or “Leave a Better Paper Trail for Your Descendants, Dammit!”
What I don’t know about Daniel F Burrell:
- I do not know when exactly he was born.
- I do not know the identity of his parents or siblings.
- I do not know what became of his wife, Susanna Mills, and the children he had with her.
- I do not know what became of his wife, Susanna Gabriel (or possibly Gable), and I do not know what happened to some of the children he had with her.
- I do not know why he is absent from the 1860 census.
- I do not know when or why he came to Michigan, nor do I know who all accompanied him on that journey.
- I do not know why he changed his last name from “Burrell” to “Burl.”
- I do not know when or if he married Polly Baker.
- I do not know when or where he died.
What I do know about Daniel F Burrell:
Francis Burrell, the OG (Original Grandfather)
The origins of my Burrell line, not unlike Daniel, is shrouded by the mist of time—existing records do not tell us much. However, one fine day, a man emerged from that mist. His name was Francis Burrell, and he just sort of appeared in records living in the Piscataway settlement on the Potomac River in Prince Georges County, Maryland. A Burrell Family Book states that he was born in 1679. His parentage and location of his birth are unknown. Like I said, he just sort of appeared.
Who’s Your Daddy
Fast forward about 75 years, and Francis’ great-grandson Peter Burrell is born in Frederick County, Maryland. Peter goes on to have three sons: John, Richard, and Benjamin.
The oldest son, John, marries Mary Ann Thompson, and they have three children before Mary Ann dies in 1802: Elizabeth, Richard T, and Rebecca. According to Burrell family researcher, Duane Burrell, John is married again in 1806 to a Catherine Cease. According to 1820 & 1830 census records, John & Catherine have two children together: a boy born between 1811-1815, and a girl born between 1816-1820.
The next oldest son, Richard, marries Ruhama Wade, and they have nine children: Theresa, Sophia, David, Jane, Susanna, Elizabeth, Richard, John, and Mary Ann.
Benjamin marries Susannah Weaver and, according to census records, had at least nine children. Only four of these children have been identified by modern researchers: Elizabeth, John E, Richard, and Susanna. The other five are as follows:
- Son 2, born 1811-1815
- Son 4, born 1820-1830
- Daughter 2, born 1811-1815
- Daughter 3, born 1811-1815
- Daughter 5, born 1816-1820
At different times in the first decade-and-a-half of the nineteenth century, all three of the brothers, with their wives and children, removed to Wayne Township, Tuscarawas County, Ohio. Besides their father, Peter, these were the only Burrell men in that county.
As for Daniel, census records indicate that he was born in Maryland. Furthermore, the 1850 census states that he was born in 1811, while the 1870 census puts his birth year at 1813 (I just go with “circa 1811”). Because we know his birthplace, an approximate year he was born, and the fact that the 1850 census places him in Tuscarawas County, Ohio, we can deduce that he is the son of one of the three brothers: John, Richard, or Benjamin.
But which of those three men is his father? Well, it can’t be Richard; he had nine children, and Burrell researcher, Duane Burrell, has identified all of them. That leaves John & Benjamin, and unfortunately for us, it could be either one of them. The 1820 census lists a boy living in John’s household who was born 1811-1815, and the 1830 census lists a boy in Benjamin’s household, Son 2, who was also born 1811-1815. Furthermore, I have not located a will for Benjamin, and the probate document I found for John merely lists an inventory of his estate along with who bought each item. Perhaps a clue to his parentage lies in some church record in Washington County, Maryland that I do not have access to. I doubt I will ever be in a position to travel there and find out.
The First Mystery
The first break in my Daniel investigation came twenty-one years ago, when I searched Ancestry.com for surnames similar-ish to “Burl.” That is when I discovered “Daniel F Burrell” in the 1850 census living in Tuscarawas County, Ohio, and a genealogy nerd was born. I started getting a bit better with my research after a while, and that is when I made two more discoveries. I want to say I found them on microfilm. Back in the day, for a nominal fee, you could order microfilms from the Mother Ship in Salt Lake City, and I believe that’s what I did.
I found, not one, but two marriage records for Daniel—both from Tuscarawas County. His first marriage was to Susanna Mills, and it took place on 22 Sep 1831. The couple was married by Reverend Abraham Snyder, who in January 1815, “came to New Philadelphia, and became the first settled Lutheran pastor. He organized a church, erected a house, and it was used for school by week and church on Sunday.”
By the time the 1840 census took place, the couple had three children. Unfortunately, the marriage did not last. I do not know what happened, but on 17 Aug 1845, Daniel was married for a second time to “Susanna Gabriel.” After the 1840 census, Susanna I and her children disappeared. It is most likely that Susanna I died, and the children were farmed out to other families. I have discovered three Burrell children living in three different homes, who all fit the age and genders of the children listed on the 1840 census. However, since it is mere speculation, I will not list them here.
Here We Go Again
So Daniel is married for a second time—to another Susanna no less. Based on her age in the 1850 census, she was 15 years old when Daniel married her at the approximate age of 34. That is extremely gross, and I wish I could say I hadn’t seen it before. And, no, I don’t buy the “it was a different time” crap. It may have been socially acceptable then, but it was still sick, disgusting, and wrong. Anyway, I’m straying off topic.
Susanna’s maiden name was written as “Gabriel,” but seeing as there were no Gabriel families in Tuscarawas County, I suspect her last name was actually “Gable,” of which there was at least one Gable family. Then again, I made a recent discovery in the 1840 census, while looking at Benjamin Burrell’s neighbors. There was a man three doors down whose name was transcribed as “Jacob Gatrill,” but looking at the image, it looks more like “Jacob Gabrill” or “Jacob Gabill.”
By the time of the 1850 census, Daniel and Susanna II have two sons, William H and Isaiah. Then, when 1860 rolls around, they’ve all disappeared. I have gone over the 1860 census with a fine-toothed comb, and they are not in it. Perhaps they were traveling to Michigan at that point because, by 1870, Daniel was in Michigan married to my second great-grandmother. And you guessed it, Susanna is nowhere to be found. Whether she traveled to Michigan and died or if she perished prior to the journey, I will probably never know. Little Isaiah disappeared along with his mother. However, I believe I found William H.
For years, I had assumed that Susanna, William H, and Isaiah had all been lost to history. That changed about ten years ago, when I was searching again for William—this time in the 1870 census. After years of finding no trace of him, he suddenly appeared in Lansing, Ingham, Michigan—not too terribly far from Daniel. Had I not ever searched in the 1870 census for him? I can’t explain why it took me so long to find him, but there he was. He was 23 years old, married, and working in a “railroad repairing shop.” The age matched. The middle initial matched. And like Daniel he was also absent from the 1860 census. But I was still hesitant as any good researcher would be.
I spent hours researching him. He and his wife, Mary, settled in Tecumseh, Lenawee, Michigan. They had a son named Frederick—“Fred.” I found William’s death certificate and Fred’s as well. Fred had been the informant for William’s death record. He listed William’s parents as “Eligga Burrell” and “Mary Gable.” Eligga? Seriously? That’s not even a real name! However, that maiden name “Gable” caught my attention. But, altogether, the information on the death certificate was inconclusive. Fred’s, on the other hand, sealed the deal for me: William H was Daniel’s son. Fred’s father’s birthplace was listed as Dundee, Ohio. Dundee Ohio is in Tuscarawas County. I was familiar with every Burrell in that county, and there were no Eliggas there. I am now 99% sure that William H is the same as the William H in the 1850 census.
DNA Leads To New Questions
Ten years ago, prices on DNA tests were becoming more affordable, so I had my father’s DNA tested at both 23andMe and FamilyTreeDNA (FTDNA). One October day, I received an email from a man who believed our common ancestor was Daniel F Burrell. Cool! But what I didn’t know at the time was that this man was not a Burrell, at least not on paper.
In a subsequent email, the man told me more about his great-grandfather. Great-Grandfather would never divulge the names of his parents or siblings, and this man had been searching for them in vain for 17 years. It turns out, after a family member took a Y DNA test, that Great-Grandfather was not biologically related to his parents; he was biological related to us!
The 1860 census provided some answers. Great-Grandfather had come from Holmes County—one county west of Tuscarawas county. In 1860, living in his parents’ household in Holmes County—was a “George Barrell.” In subsequent census records, he had adopted the family’s last name, but in 1860, he was still George Burrell, who had been abandoned by his family. Perhaps that is also what happened to Isaiah, though we will probably never know unless DNA testing uncovers a similar story.
The Final Chapter
After two disappearing wives and several missing children, Daniel makes his way to Michigan and winds up married—or not—to my second great-grandmother, Polly Baker. Incidentally, she was 25 years his junior, but at least she was a fully formed adult when they married—or didn’t marry.
In the 1870 census, he is also the father of two boys: George, age 6, and Griffin, age 2. From that we can surmise that he had been in Michigan at least since 1863. However, I’m guessing he was making his way to Michigan back when he dumped his son George off in Holmes County—probably in 1860 when he was missing from that year’s census record.
He was a land owner. I cannot find a deed, but I found his land in the Atlas of Clinton County, Michigan, which was published in 1873. He owned 40 acres in the northwest corner of Section 26 in Ovid Township. He was listed as “D Burl.” That is the first instance of the “Burl” spelling that I have found. The name vacillates between “Burl” and “Burrell” until 1880, when it permanently becomes “Burl.” I have no idea why it was changed. Maybe so all of his missing children couldn’t find him.
From what the records show, Daniel and Polly had a total of five children. George was the oldest. Next there was little Marvin, who died when he was not even two. After Marvin was my great-grandfather, Griffin. Then came Chester Arthur and Mary Ann. After that, Daniel vanishes. Mary Ann was born on 10 Apr 1873. Then, on 11 Jun 1876, Polly remarries. So, Daniel disappears sometime between 19 Jul 1872 and 11 Jun 1876. I say “disappear” and “vanish” because there is no death record or record of his burial.
I don’t know if I will ever find out more about Daniel, his wives, or his children, but I intend to keep searching for answers. Genealogy isn’t something that’s ever finished. There are always more questions to ask. There are always more answers waiting to be found. Unfortunately, some of those answers may not be accessible to me. If I was independently wealthy, I would travel the country researching my ancestors, but I am decidedly not wealthy. Maybe someday. But probably not.
Update:
Less than one week after writing this post, I discovered that Daniel may have been two different men.