There is a Burwell family in southwestern Ontario and one in Virginia. No one is sure if they’re related. I wonder if the link might be through Burwells in Connecticut.
The Ontario Burwells are United Empire Loyalists. Fighting for the losing side in the American Revolution, they fled New Jersey north to still-British Canada. The Virginia Burwells fought on the American side. In the War of 1812, the two again fought on opposite sides. In the American Civil War, the Virginia Burwells, plantation owners, fought on the Confederate side.
An obituary of James Burwell of Fingal says he was grandson to John Burwell “who removed from James Town, Virginia, in the year 1721, a relative of the extensive family of Burwells in that county.” A relative. Speculation has been that this John Burwell (1695-1763) was the son of Lewis Burwell Jr. and Martha Lear.
I suggest instead that John and Lewis Jr. were 3rd cousins twice removed, related through two cousins in England. One cousin, John’s great-great-grandfather, came to Connecticut. The other died in England but his widow and son Lewis (Sr.) moved to Virginia. Molly’s Burwell Family webpage has Samuel Burwell of Connecticut as John’s father. From this, I found what seems like a feasible line back to England and thus to the Virginia line.
Burwell Family Chart, Canada and USA
Other Burwells
The story of the Virginia Burwells is like Gone with the Wind with spin-offs. There are two Burwells I will write more about in future. They are on the bottom right side of my chart.
Lt. Gen. Chesty Puller USMC
Lt. Gen. Lewis Burwell Puller is a descendant of Lewis Burwell V. Nicknamed Chesty, he was the most-decorated Marine in US history. Wikipedia says he is a distant cousin of Gen. George S. Patton. I haven’t looked into that, but it sounds like they were spiritual kin if not actual.
A quote attributed to Lt. Gen. Chesty is: “We’ve been looking for the enemy for some time now. We’ve finally found him. We’re surrounded. That simplifies the problem”.
The Marine Corps Bulldog mascot is named after him. Pfc. Chesty XIV (2013) is pictured here.
Pvt. William Kirkland
George “William” Kirkland is a descendant of Armistead Burwell, Lewis’ brother. First known as “Garland’s George,” he enlisted as “William Kirkland” in the Union Army during the Civil War. He died in the Battle of Wilson’s Creek in Missouri.
Pvt. Kirkland was born into slavery, son of Elizabeth Keckley. Armistead Burwell fathered – and owned – Elizabeth. He later gave her to his legitimate daughter Anne, who married Hugh Garland of North Carolina. Andrew Kirkland, friend of the Garlands, fathered Elizabeth’s son George.
Elizabeth bought emancipation for herself and her son. She then set up a dressmaking business in Washington DC and became friends with Mary Todd Lincoln. She wrote a memoir entitled Behind the Scenes, or, Thirty Years a Slave and Four Years in The White House.
Comments, corrections and additional information are welcome. See my Mrs. Elizabeth Keckley for more on her and her son.
Tom Vernon
3 Feb 2021I am related to the Burwells through the Carters. King Robert is a grandfather several generations back I am particularly interested in the grand children and great grandsons of Lt Col Nathaniel Burwell who were Confederate soldiers.
Dorothy
4 Feb 2021Hi Tom, I don’t know much about the Virginia Burwells, other than what’s here and in my Burwell family tree. I’m still trying the find their connection with my Canadian Burwells. For Nathaniel Bacon Burwell and Elizabeth Carter, I have Lewis, Nathaniel, Carter, Betty and Robert as children. Googling them, I found some interesting collections in libraries. The Grymes Family site led me to the Rockefeller Library in Williamsburg VA. From the Collections page, look under Digital Resources for Manuscripts and under Guides and Indexes for Manuscripts to find Nathaniel Burwell’s papers. I also found family papers and historical writings of a 4th? great nephew of his, Armistead Burwell (1839-1913), in the UNC Library. Thanks for writing, you’ve pointed me toward loads of material I haven’t seen before!
Patricia Hendewich
9 Sep 2018Hi Dorothy – I am very interested in your James Burwell, b Feb 10, 1822 who married Elizabeth Blakeley on January 13, 1863. Elizabeth Blakeley is in my family line (confirmed via dna testing) and I’m trying to confirm her marriage to James Burwell (via a paper trail). May I ask what documentation you found for their marriage information? Any help would be greatly appreciated. Thank you.
Dorothy
9 Sep 2018Hi Patricia, I have no documents for her. My source for their marriage is a family tree done by the late Lloyd H. Burwell. I see in comments on my Burwell family tree that W. Phillips also mentions James and Elizabeth in his listing of the children of Robert Lee Burwell (dated 2014/10/30). Mr. Phillips says too that Hiram Dickson was Elizabeth’s first husband but I know nothing more about him.
Patricia Hendewich
9 Sep 2018Thanks for getting back to me Dorothy. I hadn’t realized that Elizabeth had been married more than the once. I guess the search is on again then. All the best.
Ciaara
10 Aug 2018Hi Dorothy, I’d love to talk more to you about the elusive John Burwell (1695-1763) but I don’t know how to reach you privately – can you please get in touch? Thanks!
Dorothy
10 Aug 2018Hi Ciarra – done!
Gail
24 Oct 2015I visited Williamsburg a few years ago. Well worth the trip. When I toured the governors mansion in Williamsburg there was mention of a Burwell who stood in as Govenor for I think a year which was a short term. England had enormous control over these governors. Williamsburg was first settled in 1633 and I think Jamestown was where they first landed in 1610. I visited Jamestown as well. I had often wondered if there was a connection to the Burwells in Virginia and those that were in New Jersey and Conn. Jamestown was where they all landed ,first so did they migrate north from Virginia,probably . That was my guess. I purchased the historical book of Williamburg and they did mention in it a Rebecca Burwell who was linked to Thomas Jefferson. They never mentioned the Burwell that stood in as Govenor. But I learned about him from the tour of the governors mansion.
Dorothy
24 Oct 2015Hi Gail, what a wonderful trip that must have been. I now want to go to Virginia too. Yes, Lewis, son of Nathaniel Burwell and Elizabeth Carter, was acting governor after the death of the governor in 1750. Lucy Burwell (Nathaniel’s sister I think) was courted by Governor Nicholson but refused to marry him. William, grandfather of Letitia Burwell, was private secretary to Thomas Jefferson. Letitia wrote a couple books about pre-Civil War life, one I have a link to at the bottom – A Girl’s Life in Virginia. There used to be a huge website about them and their houses and Virginia. I can’t find it now, so I’ve been getting bits and pieces from all over. I don’t think I came across Rebecca, so I’ll look into that. Thanks, and thanks for writing.