Burnhams of Essex County

I am searching for information on Ephraim Howe Burnham, who was born abt 1766 in Essex County, son of Thomas (1732-1820) and Mary Howe Burnham (1735-1778), and died in Charlotte, Chittenden, VT 7 Oct 1850.

I have the Charlotte 1850 census showing Ephraim. Any information on this ancestor would be appreciated. It would be great if there is a baptismal certificate or a 1755 marriage record as well. We are attempting to join the D.A.R. and need to prove he is the same E. H. Burnham who has a gravestone marker with just his initials.

Jeannette Carroll

Kent, WA

 

Response from the Research Team

Dear Ms. Carroll,

Thank you for contacting the Essex Society of Genealogists with your research question.

I looked through the references that are shelved in the History Room of the Lynnfield Public Library. The search for Ephraim Howe Burnham was a real challenge.   I found his parents (Thomas and Mary (Howe) Burnham) listed in a genealogy which we have on Microfiche:  The Burnham Family; or Genealogical Records of the Descendants of The Four Emigrants of the Name, who were among the early settlers in America by Roderick H Burnham, Longmeadow, Mass (Hartford: Press of Case, Lockwood & Brainard, 1869).

Burnham has scant information about this family:  Thomas (Thomas, Thomas, John, Thomas Sr) was born 1732, died Oct 19, 1820, aged 88 years.  He married 4 Dec 1755, Mary Howes, of Ipswich.  No vital statistics for her.

Their children were Thomas, Charles, William, Ephraim, Susanna, Hannah, Sally, Mary, Anna, Winthrop, and Ruth.  There was no birth, marriage or death information on Ephraim.  Most of the children had no birth information.

I focused on his brother Winthrop Burnham since he married a Cogswell (Mary) and they are well documented.  Unfortunately, even though I found a probate abstract for Winthrop, he didn't make any bequests to his brothers or sisters.

If you send a self-addressed stamped business-sized envelope to our mailing address, I'd be happy to send you the title page and page 333 of Descendants of Thomas, etc., etc.  The Town Clerk for Ipswich, Massachusetts, would be the person to contact by mail or phone for a copy of a marriage certificate for Thomas and Mary (Howe) Burnham.  There will probably be a fee.

Your original letter and this response will be published in "The Essex Genealogist" and on our website.  I hope someone can tie Ephraim to E. H.


Sincerely,
Peg Plummer, Volunteer, ESOG