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Timeline of the Life of General Burnett

Music Video Biography of "The General"

26 Dec 26 1838 born Youngstown OH to frontier family originally from NY and NJ; his father had one of the stations on the underground railroad. Biographies to the contrary, General Burnett's family was not descended from William Burnet or William Burnett; instead, he was descended from Thomas Burnet and Mary Cooper, English immigrants to Southampton NY
(Thomas -> John -> John Jr. ->Henry -> Henry Jr. -> Samuel -> Henry -> Brig.Gen. Henry L. Burnett)
16 Oct 1850 boarding in Youngstown OH in 1850 census
1853 runs away from home to Chester Academy to get an education, aged 15, carrying Thadeus of Warsaw and Lady of Lyons; Hiram Academy; tutored by later President James A. Garfield
1855-6 enters Ohio State National Law School, living and reading law with Judge Benjamin F. Hoffman, law partner of Ohio Governor David Tod
27 Oct 1858 marries 16 year old Kitty Hoffman
1859 graduates Ohio State National Law School
1860 admitted to Ohio bar and practices law in Warren Ohio
1 Jun 1860 1860 census shows him living with 17 year old wife and in-laws, with a personal estate already worth $1500
1 Jun 1860 1860 census shows his parents living with with Henry's sister Harriet, and brothers Elliot, Reuben and John.
20 Jun 1860 daughter Grace Hoffman Burnett born Warren OH
22 Aug 1861 joins army, Captain of 2nd Ohio Cavalry, Company C (military career)
10 Mar 1862 promoted to Major, 2nd Ohio Cavalry, Company C
1863 served in Missouri, Kansas, and Kentucky; his regiment taking part in the pursuit and capture of John Hunt Morgan and his Confederate raiders north of the Ohio River
29 Apr 1863 resigns from Cavalry after horse rolled on him
May 1863 joins Judge Advocate Corps, Department of the Ohio
17 Aug 1863 appointed Major, Judge Advocate for the Army, in the Department of the Ohio
1864 daughter Katherine "Kitty" Cleveland Burnett born
15 Apr 1864 writes to Judge Holt, attempting to resign from army because of problems at home (probably wife's ill health after birth of daughter)
18 Apr 1864 Judge Holt replies that Secretary Stanton wants Burnett to take indefinite leave instead of resigning
28 Apr 1864 Ohio Governor David Tod asks Judge Holt to make Burnett a Colonel
4 May 1864 asks Senator John Sherman (Ohio), General Sherman's brother, to intercede for his promotion
28 Jun 1864 wife Kitty dies in Covington, Kenton County KY, at age 21
Sep 1864 treason trials at Indianapolis
early 1865 prosecuting Camp Douglas conspirators, who were intending to free the Confederate POWs from Camp Douglas, then burn Chicago
8 Mar 1865 appointed Brevel Colonel, in Judge Advocate Corps
Mar 1865 prosecuting Chicago conspirators (Princeton thesis on Milligan Case   Correspondence with Stanton regarding trials, p523-525)
14 Apr 1865 Lincoln assassinated
19 Apr 1865 ordered to D.C. by Secretary Stanton - Burnett took charge of the investigation relating to the assassination, prepared the testimony for the trial, and was one of the two assistant Judge Advocates at the trial. Afterwards, he prepared the papers for the Library of Congress.

Burnett published, and gave as speeches, his Memories of the Trial, his main purpose being to defend General Hancock's and Judge Holt's actions.

28 Apr 1865 NY Times - Booth Killed - Cols 1&2,   Cols 3&4,   Cols 5&6
1 May 1865 accepts commission as Brevet Colonel
7 Jul 1865 NY Times - Assassins Executed - Cols 1&2,   Cols 3&4,   Cols 5&6
18 Oct 1865 asks to be mustered out Dec 1, 1865
28 Oct 1865 Secretary Stanton accepts his request
10 Nov 1865 Senator John Sherman (Ohio) asks for Burnett to be brevetted General
30 Nov 1865 Judge Holt asks Secretary Stanton to have Burnett brevetted General
1 Dec 1865 mustered out of army
1865-1869 removes to NYC and practices law with Judge T.W. Bartley, late chief justice of Ohio and Governor of Ohio, 1844
17 May 1866 accepts promotion to Brevet Brigadier General
5 Oct 1866 gives speech at New Albany against Michael Kerr, who was running for office saying he had not been one of the southern conspirators
4 Sep 1867 marries 21 year old Sarah Gibson Lansing, daughter of Brig. Gen. Henry L. Lansing, treasurer/secretary of the Buffalo and Erie Railroad, and granddaughter of Henry B. Gibson (1783-1863), banker and president of the Rochester and Syracuse Railroad, and one of the richest men in western New York
6 Jan 1868 writes to Benjamin Bristow, future law partner, introducing George Alfred Townsend, Civil War reporter (The Life, Crime and Capture of John Wilkes Booth,   e-books Available)
18 Jan 1869 son Lansing Burnett born in Canandaigua NY
18 Jan 1869 1870 census, Henry and Sarah living in Cincinnati
1869-1872 practices law with Ex-Governor J.D. Cox and Congressional Representative John F. Follett
2 May 1873 daughter Catharine Olivia Gibson Burnett born in Buffalo NY
1873-Oct 1874 associate attorney and counsel of the Erie Railway Company
1874-75 practices law with Hon. B.H. Bristow, William Peet, and W.S. Opdyke
7 Oct 1875 arrives back in US from England on ship R.U.S. Russia
1875-1883 law partnership with Ex-Judge James Emott, until Emott's death
21 Jul 1876 father makes out will
28 Aug 1876 father dies
11 Feb 1877 wife Sarah, aged 29, dies in Buffalo; buried Woodlawn Cemetery, Buffalo
17 Feb 1878 Reception Committee, Martha Washington Reception for the Poor of NY
26 Jun 1878 daughter Grace arrives back in US from England on ship R.U.S. Russia; she travels with Sarah Morse, Sarah's daughter Leila Morse, and Sarah's niece Nelly Goodrich - relatives of her recently deceased stepmother, Sarah Gibson Lansing Burnett.
(Arthur Breese -> Sarah + B.B. Lansing -> Henry Livingston Lansing -> Sarah + General Henry Burnett
(Arthur Breese -> Catharine + Capt. Griswold -> Sarah + S.F.B. Morse)
(Arthur Breese -> Catharine + Capt. Griswold -> Cornelia + William Goodrich -> Nellie Goodrich)
16 Oct 1878 Bristow formed Bristow, Peet, Burnett, & Opdyke law firm
28 Oct 1878 daughter Grace marries Major General and baron Victor Siegmund von Oertzen in Paris; von Oertzen ran a POW camp in Germany during WWI, and the family was financially ruined; there were no children
29 May 1880 mother dies
1 Jun 1880 with the death of his second wife and Henry's remarriage, three of his four children (Katharine, Catharine, and Lansing) are now living with his deceased wife's grandmother, Sarah Gibson, in Canandaigua NY, along with a governess, gardner, cook, and two servants
14 Jun 1880 lives alone in Fifth Avenue Hotel in 1880 census
28 Jun 1881 Sarah Gibson, who was caring for the three children, dies in Canandaigua
31 Jan 1882 marries 22 year old Agnes Suffern Tailer, daughter of Edward Neufville Tailer, a director in The German-American Bank and The Northern Dispensary, in NYC (Painting by Fernand Lungren of the wedding of Agnes' sister Fannie to Sydney Smith)
1882 son Henry L. Burnett, Jr. born in NY
1883-1898 associates in Burnett & Whitney law practice with Edward B. Whitney, later Justice of the New York State Supreme Court
19 May 1883 opposes motion to send divorce case to jury for trial
4 Dec 1884 gives introduction of Colonel Strong in the Ohio Society when elected mayor of NYC
Mar 1885 gives 16 hr closing argument in the Page Case (Great American Jury Speeches)
9 Apr 1885 son Edward N.T. Burnett born in NY
9 Jan 1886 serves as trustee for Northern Dispensary with his father-in-law
14 Jan 1886 on Committee of Governors for newly created Ohio Society of New York
14 Jan 1886 hosted a social outing to Richfield Springs resort
29 Nov 1886 suggests lightening the men's club atmosphere with ladies
7 Oct 1889 son Lansing Burnett inherits from his maternal grandfather, Brig.Gen. Henry L. Lansing: "Third: I give and bequeath to my grandson and namesake Lansing Burnett, son of my deceased daughter Sarah, my gold watch chain and locket, two pairs of gold sleeve buttons and two gold scarf pins."
29 May 1890 gives speech at dinner for Republican volunteers
1890 New York City Directory shows Burnett as lawyer, at 67 Wall, with home at 7 E. 12th
11 Oct 1890 wife, Henry, Jr. and Edward return from Europe with governess and servant on ship 'Saale'
1890 Buffalo directory shows son Lansing a medical student living at 55 W. Mohawk
29 Aug 1891 son Lansing returns from Europe on ship 'Werra'
1892 daughter Catharine and son Lansing appear in the 1892 census living with their maternal grandmother, Catharine Olivia Gibson Lansing, in the former Gibson home in Canandaigua
20 Jan 1893 Son Lansing Burnett dies, aged 24; buried Woodlawn Cemetery, Buffalo
2 Jul 1893 visiting with the inlaws
2 Jul 1893 elected to Board of Directors of Northern Pacific Railroad
4 Aug 1895 son Robert Suffern Tailer Burnett born in NY; dies young
18 Oct 1895 elected one of the Directors of the Northern Pacific Railroad
5 Jan 1896 daughter Catharine marries Robert Jewett Mercur in Canandaigua
29 Apr 1896 at head table for business educator Silas Sadler Packard Banquet
29 Oct 1896 on platform for political money rally where Major William McKinley sends telegram
11 Jan 1897 first grandchild, Catherine Gibson Mercur, born in Buffalo
4 Apr 1897 says that his name was used in Grand Concourse Project without his knowledge
18 Sep 1898 will be visiting Tuxedo cottages after summer at Gen. Burnett's farm in Youngstown OH
20 Apr 1897 says that his visit to police HQ has nothing to do with appointment of new police commissioner
17 Oct 1897 as president of the Ohio Society of NY, moves club rooms to new Astoria Hotel
13 Nov 1897 gossip that Burnett's appointment as DA might be withdrawn
17 Nov 1897 gossip thought to be wrong
Jan 1898 appointed Federal District Attorney for the Southern District of NY by President McKinley (a friend who called the General "Lightning Eyes" Burnett)
19 Sep 1898 valuable stolen watch recovered
9 Nov 1898 wife wears long sealskin coat and large black hat to Meadowbrook Steeplechase
18 Nov 1898 prosecutes Lasar smuggling trial
18 Nov 1898 Lasar smuggling trial ends
18 Nov 1898 girl in Lasar trial has not eloped
10 Apr 1899 pallbearer in tragic mansion fire
17 Apr 1899 brother-in-law dies (Robert R. Livingston, husband of wife's sister)
23 Apr 1899 wife attends song recital
4 Oct 1899 watched the America Cup yacht races from the steamship Republic
5 Oct 1899 installed as Loyal Legion Senior Vice Commander
15 Oct 1899 member of committee to raise funds for a permanent Dewey Arch in city
28 Oct 1899 attended the Tuxedo Autumn Ball
29 Oct 1899 more on the Tuxedo Autumn Ball
10 Oct 1899 prosecutes ex-Captain Carter
4 Nov 1899 wife has front box for society horse show
10 Nov 1899 wife hosts dinners and dancing at Tuxedo
15 Nov 1899 wife attends horse show
5-7 Dec 1899 argues MURDOCK v. WARD, 178 U.S. 139 (1900) before the Supreme Court
18-19 Apr 1900 argues LI SING v. U S, 180 U.S. 486 (1901) before the Supreme Court
6 Nov 1900 attends funeral of ex-Mayor William L. Strong
1902 reappointed Federal District Attorney for the Southern District of NY by President Theodore Roosevelt
1904 daughter Catharine marries Jack Bell in Colorado, mining engineer, and they publish the Canon City Cannon
1 Jul 1904 presented to a federal grand jury, along with Henry A. Wise, the General Slocum disaster
11 Oct 1904 naturalization fraud investigation being extended
19 Feb 1905 gossip says Burnett won't be replaced by President Roosevelt until next January
11 May 1905 grandson Bradley Evans Bell (Bradley TenEyck Van Deusen) born in Canon City CO (poetry,   biography,   letters )
18 Apr 1906 whist with the Roosevelts
11 Sep 1907 returns alone from Queenstown on ship 'S.S. Caronia'
by 1910 owned 200 acre horsefarm, Hillside Farm, in Goshen NY
17 May 1910 Mayner, a harness horse from Hillside Farm, pulled from race in Goshen
5 Nov 1911 daughter Catharine marries Robert Van Deusen in Denver
6 Sep 1914 daughter Katharine returns from England on the R.U.S. Russia
13 Oct 1914 fire destroys stables on horse farm
spring 1915 fire destroys house on horse farm
14 Jul 1915 gives talk in Goshen, which is greatly applauded
11 Oct 1915 attends Goshen Driving Club
fall 1915 new house rebuilt on horse farm
6 Nov 1915 takes ill in Goshen
18 Nov 1915 removed on train to city, on cot in baggage car with nurse
4 Jan 1916
The Death and Monument of General Burnett

General Burnett dies at age 78; buried Slate Hill Cemetery, Goshen NY (will;  published will)   (Obituaries: NY Times,   Middletown Times Press,   Youngstown OH,   Washington Post,   NY Case and Comment)
Pallbearers: Thatcher M. Adams, John M. Barrett, Charles P. Bruch, President of the Ohio Society, Joseph H. Choate; Judge Alfred C. Coxe, of the US Court of Appeals; Robert Goelet, of Glenmere, Newport & Palm Beach, and the Goshen Driving Club; Winston H. Hagen; W. Averell Harriman of Arden and the Goshen Driving Club; US District Attorney H. Snowden Marshall; Russell Murray of Goshen; General J. Fred Pierson, youngest Union general; General Horace Porter, staff to Gen. and Pres. Grant; General Edwin Stewart, Commander of the Loyal Legion; Henry L. Stimson, former US District Attorney; George W. Wickersham, President of the Bar Association; Henry A. Wise, former US District Attorney
7 Jan 1916 funeral attended by Goshen residents
25 Nov 1916 Burnett grave monument groundbreaking in Goshen's Slate Hill Cemetery, overlooking Hillside Farm, the General's horsefarm
17 Feb 1917 wife's father dies
7 Mar 1917 wife brings suit against housekeeper
18 Mar 1917 wife's mother dies
23 May 1917 Hillside Farm in Goshen sold
29 Jun 1917 jury requires Agnes Burnett to pay housekeeper
15 May 1918 Son Henry dies and is buried with father in Slate Hill Cemetery, Goshen
25 Mar 1923 daughter Katharine returns from Le Havre on the ship 'Paris'
14 Dec 1929 only remaining son, Edward, marries Sophia Hunter in Los Angeles CA
25 Nov 1930 Third and last grandchild, Edwina Burnett, born to son Edward and Sophia
11 Dec 1932 wife dies
1934 daughter Catharine dies in Denver (Will); Pallbearers were Governor Johnson, Gen. John T. Barnet, Gen. Neil Kimball (Adjutant General of Colorado), General Danks, Judge Frank McLaughlin and Robert De Vano.
3 Apr 1945 eldest daughter Grace, Baroness von Oertzen, dies childless in Bad Doberan Germany
15 Nov 1966 Edward N.T. Burnett, the last surviving child of Henry Burnett, dies in Los Angeles CA
24 Jul 2004 historical marker erected at General Burnett's grave by the Colonel Augustus Van Horne Ellis Camp 124 S.U.V.C.W.
12 Feb 2006 fund begun by the Colonel Augustus Van Horne Ellis Camp 124 S.U.V.C.W. to replace the brass plaque stolen from the General Burnett grave
General Burnett
General Burnett

Memories of Lincoln Assassination Trial,   Timeline of General Burnett's Life,   Photographs,   Site Map

Biographical Cyclopaedia and Portrait Gallery,   National Cyclopaedia of American Biography,
X Dictionary of American Biography II,   Answers.Com,   Wikipedia X





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