Could use some help with a project please.

[BrassVols]

My father in law bought a farm in Wayne Co. Tn. some 20 years ago that contains a small family plot of a half dozen graves.
We maintain the cemetery and have built a fence around it for protection. Each time I'm near this plot I can't help but focus on the largest headstone for a Jacob Biffle Burns b. 1832 and his wife Pattie. Honestly I have no excuse for taking so long to research, but I knew with that name and at that age he's almost a guaranteed Confederate soldier.
This is what I've been able to find......

Bio - Jacob Biffle Burns
Jacob B. Burns, one of Wayne County's pioneers, is a son of Samuel L. and Sarah A. Burns, and was born in 1832. His parents were Tennesseans and farmers; the father being an extensive stock raiser, in which business he became quite wealthy. he was sheriff of Wayne County two terms. He died on his farm on Buffalo River (which he purchased in 1837) in 1880. His wife died in 1877. His father, William Burns, was the first man to represent Wayne County in the State Legislature. Pattie E. Johnston became our subjects wife in 1861; she was born in 1843, daughter of John C. Johnston, and became the mother of the following interesting family. Sarah A., Mattie V., Elizabeth J., Mary L., Anna L., Edna (who died in 1876), Lillie J., Carrie K., Lela K., (who died in 1883), Florence B., Willie, Myrtle R, and two infants deceased. At the age of twenty-three our subject began doing for himself on the farm where he now lives, which was given him by his father. It consists of 500 acres, 300 acres of which are in a good state of cultivation. He raises corn, small grain and cotton and has recently paid considerable attention to stock raising. In 1867 he, in partnership with J. A. Clendennin, opened a mercantile house in the village of Ashland; but at the end of ten years our subject sold out and engaged in the same business on his farm, continuing about five years. His mercantile life did not prove successful, although he is a man of good business qualifications. He joined the Confederate Army in 1862 and served until 1863, when he was discharged on account of disability. After remaining at home about one year he re-entered the service, remaining about six months, when he again became disabled and did not again enlist. He is a member of the Methodist Episcopal Church South, and is a Democrat. His wife belongs to the Cumberland Presbyterian Church.
--------------------------------------
I don't think the bio is 100% correct on death date of wife as it shows both he and his widow on pension lists. I'm not sure if either pension was granted. Is the index for all that applied or only for those that received?

TN Soldier Pension Index (Wayne Co.)
BURNS, J. B., 7078, 19th (Biffle's) Cav.

TN Widow Pension Index (Lewis Co.)
NAME: Burns, Jacob Biffle.
WIDOW: Burns, Pattie E.
PENSION #: W3089



We would like to honor this man by applying for a military stone and I'm humbly requesting information for proof of service and/or pension info to assist us in doing so please.
Thanks very much,
Scott

*forgot to add the original marker is so badly damaged from years of not being cared for, it's practically illegible.

 

[Barrycdog]

I found this.

I found the following transcription of a cemetery. Given the name Jacob
Biffle Burns and the fact that there are Burns in the Biffle line, I was
wondering if this family fits in somewhere.

#180 Burns Cemetery http://www.netease.net/wayne/topsy.htm

INPUT BY: Joel D. Meredith, Jr.

LOCATION: Located on Buffalo River, on the opposite side of the river from
the old village of Ashland (Wayne County, Tennessee). In 1974 the property
was owned by Clyde Rasbury.

BURNS, Jacob Biffle, 17 May 1832 -- 31 January 1910.
BURNS, Pattie E., 8 August 1843 -- 31 January 1911, wife of Jacob.
BURNS, Edna*, died 18 June 1869, age 11 days.
BURNS, Buddie*, died 26 September 1875, age 6 months, 10 days.
BURNS, Infant son*, born & died 27 December 1876.
BURNS, Lela K.*, died 14 January 1883, age 9 years, 7 months, 29 days.

ALFORD, M. V., 29 January 1869 -- 7 February 1891, wife of J. B. Alford.

One grave with no identification. A previous enumerator has list the
individuals markered with an asterisk (*) as the children of Jacob Biffle
Burns
and Pattie E. Burns.

 

[BrassVols]

I found this.

I found the following transcription of a cemetery. Given the name Jacob
Biffle Burns and the fact that there are Burns in the Biffle line, I was
wondering if this family fits in somewhere.

#180 Burns Cemetery http://www.netease.net/wayne/topsy.htm

INPUT BY: Joel D. Meredith, Jr.

LOCATION: Located on Buffalo River, on the opposite side of the river from
the old village of Ashland (Wayne County, Tennessee). In 1974 the property
was owned by Clyde Rasbury.

BURNS, Jacob Biffle, 17 May 1832 -- 31 January 1910.
BURNS, Pattie E., 8 August 1843 -- 31 January 1911, wife of Jacob.
BURNS, Edna*, died 18 June 1869, age 11 days.
BURNS, Buddie*, died 26 September 1875, age 6 months, 10 days.
BURNS, Infant son*, born & died 27 December 1876.
BURNS, Lela K.*, died 14 January 1883, age 9 years, 7 months, 29 days.

ALFORD, M. V., 29 January 1869 -- 7 February 1891, wife of J. B. Alford.

One grave with no identification. A previous enumerator has list the
individuals markered with an asterisk (*) as the children of Jacob Biffle
Burns
and Pattie E. Burns.

Appreciate the post Barry. I'm gonna see what i can find tonight regarding the Biffle/Burns connection, pretty good possibility his mother was a Biffle.

 

[Nathanb1]

Just a hint for future reference: If you see a woman in the mid or early 1800's with the name Patsy or Patty/Pattie, be sure and look for a Margaret in the census and on birth records, etc. I've hit that three times in three separate branches of the family. Threw me at first, but now I know to look.

 

[TerryB]

Goodspeed wrote his bio, so if you can find him in the library...

I can't access it with my version of Ancestry.com.

No Tennessee CS records.

 

[BrassVols]

Just a hint for future reference: If you see a woman in the mid or early 1800's with the name Patsy or Patty/Pattie, be sure and look for a Margaret in the census and on birth records, etc. I've hit that three times in three separate branches of the family. Threw me at first, but now I know to look.

Learn something everyday, Thanks!

 

[BrassVols]

Goodspeed wrote his bio, so if you can find him in the library...

I can't access it with my version of Ancestry.com.

No Tennessee CS records.

Appreciate you Terry. Now i'm scratching my head......

 

[AndyHall]

Burns received Tennessee pension no. S7078. Unfortunately, that number falls in a block of pension files that appear to be missing from the digitized collections at FamilySearch.

Here is Pattie Burns' file, no. W3089. It's completely devoid of information on her husband's military service; I presume this is because he held a pension in his own right before his death, and so she was not required to provide all that documentation all over again.

 

[AndyHall]

Just a hint for future reference: If you see a woman in the mid or early 1800's with the name Patsy or Patty/Pattie, be sure and look for a Margaret in the census and on birth records, etc. I've hit that three times in three separate branches of the family. Threw me at first, but now I know to look.

Good advice. As it happens, there's a family tree on Ancestry that gives her name as Martha Elizabeth Johnston.

 

[Nathanb1]

Good advice. As it happens, there's a family tree on Ancestry that gives her name as Martha.

And if I left out Peggy.....that one, too. I have all of them in one tree or the other.

 

[AndyHall]

Found this on Ancestry. It has no sourcing, no citations, and so should be used with caution:

Biography from GoodSpeed

Jacob B. Burns, one of Wayne County's pioneers, is a son of Samuel L. and Sarah A. Burns, and was born in 1832.
His parents were Tennesseans and farmers; the father being an extensive stock raiser, in which business he became quite wealthy. He was sheriff of Wayne County two terms. He died on his farm on Buffalo River (which he purchased in 1837) in 1880. His wife died in 1877. His father, William Burns, was the first man to represent Wayne County in the State Legislature.

Pattie E. Johnston became our subjects wife in 1861; she was born in 1843, daughter of John C. Johnston, and became the mother of the following interesting family. Sarah A., Mattie V., Elizabeth J., Mary L., Anna L., Edna (who died in 1876), Lillie J., Carrie K., Lela K., (who died in 1883), Florence B., Willie, Myrtle R, and two infants deceased.

At the age of twenty-three our subject began doing for himself on the farm where he now lives, which was given him by his father. It consists of 500 acres, 300 acres of which are in a good state of cultivation. He raises corn, small grain and cotton and has recently paid considerable attention to stock raising. In 1867 he, in partnership with J. A. Clendennin, opened a mercantile house in the village of Ashland; but at the end of ten years our subject sold out and engaged in the same business on his farm, continuing about five years. His mercantile life did not prove successful, although he is a man of good business qualifications.

He joined the Confederate Army in 1862 and served until 1863, when he was discharged on account of disability. After remaining at home about one year he re-entered the service, remaining about six months, when he again became disabled and did not again enlist. He is a member of the Methodist Episcopal Church South, and is a Democrat. His wife belongs to the Cumberland Presbyterian Church.​

 

[TerryB]

My father in law bought a farm in Wayne Co. Tn. some 20 years ago that contains a small family plot of a half dozen graves.
We maintain the cemetery and have built a fence around it for protection. Each time I'm near this plot I can't help but focus on the largest headstone for a Jacob Biffle Burns b. 1832 and his wife Pattie. Honestly I have no excuse for taking so long to research, but I knew with that name and at that age he's almost a guaranteed Confederate soldier.
This is what I've been able to find......

Bio - Jacob Biffle Burns
Jacob B. Burns, one of Wayne County's pioneers, is a son of Samuel L. and Sarah A. Burns, and was born in 1832. His parents were Tennesseans and farmers; the father being an extensive stock raiser, in which business he became quite wealthy. he was sheriff of Wayne County two terms. He died on his farm on Buffalo River (which he purchased in 1837) in 1880. His wife died in 1877. His father, William Burns, was the first man to represent Wayne County in the State Legislature. Pattie E. Johnston became our subjects wife in 1861; she was born in 1843, daughter of John C. Johnston, and became the mother of the following interesting family. Sarah A., Mattie V., Elizabeth J., Mary L., Anna L., Edna (who died in 1876), Lillie J., Carrie K., Lela K., (who died in 1883), Florence B., Willie, Myrtle R, and two infants deceased. At the age of twenty-three our subject began doing for himself on the farm where he now lives, which was given him by his father. It consists of 500 acres, 300 acres of which are in a good state of cultivation. He raises corn, small grain and cotton and has recently paid considerable attention to stock raising. In 1867 he, in partnership with J. A. Clendennin, opened a mercantile house in the village of Ashland; but at the end of ten years our subject sold out and engaged in the same business on his farm, continuing about five years. His mercantile life did not prove successful, although he is a man of good business qualifications. He joined the Confederate Army in 1862 and served until 1863, when he was discharged on account of disability. After remaining at home about one year he re-entered the service, remaining about six months, when he again became disabled and did not again enlist. He is a member of the Methodist Episcopal Church South, and is a Democrat. His wife belongs to the Cumberland Presbyterian Church.
--------------------------------------
I don't think the bio is 100% correct on death date of wife as it shows both he and his widow on pension lists. I'm not sure if either pension was granted. Is the index for all that applied or only for those that received?

TN Soldier Pension Index (Wayne Co.)
BURNS, J. B., 7078, 19th (Biffle's) Cav.

TN Widow Pension Index (Lewis Co.)
NAME: Burns, Jacob Biffle.
WIDOW: Burns, Pattie E.
PENSION #: W3089



We would like to honor this man by applying for a military stone and I'm humbly requesting information for proof of service and/or pension info to assist us in doing so please.
Thanks very much,
Scott

*forgot to add the original marker is so badly damaged from years of not being cared for, it's practically illegible.

Well, it looks like this is Goodspeed's bio. What little I know of Goodspeed, he personally interviewed his subjects. Nonetheless, his bios for one or two of my ancestors do contain some errors.

 

[Drew]

We would like to honor this man by applying for a military stone and I'm humbly requesting information for proof of service and/or pension info to assist us in doing so please.

BV, this is a very kind and considerate thing for you to consider. A couple of thoughts, though.

The bar for VA military headstones is fairly high. The rules are found here and explain who may apply (important) and the required standards of proof. The grave markers are supposed to be for unmarked graves and that leads me to my next thought.

A marked grave in a family plot may well be fully indicative of that veteran's or his immediate family's wishes at his time of death. I'd be reluctant to do anything that might disturb those wishes, like replacing an existing headstone with a military one. You might consider a compromise, like adding a marker of some sort to the plot or its fence. Just a thought.

 

[Nathanb1]

BV, this is a very kind and considerate thing for you to consider. A couple of thoughts, though.

The bar for VA military headstones is fairly high. The rules are found here and explain who may apply (important) and the required standards of proof. The grave markers are supposed to be for unmarked graves and that leads me to my next thought.

A marked grave in a family plot may well be fully indicative of that veteran's or his immediate family's wishes at his time of death. I'd be reluctant to do anything that might disturb those wishes, like replacing an existing headstone with a military one. You might consider a compromise, like adding a marker of some sort to the plot or its fence. Just a thought.

On that note, our Confederate veterans in our cemetery mostly have a bronze marker at the foot of the grave that gives their service, rather than replacing the original headstone. There is also the Cross of Honor that can be arranged through UDC.

 

[GenDeb]

First, I 'd like to thank you for taking care of the cemetery. Far too many small cemeteries have disappeared and sometimes these are the only records that exist for some women or small children. Second, in the past, replacing stones was often done, but more recently, there has been a move towards new stones being placed in addition to keeping the older one. Again, thank you for caring.

 

[GenDeb]

*sigh* I'm a slow typer. It's amazing how many posts saying the same thing I do gets posted before I can hit the "send" key lol.

 

[BrassVols]

Burns received Tennessee pension no. S7078. Unfortunately, that number falls in a block of pension files that appear to be missing from the digitized collections at FamilySearch.

Here is Pattie Burns' file, no. W3089. It's completely devoid of information on her husband's military service; I presume this is because he held a pension in his own right before his death, and so she was not required to provide all that documentation all over again.

View attachment 24008 View attachment 24009 View attachment 24010 View attachment 24011 View attachment 24012 View attachment 24013 View attachment 24014 View attachment 24015

As always Andy, I'm extremely grateful.

 

[AndyHall]

Glad to help. I don't know why he doesn't show up in the CSRs at NARA. That would have been a problem in most cases, because it made it harder to verify his service. (Local pension boards or the state board often wrote to the War Department, which then held all Confederate military records, for these verifications.) Presumably Burns was able to overcome this and get his pension on the basis of affidavits from others who had personal knowledge of his service.

 

[BrassVols]

We'd never consider replacing the original stone, as that would be disrespectful although I do appreciate the concern. When he bought the property the stone was in disrepair, laying on it's side. We've since stood it upright and cleaned as best we could.
Our goal is to have a marker placed at the foot of his grave.

Thanks to each of you for your thoughts and feedback.

 

[BrassVols]

And if I left out Peggy.....that one, too. I have all of them in one tree or the other.

lol.