In celebration of the 250th Anniversary of our country, local members of the National Society Daughters of the American Revolution will highlight the patriots buried in Southeast Missouri.
Samuel Burks was born July 24, 1764, in Prince Edward County, Virginia. His parents are currently unknown.
According to his application for pension, he stated that he entered service in 1779 at the age of 15. He was reportedly a substitute for Daniel Weaver and enlisted for three months in Surrey County, North Carolina, under the command of Captain Salathiel Martin and Captain Sloane’s company of North Carolina Milita. He was discharged on March 2, 1780. But shortly afterwards, he volunteered on May 12, 1780, in Captain Absolom Bostwick’s company, serving three months. He next served three months in Captain Samuel Hampton’s Company, being discharged after the Battle of Cowpens in June of 1781. Samuel was a member of Captain Lovell’s Company for six weeks, being discharged after the Battle of Guilford in March of 1781 and, upon returning home, he entered Captain Minor Smith’s Company serving another three months. After the surrender of Cornwallis at Yorktown, he volunteered again in Captain Minor Smith’s Company of Minute Men for 12 months.
Samuel states in his pension application that in 1790 he was living in Pendleton, South Carolina, living there with three males under 16 and three females under 16. He claims to have lived there for 18 years, and by 1810, he has moved to Rutherford County, Tennessee. The family lived briefly in Illinois, and in 1839, Samuel, at the age of 75, came to Madison County, Missouri, to live with his youngest son, William. On August 14, 1840, Samuel applied for a transfer of his pension from the State of Tennessee to Madison County, Missouri. However, Samuel died on September 4, 1840, and is reported to have been buried in the Matthews Farm Cemetery on Highway E about two miles west of the Little Vine area where the Burks were living.
Samuel Burks married Mary Davies about 1793 and their sons were as follows: Leroy Burks (married Rebecca {Harbern} Howland); Harold Romulus Burks (married Cynthia); Willis Burks (married 1st Charlotte Miller, 2nd Lucinda Blakely); and William Burks (married Lydia Margaret Lloyed). His daughters were as follows: Sarah Burks (married Edward Patterson); Mary Ann Burks, and another daughter, possibly Susey Burks.
On October 22, 2005, the Captain Henry Whitener Chapter NSDAR hosted a dedication ceremony to mark the graves of Samuel Burks and John Reeves. The ceremony was attended by family members, with Pam Hutsell giving remarks. Another descendant of Samuel, through his son William, published a book on the history of the Burks family in Madison County that could have been viewed at the time in the Historic Madison museum.
Compiled by Pam Johnson, John Guild Chapter NSDAR, with the assistance of Teri Moss of the Captain Henry Whitener Chapter NSDAR.
Sources:
https://www.wikitree.com/wiki/Burks-2109
https://momarion.genealogyvillage.com/records/military/revwar.html
