Question: Which Susan Kent? « A Hoyt Family Genealogy

Question: Which Susan Kent?

Posted on: 01-12-2011 Posted in: Burnett, Massachusetts, Nova Scotia, Youmans

Which Susan Kent is the mother of Francis Burnett? Susan Hill Kent, the daughter of Alexander Kent and Martha Stewart… or Susan Kent, the daughter of Alexander Kent and Elizabeth Horton.

My paternal great-grandfather was Francis (Frank) Burnett, who according to his death record was born in 1861 in Nova Scotia to Wm. Burnett and Susan Kent. He came to Lowell, MA (date unknown) and his death record gives his occupation as an engineer (possibly Whittier Mills, Lowell MA) where it is presumed that he met and later married Sarah Porter, of England (b. 1861) who also worked in the mills.

Frank and Sarah had two children, my grandmother Ethel M. (Burnett) Youmans and Francis Olaf Burnett. Frank and Sarah died young, Frank at the age of 33 on 20 Jan 1894 followed a year and a half later by his wife Sarah, who died on 05 Jul 1895 at age 34.

To accurately determine the parentage of Francis Burnett, I started with a marriage record for a William Burnett and Susan Hill Kent, married on 31 Mar 1851 in Musquodoboit, Halifax, Nova Scotia. Unfortunately there is no birth date or parents listed for either the bride or the groom (which might have made this so much easier!).

Next, I turned to the Canadian census reports. Starting with 1860-61 I found three Burnetts:

John Burnett, listed with 2 males and two females in his household.
William Burnett, with 4 males and 3 females, and:
Alexander Burnett, with 2 males and 3 females.

Two of the females in the households of William and Alexander Burnett were under one year of age, and two of the males were over one and under two years of age at the time of the census.

Not very much can be determined with this census as names and birthdates for the household members are not given. In fact, they may include nephews and nieces, or elderly parents. It is however included here as this census may in turn help us to determine the parents and possible siblings of William Burnett at a later date.

The Canadian census report of 1871 for East Halifax, Upper Musquodoboit, Nova Scotia has all of the children of William and Susan Kent Burnett listed, along with ages, countries of birth, religion, and occupations:

Name	Age	Country of Birth	Origin	Occupation
William	43	England	Scotch	Farmer
Susan	43	Nova Scotia	English	- -
Gregory	16	“	Scotch	- -
Albert	14	“	“	- -
Elizabeth	13	“	“	- -
Francis	11	“	“	- -
Margaret	10	“	“	- -
William	7	“	“	- -
Arthur	3	“	“	- -
Frederick	1	“	“	- -

I believe that the argument can be made that the William Burnett of the 1871 census is the same William of the 1860-61 census, with William (Jr), Arthur and Frederick not yet born at the time of the 1860-61 census, the female under one year of age would be Margaret and the male over one year/under two years of age would be Francis.

This also means that the head of household and his wife are included (in 1860-61) in the total number of the household, leaving 3 other family members, Gregory, Albert and Elizabeth for a total of 7 family members in 1860-61.

The last Canadian census that this family is found in is the census for 1881, Halifax County:

Name	Age	Country of Birth	Origin	Occupation
William	53	England	Scotch	Farmer
Gregory	25	Nova Scotia	Scotch	Farmer
Albert	23	“	“	Farmer
Frank	21	“	“	Lumberman
William C.	17	“	“	- -
Arthur	13	“	“	- -
Frederick	9	“	“	- -
Susan	53	“	“	- -

Note that the two daughters Elizabeth and Margaret are not listed, presumably married and running their own households as they would be in their early twenties at the time of this census.

The ages of the children perfectly coincide with the children’s ages in 1871, with minor discrepancies likely attributable to a variation of the month and day that the census was taken for each given year.

At some point after the 1881 census the Burnett family leaves Nova Scotia to settle in the city of Lowell, Middlesex County, Massachusetts, where the son Francis marries Sarah Porter in 1885. Unfortunately the 1890 US census was destroyed in a fire but I do pick them up again in the US census of 1900, in Lowell, MA.

This census was taken on 12 Jun 1900:

Name	DOB	Age	Yrs Married	Country of Birth	Occupation
William	Jan 1828	72	44	England	Spooling
Susan	Feb 1828	72	44	Nova Scotia	- -
Gregory	Apr 1858	42	Single	Canada	Laborer
Albert	May 1862	38	Single	Canada	Teamster
Frederick	Apr 1872	26	Single	Canada	- -

Note the discrepancy in the age of Frederick; if born in 1872 he would actually be 28 in 1900, not 26. I believe this is in error, not only in year but in age. His correct birth date is Apr 1870 and his correct age would be 28.

There is other data on the family in the 1900 census which I couldn’t fit into the table above; that William Burnett’s father was born in Scotland, his mother in Nova Scotia, and the father of Susan Burnett was born in England, her mother in Nova Scotia. It states that William Burnett and Susan arrived in the US in 1888, living in the country for 12 years and that William (Sr.) as of 1900 was a naturalized citizen. It also gives the family’s address in Lowell in 1900 as 69 High Street .

Another important piece of information in the 1900 census is regarding how many children the wife has given birth to and how many of those children are still living at the time that the census was taken.

The census gives Susan Burnett as giving birth to 8 children, one of whom was not still living in 1900. That would be quite true, provided that the other children can be accounted for by setting up their own households; their son Francis is the only child with a recorded death before 1900 that has been found thus far, another bit of accuracy that would have this Burnett family the same Burnett family with 8 children recorded in earlier Canadian census reports; specifically the 1871 census.

Further searching located in the index of Naturalization records the information that William Burnett of 69 High Street, Lowell MA, and born in England on 26 Feb 1828 was naturalized on 14 Nov 1896.

A great deal of information can be found in city directories, especially with the lack of a census in 1890. The following is from the directories that I could find online:

Lowell City Directory – 1898:

Burnett Albert, job wagon, Market House, boards 69 High (Street)

“ Arthur, driver, house 32 Third (unk. if this is the son of Wm. & Susan)

“ Frederick, boards 69 High

“ Gregory, teamster, boards 69 High

“ William, watchman, Whittier Mill, house 69 High, rm. 3 (William Sr. ?)

“ William C., police, Market House, house 43 Hildreth (Canadian census of 1881 gives son William as “William C.”

Lowell City Directory – 1899:

Burnett Albert, clerk, boards 69 High

“ Arthur, driver, house 46 Hampshire

“ Frederick, boards 69 High

“ Gregory, teamster, boards 69 High

“ William, watchman, Whittier mill, house 69 High, rm. 3

“ William C. police, Market House, house 62 W. Sixth

Lowell City Directory – 1902:

Burnett Albert, job wagon, Market House, boards 69 High, rm. 4

“ Arthur, driver, house 18 Ross Av.

“ Frederick, boards 69 High, room 4

“ Gregory A. laborer, boards 69 High, room 4

“ Susan H. widow of Wm. house 69 High, room 4

“ William (of 69 High), died September 22, 1901

“ William C. police, Market bldg. house 37 Shedd

Lowell City Directory – 1905:

Burnett Albert, second hand store, 170 Market, house do [ditto]

“ Arthur, driver, house 176 Barker av.

“ Frederick, boards 170 Market

“ Walter V. painter, 97 Appleton, boards 45 Tolman av. (is he related? A nephew perhaps?)

“ William C. police, Market bldg. house 45 Tolman av.

Lowell City Directory – 1922:

Burnett Albert, bobbin maker h 61 Hudson

“ Alfred res 61 Hudson

“ Frank O (Laurel M) clerk 24 Merrimack h 12 Hastings (this is the son of Francis “Frank” Burnett)

Gregory is not listed in the 1922 Directory and I believe that he may have died before this date. Noted also is that Gregory throughout all census returns and directories is never given an occupation, which leads me to believe that he may have been infirm in some way. There is a Gregory who is buried with Sarah (Porter) Burnett, the wife of Francis Burnett, and I believe that this is the same Gregory although no dates of death or burial are given.

Further info on which to draw conclusions are the death records that I’ve been able to find. In the Lowell City Directory for 1902 there is mention of the death of William Burnett Sr., on 22 Sep 1901. A further record is from the Death Index – Lowell, where it is listed that William Burnett died on 22 Sep 1901. In the directory of 1905 there is no longer mention of William’s wife Susan. The Death Index lists a death record for Susan Burnett, 21 Feb 1903.

And then we come to probably the most convincing document as to the parents of Susan Kent Burnett, wife of William Burnett.

From Massachusetts Deaths and Burials:

Name: Susan Kent Burnett

Gender: Female

Burial Place: Lowell

Death Date: 21 Feb 1903

Death Place: Lowell, Massachusetts

Age: 69

Birth Date: 1834

Birth Place: Nova Scotia

Marital Status: Married

Spouse’s Name: Wm. Burnette

Father’s Name: Alexander Kent

Father’s Birthplace: Scotland

Mother’s Name: Martha Stewart

Mother’s Birthplace: Scotland

And finally, from burial records of a family plot in Lowell Cemetery, Lowell MA:

Sarah Burnett (This would be the wife of Francis “Frank” Burnett)
Born, 1861
Died, 5 Jul 1895 at 34 yrs.

Albert Burnett
Born 22 Feb 1856
Died 27 Mar 1932 at 76 yrs 1 mo 5 days

Gregory Burnett (no dates given)

Sources:

Birth Records

“Male” Burnett, b. 05 Oct 1867.
Frederick Burnett, b. 06 Apr 1870.

Marriage Records

William Burnett and Susan Hill Kent, m. 31 Mar 1851.

Death Records

Frank (Francis) Burnett, d. 20 Jan 1894.
Frederick Burnett, b. 06 Apr 1870.
Susan Kent Burnett, d. 21 Feb 1903
Death Index: Lowell MA- William Burnett, d. 22 Sep 1901
- Susan Burnett, d. 21 Feb 1903
Lowell Cemetery Records; Sarah (wife of Francis), Albert & Gregory Burnett.

Census Records