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THE BURGHARDT/BURGET FAMILY IN AMERICA 1625-1995

Updated July 30, 2008


Copyright © 2008 by Milbrey Otto Burgett
Fort Lauderdale, FL
ALL RIGHTS RESERVED

This compilation of genealogical information about individuals on both my paternal and maternal sides of my family and their allied families may be used freely for the personal use of those individuals researching those families and individuals.
Attribution of the source of the material will be appreciated.

COPYING OR DISTRIBUTING THE COMPILED MATERIAL ON THIS WEBSITE
FOR COMMERCIAL PURPOSES IS STRICTLY PROHIBITED.

FOREWORD

Religious wars in Europe after the Protestant Reformation, especially in the Rhineland areas of France and Germany, resulted in wide-spread persecution and the graviation of many to Holland, which has long been known for its religious and political tolerance and as a place of haven for the persecuted. The well-known Jewish philosopher, Spinoza, was among those who migrated to Holland when King Ferdinand and Queen Isabella expelled all of the Jews from Spain in 1492. Although the Pilgrims were English, they lived in Holland for some time before departing to America in the Mayflower. Since Holland and Denmark share a common Frisian heritage, many Danes from the province of Schleswig-Holstein also migrated to America through Holland in the mid-1600's.

The origins of the BURGHARDT family is not currently known for certain, and the multiplicity of spellings of the surname has only added complexity to researching the family. While the family was most probably German, they undoubted initially migrated to America through Holland; since we find them living among, intermarrying with, and sharing the customs and religion of the earliest Dutch settlers of the New York's Hudson River Valley from the early to mid-1600's after the exploration of the river by the English-born Henry Hudson in his quest for a 'Northwest Passage' through North America to India for the Dutch East India Company in 1609.

Hendrick Coenraetse Burchardt [alias van Bonn], who was probably b. abt 1645 in Bonn, Germany, is the first ancestor for whom my genealogical research has currently revealed any solid information. Based on Dutch 'patronomics,' a naming system in which the middle name of a child was derived by adding the suffix, se or sen, to the first name of the father, it may be inferred with a high degree of probability that Coenreat Borghghardt was the name of the father of Hendrick Coenraetse Burchardt. Allowing 25 years for each generation, it is estimated that his father, Coenreat, was probably born about 1620 in Germany.

Variations in the spelling of names, especially Dutch names, are explained by the fact that the names were taken exactly as they appeared in christening, marriage, death, and cemetery records [primarily from various Dutch Reformed Churches] after confirming that a person was indeed a blood relation. A list of various spellings of the surname--Bogardus, Bogart, Borgaart, Burget, Burgett, Burghardt, Burghart, Burkhart, etc.--taken from such sources would take a full 8-1/2 x 11 page.

In 1996, I compiled a two-volume publication of the genealogy of ‘The BURGHARDT/BURGET Family in America 1625-1995.’ This publication has been distributed to various individuals who purchased copies, as well as to the following libraries and genealogical and historical societies in those areas where BURGHARDT/BURGET individuals migrated from the Dutch settlements in the Hudson River Valley westward:

Great Barrington Historical and Genealogical Society, Great Barrington, MA; Columbia County Historical Society, Kinderhook, NY; Dutch Settlers Society, Albany, NY; New York State Library, Albany, NY; Old Stone Fort, Schoharie, NY; A. D. White Research Society, Burgettstown, PA; Ashtabula County Genealogical Society, Jefferson, OH; Ohio State Library, Columbus, OH; Allen County Library, Fort Wayne, IN; Missouri State Archives, Columbia, MO; Texas State Library, Austin, TX; Montague County Genealogical Society, Bowie, TX; Oklahoma

Milbrey Otto Burgett
777 Bayshore Drive
Apt. 601
Fort Lauderdale, FL 33304
United States
954-564-1322
mottob@comcast.net

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Family Photos

  • Edmond SCHELLENGER & Lavinia BURGETT (74 KB)
    Photograph provided by Ed Schultz.
  • Milbrey Otto Burgett 1987 (21 KB)
    Taken at Yale University, New Haven, CT
  • Almena [BURGETT] SCHELLENGER & Clarence and Clara (54 KB)
    Photograph provided by Ed Schultz.
  • Henry&Cyrena [Fanning] Burgett-Montague Co., TX (50 KB)
    The family of Henry and Cyrena [Fanning]Burgett of Montague Co., TX probably ca. 1910--[L to R] Dama Elizabeth [b. 1890], Henry [b. 1856], Florence Lucinda [b. 1886], John H. [b. 1895], and Cyrena [b. abt. 1856].
  • William Otto BURGETT (38 KB)
    This photograph of my father, William Otto BURGETT [b. 1890, Yukon, Oklahoma Indian Territory], was taken about 1910 at St. Jo, Montague Co., TX.
  • Vivian Ona [SMITH] MARTIN BURGETT (27 KB)
    This photograph of my mother, Vivian Ona [SMITH] MARTIN BURGETT, my half-sister, Jimmie MARTIN, and me was taken in 1928 at Hollis, Harmon Co., OK.
  • John Samuel BURGETT & Lillie Evalee Wray (18 KB)
    This photograph of my paternal grandparents, John Samuel BURGETT & Lillie Evalee WRAY, and their first three children--Ethel Irene BURGETT [on lap], William Otto BURGETT [my father standing in front], and Effie BURGETT [standing at left]--was probably taken about 1895 at Yukon, Canadian Co., Oklahoma Indian Territory.
  • Cynthia Ann Medford POUNDS/Thomas Jefferson SMITH (52 KB)
    This photograph of my maternal grandparents, Cynthia Ann Medford [POUNDS] GILLEY and Thomas Jefferson SMITH, their first child, William Jennings Bryan SMITH [b. 1898, Marysville, Cooke Co., TX] and their third child, Amy SMITH [b. 1902, Marysville, Cooke Co., TX] was probably taken about 1903 at Marysville, Cooke Co., TX.
  • Eliza Jane [WYATT] POUNDS (17 KB)
    This is a photograph of my maternal great-grandmother, Eliza Jane [Wyatt] POUNDS, the second wife of Joel Marion David POUNDS of Marysville, Cooke Co., TX. Her youngest daughter, Nylethia Zouvendia [POUNDS] WARD is with her.
 

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