Job's Children: David and Ellen

David and Ellen Burris with two of their grandchildren

David T. and Ellen Honeycutt Burris were my paternal Grandfather's maternal Grandparents. David was a very common name among the Burris families and my particular David was born January 13, 1851 to Gideon Green Burris and wife Obedience Hathcock Burris. Gideon and Obedience were first cousins as Gideon's father, Solomon Burris Jr. and "Beadie's" mother, Nancy Ann Burris Hathcock were siblings, children of the Revolutionary War Patriot, Solomon Burris and his wife and Judith Taylor Burris.

Image result for frog pond, stanly county, map

Image result for frog pond, stanly county, map

David grew up in the Frog Pond/Big Lick area of Stanly County, judging from his father's 1868 Homestead Claim on land deeded by his wife Ellen's grandfather, John T. Honeycutt. It's found on the above map just southwest of the Red Dot of Albemarle, the county seat.

He seems to have lived a calm, and peaceful life as a farmer, full of the hard work that befell any small farmer of the era. At the age of 22, he married a girl from the same area, Ellen Honeycutt. Ellen was the eldest daughter of Charles McKinley "Ken" Honeycutt and Mary Anna Burris Honeycutt. Both David and Ellen were Great Grandchildren of old Solomon the First. There were several intermarriages between his many descendants.

Ellen was only 17 that late November day in 1873. They may have gotten married at Liberty Hill, located near to where they lived. Her mother had died the year before and Ellen may have been in a hurry to get out of careing for her younger siblings and strike out on her own.

Name:

Mac Burris

Age:

Birth Date:

Abt 1877

Birthplace:

North Carolina

Home in 1880:

Big Lick, Stanly, North Carolina, USA

Dwelling Number:

Race:

White

Gender:

Male

Relation to Head of House:

Son

Marital Status:

Single

Father's name:

David T. Burris

Father's Birthplace:

North Carolina

Mother's name:

Ellan Burris

Mother's Birthplace:

North Carolina

Neighbors:

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Household Members:

Name	Age
David T. Burris	28
Ellan Burris	24
Roena Burris	6
Leeny Burris	4
Mac Burris	3
Duncon Burris	9/12

The 1880 census was the first one that David and Ellen show up in as a couple. Their 7 years of marriage had produced 4 children.

By 1900, twenty years later, all of David and Ellen's children had been born. Rowena was already married with a family of her own, and Mack married that year to Eve Almond. Tina, or "Teeny", had been married for 4 years to James M. "Merman" Lambert and already had 4 children. All the rest had been enumerated with their parents.

Name:

David Buroce

Age:

Birth Date:

Mar 1850

Birthplace:

North Carolina

Home in 1900:

Almond, Stanly, North Carolina

House Number:

Sheet Number:

Number of Dwelling in Order of Visitation:

106

Family Number:

110

Race:

White

Gender:

Male

Relation to Head of House:

Head

Marital Status:

Married

Spouse's Name:

Ellen Buroce

Marriage Year:

1875

Years Married:

Father's Birthplace:

North Carolina

Mother's Birthplace:

North Carolina

Occupation:

Farmer

Months not employed:

Can Read:

Can Write:

Can Speak English:

Yes

House Owned or Rented:

Farm or House:

Neighbors:

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Household Members:

Name	Age
David Buroce	50
Ellen Buroce	52
Dunkan Buroce	18
Sue Buroce	17
Mettie Buroce	15
Hemley Buroce	14
Ephiram Buroce	12
Vinius Buroce	10
Sue Buroce	9

The names were not transcribed well, as Burris was misspelled Buroce, Duncan was Dunkan, Sue was NOT Sue but Lou, Mettie was short for Elmetta, Hemley was actually Hurley, Vinius was Venus, and the second Sue was Lula.

Name:

Ellen Burris

Age in 1910:

Birth Year:

abt 1851

Birthplace:

North Carolina

Home in 1910:

Concord Ward 1, Cabarrus, North Carolina

Street:

Powder Street

Race:

White

Gender:

Female

Relation to Head of House:

Wife

Marital Status:

Married

Spouse's Name:

David T Burris

Father's Birthplace:

North Carolina

Mother's Birthplace:

North Carolina

Native Tongue:

English

Able to Read:

Able to Write:

Years Married:

Number of Children Born:

Number of Children Living:

Neighbors:

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Household Members:

Name	Age
David T Burris	62
Ellen Burris	59
Venis O Burris	15
Loaler Burris	13

Then, sometime between 1900 and 1910, David and Ellen moved their family to Cabarrus County and were found in Concord on Powder Street. David and his two teenaged children were working in the Cotton Mills, while Ellen was a homemaker. Ellen was very fortunate for a woman of her era, having given birth to 10 children, and upon the approach of her 60th birthday, having all 10 of those children to survive.

Powder Street runs parallel to Irish Buffalo Creek, and intersects both Corban Street and Cabarrus Avenue, two main throughfares of turn-of-the-century Concord. It's only 3 blocks from Barber-Scotia College, but was not a collegiate area. Surving houses of that era appear to be Mill Hill style cottages.

Property photo for 138 Powder Street, Concord, NC 28025
.

Ten years later, David, now 71 years old, was still working in the Cotton Mills. He and Ellen were now living on Railroad Street, with son Venice or Venus Odell Burris, his wife Mandy and their baby son Will. Railroad Street was in the very center of the Concord Textile Mill area and the Gibson Mill village.

Name:

David Burris

Age:

Birth Year:

abt 1849

Birthplace:

North Carolina

Home in 1920:

Baptist Church, Cabarrus, North Carolina

Street:

Railroad Ave

House Number:

Residence Date:

1920

Race:

White

Gender:

Male

Relation to Head of House:

Head

Marital Status:

Married

Spouse's Name:

Ellen Burris

Father's Birthplace:

North Carolina

Mother's Birthplace:

North Carolina

Able to Speak English:

Yes

Occupation:

Laborer

Industry:

Cotton Mill

Employment Field:

Wage or Salary

Home Owned or Rented:

Rent

Able to Read:

Able to Write:

Neighbors:

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Household Members:

Name	Age
David Burris	71
Ellen Burris	69
Venice Burris	22
Mandy Burris	21
Willie Burris	1

David T Burris passed away on December 11, 1928 in Big Lick, Stanly County. Sometime after 1920, he had left the Cabarrus County cotton mills and returned home. He died of the flu and pneumonia and was buried at Bear Creek with many of his kin. His death certificate recorded that he was 83 years and 10 months old.

Name:

Ellen Burris

Birth Year:

abt 1850

Gender:

Female

Race:

White

Birthplace:

North Carolina

Marital Status:

Widowed

Relation to Head of House:

Mother-in-law

Home in 1930:

Ridenhour, Stanly, North Carolina, USA

Map of Home:

View Map

Dwelling Number:

170

Family Number:

175

Age at First Marriage:

Attended School:

Able to Read and Write:

Father's Birthplace:

North Carolina

Mother's Birthplace:

North Carolina

Able to Speak English:

Yes

Household Members:

Name	Age
J M Lambert	60
Tinie Lambert	55
Martha Lambert	18
Gurlis Lambert	14
Curtis Lambert	12
Willard Lambert	10
Mae Christenbery	4
Ellen Burris	80

Ellen would move in with her daughter Tiney Burris Lambert in the Ridenhour area of Stanly County, which is the northern end of the county. She did not live long after her last census was taken and joined David at Bear Creek Cemetery before the end of the year. Her death certificate lists her cause of death as simply "Old Age" with no doctor in attendance and her age given as 84 years, 1 month and 13 days.

Downtown Concord as it looked when David and Ellen lived there.

The 10 children of David T and Ellen Honeycutt Burris were:

1) Rowena L Burris April 16 1872 - April 4 1915. Married Elias Marion Lambert

2) Tina O "Tiney" Burris Feb 5 1877 - Jan 30, 1947 Married James Merman Lambert

3) Mack Benson Burris Born About 1878 - June 29, 1961 Married Eve C. Almond

4) Duncan "Dunk" Burris Born about 1879 - August 19, 1950 Married 1st Dollie Burris, Married 2nd Naomi "Omie" Almond, Married 3rd Lottie Hill

5) Jane Lutheney Burris Feb 9 1881 - August 27, 1959 Married Davidson D Burris Jr.

Davidson Burris and wife Jane Lutheny Burris Burris (daughter of David and Ellen Burris) and family

6) Hurley H. Burris Jan 16 1886 - November 22 1968 Married Carrie Lou Burleson

7) Ella Elmetta "Mettie" Burris June 15 1887 - Jan 21 1942 Married 1st Henry Albert Smith Married 2nd Joseph Alexander Gaddy

8) Ephraim Tillman Burris July 9 1881 - May 17 1965 Married Cora Theodora Mauney

9) Venis Odell Burris Nov 9 1895 - May 12 1967 Married Amanda Hinson

10) Lula Ellen Burris Jan 12, 1897 - Feb 21 1984 Married Robert Harley Staton

All of their children had at least one child, leading to a great number of Grandchildren, Great Grandchildren and onward.