Annals of Platte County, Missouri - Paxton
[previous page] [next page]
[previous page] [next page]
.1848, JUNE. -5-} THE BURNETTS. JUNE. June 1 - Weather - Heavy rains retarded agriculture. The Oregon emigrants. having gathered at Westport, organize by choosing Peter H. Burnett as captain, J. Y. Nesmith orderly sergeant, and 9 councilmen. PETER H. BURNETT We will hear no more of Peter H. Burnett in the history of Platte; and I cannot dismiss so honored a friend without a tribute to his merits. The whole family possessed talent. and a religious sentiment made them enthusiasts in every good cause. The (enterprise, hardihood, intelligence, and devotion of Peter H. Bur- nett have blessed and benefited four States of our Union. He was our first prosecuting attorney, and discharged the duties of his ofce with marked success. He led the first overland expedi tion to Oregon. mid untold dangers, privations. and suffering; passed to California over a trackless wilderness. became the first governor of the newly acquired li11ltO1Y. and surrendered his office with clean hands and an unclouded name. He published A Lawyers Reasons for Joining the Catholic Church" in a neat volume: and in another volume. An Old Pioneer." he has given sketches of his eventful life. His style is plain and simple, and his adventures are replete with interest. He died in San Fran- cisco May 18. 1895. I will give his genealogy: GEORGE BURNETT, the ancestor, was b. in Virginia, Sept. 26, 1770; went to Tennessee; married 1802, Dorothy (Dolly) Hardeman, b. in Tennessee May 15, 1786; d. in Platte March 17, 1843. Issue: I. CONSTANTINA BURNETT, married 1st, Jas. M. Miller, who was killed by lightning, 1821, at Boonville. She married 2nd, W. L. Smith, a merchant of Liberty. II. PETER HARDEMAN BURNETT, b. at Nashville, Tennessee, Nov. 15, 1807; d. in San Francisco May 18, 1895; married a dr. of Judge Peter Rogers. I have already noticed him. Issue: 1. Dwight J. Burnett 2. Martha L. Burnett 3. Romietta Burnett 4. John Burnett 5. Armistead Burnett 6. Sallie C. Burnett III. GLEN OWEN BURNETT, a Christian preacher IV. GEO. WM. BURNETT, at one time a constable of Carroll Township, Platte County V. ELIZABETH A. BURNETT, married 1st, in Clay County, Dr. Ware S. May, who d. in Nove., 1847.