Histories

WILLIAM S. BURGESS
(1793-1868)
OF GRANT COUNTY, KENTUCKY

William S. (I) [son of John (I)]. Bora about 1793 in Fauquier Co., VA. Married Nancy Yamell on 12 Mar. 1817 in Harrison Co. (she was the daughter of Isaac Yamell and Jane McDonald, and died between 1832-38; her siblings included: Sarah Brown, James, Columbus, Jane Fishback, David, Milton, and Thomas); married secondly Quintilla LaForce on 26 Dec. 1838 in Harrison Co. (she was born about 1814 in KY, and died about 1872). Listed in the Harrison Co. tax records from 1818-24, and again from 183753, and in Grant Co. from 1854-68. Listed in the 1820 census of Harrison Co. with his father, in 1830 in Putnam Co., IN, in 1840 again in Harrison Co., in 1850 in Scott Co., KY, and in 1860 in the Downingsville Precinct, Grant Co., KY; Quintilla is listed with her son James in 1870. William Burgess moved to Putnam Co., IN about 1825, being soon followed by his father and sisters and their families; he and Nancy sold their land in 1832, and he returned to Kentucky after her death. In the absence of a probate record or will, the relationship of William S. Burgess to his children can only be demonstrated circumstantially. His son, George J. Burgess, is deeded land by George's uncle, John Burgess of Harrison Co., on 5 Nov. 1871 (Deed Book #Q, p. 524). William S.'s son, William W. Burgess, moved to Grant Co. at the same time as his father; in some early tax records, he is called William Burgess "Jr." Henry Burgess named his second son Isaac Milton, evidently after his older brother, the names clearly deriving from the Yamell side of the family; Isaac Jr. is listed with his uncle, George, in the 1880 census. A grandson of James P. Burgess, Johney H. Burgess Sr., recalled hearing the family talk about a cousin, Esau Burgess, who is undoubtedly the same person as Albert Esau Burgess, son of William W. William S. Burgess died in Grant Co. about 1868, when he disappeared from the tax lists; his widow is living with her son, James P. Burgess, in the 1870 census for Grant Co., KY. Many members of this family are missing, having evidently moved away to other locales. The order and dates of some of the children listed below are based upon their appearances in the personal property tax lists of Harrison Co.