BEDFORD WEEKLY MAIL BEDFORD, INDIANA FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 8, 1899 The Burton Family The 25th annual reunion of the Burton Family which was held at the Burton cemetery and grove, two miles southwest of Mitchell, Aug. 25th was attended by nearly 200 persons, all related by blood or marriage to the Burton family of which John Pleasant Burton was born in Virginia July 8th 1758 and came to Lawrence County early in this century, settling in the immediate neighborhood of the Burton cemetery, where he died July 4th, 1886. He was, with his wife, Susannah Stamper, buried at the cemetery at Burton's Gap about two miles west of Mitchell, on the north side of an adjoining the B & O S W road, and at his own request, instead of being buried in the usual posture, he was buried standing facing the east. To him and his wife 13 children, ten sons and three daughters, were born, and all of them lived to be over 50 years of age. Some years after his death when the Burton graveyard was established, his descendants erected to the memory of John P Burton and his wife, Susannah, a fine large monument bearing the names , dates of birth and death of both of them, the names of the children and the fact of the place and posture in which he was buried, and that the Masonic ceremony at his burial was conducted by George Tincher "a brother Mason" In the same yard, many of his children and grandchildren are buried. The historian of the meeting held this year, Miss Bertha F. Wolfe, in her remarks said that it was reliably stated in their family history that the Burton family in this country was founded by two brothers who came from England to Virginia in the 17th century, and that one of these men was a preacher and the other was a pirate. this remark was the occasion of much good humored observation on the part of the various descendants of one of the worthies present and led to final conclusion that while no one knew which brother was the pirate and which the preacher, since his day none of its descendants of either had turned to piracy, while many had turned to preaching. The chief occupation of the Burtons, Miss Wolfe said, had been farming but the John P Burton family numbered lawyers, doctors, teachers, engineers, merchants, and in short followers of almost every known legitimate calling. This family was noted for its devotion to the Union cause in the civil war. One remarkable feature is the longevity of its members. That 13 children born to one set of parents should each and all live to be more than 50 years old is indeed remarkable, but that so many men and women bearing the name and descended from the same man, should pass 80 is not less remarkable. Eli Burton of the same family, died last winter, near Mitchell aged 92. He was a son of John Pleasant Burton. The descendants of the founder of Lawrence county family must number near to 1000 persons now living, although this is an estimate and not offered as very reliable. This is about the first family in Indiana to have family reunions and its example has been followed by many others. The meetings are held in a beautiful grove adjoining the cemetery and a speaker's stand and seats have been carefully provided and the grounds including the cemetery, neatly cleaned off. Members of the family live in almost every state of the union, and some are in foreign lands. Mrs. Eliza A Millis who died at Plainville last fall was a granddaughter of the founder of the family, and J Ralph Burton, the Kansas Politician is a grandson.