasant View Memory Gardens, located east of Martinsburg at 2938 Charles Town Road.

Jacob left his widow Isabella "one Negro woman and her children and the whole of his moveable property... at her decease it was to be sold and divided amongst his daughters, Magdalen Burns, Isabella Gorrell, Mary Evans, Elizabeth Tabb, Ruth Gorrell and Anna Vanmeter" (as per The Berkeley Journal).  Older sons Isaac and Abraham had already received their legacies while Jacob Sr. was alive; younger sons Joseph and Jacob were left Killdare, with Jacob Jr. getting the house after Isabella's death on June 28, 1817.  She too was buried at Killdare Cemetery; her headstone can be viewed with her husband's and son Isaac's.

● The Evanses

Isabella Evans's family has been traced (by ~evans/aqwg01 and its links) back to Joseph Evans, born circa 1692/95.  He may have hailed originally from Wales or Cecil County, Maryland, but by 1735—when he charged Samuel Finley with horse theft—Joseph was "of Oppechon" in Orange County VA.  He lived on Evans Run at Big Spring, south of where Martinsburg would be founded in 1778.  Joseph and his unnamed wife had two sons, John Evans [Sr.] and Isaac Evans [Sr.], both of whom were also living on the Opequon by the mid-1730s.

* John Evans [Sr.]:  born c.1718/20 in Pennsylvania; received a grant from Lord Fairfax in 1752 for 500 acres "where he lives on Great Road to Potomack River"; had eight children over thirty-plus years by his wife or wives (one of whom was said to be Polly Van Meter, born c.1723); died 1802 in Berkeley County VA

John's children:
* John Evans [Jr.]:  born 1745; married Polly Van Meter [?] and had twelve children (including John Evans III [1770-1829: married Isabella's daughter Mary], Mary "Polly" Evans [1774-c.1833: married Isabella's son Isaac], and Nancy Ann Evans [1781-c.1834: married Isabella's son Joseph]).  In 1796 John Jr. married Margaret Boyles; he died 1800 in Berkeley County VA
* Isabella Evans:   born 1746; of whom see more above
* Isaac Evans:  born 1750; married Martha Worthington and had seven children; died c.1793 in Berkeley County VA; Martha died by 1835
* Elizabeth Evans:  born 1753; married John Fryatt c.1774 and had five children (including the original Tillotson Fryatt); Elizabeth and John both died 1829 in Berkeley County VA
* Joseph Evans:  born 1765; married Mary Thomas (1772-1830) in 1789; had eleven children; by 1807 relocated to Fleming County, Kentucky; died there 1833
* Squire Evans:  born c.1770/2; married his cousin Mary Evans (1772-1810: daughter of Isaac Sr.'s son Joseph) and had two children; Squire then married Bethema (surname?) in 1816 in Fleming County KY
* Gabriel Evans:  born 1771; married Charity Hays c.1789; had six children; relocated to Fleming County KY by 1802; died there c.1849
* Martha Evans:  born c.1778; married Richard Barnhouse in 1799; died when?

(~burns/dcb says Polly Van Meter, daughter of an unspecified "Jacob or Abraham Van Meter," was born c.1723 and married John Evans [Sr.]  ~evans/aqwg03 says that c.1768, John Evans [Jr.] married Margaret "Polly" Van Meter [born c.1748 in Frederick County MD]—supposedly the daughter of Abraham Van Meter and Ruth Hedges, but missing from lists of their children.  The matter is further muddled by John Evans III's marrying his cousin Mary "Polly" Van Meter, daughter of Jacob and Isabella.)

* Isaac Evans [Sr.]:  born c.1723 in Pennsylvania; received a grant from Lord Fairfax in 1751 (a year earlier than John) for 282 acres "on Branches of Opechon where he had improved for several years"; married Aelis [surname?] c.1745; had nine children; died 1786 in Rockbridge County VA

Isaac's children:
* Joseph Evans:  born c.1748; married Mary (surname?) c.1767 and had six children, including Mary Evans (1772-1810: married her cousin Squire Evans, son of John Sr.).  In 1786 Joseph married Ann Nancy Snodgrass (1768-1806: from an Opequon family the Evanses frequently wedded with) and had another child; died c.1805 in Berkeley County VA
* Alsie Evans:  born 1750; married William Glenn (1749-1796) and had eight children; relocated to Mason County, Kentucky by 1792; died when?
* Isaac Evans [Jr.]:  born 1752; married Mary Elizabeth Strode (1759-1814) c.1779; had eight children; relocated to Champaign County, Ohio and died there c.1812
* James Evans:  born c.1755; married Ann (surname?); had two children; died after 1793
* John Evans:  born c.1760; married Rebecca Parks c.1780; had three children in Rockbridge County VA; Rebecca died c.1810; John followed c.1824 in Columbia, Fluvanna County VA
* Elizabeth Evans:  born c.1762; married a Mr. Martin; died by 1786 in Berkeley County VA
* Abraham Evans:  born c.1767; in 1788 married Mary Parks in Rockbridge County VA; after her death (by 1792) married Catherine Elizabeth Ensminger and had six children; died c.1848 in Warren County, Tennessee
* Rebecca Evans:  born 1772; married Valentine Dust (1770-1854) in 1793; had eight children, including John Evans Dust (born 1794: married his cousin Rebecca "Becky" Burns, daughter of William Jr. and Lany: see more below) and Joseph E[vans?] Dust (born 1800: married his cousin Elizabeth "Betsy" Burns, Becky's sister: see more below); died 1820 in Uvilla, Jefferson County VA; was buried there in the Dust Family Cemetery, where husband Valentine would join her
* Rachel Evans:  born 1773; in 1793 married Jesse Hedges (c.1755-1815: son of Joshua Hedges [Sr.] and Elizabeth Chapline; click here for more); had seven children; migrated to Fairfield County OH by 1806; died there c.1833/35 and was buried with Jesse in Hedges Cemetery

● The Second Generation

The Time-Honored Version

The original roster of William Burns [Jr.] and Magdalena Van Meter's children is in the book of "Abraham and Ruth Hedges Vanmeter Descendants" compiled circa 1882, published in Issue 10 (1981) of The Berkeley Journal, and reproduced by ~vm/descendants.  Pertinent excerpts below are "shown exactly as spelled and capitalized in [the original] book."

On page one is "Lang [i.e. Lany] married willaim Burns," while page nine gives us "Lany Vanmeter and wm Burns Children":

boys

John Burns  M  first wife, Sally lemon second wife Eliza Collis
Isaac Burns  M  Sandy Southwood
William Burns  M  Jane Marshel
Jonnathen Burns  M  Nancy williamson
Calip Burns  M  Sidny williamson

Girls

Mary Burns  M  Ashel Vanmeter
Alesy Burns  M  Jacob Shinkle
Joanna Burns  M  Eli Beller
Betsy Burns  M  Josoph Dust
Becky Burns  M  John dist

Page 103 of ~vm/smyth translates this as follows (with approximate birthyears, plus a second Rachel, from ~evans/aqwg05): 

* William Burns [III]:  born February 14, 1793 (of whom see more in Chapter B-4)
* Rachel H. Burns:  born circa 1795; died young?
* Mary (Polly) Burns:  born circa 1799; married her cousin Ashahel Van Metre (son of Abraham Van Metre [Jr.] and Elizabeth Burns, William Jr.'s sister—click here for more); had seven children††
* Jonathan Burns:  born circa 1802; married Nancy Williamson; had two sons, John Burns and Caleb Burns, each of whom married a Miss Locke§§
* Isaac V. Burns:  born circa 1804; married Sarah Southwood
* John Burns:  born circa 1808; married first Sarah Lemon, then Eliza Coles
* Caleb Burns:  born circa 1810; married Sidney Williamson
* Alice Burns:  born circa 1813; married Jacob Sharkle
* Elizabeth Burns:  born circa 1815; married Joseph Dust
* Rebecca Burns:  born circa 1817; married John Dust
* Joanna Burns:  born circa 1819; married Eli Bell of Kentucky
* Isabel Burns:  born circa 1820; married first Jacob Gorrell, then Morgan V. Kline
* Ruth Burns:  born circa 1821; married Henry Furry
* Rachel Burns:  born circa 1822 (presumably after Rachel H.'s death)

The Comprehensive Version

The fourteen children of William Burns [Jr.] and Magdalena "Lany" Van Meter, all born in Berkeley County VA, were:

* John Burns [Sr.]:  born 1780; in 1801 married Sarah "Sally" Lemon (1781-1839: daughter of Robert Lemen [sic] and Esther/Hester Banes, of whom see more in Chapter B-4); had four children; after Sally's death, married Eliza Collins (1818-1909) in 1841 and had seven more children†; John died between 1855 and 1860
* Alcinda "Elcy" Burns:  born June 3, 1789; in 1812 married Jacob Shartle [Sr.] (1786-1845); after his service in the War of 1812 they emigrated to Montgomery County, Ohio in 1816 and settled in Dayton by 1820; had eight children‡; Elcy died July 19, 1863 in Bethel Township, Clark County OH and was buried there in Medway Cemetery (row 28, grave 53)
* Isabella Burns:  born circa 1790; in 1801 married Jacob Gorrell (1782-c.1824: click here for more); then married Morgan A. Van Cleve in 1824; died February 18, 1855
* Joanna Burns:  born circa 1790/94; in 1804 married Eli Beller (1782-1834); had eight children§; emigrated to Kentucky by 1829; died there after 1840
* Mary "Polly" Burns:  born February 17, 1790; in 1808 married her cousin Ashahel Van Meter (1785-1870: son of Abraham Van Meter [Jr.] and Elizabeth "Betsy" Burns—click here for more); had seven children††; died November 12, 1853; buried in Berkeley County's Mt. Zion Baptist Cemetery
* William Burns [III]:  born February 22, 1793 (of whom more in Chapter B-4)
* Elizabeth "Betsy" Burns:  born circa 1795; in 1823 married her cousin Joseph E[vans?] Dust [Sr.] (born 1800: son of Valentine Dust and Rebecca Evans—see more above); had five children‡‡; family was living in Tippecanoe, Miami County, Ohio in 1850
* Rebecca "Becky" Burns:  born 1794/1800; in 1821 married her cousin John Evans Dust (born 1794, Joseph's older brother—see more above); had one child, Ruth Dust (no info)
* Jonathan Burns:  born 1798; in 1821 married Nancy C. Williamson (1800-1862); had seven children§§; worked as a farmer; was apparently living apart from wife and children in 1850; died July 13, 1864; was buried in Charles Town's Presbyterian Cemetery, Jefferson County WV
* Isaac Van Meter Burns:  born November 10, 1804; in 1850/51 married Sarah Jennings Southwood (1823-1852); worked as a farmer; had one child, Mildred Washington Burns (1851-1922: married Charles Orrick Payne c.1872 and had six children); Isaac died January 26, 1883 and was buried in Mt. Zion Baptist Cemetery
* Rachel H. Burns:  born October 5, 1806; was living with brother Isaac in 1850; shared a Martinsburg P.O. address with Isaac and his daughter Mildred in 1860; died November 10, 1861 and was buried in Mt. Zion Baptist Cemetery
* Caleb Burns:  born 1808; in 1830 married Sidney Williamson (1806-1883); had nine children†††; worked as a farmer; was living in Darby, Pickaway County, Ohio in 1850; emigrated to Kansas in 1859; died in Osawatomie Township, Miami County KS after 1860
* Ruth Burns:  born circa 1804/10 (no other info)
* [Unnamed] Burns:  (no info)

● Opequon Creek in 1810

Many familiar names appear in Berkeley County's 1810 federal census (~berkeleycensus/1810).  Of course "Vanmeter" is well-represented, as are the Hedgeses, Evanses, Tabbs, and Chenoweths.  Page 511 includes all the county's Burnses: John, George, John Jr., and William, along with neighbors Abisha Vanmeter, Edward Southwood, Isaac Vanmeter, Isabel Vanmeter, John Vanmeter, and John Evans—plus a Kervey, a Stang, two Vail/Vaals, a Gorset, a Gastral, a Beeler, a Bell, two Doyles, and a "Friatt"—presumably Tillotson Fryatt?)  Since only heads-of-households are named (without their ages), it is difficult to confirm that the four Burnses match those described in this chapter and B-1.

John Burns household
free whites aged 45 up:      none
free whites aged 26 to 44:  one male, one female
free whites aged 16 to 26:  none
free whites aged 10 to 16:  two male
free whites aged  0 to 10:   two male, three female
slaves:                            four

George Burns household
free whites aged 45 up:      one male
free whites aged 26 to 44:  none
free whites aged 16 to 26:  none
free whites aged 10 to 16:  one male, one female
free whites aged  0 to 10:   three male, three female
slaves:                            two

John Burns Jr. household
free whites aged 45 up:      one male
free whites aged 26 to 44:  one male, one female
free whites aged 16 to 26:  one male
free whites aged 10 to 16:  one male, one female
free whites aged  0 to 10:   two male, three female
slaves:                            one

William Burns household
free whites aged 45 up:      one female
free whites aged 26 to 44:  none
free whites aged 16 to 26:  two female
free whites aged 10 to 16:  none
free whites aged  0 to 10:   one male, two female
slaves:                            one

In 1810 John Burns (born 1771) and his wife Fanny Southwood (born 1777) would both have been aged 26-to-44.  They had seven children living in 1810: two boys between 10 and 16, plus two boys and three girls aged under 10.  Thus the "John Burns household" certainly appears to belong to William Sr.'s son John.

The "George Burns household" doesn't match.  George (born 1768) falls short of 45-up, and there's no entry for his wife Agnes Hedges (born 1775).  Ditto the "William Burns household," which lacks any male aged over ten.  Then there's "John Burns Jr.," who couldn't be John and Fanny's nine-year-old of that name.

However, there was William Jr.'s eldest son—John Burns [Sr.]—aged thirty in 1810; his wife Sally Lemon was a year younger, and they had four children under ten.  Could the 58-year-old William Jr. have been living with them instead of with Lany and his youngest children?  If so, to complete the "John Burns Jr. household" he must've been accompanied by 17-year-old William III, plus 12-year-old Jonathan and 10-year-old Isaac (one of them recorded as female); leaving the 45-up Lany with Betsy and Becky (both over sixteen) plus the under-tens Rachel, Caleb, and Ruth... in which case, why would William Jr. be entered as the household head?

Jefferson County's contemporary census (~jeffersonindex/1810) is by comparison a list of strangers.  The only Burnses listed are Patrick and Philip; there are no Hedgeses and just one "Vanmetre" (an Abraham, needless to say).

A note on the slaves: almost all the families on page 511 of the 1810 Berkeley County census were slaveowners, as were many others in the county.  Only a few had more than ten slaves; seven (including Edward Tabb) had more than twenty, while Andrew Waggener on page 525 is shown as owning 58.  But there are also five entries with the surname "(free Neg)" scattered between pages 509 and 519: households headed by Gilbert, Fanny, Jess, and two Rachaels.

● A Parting Glance

In Chapter B-4 our Burnses will leave the Eastern Panhandle and emigrate to Ohio; so let us take a parting glance at Opequon Creek via an 1847 map at ~xmission/whitnahd.  By comparing this hand-drawn map to an 1893 U.S. Geological Survey (click the thumbnail below for a view), to page 30 of the West Virginia Atlas & Gazeteer (Yarmouth: DeLorme, 2003) and to Google's online map of the area, we can pinpoint the original Burns family homestead on the west bank of the Opequon, in a bend of the creek southeast of Cold Spring Run.  In 1847 it belonged to "J. Burns Jr."  His neighbor to the west was "J. Whitenah"; to the south, one of the Gorrells; further south lived a "J. Burns" and an "I. V. Burns," with an "A. Vanmetre" to the west.  Across the Opequon we find more Vanmetres, a couple of Robertses, another "J. Burns," "J. S. Burns," "E. C. Southwood," and the Mt. Zion Baptist Church (which ~xmission/whitnahd says was "built on land donated by Edward Southwood and the Burns family").

The lack of first names frustrates identification of individual Burnses.  "I. V. Burns" is most likely William Jr.'s son Isaac Van Meter Burns (1804-1883) who married a Southwood and would be buried in Mt. Zion.  One of the "J. Burnses" could be Isaac's brother Jonathan Burns (1798-1864) who would be buried in Charles Town, Jefferson County.  "J. S. Burns" could be John Southwood Burns, son of William Jr.'s brother John; for that matter, John Southwood Burns could be "J. Burns Jr.," although ~vm/smyth indicates the original homestead was left by William Sr. to George Burns's sons William and Joseph.  Meanwhile William Jr.'s eldest son John Burns [Sr.] was still living in 1847, having married a girl almost forty years his junior and begun siring a second set of children (listed below).

Nowadays the old Opequon neighborhood is rather different.  Martinsburg is a city with a population of over 16,000, home to aerospace manufacturer Tiger Aircraft and the West Virginia Air National Guard's 167th Airlift Wing.  (For the greenminded, the Martinsburg area is also known for its apple and peach orchards.)  Just west of the original Burns homestead is the Eastern West Virginia Regional Airport, while Stonebridge Golf Club is just to the north.  Kearneysville has two industrial parks; Shepherdstown has Shepherd University, and in 2000 hosted peace talks between Israel and Syria.

But there amidst all this urbanity, connecting Paynes Ford Road with Charles Town Road (by Pleasant View Memory Gardens, the former Killdare plantation) can still be found a little byway called Van Metre Road.
 

            Notes

† John
     The four children of John Burns [Sr.] and first wife Sarah "Sally" Lemon were:
Magdalena Burns (born 1801/03); Esther L. Burns (c.1804-1826: married Thomas G. Flagg in 1825); Mary Burns (born c. 1805, married Josiah Roberts in 1822); and Robert L. Burns (born 1804/10, married Ruth Owings Downey, had six children, died before 1850).
     The seven children of John Burns [Sr.] and second wife Eliza Collins were:
Isaac Burns (1842-1919: married Naomi S. Burns of unspecified parentage); John Burns [Jr.] (1844-1919: married Mary Stump in 1847 and had four children, served in the 12th Virginia Cavalry under Stonewall Jackson and fought at Harpers Ferry, married Rebecca Garrett in 1875 and had four more children, then married Emma Fletcher circa 1885 and had nine more children); Franklin Burns (born c.1847); Charlotte Naomi Burns (1850-1867); Sarah "Sally" Burns (born 1850: married David Hawn and had eight children); Mary Belle Burns (1851-1900: married Richard Garrett); and Anna Elizabeth Burns (born c.1856, married Oakland B. "Okie" Frye after 1880 and had three children, died after 1920).

‡ Elcy
     The eight children of Alcinda "Elcy" Burns and Jacob Shartle [Sr.] were:
Jacob Shartle [Jr.] (born before 1817, died before 1850); William B. Shartle (1816-1889: married Nancy Ann Baker in 1850, had four children, buried in Medway OH's Medway Cemetery); John Shartle (born before 1821, died before 1850); James Findlay Shartle (1821-1882: married Mary Jane Croft in 1847, had eight children, buried in Medway); Elizabeth Shartle (born 1822/24: married Joseph Swaney aka Swainie in 1845); Lena Jane "Lany" Shartle (1825-1895: married Henry Croft in 1846, had four children); Elsie Shartle (born after 1825, died before 1850); and Isaac S. Shartle (born c.1829, married Catherine E. Gilfellin in 1853, had five children, emigrated to Minnesota by 1860, then by 1880 to Florida where he planted orange groves, died before 1900).

§ Joanna
     The eight children of Joanna Burns and Eli Beller were:
Isabella A. Beller (c.1809: married Presley J. Hill in 1829, had seven children); William Beller (born c.1811, married Barbara G. "Barbary" Young in 1832, had eight children, then married Lucinda [surname?] in 1858 and had two more children, worked as a peace officer, died before 1870); Jacob Beller (born 1815: married Margaret Miller in 1847, had two children, worked as a stonemason); Magdalene[?] Beller (c.1807: married Ludson/Ludsen/Lydson Green[e] Patrick in 1824); Polly Ann Beller (married John Maxey in 1835); Joanna P. Beller (c.1823-1897/98: married Seymore Butler in 1837[?], divorced him in 1839/40, then married Lorenzo Dow Clayton and had nine children); Sally Jane Beller (born c.1833); and Rachel Beller (no info).

†† Polly
The seven children of Mary "Polly" Burns and Ashahel Van Metre/Meter were:
     (Time-Honored Version)
Abraham Van Metre (married Mary Chuppuck); Elizabeth Van Metre (married J. Strider); Naomi Van Metre (married J.H. Strider); Rachael Van Metre (married Thomas Files); Sarah Van Metre (married John B. Files); Isabel Van Metre (married Asbury Tabler); and Mary Van Metre (married her cousin David Gorrell, son of Abraham Gorrell and Isabel Van Metre—click here for more).
     (Comprehensive Version)
Elizabeth Burns "Betsy" Van Meter (1809-1894: married Isaac G. Strider in 1828); Mary Burns "Polly" Van Meter (1812-1891: in 1841 married and had one child by David G. Gorrell, son of Abraham Willis Gorrell and Isabel Van Meter—click here for more); Isabel G. Van Meter (1816-1892: married Adam Asbury Tabler in 1847, had two children); Naomi Van Meter (1819-1892: married John Humphrey Strider in 1847, had one child); Abraham B. Van Meter (1822-1899: married Mary "Polly" Schoppert in 1845, had two children); Sarah Ann Van Meter (c.1827-bef.1900: married John Burns Files, had five children); and Rachel Jane B. Van Meter (1828-1873: married Thomas Files circa 1853 [Berkeley County marriage transcript reads "1833"] and had one child).

‡‡ Betsy
     The five children of Elizabeth "Betsy" Burns and Joseph E. Dust [Sr.] were:
Valentine W. "Volney" Dust (born c.1824, married Lucy A. French in 1856, had three children, worked as a fruit agent, died before 1900); Mary M. Dust (born 1829, married George Wheeler, had three children, died after 1910); Rebecca Dust (born c.1833); Alcinda S. Dust (aka Elcinda: born 1833, married Myron R. Peck, died after 1910); and Joseph E. Dust [Jr.] (born 1837, married Caroline [surname?], died after 1900).

§§ Jonathan
     The seven children of Jonathan Burns and Nancy Williamson were:
Mary Burns (1821-1904: married Harrison A. Anderson, had seven children); John Burns (1827-1894: married Mary Ellen Locke in 1852, had eight children, worked as a farmer); Caleb Burns (1829-1905: married Jane Amanda Locke in 1856, had five children, worked as a farmer); Susan E. Burns (born c.1831: married Charles H.B. Sullivan in 1850, had three children); Ann Catherine Burns (c.1836-1891: married Alfred H. Roberts in 1856, had five children); Virginia Burns (born c.1839: married John F. Sullivan in 1854, had two children); and Isaac Burns (no info).

††† Caleb
     The nine children of Caleb Burns and Sidney Williamson were:
Susan Mary Burns (c.1833: married first a Mr. Burr, then James Leazenby, had two children in Indiana and two more in Kansas); Morgan V. Burns (born 1834, married Eliza Hogue in Illinois in 1858, had two children, then married Susan [surname?] circa 1862 and had four more children, died after 1910); Margaret Jane Burns (born 1836: married Hampton B. Ross in Illinois in 1858, had six children); Rachel Ann Burns (born 1839, married Edward Smith Heaton, had two children, farmed in Illinois, died after 1910); Sarah E. Burns (born c.1840: no info); Rhoda W. Burns (1842-1895: married William Maxwell Bell in Kansas in 1862, had seven children, died and was buried in Oklahoma); Magdalena "Maggie" Burns (born c.1846: married a Mr. Hughes); Lavena R. Burns (born c.1848: no info); and Lorena E. Burns (born c.1853: no info).

●  Harewood, the mansion where James and Dolley Madison got married, was built of native limestone in 1770 by George Washington's brother Samuel, whose son George Steptoe Washington married Dolley's sister Lucy Payne; Harewood's marble mantelpiece had been presented to George Washington by the Marquis de LaFayette.  Charles Washington, another brother of George and Samuel, built the nearby Happy Retreat in 1780; six years later he laid out Charles Town on eighty adjoining acres.  When Jefferson County separated from Berkeley in 1801, Charles Town became its county seat; its courthouse would be the site of John Brown's trial for treason in 1859.
●  Jacob Van Metre/Meter is said to have fought in the Revolution alongside his father Abraham.
●  Newton D. Baker Hospital (across from the "Jacob Vanmeter" House) was built by the Army in 1943; "this veterans's hospital is located four miles east of Martinsburg" (as per a c.1950s brochure) and is today part of Martinsburg's Veterans Medical Center.
●  The list of Jacob Van Metre/Meter and Isabella Evans's children was taken from ~burns/dcb, with some addenda and variations from ~evans/aqwg05 and ~tabbusa.
●  To rephrase a Note from Chapter B-2: ~burns/dcb states that the first husband of Lany's sister Elizabeth Van Meter was Jacob Gorrell, son of Elizabeth's sister Isabella Van Meter—meaning if Jacob were Elizabeth's husband, she'd have married her own nephew.  (No birthdates are entered for either Jacob or Elizabeth.)  Supposedly they had one child, Jacob Tabb Gorrell (also no birthdate) who married Susan Jackson.  However, ~evans/aqwg05 shows Elizabeth marrying only Thomas Tabb and having his four children—including Jacob Tabb (born c.1808) who married Susan Jackson in 1828.  (~tabbusa says his full name was Jacob VanMetre Tabb.)  DCB hopes someday to determine what is amiss with his findings: "the dates definitely don't make sense, but is it the dates that are wrong or the relationships[?]"
●  ~burns/dcb also states that after Elizabeth Van Meter Tabb's death, her widower Thomas Tabb married Mary "Polly" Van Meter—daughter of Elizabeth's brother Isaac—on December 3, 1812.  However, Polly's birthdate is given as March 7, 1811.  ~evans/aqwg05 agrees she was Isaac's daughter, but gives no birthdate.  ~tabbusa calls her "Poly" but gives neither birthdate nor parentage.  (However, it quotes an 1886 letter remarking that "Thomas [Tabb] was a wild and reckless man.  He... possessed the most indomitable resolution of any man in those parts."  Whether or not that extended to marrying a one-year-old girl, he and Poly/Polly would have six or seven children.
●  The Snodgrass family (whom the Evanses frequently intermarried with) owned a famous tavern on the Warm Springs Road between Martinsburg and Bath/Berkeley Springs.  George Washington stayed there in 1784.
●  ~vm/smyth says Jonathan Burns had one son, John Burns, who married a Miss Foch; ~vm/descendants adds a second son, Caleb, and says both married Miss Lock (or perhaps two Misses Locks).
●  ~miami/ks reports an entry for Caleb Burns and family in Family Histories and Stories of Miami County, Kansas (Volume II) which calls their eldest daughter "Susan Mary Leazenby Burr" and says she was buried in Oakwood Cemetery, Osawatomie Township, Miami County KS; but the contributor could not locate a marker for her in that cemetery.
●  Jefferson and Berkeley Counties—though lightyears away from airports, if not golf courses—were nevertheless undergoing modernity in the 1830s.  The Chesapeake and Ohio Canal opened; the Baltimore & Ohio Railroad linked with the Winchester & Potomac at Harpers Ferry; and a three-arched stone bridge was built across the Opequon at Van Metre Ford.  This bridge still stands and is on the National Register of Historic Places: "The only changes... have been resurfacing of the road [originally Warm Springs] and repair to the walls above the road line where automobile accidents have caused destruction.  Although worn, the stonework has held up superbly to the stresses of load and forces of the elements," reports ~vm/bridge, which includes three photos.
●  Don Whitnah, webmaster of ~xmission/whitnahd, reports that Paynes Ford Road was originally called "the road to Burns' ford" or "Burnsford road."
●  DCB quotes a Mrs. Oscar Burns of Martinsburg: "William Burns (Sr.), his wife Joanna and some of the children and grandchildren were buried on the 'Home' farm.  The inscriptions from the stones of William and Joanna were copied years ago.  The graveyard has been bulldozed over (1972).  The Burns farm was across a ford in the Opequon.  The house and graveyard were on the low land near the Creek...  'Home' is now called Payne farm."  (DCB adds: "That answered a longstanding mysery as to why none of us... had been able to find the graves, although through land records, we'd been able to navigate to the location of the plantation.  There is a small bridge across the Opequon where the ford used to be, but there has been some relatively modern development along that area.")
 

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