Grundy County IL Archives Biographies.....Burleigh, Joseph F 
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Author: Bio/Gen Record LaSalle/Grundy 1900

JOSEPH F. BURLEIGH

There is no man better known in. Grundy county than Joseph Franklin Burleigh, 
to whom is due the credit of advancing the material prosperity of this section 
of the state in no small degree. He has devoted many years of his well-spent 
life to producing and developing a distinct and superior breed of cattle, 
which are now rapidly being introduced into all parts of the United States, 
and also into other countries. He is the founder of one of the original herds 
of American polled Durham cattle and has done more to improve the splendid 
breed of cattle than any other one man in the country. His work in behalf of 
stock-raisers has made him a public benefactor, for his labors have resulted 
not to his individual good alone but have also been of great benefit to the 
farming community throughout the nation,

Mr. Burleigh descended from sterling English stock that was founded in 
Massachusetts during colonial days, his Puritan ancestors being among the 
pioneers of the old Bay state. The name has been spelled in many ways, Giles 
Birdly being the founder of the family in America. Many changes have occurred 
in orthography, a very common spelling being Burley. Giles Birdly was a 
commoner in the English town of Ipswich, Massachusetts, in 1664. He became a 
planter and for eight years resided on Brooke street. His will was recorded in 
Essex county, Massachusetts, in the Registry of Probate, volume 1, dated July 
1, 1668. He makes bequests to his wife, Elizabeth, and after her death the 
property is to be transferred to their eldest son, Andrew. He also mentions 
his sons James and John. His children are as follows, and constitute the 
second generation of the family in America: Andrew, who was born in Ipswich, 
Massachusetts, September 5, 1657, and died February 1, 1718; James, who was 
born February 10, 1659, and died in Exeter, New Hampshire, about 1721; Giles, 
who was born July 13, 1662; and John, who was born July 13, 1664, and died 
February 27, 1681.

James Burleigh is in the line of direct descent to our subject. His wife also 
bore the name of Elizabeth, and their children were of the third generation, 
the record being: William, who was born in Ipswich, Massachusetts, February 
27, 1693; Joseph, born in Ipswich, April 6, 1695; Thomas, born in Ipswich in 
April, 1697; James, born in Exeter, New Hampshire, in April, 1699; Josiah, 
born in Exeter, in 1701; and Giles, born in Exeter, New Hampshire, in 1703. 
Through the youngest, Giles Burleigh, the line of descent is traced down. He 
married Elizabeth Joy, and their children were Moses, Anna, Joseph, Elizabeth, 
Sarah and Lidia. From Moses Burleigh and his wife Ann descends the fifth 
generation. Their children were: Moses, who was born in Newmarket, New 
Hampshire; John, who was born in Newmarket and was a soldier in the 
Revolutionary war; Molly; Rebecca; Nancy; Phebe, and Betsey. Of this family 
John became one of the valiant heroes in the war for independence and 
afterward located in Salisbury, New Hampshire, where he died. His children 
were Joseph, who went to sea when young and is believed to have been lost on 
one of his voyages; John, Hannah and Sally.

Of this family John Burleigh was born April 26, 1789, and was married December 
28, 1808, to Sarah, a daughter of Moses and Sarah (Stevens) Fellows, of 
Salisbury, Merrimac county, New Hampshire. She was born December 4, 1793, and 
died at Livonia, New York, July 18, 1865. John Burleigh served a regular 
apprenticeship at the carpenter and joiner's trade, becoming familiar with the 
business in all its branches from the time the timber was cut in the forest 
until it was placed in the most elaborate staircases, or in other positions 
requiring superior skill. He followed his trade until the infirmities of old 
age compelled him to retire to his farm near Livonia, where he died May 27, 
1866. In 1816, the year memorable for its intense coldness, he removed from 
Salisbury, New Hampshire, to Livonia, with his wife and two small children, 
together with his brother-in-law, John Turrill, and Elizabeth, his wife, 
making the journey of five hundred miles in a covered wagon drawn by two 
horses. They were about four weeks on the way, and on reaching their 
destination Mr. Burleigh sold his horses and wagon, purchased some tools and 
then built a house for Jesse Blake, the building still standing in a good 
state of preservation. In that new country dwellings were not numerous and he 
was obliged to move his family into a log school-house, which proved a warm 
and comfortable home. They used the joiner's bench for a bedstead at night and 
the tool chest for a table until Mr. Burleigh could make those articles and 
other furniture. During his active business career he built some of the best 
houses in Livingston county, and was a well-known pioneer of sterling 
characteristics.

His wife was a lady of much prominence, possessing indomitable courage and 
fortitude, and to her husband she was a faithful helpmate. She could shear the 
wool from the sheep, card, spin and weave it into cloth and then fashion it 
into any desired garment. Many stories are told of her courage and love of 
justice, among them her protection to the crippled son of a neighbor. The 
little lad, then only about twelve years of age, was frequently cruelly beaten 
by his drunken father. Mrs. Burleigh several times interfered, and being large 
and strong would make the drunken father desist. The man, however, disliked 
her on account of her interference, and at one time came to her house to 
attack her, but she readily protected herself with a red-hot fire shovel. At 
another time, when the man had cruelly mistreated his crippled son, she and 
his sister Elizabeth went to his place, threw him down, and while one held him 
the other applied a stout hickory goad with both hands until he begged for 
mercy, promising to whip his son no more, a promise which he kept as long as 
he lived.

The children of John and Sarah (Fellows) Burleigh were of the seventh 
generation, as follows: John L., who was born in Salisbury, New Hampshire, 
November 17, 1811, and died in Avon, New York, August 31, 1893; Catherine, who 
was born in Salisbury, April 12, 1814, and died in Livonia, New York, August 
30, 1869; Harriet, who was born in Livonia, May 17, 1818, and died in Kane, 
Pennsylvania, February 18, 1889; Joseph Franklin, who was born in Livonia, 
March 24, 1824; and Elizabeth Ann Maria, who was born in Livonia, February 12, 
1829. The father of this family was a member of the Congregational church, as 
was his wife. In politics he was a Jeffersonian Democrat, and was a stanch 
Union man during the civil war. His sterling characteristics made him much 
respected by all who knew him.

On the maternal side Joseph Franklin Burleigh is a representative of the 
Fellows family of old colonial stock. Three brothers of the name came from 
England, one settling in Connecticut, one at Cambridge, Massachusetts, and the 
third at what was Ipscon, Massachusetts, and from the last named, Sarah 
Fellows, the mother of our subject, was descended. His name was Ebenezer and 
his children were John, Abigail, Moses, Ebenezer, Joseph, Benjamin, Anna and 
Elizabeth. The son John was born at Kingston, New Hampshire, April 27, 1720, 
and was married March 6, 1746, to Elizabeth Blaisdell, of that place. She died 
at Kingston, in July, 1766, and he afterward married Mary (Tucker) Kenniston. 
In 1766 he removed to Salisbury, New Hampshire, where he engaged in 
carpentering, being one of the first representatives of that trade to settle 
in the town. He died in 1812, at the age of ninety-two years. His children by 
his first marriage were: David; Adonijah; Hezekiah; Ebenezer, who was born at 
Kingston, New Hampshire, December 16, 1753, was a soldier in the Revolutionary 
war, and died in Charleston, Massachusetts; Moses, who also was one of the 
Revolutionary heroes; Sarah; Betsey; John and Hannah. The children of the 
second marriage were Richard, Daniel and Isaiah.

Moses Fellows was the representative of the family in the third generation. He 
was born at Kingston, New Hampshire, August 9, 1755, and when the colonies 
attempted to throw off the yoke of British tyranny he aided in the struggle 
for independence. He was married May 20, 1782, to Sarah Stevens, of Plaistow, 
New Hampshire, who was born November 26, 1762, and died in Salisbury, July 18, 
1863, at the very advanced age of one hundred years and eight months.

He enlisted in the Continental Army May 10, 1775, at Salisbury, and 
immediately went to Medford, Massachusetts, taking part in the battle of 
Bunker Hill on the 17th of June, when a ball fired by the British cut off the 
end of his powder horn, thus spilling his last charge of powder. Having no 
ball he fired his ramrod and thus killed a British soldier. He was afterward 
stationed at Winter Hill, Massachusetts, until the 8th of September, when he 
went to Cambridge, Massachusetts, in Captain Dearborn's company to join an 
expedition which was to go to the Kennebec river, under General Benedict 
Arnold, and through the wilderness, and make an attack on Quebec. The army 
provisions became exhausted and great suffering ensued. After the battle of 
Quebec, in which the Americans were defeated, they went to Montreal, and Mr. 
Fellows enlisted for three and a half months, returning home on the expiration 
of that period. In April, 1777, he re-enlisted in Captain Gray's company for 
three years and went to Ticonderoga, where he kept garrison until the 6th of 
July, when he went to Fort Ann and was in the battle of Block House. Later he 
went with his company to Fort Edward, thence to Mount Independence, and was in 
the battle of Bennington, August 16, 1777. Subsequently he was taken ill with 
fever and ague, and was sent to the hospital at Albany, New York. He left 
there about the middle of October for Stillwater and fought against Burgoyne 
in the battle near Saratoga. He then went to Fish Hill and White Marsh, and 
after joining General Washington's army marched to Valley Forge, where they 
spent the awful winter of 1777-8, enduring the most terrible suffering. In the 
spring he was with the army at the crossing of the Delaware river and 
proceeded on the march through the Jerseys and participated in the battle of 
Monmouth. There Mr. Fellows captured a British soldier with his horse and 
equipments, and for his meritorious conduct on this and other occasions he was 
promoted to the rank of sergeant. For some time he was ill in the hospital at 
Tarrytown, as the effect of the march to White Plains. After his recovery he 
was in General Sullivan's army and went on the raid against the Indians and 
Tories in the western part of New York. On August 29, 1779, he participated in 
the battle of Chemung, and then marched with the regiment from Conesus lake in 
Livingston county to the Genesee river, thence in an easterly direction, 
destroying forty Indian villages and fifty thousand bushels of corn. He was 
honorably discharged at West Point, April 20, 1780, and returned to his home 
in Salisbury, where he carried on agricultural pursuits until his death, which 
occurred January 30, 1846, when he was ninety years of age. His wife lived to 
be over one hundred years old.

The children of Moses and Sarah (Stevens) Fellows were as follows: Hezekiah, 
who died in infancy; Hezekiah, Moses, Reuben, Ebenezer, James S., Sarah, 
Samuel, Elizabeth, Polly, Pamelia, Adonijah and Pierce. Sarah, the eldest 
daughter of this Revolutionary hero, was the mother of our subject. It will 
thus be seen that Mr. Burleigh is descended from good old Revolutionary stock 
on both sides of the family, and that his ancestors were among the founders of 
the nation.

Joseph Franklin Burleigh received his education in the common schools and in 
the Lima Seminary, in Livingston county, New York. He afterward taught school 
for two years in his native state. During the greater part of his life he has 
given his attention to farming and stock-raising. He engaged in the book 
business for a time, and was with several of the leading publishing houses, 
including D. Appleton & Company and A. S. Barnes & Company, of New York. He 
represented the latter firm for a long period, introducing their school-books 
in various sections of the country. He traveled throughout the United States 
and was a very successful salesman, enjoying the confidence and unlimited 
regard of the house which he represented. He was married October 28, 1847, to 
Hannah J. Maynard, of Williamson, New York. She was born February 5, 1826, and 
died in Livonia, New York, August 9, 1854, leaving a daughter, Ella J., who 
was born in Livonia, on the 26th of June of that year. On the 27th of August, 
1856, Mr. Burleigh wedded Susan D. Underwood, of Adrian, Michigan. She was 
born in Williamson, Wayne county, New York, March 27, 1831, a daughter of 
Daniel and Chloe (Durfee) Underwood. The Underwoods were also old colonial 
stock of English descent and of Quaker faith. The Durfees also were Quakers, 
from the Mohawk Valley. Daniel Underwood was a tanner by trade, and for many 
years was a respected citizen of Williamson, New York. In 1857 he removed to 
Grundy county, Illinois, locating on land in Wauponsee township, where he 
improved a farm, becoming a well-known pioneer and substantial citizen. He was 
one of the original members of the Abolition party and one of the founders of 
the Republican party in this locality, supporting its first candidate, John C. 
Fremont. In religious faith he, too, was a Quaker. His children were Susan D., 
Stephen D., Carrie, Catherine and Merritt. In old age the parents went to Lake 
City, Minnesota, and lived with their youngest son until death. Mr. Underwood 
was well advanced in years at the time of his demise, and his wife reached the 
ripe old age of eighty years. They were people of high moral character and 
Christian worth.

After their marriage Mr. and Mrs. Burleigh located in Livonia, New York, and 
he continued to represent A. S. Barnes & Company on the road until the spring 
of 1858, when he came to Grundy county, Illinois, establishing a home in 
Mazon, and taught school through the winter. In the fall of 1859 he settled on 
one hundred and sixty acres of land in Mazon township, and improved the farm 
from the wild prairie, all excepting fifty-six acres, which had previously 
been plowed. As a result of his industry and thrift he prospered and added to 
his land until he owned two hundred and forty-one acres—a valuable tract upon 
which he erected many substantial farm buildings. His land is well drained 
with over four miles of tiling, and the farm is now a very valuable property. 
Mr. Burleigh has always taken an active interest in fine stock, and the 
advantage of breeding hornless cattle was early impressed upon his mind, 
especially if possessed of the excellent qualities of Durham short-horn 
cattle. In the year 1860 he became the owner of a polled bull, sired by a full-
blooded short-horn; dam unknown, but supposed to be of Durham blood, as the 
bull showed the Durham characteristics well developed. This bull was bred to 
grade Durham cows, and their polled progeny were bred to short-horn bulls for 
several generations; and in 1880 Mr. Burleigh had saved only five of his best 
polled cows. A strong prejudice existed against "mooly" cattle among cattle 
dealers when he commenced breeding this herd, and red polled and polled 
Aberdeen cattle were scarcely known in this country, the English Red Polled 
Herd Book being started only in 1874.

In the many advantages of polled stock, however, experience has demonstrated 
the fact that horns must go. The editor of the Prairie Farmer, in the issue of 
June 22, 1889, wrote: "Mr. J. F. Burleigh is probably the first breeder who 
systematically attempted to breed the horns off the short-horns. This was 
twenty-five years ago. By careful selection he says he now has his herd so 
bred that no vestige of horns appears. In doing this he has bred his herd to 
two different strains, one possessing the milk-giving qualities, for which the 
short-horns were celebrated, and the other holding the distinctive 
characteristics and early maturity for which the short-horns have later become 
celebrated. Special care and attention has also been given in prolonging the 
milk-giving qualities, so that the herd are now noted for giving milk well up 
to the time of calving. The herd is gentle and orderly in its disposition; the 
color mostly red and red roan. The bulls used in the herd for the past eight 
years were blood red, and their sires red. The potency of the polled blood is 
now so strongly fixed and so potent to deliver that a young bull sold to 
Gilbert Gowey, of Gardner, Illinois, got all his calves hornless from horned 
cows, some twenty in number."

Mr. Burleigh was one of the eight founders of the American Breeders' 
Association, which was organized to keep this valuable stock pure and to 
import it and place it before the people. This society has published two 
editions of this herd book, in which this stock is registered. For many years 
Mr. Burleigh was associated with his son, A. E. Burleigh, but retired from the 
business in 1894, selling his interest to his son, C. I. Burleigh, the 
enterprise being now conducted by A. E. and C. I. Burleigh. He was appointed 
president of the American Polled Breeders' Association at the meeting held in 
Chicago in 1889, but resigned in favor of Dr. Crane, of Tippecanoe City, Ohio. 
Mr. Burleigh had a fine exhibition of polled Durham cattle at the World's 
Columbian Exposition and received several premiums under the firm name of J. 
F. & A. E. Burleigh.

The children of Mr. Burleigh by his second wife are: Arthur E., who was born 
in Mazon, July 24, 1860, and was married March 1, 1888, to Tamie L. Doud. He 
is a very successful farmer and cattle dealer. Alice Gertrude, born in Mazon, 
July 4, 1862, was married February 11, 1890, to Hurbert R. Tubbs, who is now 
head bookkeeper in a bank at Boonville, New York. Ida Josephine, born in 
Mazon, December 6, 1863, was married April 15, 1886, to Robert H. Dewey, who 
was born in New York, May 28, 1862, and was a successful farmer and breeder of 
polled Durham cattle. He was associated with J. F. & A. E. Burleigh in the 
exhibit at the World's Fair and received a number of premiums. He died in 
Mazon, May 21, 1899. He was straightforward in all his business dealings and 
highly respected in all life's relations. Mr. Dewey was one of the founders of 
the Grundy County Farmers' Institute and its first secretary, which position 
he held until his death. He was a justice of the peace and school teacher. His 
widow, a member of the Congregational church, still resides on the homestead. 
She inherited the courageous spirit of her grandmother Burleigh, and on one 
occasion, when a tramp became insolent, although she was sick in bed, she 
directed her servant girl to shoot him if he made any further trouble. The 
tramp threw stones at the house and broke out windows, and the girl fired and 
shot him. He went away, but returned the same night and set a barn afire. 
Charles Irving, the youngest member of the family, was born in Mazon, April 
22, 1870, and was married November 8, 1894, to Clara May Hill. He and his 
brother succeeded their father in the stock-breeding business.

Mr. Burleigh, of this review, has always been an active and enterprising 
business man and a public-spirited citizen, identified with the best interests 
of Grundy county. During the civil war he was the supervisor of Mazon township 
for three years and assisted in raising the quota of soldiers for the 
township, so that no draft was made. He was a justice of the peace for twenty 
years, an assessor for three years, and throughout a long period a member of 
the school board, the cause of education finding in him a warm friend. He was 
also nominated in the convention for the state legislature, but in the 
election was defeated by one vote. In politics he was originally a Democrat, 
casting his first ballot for Martin Van Buren, but later he became one of the 
founders of the Republican party in Grundy county and voted for its first 
candidate, John C. Fremont, in New York state. Both he and his wife are 
members of the Congregational church, in which he has held the office of 
church trustee. He is one of the most respected and sterling citizens of this 
community, and no history of Grundy county would be complete without the 
record of his life.



Additional Comments:
Source:  Biographical and Genealogical Record of La Salle and Grundy County, 
Illinois, Volume 11, Chicago, 1900, p642-649

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