The Ancestors of Champ Bristol Burgin

The marriage was not always happy.

Joe was obviously a troubled man.

Mother: Dovey Jane Geer born Jan 29, 1865 in South Carolina, died 27 Jan 1946 in Greer, Spartanburg, SC.

They were married on January 9, 1879. Joe was 20, Dovey was 20 days short of 14. Dovey was a sweetheart according to reports.

Jesse David Burgin and Martha Matilda Allen - Joe

John Geer Jr, and Elizabeth Jane Bradley - Dovie

Martha Matilda Allen was born December  11, 1829 in Rutherford County, NC and died 29 Oct, 1909 in Ethel, Grayson, Texas. They were married on March 18, 1851 in Rutherford County, NC. 

John Geer Jr was born 22 March, 1827 in Anderson County, South Carolina and died January 25, 1892 in Gordo, Pickens, Alabama

Elizabeth Jane Bradley was born in August of 1825 in North Carolina and died Jul 12, 1887 in Gordo, Pickens County, Alabama. They were married on March 14, 1849 in Rutherford County, NC.

Below is an obituary for Dovies brother.

Jesse Burgin Jr. (1787 - 1864) and Martha Burgin (1791 -1870) p/o Jesse David Burgin

William W. Allen (1782-1853) and Nancy Baldridge (1788-1856) p/o Martha M. Allen Burgin

David Nichols Geer (1801-1878) and Nancy Taylor (1800-1882) p/o John Geer

John Willis Brady (1802-1877) and Elizabeth "Betsy" Ardella McKinney (1805-1904) p/o Elizabeth Bradley

Jesse Burgin Jr. was born on Jan. 15, 1787 in McDowell County, NC and died on March 4, 1864 in Crooked Creek, McDowell County, NC

Martha Burgin was born on Dec 8, 1791 in Old Fort McDowell County and died on August 5, 1872 same place. Martha is commemorrated as the first (European) child born in Old Fort.

William W. Allen was born on Jan 8, 1782 in Virginia or in Rutherford County. There seems to be a difference of oppinion as to when the family arrived to Rutherford County, but after the Revolutionary War. He died on August 11, 1853 in Rutherford County, NC. 

Nancy Baldrige was born on June 20, 1788 in Lincoln County, NC and died on August 14, 1856 in Rutherford County, NC. The couple were married on November 10, 1808 in Rutherford County and are buried together at Brittain Cemetery in Rutherford County. 

David Nichols Geer was born September 27, 1801 in Pendleton District, now Anderson County, South Carolina. He is said to be 'of Neal's Creek'. He died on May 13, 1878 in Broadway, Anderson County, South Carolina. 

Nancy Taylor was born Februay 27, 1800 in Pendleton District, SC and died on June 15, 1882 in same. 

The couple were married on November 24, 1818 and are buried together at Neal's Creek Baptist Church

John Willis Bradley was born on December 8, 1802 in Rutherford County, NC. He died on April 26, 1877 in Gilkey, Rutherford County, NC. He lived on Cathey's Creek and went by Willis or Will.

On December 2, 1826, he married Elizabeth McKinney. 

Elizabeth "Betsy" Ardella McKinney was born on November 10, 1805 in Broad River, Rutherford County, NC and died on December 12, 1904 in Gilkey, Ruthford County, NC. She was one month shy of her 100th birthday. 

They are buried at Gilboa Methodist Church in Rutherfordton

Jesse B. Burgin (1753 - 1802) and Mary Martha Williams (1760 -aft 1802) p/o Jesse Burgin Jr.

Benajmin "Pioneer Ben" Burgin (1741-1823) and Elizabeth Leah Mann (1754-1837)p/o Martha Burgin Burgin

John Taylor Allen (1754-1827) and Mary Ann Butler (1757-1827) p/o William W. Allen.

Alexander Baldridge (1763- 1837) and Sarah Jane McMurray (1768-1856) p/o Nancy Baldridge

Solomon Geer (1775-1851) and Nancy Nichols Geer (1775-1827) p/o David Nichols Geer

James Taylor (1780-1846) and Elizabeth Aker (1784-18620 p/o Nancy Taylor

John Bradley (1762-1835) and Nancy Hampton (1759-1805) p/o John Willis Bradley

William McKinney (1770-1857) and Elizabeth Hampton (1783- 1805) p/o Elizabeth Ardella McKinney

Jesse B. Burgin Sr. was born on January 22, 1753 in Shrewsbury, Kent County, Maryland. The family migrated to the mountains of North Carolina and lived around Burke and McDowell Counties. Jesse later migrated to Georgia and died in 1802 in Wilkes County, Georgia. They had migrated with a group of interealted families when land was being confiscated due to the Revolutionary War. Some of the group would return to Old Fort. He married Mary Martha Williams before 1782, probably in Burke County, NC. His son would marry the daughter of his brother Benjamin. 

Mary Martha Williams was born around 1760 in Maryland. She died date and place unknown in Georgia after a group of families were forced off their land in North Carolina. Her father was a Loyalist to the British government during the Revolutionary War. 

Benjamin "Pioneer Ben" Burgin was born on November 30 and Christianed on Christmas Day in 1741 in Shrewsbury, Kent County, Maryland.

One of easiest settlers in Old Fort. 

Married orphan Leah Mann on November 18, 1772 in Rowan County, NC. Died April 5, 1823 in Old Fort, NC.

Elizabeth Leah Mann was born about 1754 in Rowan County, NC. She was noted as being 5 years old and an orphan when she was bound to Col. George Davidson. She likely grew up in what it now Stanly County because George Davidson settled near Cottonville. 

Leah died on August 9, 1837 in Old Fort.

John Taylor Allen, Jr was born in April of 1754, some day Chester County, PA., others Mecklenburg County, NC. He married Mary Ann Butler. He was in Mecklenburg County in the 1790 census and in Morgan, Rutherford County by 1800. He died October 15, 1827 in Union Mills, Rutherford County, NC.

Mary Ann Butler was born January 25, 1757 in Duplin County, NC. Her family line has been verified by the DAR. She died about 1827 in Rutherford County and left a Will.

Below, DNA report on John Taylor Allen.

Alexander Baldridge was born about 1756 in Lancaster County, PA. He married Sarah Jane McMurray in Rutherford County, NC in 1819. He died, leaving a Will in Rutherford County in 1837.

Sarah Jane McMurray was born on June 20, 1768 in Rutherford County, NC. She is found living in the Mountain Creek Community in 1850 and passed away there in 1856.

Solomon Geer was born around 1775 in North Carolina. He married in Wake County on May 23, 1798 to Nancy Nichols Geer. He died in October of 1851, leaving a Will.  Nancy was born in 1775 , both of them died in the Pendleton District/Anderson County, SC. 

James Taylor was born around 1780 in Mecklenburg County, Virginia. He lived in Jackson County, Tennesee for awhile before settling in Tennesee where he passed away about 1846. His wife Elizabeth Acker Taylor passed away before James and was buried in the Acker Family Cemetery.

John Willis Bradley was born about 1762 in Bute (Granville) County, NC. He married Nancy Hampton on March 10, 1790 in Rutherford County, NC. John Bradley was a Revolutionary War soldier. Nancy applied for a pension. She left a will when she passed away. They both supposedly died in Rutherford County, NC.

William McKinney may have been born in Rutherford County. He was born in North Carolina around 1770. His line has been proven by DAR as his father, Capt. John McKinney, Jr. was a Revolutionary War Patriot. He was married at least three times, to Elizabeth Hampton, to Lucy Miller and to Lucy Callahan. He died in December of 1857 in Spartanburg, SC. Elizabeth Hampton was the mother of Elizabeth "Betsy" Ardella McKinney. Elizabeth was born in 1783 in Rutherford County and probably died in Spartanburg County, NC

After the next generation, some lines drift into the mists of time. Others have more solid information. Instead of looking at individuals, I will be looking at families and what information is solid on them.

John Burgin (1704-1753) and Mary Martha Davis (1710-1762) p/o Jesse B. Burgin Sr. 

Henry Hukey Williams (1740-18190 and Anne Lightfoot ( )  p/o Mary Martha Williams

John Burgin (1704- 1753) and Mary Martha Davis (1710-1762) p/o Benjamin Burgin (same as above)

John Mann (1727-1758) and Elizabeth Allen Davis (1734-1758) p/o Leah Mann.

Joseph Wallace Butler (1698-1763) and Dorothy Cook (1700-1763) p/o Mary Ann Butler.

John William Baldridge (1717-1766) and Rebecca Clark ( d 1823) p/o Alexander Baldridge.

Samuel Mitchell McMurray (1745-1803) and Margaret J Anderson (1750-1802) p/o Sarah Jane McMurray.

David Geer (1745-1770) and Susannah Madison (? d 1823) p/o Solomon Geer.

Thomas Nichols (1755-1829) and Sarah Smith (1754-1829) p/o Nancy Nichols Geer

John Taylor (1734- bef 1800) and Frances Anderson (1757- ?) p/o John Taylor

Peter Aker (1730-1815) and Jane Sutherland (1752-1825) p/o Elizabeth Aker

Jonathan Thomas "John" Bradley (1718-1778) Mary "Polly" Ledbetter (1742-1825) p/o John Willis Bradley

Col. Andrew Hampton (1713-1805) and Catherine (Catherina)  Elizabeth Hyder (1730- ?) p/o Nancy Hampton

Capt. John McKinney Jr. (1770-1857) and Jean Cunningham (1742-1804) p/o William McKinney

Jonathan Hampton (1751-1853) and Nancy Walker (1760-1825) p/o Elizabeth Hampton.

The Burgins are one of the better researched families in this category, probably due to the fact that the name was not overly populous. John Burgin, the double-third Great Grandfather of C. B. Burgin, hailed from Shrewsbury Parrish in Kent County, Maryland. He was the father of both Benjamin "The Pioner" Burgin and Jesse B. Burgin. He was christianed on Septmeber 14, 1704, the son of Phillip Burgin and Rosamond Elzabeth Quinney. 

The above research paper by Becky Burgin shows that John married Mary Martha Davis, daughter of  James Davis and Penelope Reed. After his death, she remarried to William Merritt, who was a step-father to the six Burgin sons.

Phillilp Burgin was the immigrant ancestor of this line, being born in 1649 in Crediton, Mid- Devon District, Devon, England. He died in 1709 in Kent County, Maryland.He is supposedly the son of a Phillip Burgyn and Joanne Evans. The surname originated in France and the referred to someone from Burgandy. 

Above is another research document on the Phillip Burgin line, author unknown, downloaded from the library of the Garner-Webb University. Philllip Burgin was transported to America in 1677 or 1678. Two different men claimed to have transported him. He settled in Cecil County, in what would become Kent. He lived at and purchased a place called Ivingo on Turner's Creek, an inlet of the Sassafras River. 

The above information from Find-a-Grave concerns the heritage of Rosalind Quinney Burgin, who was born in Virginia. Rosalind, daughter of Sutton Quinney or Queeney and Ann Gilbert was of English and Viking descent, a direct descendant of William the Conqueror. Her father, Sutton, was born in Stratford -on-Avon, son of William Queeney and Ann Sutton. This line can be traced a few more generations back to Sir John Phillips of Picton Castle in Wales (1502- 1551), through William Queeneys mother, Elizabeth Phillips Queeney, wife of Richard.

After the death of John Burgin, his widow, Mary Martha Davis married William Merritt and after her death, he married another Martha.

Martha's parents were James Davis and Penelope Reed. James Davis was an immigrant from Kilburnie, Ayleshire, Scotland. He married Penelope Reed in Saint Paul's Parrish, Kent, Maryland on January 2, 1709. Her father, William John Reed/Redd was an Irishman from Donegal who married 'Jane' in England, arrived in Maryland in 1703, settled in Baltimore Hundred, Somerset County by 1723, when he bought property and died in Williamsburg, VA. in 1728.

The family of Henry Williams were old Virginia families. He was the son of Joseph Williams and Rebecca Lanier. They lived in the "northern neck".

The Laniers were another old Virgina family that originated in the Northern neck and were of English origin.

The immigrant couple of William Baldridge and wife Janette Holmes, daughter and James and Margaret Jane Jennings Holmes, hailed from Coleraine, County Londonderry, Ulster, Ireland. They arrived in Philadelphia, PA aboard the Queen Margaret. They settled between the Octorara Creek and eastern bank of the Susquehanna River. They were members of the Little Brittain Congregation of the Presbyterian Church of Lancaster County and the Muddy Run Society.

The Mann family can be traced back to a Thomas Mann who was born in Nansemond County, Virginia about 1666 and migrated to Bertie County, NC. He was the son of Thomas Mann Sr and Elizabeth Booth and married Bridget Hooker. He lived in Chowan County in 1717. There is mention of this family in early Isle of Wight records. Thomas Sr and wife were immigrants from Gloucestershire, England.

There are two related Hampton lines. Elizabeth Hampton who married McKinney was the daughter of Jonathan "Reel Foot" Hampton. He settled on Cathy's Creek. He was nearly hanged during Rev. War times. He was elected to NC Senate.

Newspaper clip

Col. Andrew Hampton was the patriarch of the family. He settled on Dutchman's Creek in 1754. He commanded the Rutherford militia in the Battle of Kings Mountain. The family cemetery is on family lands near Mountain Creek. 

Nancy Hampton who married John Bradley was the daughter of Col Andrew Hampton and his wife Catherine Hyder, and a sister of Jonathan, father of Elizabeth Hampton McKinney. The Hamptons migrated from Freehold, Monmouth, New Jersey to Virginia to NC. They are of British extract.

The Bradley and intermarried Ledbetter families were old Virginia stock. Patriarch Jonathan died from a fall on June 24, 1778, when he had climbed on a ledge to view a solar eclipse in Tryon, Polk County, NC. The Bradley's are found in New Kent and Charles City, VA. in the early 1600's. They trace back to Rev. Thomas Bradley Sr. Rector of Ackworth b 1594 in West Yorkshire, England and his wife Frances Saville. They were married in Pomfret, Yorkshire.  Frances was the daughter of Sir John Saville- Baron of Pomfret and wife Elizabeth Caryl.

The Bradleys are mentioned in records of Old Tryon County. Mary Ledbetter Bradley, widow of Jonathan and daughter of Richard Ledbetter and Mary Walton, remarried to John Goodbread after Jonathan's tragic death. She left a Will in Rutherford County in 1825. Her first husband fell off the roof of the Hampton house viewing the eclipse. She was quite a character. There's more information on her than Jonathan. Goodbread was a German, the name originally Gutbrodt. The Ledbetters were from Brunswick County, VA. and trace back to Richard Ledbetter I of Charles City, VA.

The McKinney 's were a Scottish family . Captain John McKinney Jr. was a Rev. War Patriot who came from Scotland to PA to NC to Rutherford County. His mother was a Campbell.

Samuel Mitchell McMurray b 1745 Scotland arrived in Allegheny, PA, made his way to Granville County, NC, fought in the Revolutionary War and was another who settled in Rutherford on War Bounty land. He died in Rutherford and left a Will in 1803.

The Geer family can be traced back to a Joseph Geer of New London County, Connecticut (1664-1743). He married Susanna Silsby. Their son James married Mary Elizabeth Mackell, their son John migrated to Orange County, NC, married Morris.  Their son David migrated to Rutherford County, NC then to Tennessee. Married Matterson. Their son Solomon settled in Anderson County, SC. Married Nichols.

Peter Acker b 1730 Nuremberg, Germany to Johan William Acker and Anna Catherina Dierdorff. He was also a Rev. War Patriot, and settled in Abbeville and Pendleton District, SC. He died in 1815 at the Acker homestead in Anderson, SC.

His wife Jane Sutherland was a Scottish girl whose family had arrived from Sutherland, Scotland to New Jersey before migration to South Carolina. 

The family of John Taylor were from Surry County, VA before migration to Mecklenburg. His mother was an Anderson. The Taylors were a populous Virginia family of English decent who came through Jamestown as indentured servants. John married Elizabeth Acker. 

The Butler family hailed from Rappahannock County, VA. Intermarried with Wallace and Lancelot. 

The Cook family can only be traced back to Halifax County, NC.  An indentured servant family of tradesmen from England.

The Allen family traces back to John Taylor "Jake" Allen of Mecklenburg NC. (1726-1778). Married Agnes Sample. Thought to be son of Hugh Allen of Chowan. A British family who arrived on the NC coast and were merchant class and shippers. 

This line of Davis's were Welsh and settled in the Welsh Neck Colony of South Carolina.