Why do so many Burnett family researchers focus on connecting John Burnett of New Kent County, son of Richard Burnett of York County, to the St. Paul's Parish, Hanover County Burnetts? The claim is that John Burnett, son of Richard Burnett and husband of Elizabeth, was living in Blisland Parish, New Kent County and then moved to St. Paul's Parish where he allegedly died about 1706. As a focused Hanover County researcher, I've found no evidence of John Burnett of New Kent County having lived or died in St. Paul's Parish. However, there is substantial evidence of a John Burnett and an Elizabeth Burnett that lived in Blisland Parish well into the year 1756. Perhaps a fresh look at the records needs to be taken.
1695 - John and Elizabeth Burnett of New Kent County, Virginia
The record of interest is the below 1695 York County deed involving John Burnett of New Kent County and Daniel Parke Esq. of York County (it is not clear at this time if this was the grandfather or great grandfather of Daniel Parke Custis, first husband of Martha Dandridge Washington). The sale involved 100 acres of land lying in York County which were described as being previously owned by John Burnett's father, Richard Burnett. One other very important familial connection is also mentioned in this deed. Elizabeth Burnett acknowledged the sale and was identified as John Burnett's wife. Truly, an amazing deed for documenting family connections!
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York County VA Deed & Bond Bk 1 pages 67 & 68
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To provide more detail about the subject 100 acres, the below 1658 York County deed described Richard Burnett's purchase of the 100 acres from David Mansfield (referenced in the above 1695 deed).
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York County, Virginia Deeds, Orders, Wills Bk 3 1657 - 1661
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The location of Richard Burnett's 100 acres was described as being at the head waters of Queens Creek and adjacent to Robert Cobb's land. The below image provides some perspective on this location and surrounding land owners which was prepared for the
Marston Parish 1654-1674: A Community Study by Jane Dillon McKinney at the College of William & Mary. Today, the approximate location of Burnett's 100 acres is just north of the Colonial Williamsburg Visitor Center.
The 1695 York County deed firmly establishes the father son relationship between Richard Burnett of York County and John Burnett of New Kent County.
The research question is, what happened to John Burnett of New Kent County and his wife, Elizabeth? Did they live in Blisland Parish and then move to Hanover as so many researchers claim? To answer that question, it is imperative to understand that in 1695, New Kent County was comprised of two separate parishes; Blisland and St. Peter's.
The below image illustrates the approximate boundaries of the two parishes within New Kent County, as well as their proximity to York and Hanover Counties.
In 1704, nine years after John Burnett sold the 100 acres to Daniel Parke, a John Burnett paid
Quit Rent on 150 acres in New Kent County to the Crown . Unfortunately, the Quit Rent record didn't include which parish, Blisland or St. Peter's, the 150 acres were within. To complicate matters, there are so few extant records from early New Kent County that it is impossible to follow John and Elizabeth Burnett by the land they owned. However, there are some parish records for both Blisland and St. Peter's. If we take a look at the surviving St. Peter's Parish and Blisland Parish records, we find no references to a John Burnett during the time period of 1695 and 1710.
But there was a John Burnett mentioned in The Vestry Book of Blisland Parish 1721 to 1782 with entries beginning in 1728, twenty four years after the 1704 Quit Rent record and thirty-three years after the 1695 York County deed. In addition, there was an Elizabeth Burnett who showed up in the parish record after John Burnett's death.
John and Elizabeth Burnett of Blisland Parish
The following is a chronological summary of the Blisland Parish Vestry Record entries for John Burnett and Elizabeth Burnett. They seemed to have been close to members of a Williams family. John Burnett died sometime between June 25 and October 12, 1756.
1728
John Breeding was appointed a teller of tobacco and John Burnett was appointed in place of David Williams and was ordered to be sworn in. Below is the original image of this 1728 entry which clearly shows John's surname was spelled BURNETT as it was in all subsequent Blisland Parish Vestry Record entries.
1729
John Breeding & John Burnett were to continue on as tellers of tobacco for their respective precinct
1751 thru 1755
Mr. John Burnett, Clerk of the Upper Church, was paid for his services with tobacco
1756
Mr. John Burnett's estate was paid for serving as the Clerk of the Upper Church between October 15, 1755 and June 25, 1756
1760 thru 1765
Mrs. Elizabeth Burnett was paid in tobacco for the keeping of Elizabeth Williams. Below is the original image of the 1760 entry for Elizabeth Burnett which clearly shows her surname spelled as BURNETT, as it was in all subsequent Blisland Parish Vestry Record entries.
It is also worth noting that when John Burnett died, his replacement as the Clerk of the Upper Church was Dudley Williams. This makes three Burnett/Williams connections in the Blisland Parish Vestry Record; David Williams, Elizabeth Williams and Dudley Williams.
The Blisland Parish Upper Church, aka Brick Church and Warany Church
The vestry entries referencing John Burnett as the clerk of the Blisland Parish Upper Church are very helpful as they indicate the general area in which this John Burnett lived. The late esteemed author George Carrington Mason did an excellent job of describing the location of the Upper Church and its early history in his article ,
The Colonial Churches of New Kent and Hanover Counties, Virginia . Upper Church was built in 1703 at the top of a steep sided hill which was part of a two acre tract of land owned by Colonel John Armistead. Although the church no longer stands, the hill it was built upon is still known as Church Hill. The nearby burial ground, which contains two remaining tombstones, is today known as
Old Warany Churchyard. Following colonial custom, the church was named by parishioners after a nearby watercourse; in this case Warany Swamp. The headwaters for Warany Swamp are about a mile south of Church Hill. Below is a portion of a map from Mason's article illustrating the location of Warany Church and the general area where John Burnett, Clerk of the Upper Church, lived.
What Happened to John and Elizabeth Burnett of 1695 New Kent County?
Unfortunately, this question cannot be definitively answered right now. There is no known evidence that clearly indicates how or where John and Elizabeth Burnett of the 1695 York County deed lived out their lives. To clarify, there is no evidence that a John Burnett lived in early St. Paul's Parish, Hanover County. Certainly, the
St. Paul's Parish Vestry Record never mentioned a John Burnett. We only know that they were living in New Kent County in 1695 and probably in 1704. We also know that there were Burnetts living in Blisland Parish, New Kent County well into the 1760s. This is the location where so many Burnett researchers claim John Burnett was living in 1695. So why isn't it possible that John and Elizabeth Burnett lived out their lives in Blisland Parish?
Finally, it should be noted that there was a 1708 St. Paul's Parish Vestry procession entry for a John BARNET. By taking liberty of changing his name to John Burnett, researchers have caused a lot of confusion and misinformation regarding the St. Paul's Parish Burnett family. John BARNET deserves a blog entry of his own to help restore his rightful identity,
here it is!
copyright©2021 Deborah Thurman Parks
