Norfolk City-Richmond City County Virginia USGenWeb Archives Biographies.....Burruss, Nathaniel 1844 - ************************************************ Copyright. All rights reserved. http://www.usgwarchives.net/copyright.htm http://www.usgwarchives.net/va/vafiles.htm ************************************************ File contributed for use in USGenWeb Archives by: Joy Fisher http://www.rootsweb.com/~archreg/vols/00001.html#0000031 February 26, 2008, 8:58 am Author: Leonard Wilson (1916) NATHANIEL BURRUSS NO more illuminating light is cast upon any given period of history than that furnished by the biographies of contemporaneous people of that period. In the time of Charles II there lived one Pepys, who kept a diary which was a great source of amusement to the people of the Court of the King where Pepys was a well-known character. To-day, we have not in relation to that period a more valuable historical work than the diary of Pepys, which touches upon the lives of a vast number of people of his time, many of whom are not even mentioned in standard works of history. In Great Britain, biography has not been neglected to the extent that it has been in our country, where the opinion gained ground that only political leaders or generals were entitled to a public record of their careers. This fallacy has cost us much in an historical sense, as a result of which a large section of our country now finds itself in such a position that many are unable by any documentary evidence to show from whence they came. All over New England, where records were kept with care by the painstaking people of that section, this fault does not obtain, and, here and there, in other sections of the country, certain families are in the fortunate position of knowing all about their ancestry. To this latter fortunate class belonged the late Captain Nathaniel Burruss of Norfolk, Virginia, and his wife, Margaret Walters (Dey) Burruss, yet surviving. Nathaniel Burruss was born in Richmond, Va., on December 17, 1844, son of Cicero and Adelaide Octavia (Charter) Burruss. When Nathaniel Burruss was about three years of age, his parents moved to Norfolk, and the remainder of his life, except for the interval passed while acquiring his education and the four years of the Civil War, was spent in that city. Cicero Burruss, in 1864, in conjunction with William T. Harrison, founded the banking house of "Burrus, Harrison and Company." Mr. Harrison did not remain long in the firm, and, in 1860, Nathaniel Burruss, then a young man of twenty-two, was admitted as a partner, the firm name becoming "Burrus, Son and Company." At the time of his admission to the firm, Mr. Nathaniel Burruss was serving as Vice-Consul in Norfolk for the Kingdom of Portugal. After the death of Cicero Burruss, Nathaniel Burruss continued the business under the old name, later admitting Mr. George H. Newton as a partner without changing the firm name. Later, Mr. Newton died, and Nathaniel Burruss became sole owner, and continued the banking business until 1897. Captain Burruss, as he was commonly known in Norfolk, his title having been won by hard and gallant service, became one of the most promising citizens of that flourishing city. He was a member of the "Virginia Club," and the "Country Club," both of Norfolk, and the "Lotus Club" of New York. He was a member of the "Sons of the American Revolution," and was eligible to the society of "Colonial Wars," which he never joined. He served in many positions of trust, and, during the life of his father, Cicero Burruss, who was then president of the Atlantic and Denver Railroad, held the position of treasurer of that company. For many years prior to his death he held membership in the Free Mason Street Church of Norfolk. Captain Burruss had in his veins the best pioneer blood of our country, and his military record deserves special mention. It is remarkable how many forms some of our familiar English family names have taken, which forms have been accepted by the public as being distinct names, although a half dozen different spellings may come from one original source. The old form of the name Burruss was Burrow, and in the earlier centuries was found in several English counties. The addition of "s" to the name signified "son of Burrow." This explains the change to "Burrows" which was followed by other changes. We find Burris, Burroughs, Burroughes, Burrowes, and Burruss. When the family names of landed gentry were being made up in England, several centuries ago, the form Burroughs was found in the ownership of landed estates at Rousay, Orkney Islands, and at Long Stratton, Norfolk. Then Burroughes are mentioned among the landed gentry at Burlingham, in the same English county. The form Burrowes appears at Strabone, County Cavan, and Dangan Castle, County Meath, Ireland. There is a curious story in connection with the family of Burrow, of Burrow, County Leicester, to the effect that the original form of this name was Stockton, or Stockden, which was perhaps arbitrarily changed to Burrow of Burrow. The probabilities are, in this case, that the name of Stockton or Stockden, had come in by the marriage of one of the female lines of Burrow, and that they simply went back to the old name. The form Burruss is very rare in England. In Virginia, in 1785, at least three spellings of the name are found, and at least four of the heads of families there using the form Burruss were domiciled in Albemarle County. The first American ancestor of this family came over from England in 1717. Jacob, the immigrant, had two sons, William and John. John became a Baptist preacher, and the Burruss Church in Caroline County received its name from him. He moved West. William Burruss, son of Jacob, was born in 1744. On October 15, 1770, he married Susana Terrell, who was born March 30, 1752, and who died November 8, 1828. She was a daughter of David Terrell, Sr., and his wife Agatha (Chiles) Terrell. William Burruss was a very successful man in business affairs. Of unusual force of character, he was a leading citizen of his section, and in that early day when banks were not, he acted as banker for Caroline County. He attained the ripe age of eighty-four years. His eldest son, Pleasant Burruss, married Elizabeth Wright, and of this marriage Cicero Burruss was born, in Caroline County, October 17, 1819, and married June 6, 1843, Adelaide Octavia Charter of Kichmond, Virginia, the Rev. Dr. Pollock of that city officiating. Adelaide Octavia Charter was a daughter of Lieutenant Nathaniel Charter of Richmond, who married Winifred Lacey Johnston, who was a native either of Fredericksburg or of King William County. Of this marriage there were children as follows: Nathaniel Burruss, the subject of this sketch, born in Richmond, December 17, 1844, and married September 15, 1868, to Margaret Walters Dey, daughter of William and Margaret Catherine (Walters) Dey. Of this marriage seven children were born: Adelaide Charter Burruss, William Cicero Burruss, Nathaniel Charter Burruss, Albert Edward Burruss, Marguerite Walters Burruss, Eugene Lansing Burruss, and Edwin Elowin Burruss. The eldest child of this marriage, Adelaide Charter Burruss, was married September 8, 1905, to Captain Harry Birdwhistell Jordan, of the United States Army. Marguerite Walters Burruss married Lieutenant John Henry Read of the United States Army. William Cicero Burruss, who died in 1902, married Miss Nell Orr of South Carolina, daughter of Colonel Orr and a granddaughter of Governor Orr. Nathaniel Charter Burruss married Eleanor Relis of Saginaw, Michigan. Albert Edward Burruss married Harriett Vaughn Parish of St. Louis, Missouri. Eugene Lansing Burruss married Nellie Wise Oldfield of Norfolk, Virginia. The youngest child, Edward Elowin Burruss, died at the age of six months. Lieutenant Nathaniel Charter, the grandfather of Captain Nathaniel Burruss, was a lieutenant in the War of 1812. He served in Captain Anderson Stephenson's Company of artillery, attached to the 19th (Ambler's) Regiment of Virginia militia. He was a son of George Charter, Sr., who came from Scotland and settled in Bridgeport, Connecticut. The Charters were of an armigerous line, and their Coat of Arms is now in possession of the Burrnss family. Lieutenant Nathaniel Charter was buried in St. John's Cemetery of Richmond, Va. Susanna Terrell, who married William Burruss, great-grandfather of Captain Nathaniel Burruss, was a daughter of David Terrell, Sr., and his wife Agatha (Chiles) Terrell. David Terrell, Sr., was the son of William and Susanna, and his father, William Terrell, came over from England during the seventeenth century and settled in Prince William County, Virginia, as surveyor and huntsman to the Crown in the year 1709. This Terrell family is a very ancient one, English records carrying it back to the time of William Rufus, and much of their interesting family history is now in possession of the descendants of the original immigrant. The old home of the family in Albemarle County, known as "Music Hall," indicates the character of the early founders-that they were lovers of social life, and had pronounced musical tastes. Agatha Chiles, wife of David Terrell, Sr., was a daughter of Manoah Chiles, and granddaughter of Henry Chiles, who was descended from Walter Chiles, who was a member of the Virginia House of Burgesses in March, 1G58. His Coat of Arms is also preserved by the Burruss family. Frances Riddle, wife of William Wright, was a daughter of William Riddle, and a granddaughter of Rev. Archibald Riddle, who was banished from Scotland on account of his religion. He came to America in 1687, landing at Woodbury, New Jersey. William Riddle was the great-grandfather of Cicero Burruss. The Riddle Coat of Arms is also in possession of the Burruss family; and this shows that in every line of the family it was armigerous in the old country, and, therefore, belonged to the English and Scottish gentry. This digression into the family history of Captain Nathaniel Burruss is to demonstrate that he came of fighting stock. It was not surprising, therefore, that, when the outbreak of the Civil War in 1861 found him a student in the Virginia Military Institute at Lexington, the war fever seized him, and, immediately after the occupation of Harper's Ferry by the Confederate troops under the command of Colonel Thomas J. Jackson, who afterwards became the famous General "Stonewall" Jackson, he was ordered to report to Colonel Jackson for duty on his staff as inspector of tactics. He served on Colonel Jackson's staff in this capacity up to and including the battle of Manassas, in which desperate struggle Jackson won his immortal sobriquet of "Stonewall." Shortly after Manassas, the lad of seventeen was ordered back to the Institute to resume his studies. It can easily be undertsood how reluctantly he went; however, the need of trained soldiers was too pressing to allow the lads to complete their full terms, and so the following year, 1862, found him again in the service, this time stationed near Brownsville, Texas, at old "Fort Brown," as a lieutenant in Captain Cummings' company of infantry, in which capacity he served until transferred to Ringgold Barracks on the Rio Grande River. Attached to a cavalry corps, under Colonel Benavides, who was guarding the frontier line along the Rio Grande, he remained in active service with the rank of captain, serving respectively as ordnance officer, quartermaster and commissary. Some old and highly prized papers, now in possession of his family, are worthy of reproduction here. The first is headed, "Headquarters, 2nd Brigade, 1st Division. Camp Davenport, Jackson Co., February 3, 1864. "Major: "I have the honor to report that Lieut. N. Burruss, of Capt. Cummings' Company of Infantry, has made his way from Matamoras, and reported to me for duty (a few days since). I have assigned him temporarily to duty as Instructor of Infantry Tactics, and would respectfully ask that the assignment be approved by the General commanding, and Lieut. Burruss left with my command. He is an excellent officer, and his services with me will assist very much in disciplining both my own, the Cadets, and the Troops of the State Service. "Very Respectfully, Major, "Your Obe. Servt. "James Duff, Colonel Commanding." Endorsements: "Headquarters. Second Brigade. First Division, Camp Davenport, February 3, 1864. "James Duff, Colonel Commanding: "As to Lieut. Burruss asking that his assignment to duty as Instructor of Tactics be confirmed by the General Commanding ____________ "Headquarters, Army in the Field, Ewing's Plantation. "Respectfully forwarded Feb. 6th, 1864, with the remark that Lieut. Burruss belonged to Captain Cummings, six months, Volunteers at Brownsville, and was the only man of that company that was true to his colors. I ask that the appointment of Colonel Duff be approved. "(Signed) H. P. Bee, Brigadier Gen. Commanding, Houston, Feb. 1864. "Headquarters, Div. of Texas, New Mexico and Arizona. "Approved by order of Major General Magruder, (Signed) Ed S. Turner, A. A. General. "Headquarters, Second Division, First Brigade, Camp in Lavaca. Feb. 7, 1864. "Official, Rich Taylor, Capt. 33rd T. C. and A. A. A. G." At the close of the war, Captain Burruss having returned to his home in Norfolk, was elected captain of the volunteer company known as the "Norfolk City Guard," which he commanded for several years, during which time he uniformed the entire company. He was next commissioned as quartermaster with the rank of captain on the staff of Colonel C. A. Nash of the Fourth Virginia Volunteer Regiment. He remained in this position until 1897, when he voluntarily resigned, having served his State in a military capacity for a period of thirty years of active service. This illustrates the character of the man. Faithful to every obligation, he never failed in the complete discharge of a duty. Additional Comments: Extracted from: MAKERS OF AMERICA BIOGRAPHIES OF LEADING MEN OF THOUGHT AND ACTION THE MEN WHO CONSTITUTE THE BONE AND SINEW OF AMERICAN PROSPERITY AND LIFE VOLUME II By LEONARD WILSON, EDITOR-IN-CHIEF ASSISTED BY PROMINENT HISTORICAL AND BIOGRAPHICAL WRITERS Illustrated with many full page engravings B. F. JOHNSON, INC. CITY OF WASHINGTON, U. S. A. 1916 Copyright, 1916 by B. F. Johnson, Inc. Photo: http://www.usgwarchives.net/va/norfolkcity/photos/bios/burruss72gbs.jpg File at: http://files.usgwarchives.net/va/norfolkcity/bios/burruss72gbs.txt This file has been created by a form at http://www.genrecords.org/vafiles/ File size: 15.5 Kb