CHAPTER X.

JOHN BURGESS

John Burgess, 1765-1850, is sometimes referred to as the second John. The first John was a half brother of his father, Nathaniel. Keeping in the stride of his father and grandfather, he had thirteen children. As a young man, after leaving his family farm on Saquish by the ocean, he lived for a time in Rochester, Mass., in that part now included in Wareham, Mass., near the Plymouth southern boundary.

John Burgess lived on the homestead from the purchase in 1801 until his death in 1850 at the age of 85. He prospered, added to his acreage, and was a land owner in Plymouth center.[15] The sustaining of a family of thirteen children and two parents for a period of fifty years from a small country farm is a significant accomplishment.

He married first Annie Tribble, 1765-1805. Their children were Chandler, Annie, Nathan, Lucy, Mary, Serviah, Hannah, Jabez, Sarah, Rebecca, and Nathaniel. Secondly, about age 41 he married Ruth Sprague, 1766-1846, of Duxbury. By her he had one child, Phineas Sprague Burgess, 1807-1890. As in the case of his father Nathaniel, who was the last son of the third Thomas, Phineas was the last child of his father, John. He became the next owner of his father’s homestead.

Ruth Sprague was the twin sister of the Hon. Seth Sprague of Duxbury. He was a representative in the Massachusetts legislature. His son, Hon. Peleg Sprague, 1793-1886, was U. S. senator from Maine 1829-1835 and judge of the U. S. District Court in Boston, 1847-1865. Mary Burgess has said that the family tradition was that she considered herself an old maid and might as well go to Plymouth, marry John, and help bring up his children.[16]

John Burgess’s son, Phineas, cared for him in his last years, as can be seen from his will of 1850.

The action of deeding over to a son of the father’s property during the father’s or parents’ lifetime with a provision for continuous use during their natural lives was a common custom from the early Plymouth Colony days. It is illustrated here between John and Phineas Burgess. Although the son chosen might be one of many sons, it was often the one who continued living in the homestead, farming the property, and providing care for the elders. John Burgess lived nineteen years after this arrangement to a long life of eighty-five years.

The advantages for such an agreement to a father as he ages is apparent. It provided security and some comfort against the time when these factors were most necessary. It might work to the economic advantage of the son as well. It was their solution to a problem that people living today have to solve by radically different methods, be they better or worse.

The same procedure was carried on from father Phineas to son Peleg and to a certain extent by Peleg in the arrangement with his children.

At the Plymouth Registry of Probate I have examined the will of John Burgess, #3370. It throws some light on parts of the life of that time. The administrator was his son, Phineas. He died in 1850 at the age of 85. Before the nineteenth century began he was already thirty-five years old. Those appointed by the Court to appraise the estate were George Manter, Truman Sampson, and Freeman Manter.

A synopsis of the estate is as follows:

One lot of woodland called watercourse lot containing about twenty-five acres at 12 doll per acre. 300.00

One lot of woodland by the name of half moon pond, lot containing about 30 acres at 5 doll 40 cts. per acre. 162.00

(Other real estate and buildings had been previously sold to his son Phineas).

Personal Estate

Fifty-eight cords and four feet of wood 121.62 Farming tools 5.00 Boat boards .50 Furniture 2.50 Wearing apparel 20.50 Bed and bedstead and gun 7.50 ------ 157.62

A cord of wood for fuel is a stack 4 x 4 x 8 feet or 128 cubic feet. A cord here is valued at about $2.50 cut. This would include the worth of the standing timber and removal from the woods. By our standards the pay would be meagre. From the administrator’s account it can be seen that the sawing labor is priced at about 95 cents per cord. The wood itself has a value of $1.55 per cord. The house contained three or more wood-burning stoves, plus a fireplace and heating fuel was needed for five or six months per year.

Let us not be unaware of the great amount of manual labor, exerted by someone at least, for heat. It is in marked contrast with today’s thermostatic systems.

The relatively large value assigned to wearing apparel is not uncommon, but it does point up to us the high value assigned to clothing in their society which had to include sheep raising and hand spinning of cloth before the days of mills. “Best clothes,” such as wool suits were made to last for years. Black felt hats, often of beaver, one of which remains in the house in good condition, and black dress shoes were part of the apparel. In inventories, beds were singled out as items of value. The term “bedstead” is what we would call a bed. Remember Shakespeare directed in his will that his wife should receive his “second best bed.”

Below I list the expenses of the administrator, Phineas Burgess:

Cutting 58-1/2 cords of wood $48.75 Care and providing for my father from May 1, 1846 to May 15, 1850 100.00 Nov. 1 Doctor’s bill 10.37 Nov. 23 Funeral bill 11.50 Nov. 27 To appraise property 5.00 Nov. 30 Grave Stones 12.00 Six days service and expenses 12.00 -------- $199.62

These expenses compare with the Personal Estate of $157.

The cost of the care and providing for his father after the age of eighty is illuminating. It averages under 10 cents per day for food and care and illustrates the cultural pattern under which people lived before nursing homes, social security and medical insurance. The prices for the doctor, funeral and gravestones speak for themselves.

This will throws light on John Burgess, scion of the first Thomas, arriving on these shores in 1630. John was in the fourth generation after him, making a span of 220 years.

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