Freestone County, Texas
Biographies




Biography of John Burleson
   (4 Feb 1817-13 Feb 1900, buried Carter Family cemetery)
   
Book - Memorial and Biographical History of Navarro, Henderson, Anderson, 
Limestone, Freestone and Leon Counties, Texas.  Lewis Publishing Company, 
Chicago, 1893.  p. 407-409.

"
    John Burleson, one of the oldest and most prominent settlers of Freestone 
County, was born in Blount county, Alabama, the seventh child in a family of 
thirteen children born to David and Sally (Hobson) Burleson.  The parents of our
subject were natives of North Carolina, where they married, but emigrated to 
Tennessee at an early day, then removed to Blount county, Alabama, where our 
subject was born in 1817.  The father of our subject, soon after the birth of his
son, removed to Missouri, living in that State for one year and then returned to 
Alabama. The Burleson family of this State became very prominent in many ways, a
full account of which may be found in the history of McLennan county. Of the 
thirteen children born to this marriage twelve lived to be grown, eight brothers
coming to this State and rearing families. Hobson came in 1834 and settled near
Nacogdoches and died in this county, having served in the war with Mexico in 1836.
The next members of the family to come in the State were four of the brothers, 
who came in 1847, namely: James, Isaac, M. W. and Benjamin, settling in Leon 
county, the three older ones dying in that county, and Benjamin in Tarrant county.
All except Benjamin left families in Leon county. In 1848, the father of our 
subject, with him, and accompanied by Nathaniel and D.F., came to Leon county,
where all have died except our subject. Of his sisters, Naomi became the widow
of John Mathews; Elizabeth, widow of Gideon Green; Rebecca, unmarried at that 
time, came with her father to Texas, but afterward married Isaac Whitley, of
Washington county. All of the sisters have passed away except Elizabeth.
    Our subject received a limited education. Upon locating in Leon county in 
1848, removed to the farm where he now resides, eleven miles west of the county
seat. At that time there were not more than twenty men in what now comprises
Freestone county. The nearest neighbor, except a brother who lived close to him,
was W. B. Nettles, and he resided across a league, or three Spanish miles. Milling
was done for two or three years almost exclusively on a steel mill, although
one man, a Mr. Claypool, had a horse mill within six miles of Mr. Burleson,
where he had some few bags of corn ground. Buffalo were still in the county at
that time Mr. Burleson came; wild duck, deer and turkey and bear were plentiful,
while occasionally wild horses would be seen. Mr. Burleson says that his gun was 
his smoke-house, and frequently Mrs. Burleson would place the meat on the table
and would say "This is the last meat on the ranch."  Mr. Burleson would say in 
reply, "All right;" and as he returned to work would take his gun with him, and 
a half hour before sundown would start out with it, and that night for supper 
they would have a fine deer or turkey, as he wished. They were still some Indians
in the county, but as far as he was concerned they were peaceable. The city of 
Fairfield was located in April, 1851, and as late as this a large bunch of buffalo
invaded the town during August. The settlers took their guns and started after
them, but failed to get any meat, and this was the last appearance of buffaloes
in Freestone county. Mr. Burleson engaged in farming, purchasing 320 acres of 
timber land, proceeding at once to clear up a farm. He obtained the lumber for 
his first floor and porch in Leon county. During the war he was not in the service,
being in bad health, but had one son, C. R., who entered the Confederate army. 
Like a great many of his neighbors at the beginning of the war, Mr. Burleson had
considerable property, but by the time the struggle was over he had lost a great
part of it. Since that time he has devoted himself to farming on his original
tract of land.
    Mr. Burleson was married in 1842 to Miss Nancy Pope, a native of South 
Carolina, who was reared in North Carolina, a daughter of David and Nancy 
(Johnson) Pope, natives of Virginia. Mrs. Burleson had two sisters and seven 
brothers, as follows: Mills, Bennett and David, died in Alabama; Licia, deceased,
was the wife of Berry Cantrell, of Alabama; Elizabeth, deceased, was the wife of 
H. B. Hunley; Nancy, wife of subject; and Jesse, Ira and Jackson, are deceased.
All of these except David have died in Alabama, the latter dying in North Carolina,
in which two States the family still lives. The following family was born to 
Mr. and Mrs. Burleson: Almarinda, deceased, wife of B.D. Loper, of Navarro county;
C.R., deceased; Nancy E. is the wife of R. M. Davies, of Jones county; David P.,
deceased, and Sallie, wife of H.B. Miller, of this county. Mrs. Burleson died in 
1886, at the age of seventy-seven.  She had been a devoted member of the Primitive
Baptist church. For about fifty years Mr. Burleson served his county as commissioner
and thus became well known and highly esteemed throughout Freestone county.