Moses Burnett / Esther Potter

Moses Burnett was born about 1820 in Tennessee [1]. His parentage and ancestry are not known. He married Esther Potter about 1843. Esther was born on 10 Dec 1818 in Tennessee to Zachariah Potter and Mary A. Plumlee. Her presence is implied in the 1820 through 1840 United States census records [5, 6, 7].

Very, very little is known about Moses. His only appearance in the United States census was in 1850 where he and his wife are living with Esther's parents [1]. By the 1860 United States census, we find only Esther with her children [2]. This is explained by the 1860 mortality census where we find Moses Burnett listed as having died of consumption (tuberculosis) in Mar 1860 in Jackson County, Tennessee [3]. He had been ill for 4 years.

We continue to see Esther living in Tennessee in the counties of Jackson and Clay through 1880 [4]. Based on the birth places of the children of Esther's son Denton, around late 1886 or early 1887 the Burnett family moves from Tennessee to Texas. The first and only evidence we have of them in Texas is the death of Esther on 05 Aug 1889 in Whitewright, Grayson, Texas. She was buried in Sears Chapel / Doss / Lindsey Springs Cemetery near Whitewright.

Based on my conversations with other Burnett descendants, it appears the family was in the process of moving to Texas when Esther and her son Denton died near Whitewright. It is not certainly known if the Whitewright area was a long stop-over or if they stopped due to illnesses in the family.

Children of Moses Burnett and Esther Potter:

1) Nancy I. Burnett [1, 2] was born about 1844 in Tennessee.

2) Marcy Burnett [1, 2] was born about 1846 in Tennessee.

3) Pamela Burnett [1, 2] was born about 1848 in Tennessee.

4) Milton Burnett [1, 2] was born about 1850 in Tennessee.

5) Martha Burnett [2] was born about 1852 in Tennessee.

6) John Burnett [2] was born about 1855 in Tennessee.

7) Denton P. Burnett [2, 4] was born about 1858 in Tennessee. He married Loretta Josephine Jones. He died before 1900, likely near Whitewright, Grayson, Texas.

References:

[1] 1850 United States Census. Jackson County, Tennessee, Page 205 A.

[2] 1860 United States Census. Jackson County, Tennessee, Page 300 B.

[3] 1860 United States Census Mortality Schedule. Jackson County, Tennessee, Page 1.

[4] 1880 United States Census. Clay County, Tennessee, Page 253 B.

[5] 1820 United States Census. Jackson County, Tennessee, Page 78 A.

[6] 1830 United States Census. Jackson County, Tennessee, Page 170 B.

[7] 1840 United States Census. Jackson County, Tennessee, Page 276 B.