Burdick Newsletters

Spring, 2018


Tracking Ocie Burdick

submitted by Howard Burdick (howard@burdickfamily.org)

(You may recall that in the Fall 2017 Newsletter Jack Burdick requested help tracing down the parents of his g-grandfather, Ocie Burdick. Kim Mabee (kimandgarymabee@gmail.com) found evidence of who it is, but Alexandra Stocker, a retired genealogist, produced some amazing documentation. I wanted to share her findings with you to illustrate how a professional gathers those elusive bits and pieces of information to build a story. -- HB)

Original Post, Fall, 2017:

Jack Burdick is trying to find his link to the Burdick Family tree. Jack has traced his line back to his g-grandfather, Ocie Burdick (who went by "O.C."), but cannot find O.C.'s parents. He did not have a middle name but did have two sons, Jack and Clyde. O. C. died in 1969 in Oregon. He married Blanche Snyder in 1921 or 1922. Jack has a lot of his papers including his World War I military draft notice, selective service card, discharge paper, marriage license, and death certificate. But with all of this, there is nothing that references his father. If you know this line, or can help Jack find his roots, please contact him.

------------------------

Alexandra's response:

Dear Jack,

I read in the Burdick newsletter this morning that you were seeking info on the parentage of Ocie “OC” Burdick. I am a retired professional genealogist and thought I’d take a look for you.

Please forgive me if I am just re-hashing information you already know.

As you likely know, OC’s WWII draft card states that he was born in Texas in Jun 1891.

In the 1900 US Census for the Justice Precinct in Wood County (later this precinct was in Kaufman County), Texas, Ocie, his brother Clyde and sister Ollie are all living with their mother Ellen Burdick who was widowed. See attached census. It shows that Ellen was born abt 1878. Her brother George Roberts is living with her as well, so that is how we can ascertain a maiden name of Roberts. However, one researcher on Ancestry has her surname as Roberson, daughter of William Roberson (b.1843), that researcher cites the 1880 Census for Precinct 4 of Wood County Texas (attached). I tend to agree that the surname may have been Roberson. If you look at the 1900 census, living next door to Ellen Burdick is Mary Voorhees whose brother is name Roberson. I bet these two family groups were closely related (siblings). In 1880, William Roberson did indeed have girls named Ellen V. and Mary (Mary was his step daughter). The 1910 Census, has Ellen’s first two initials. E.V. So I believe her full maiden name was Ellen V. Roberson.

The 1900 census states that OC’s father was born in Alabama and his mother was born in Texas. But, in the 1910 Census, it states his father was born in Louisiana.

The widowed Ellen married William Hanesville Burkett and they can be found in the 1910 and 1920 censuses (see attached). Her son Clyde sometimes went by Burkett, but on legal documents, like his WWI draft card and his mother’s and his own death certificates, it clearly states his name was Clyde Burdick/Birdick.

((( Clyde Jackson Burdick World War I Registration Card )))

If we follow OC’s brother Clyde Burdick, born in Texas in 1900, we find that he is listed as Clyde Burdick, Jr. in the 1940 Census for Justice Precinct. If this is indeed “Jr”, it might infer his father’s name was Clyde Burdick Sr. But, we also know that Clyde’s middle name was Jackson. See below.

((( 1940 Census for Justice Precinct listing Clyde Burdick Jr. )))

According to his death certificate, Clyde Jackson Burdick was never married. He died in 1979, and the friend that reported his death did not know his parents’ names.

Attached is Ocie’s mother Ellen’s 1940 death certificate. You’ll see that Clyde Burdick was the informant.

Ocie’s sister Ollie married William Bailey and they are living in Kaufman County, TX in 1920. They had a daughter Willa Mae Bailey (1913-2005). I can’t seem to find anything on Ollie after that. If you could figure out what happened to Ollie and find her death certificate, it might state who her father was.

Also, as a possible lead you may want to research: in the same 1900 census for Justice Precinct is the household of an Otis Burdick (full name James Otis Burdick) born abt 1873 in Texas. 20 years previously, he can be found in the 1880 census in Tarrant, TX with his parents Benjamin F. & Mary M. Burdick. Perhaps this family is somehow related to yours. I’ve attached this 1880 census as well.

So, the only evidence I can show for Ocie’s father’s name would be that his name may have been Clyde Burdick, Sr. The censuses place his birth in Alabama or Louisiana. In Louisiana, there was a William Clyde Burdick (b.1876 in Cattaraugus NY) who registered for the draft in New Orleans in 1917. It’s possible this man could be the father – and perhaps left his wife. I have seen a number of cases where women claim widowhood when the husband is still alive – but has left the family. It’s a long shot. But you may want to look into this man.

I hope something here is of help. Good luck with your search!

Kind Regards,
Alexandra

------------------------

Kim's response:

Ocie’s father is Jack!

Jack Burdock in the Texas, County Marriages, 1817-1965:

Name: Jack Burdock
Gender: Male
Marriage Date: 25 Oct 1896
Marriage Place: Wood, Texas, USA
Spouse: Ellen Roberson
Film Number: 001632007


Living in a Dangerous World

submitted by Homer 'Bud' Burdick (hburdick14626@yahoo.com)

(Let's face it. The world is a dangerous place, but the lives you and I live are pretty safe. Obviously, our military, police and firemen face constant danger, and we thank and honor them for their service. But unless you are one of them you probably do not have to worry about your life ending before you get home for dinner. Bud sent the following obituaries that tie into his family line. I was taken by how these lives were lost in the early 1900s and given our enhanced societal safety would probably not have been today. -- HB)

Forest Republican Tionesta, PA
April 15, 1908
Accidental Death of Homer Burdick

Homer Dwight Burdick was born May 29th, 1884, and for the past few years was a resident of Porkey, Howe twp., living with his father, Robert W. Burdick, generally working for his father on saw mills, but in April, 1907 Went to Illinois and procured a pumping job at Robinson, with the Red Bank Oil Co. In January of the present year he made his parents a visit but was compelled to make his visit short on account of only having a short vacation.

On March 30th he steamed some oil to be run out by the pipe line guager, and on the 31st was getting steam to pump the oil out with a field pump, when the boiler exploded badly mutilating his body and killing him almost instantly.

His brother-in-law, G.W., Barney, wired his parents of the sad accident, and after a funeral service at the First M. E. Church at Robinson, the remains were started for this place, and were met at Shetfield by his relatives and friends where the remains were interred.

Homer was a general favorite wherever known, and was always ready to join in any social function. About three years ago he began the work of the Savior and was "faithful unto death." This fact was proven by the most beautiful tribute of sympathy and love sent to the parents of the Robinson Sunday School class of which he was a member.

We shall miss him but he is safe, and we have consolation of knowing that if we prove faithful we shall again be united in Paradise.

The floral offerings at the funeral were many and very pretty. The funeral sermon was preached by Rev. R.J. Montgomery of Kellettville, in the Minister Church, where young Mr. Burdick was a member.

Thus a young man is cut down in the prime of life, when we look for older ones to go first. Life is so uncertain.

(Footnote from Bud... "The Homer in the obit is the uncle I was named after. When I was born my two older sisters, 12 and 13 years old, said 'no way are we going to call him Homer'. So I became 'Buddy' and later 'Bud' as I matured. I would tell others with a name like 'Homer', you either learn to fight or get a nickname - and the fighting wasn't going well". -- HB)

---------------------

Forest Republican Tionesta, PA
May 4, 1904
Mangled by the Cars
Oscar Hoch of West Hickory Meets Death in a Shocking Manner

Oscar Hoch, a young many living at West Hickory, Pa, , met a tragic death last Saturday night at the station at Tidioute. He had been at Tidioute in the afternoon and had returned to Hickory on the evening train.

Shortly afterward meeting two other young men, Charles Burdick and Warren Howell, the three jumped a freight that was going north, intending to get off at Tidioute. Then the train reached there is was going at the usual rate of speed, not intending to stop.

Hoch's two companions jumped off without difficulty, and they saw him, or supposed they did, jumping off, he being on the car ahead of them. They though they was him stumble.

At any rate, when they came to look for him they found his mangled remains several rods further on, having been dragged a distance of nearly a hundred feet from where the car caught him. One of the young man's legs was found almost half a mile further up the track.

It is supposed he struck some object when he leaped from the moving train and was thrown back under the wheels. The remains were picked up and prepared for burial, and were brought back to his home Sunday.

The unfortunate man leaves a mother and three brothers. He had for some time been employed on the barge yard opposite West Hickory, and was an industrious young fellow. His age was about 28 years. The funeral was held Monday, the services being conducted by Rev. Mr. Potter.

Another sad lesson of the folly of jumping on and off moving trains.


What Are The Odds?

by Bill Burdick (burdickwm@gmail.com)

(I've been publishing these Newsletters for nearly 20 years and this is probably the weirdest thing I have ever heard. Can you imagine the confusion of future genealogists if the relationships described by Bill result in marriage? Enjoy it, it will likely not happen again in many lifetimes! -- HB)

My nephew, Justin Burdick, is dating a girl named Emily. Emily's twin sister is dating a different Justin Burdick! What are the odds of this situation? There are a lot of extremely rare events that are far more likely than the one my nephew is experiencing.

According to the web site HowManyOfMe.com there are 27 people in the U.S. named Justin Burdick. That's 27 out of 325,197,220 people. So the odds of an American citizen being named Justin Burdick are 12,044,322 to 1 or about 12 million to 1.

The odds of someone in the U.S. being a twin is about 30 to 1. The odds of being a female twin is 60 to 1 (because slightly more than half of U.S. citizens are female).

So, the odds of someone named Justin Burdick dating a female twin is (12,044,322 x 60) = 722,660,489 to 1 or approximately 723 million to 1.

The odds of someone named Justin Burdick dating a female twin whose twin sister is dating another person named Justin Burdick is at least (722,660,489 x 722,660,489) to 1= 5.224 x 10^17 OR approximately 522 Quadrillion to 1!

So, how rare is 522 Quadrillion to 1? Well, compare with some other rare events...

The odds of a meteor landing on someone's is 182,138,880,000,000 to 1 OR 182 Quadrillion to 1. So, a person is 3 times more likely to have a meteor land on their house than it is for a person named Justin Burdick to date a twin whose twin is dating another person named Justin Burdick.

The odds of winning Powerball are 292,201,338 to 1. The odds of a person winning Powerball two weeks in a row is (292,201,338 x 292,201,338) = 8.5386 x 10^16 = 85.386 10^15 = 85.386 Quadrillion to 1. In other words, a person is 6 times more likely to win Powerball two weeks in a row than it is for a person named Justin Burdick to date a twin whose twin is dating another person named Justin Burdick.


Burdick News... Up-To-The-Minute!

In the Fall 2017 Newsletter Tom Gross (thosgross@aol.com) presented his attempts to determine the parents of his ggg-grandmother, Mary Ann "Polly" (Hancock) Burdick (I20250). He believes he has not solved the problem. MyHeritage has seven data bases that show Mary Ann Hancock as the daughter of Edward Hancock and Nancy Miner, not Nathan Hancock (I2020250) and Phebe Palmer as recorded by Nellie Johnson. The problem with the MyHeritage data is that Mary Ann was born in 1793 but Edward and Nancy were married in 1799. Also, Nancy Miner was born in 1782 according to all seven data bases meaning that Nancy was 11 at Mary Ann's birth. Edward and Nancy had a daughter named Mary Ann, but she was born 1817. Tom thinks MyHeritage got a bad data set and everyone copied it. So Tom is staying with Nellie Johnson's conclusion that Mary Ann's father was Nathan.

Gary Forbis (forbisgaryg@msn.com) is busily tracing all of his ancestral lines. As with most people with Colonial roots he is finding many names we know: Maxson, Babcock, Lewis, Carpenter, and of course, Burdick. Gary is, like many genealogists, very observant and detail oriented Which led him to ask me a question about Martha Randall, wife of Thomas Burdick (I2). Nellie Johnson (likely based on William Mansfield Burdick Harcourt's work) lists their children as being born between the mid-1690s and early 1700's. But here's the rub - Thomas and Martha would have been about 40 by the time their first child was born! That would not be unusual today, but very likely 300 years ago. Gary may have uncovered a missed generation that we have all neglected to see! I think that is exciting. Perhaps Thomas and Martha had a child (possibly also named Thomas Burdick) and that child was the father of those listed under Thomas (I2). I would love to hear other's thoughts on this subject.

A person, who I will call Dan, contacted me. Dan's mother is Helen Schiller and put him up for adoption in 1954 in Springfield, IL, the year of his birth. Adoption records and DNA testing show that his father is likely Robert Burdick. Through additional research Dan has determined that Robert's mother was Anna Dabrowski (b. 1909) (Burdick father unknown) and he had siblings Nancy, Adeline (1929-2006), Raymond (1941-?) and Caroline. Robert was born in 1927 in Chicago and passed away in 2007. To make matters more confusing, Dan's mother's real name is Helen Tadda - she used an alias on the adoption records. It also appears that Dan has two half-brothers: Dennis (Mae) Burdick and Phil Schilf. At this point Dan is stuck. Can you help? If you know this family please contact me and I will put you in touch with Dan.

Mike Burdick (mikeb76263@gmail.com) asked me an interesting question that we are hoping someone can answer. Does anyone know how many Burdicks are members of SAR and DAR?

Carol Reppard (reppardc@gmail.com) saw this obituary in Albany Times Union: STEPHENTOWN – Donald T. Burdick, 64, died Saturday, February 3, 2018 at the Albany Medical Center. Born in Bennington, VT on May 14, 1953, he is the son of Tracey J. Burdick of Berlin and the late Mildred A. Jones Burdick. Don was raised in Berlin and was a graduate of Berlin Central School and later attended Hudson Valley Community College in Troy. He is the beloved husband of Barbara Lee Longo Burdick; loving father of Christopher J. (Amy) Fitzgerald of North Carolina, Anita Crosby of Canaan, Angela (Guy) Baldwin of Ghent, Aaron Burdick of Castleton, Andrew (Shauna) Burdick of Connecticut, Felicia Burdick of Stephentown and the late Richard M. Longo; proud grandfather of Christopher, Jr., Colin, Kimberly, Curtis, Valerie, Evelyn, Emma, Natalie, William, Seth and John.

A friend of the family passes along word that Joyce Elaine Burdick, 91, formerly of White Mills, PA and a resident at Elmcroft of Mid Valley Senior Living, died February 6 at Geisinger Community Medical Center, Scranton. She was preceded in death by her husband, Harold Burdick. Born Jan. 15, 1927, in Berlin Twp., she was the daughter of the late Theodore and Mildred Smith Buddenhagen. Surviving are her son, Gerald Burdick and wife, Jeanne, Hamburg, Pa.; daughter, Linda Shuman and husband, Jeffrey, Honesdale; three grandchildren; and six great-grandchildren.

Don't forget to search the obituary web site that Carol Reppard (reppardc@gmail.com) has told us about: http://www.legacy.com/ns/obitfinder/obituary-search.aspx.


Copyright Howard E. Burdick 2024. All Rights Reserved.

howard@burdickfamily.org