Eleanor Jordan, daughter of William Jordan and Blanche Fullerton,[1] was born circa 1794 in Greenbrier County, (West) Virginia.  When she was around five years old, her parents moved their young family west to the Mud River area of Cabell County.  There she married John Burns, the son of Peter Burns and Jane Miller, on January 25, 1816.  John, a veteran of the War of 1812, was born on May 12, 1789, also in Greenbrier County.

According to John’s obituary, Eleanor and John did not accompany her parents on the Jordan’s 1827 trek to Indiana, but followed shortly afterward in 1830.  However, the 1850 census notes that one of their sons was born in Virginia around 1827 and another was born in Indiana around 1828.  Regardless of when they moved to Indiana, the couple subsequently migrated to Polk County, Missouri, where in 1852 they bought farmland on Sentinel Prairie and where they were to live the rest of their lives.  Besides farming, John was an ordained minister; both he and Eleanor were members of the Missionary Baptist Church.  Eleanor died around 1872.  John lived another ten years, passing away on February 18, 1882, at their home in Sentinal Prairie, Polk County, Missouri.

Eleanor can be found in the censuses of 1850-TippecanoeIN, 1860-PolkMO, and 1870-PolkMO. She is probably in the censuses of 1820-CabellVA, 1830-TippecanoeIN, and 1840-TippecanoeIN, all in the household of John Burns.[2]

Children of Eleanor Jordan and John Burns

1. David Patten Burns was born on March 26, 1819, in Virginia and died on March 20, 1902, probably in Polk County, Missouri.  He is buried in the Payne Cemetery, Polk County, Missouri. He married (1) Elizabeth R. Hunt on August 16, 1852, in Polk County, Missouri. Elizabeth was born circa 1834 in Tennessee and died between 1866 and 1870, probably in Polk County. David also married (2) Sarah (Sallie) Curdy on December 14, 1875, in Polk County. Sarah had been born circa 1841 in Missouri.

Children of David Patten Burns and Elizabeth R. Hunt

1.1. Margaret Burns (c1853-?)
1.2. William T. Burns (1854-?)
1.3. Betsy Jane Burns (c1855-?)
1.4. Jo N. Burns (c1857-?)
1.5. Emily Burns (c1859-?)
1.6. Mary Ann Burns (1862-1935)
1.7. Charles B. Burns (1864-?)
1.8. Jasper Burns (c1866-?)

Children of David Burns and Sarah Curdy

1.9. David C. Burns (c1877-?)
1.10. Sallie Maria Burns (1880-?)

2. Jane Burns was born circa 1823 in Virginia.  She was married to Edwin Hart/Hardt, who had been born circa 1815 in Virginia and probably died before 1860.

Children of Jane Burns and Edwin Hart

2.1 John Hart (c1842-?)
2.2. Frances E. Hart (c1848-?)
2.3. Eliza Hart (c1851-?)
2.4. Amelia A. Hart (c1856-?)

3. William Burns was born circa 1825 in Virginia and died after 1880 probably in California.

4. Peter Burns was born circa 1827 in Virginia.

5. Andrew Burns was born circa 1828 in Indiana.

6. Elizabeth Burns was born circa 1832 in Indiana and died in March 1860 in Americus, Breckinridge County, Kansas.  She married Zimri Stubbs, son of John C. Stubbs and Rhoda Whitcomb, on August 20, 1851 in Tippecanoe County, Indiana. Zimri was born circa 1822 in Ohio and died on March 14, 1873, in Winfield, Cowley County, Kansas.[3]

Children of Elizabeth Burns and Zimri Stubbs

6.1. Cynthia Jane Stubbs (c1853-1906)
6.2. Mary Ellen Stubbs (c1855-1922)
6.3. Rhoda Alice Stubbs (1858-1928)

7. James Andrew Burns was born in August 1835 in Indiana and died on January 21, 1912, in Santa Clara County, California.

8. Joseph Burns was born circa 1836 in Indiana.

9. Jasper N. Burns was born in May 1838 in Indiana and died after 1910 probably in Kansas. He married Emeline (last name unknown). Emeline was born circa 1838 in Kentucky and died before 1900.

Children of Jasper and Emeline Burns

9.1. Leander Y. Burns (c1861-?)
9.2. Sarah Lou Burns (c1863-?)
9.3. Flora Beth Burns (c1867-?)
9.4. Robert Burns (1869-?)
9.5. Frank Burns (1875-?)

10. Benjamin Eastburn Burns was born in November 1840 in Indiana and died on June 20, 1910, in Santa Clara County, California.  He married Catherine (Katie) (last name unknown) circa 1863. Catherine was born in May 1837 in Indiana.

11. Martha Burns was born circa 1842 in Indiana.

12. John Burns was born in December 1843 in Indiana and died on February 16, 1921 in Santa Clara County, California. He married Rebecca E. (last name unknown) circa 1870 probably in Polk County, Missouri. Rebecca was born in October 1853 in Missouri and died on January 11, 1927, in Santa Clara County, California.

Sources

1 Proof that Eleanor Jordan Burns is a daughter of William (and Blanche) is found in court documents where seven of the eight living children of William Jordan sell their interest in his Tippecanoe County land to James Jordan (the eighth living child) so that he can in turn sell the land to a third party [Tippecanoe County Land Record Books “W” (pp51-53) and “29” (pp612-615), both dated February 1847; and Book “29” (p108) dated April 1850].  Eleanor Burns is specifically named as an heir to William Jordan in a November 1850 appeal to the Indiana Supreme Court of a decision concerning that sale [Jordan vs. Corey, The American Decisions, Bancroft-Whitney Co. (San Francisco: 1910) pp516-525].
2 Marriage specifics taken from Cabell County, (West) Virginia marriage records; remaining information about the family gleaned from the obituaries of John Burns and David Patten Burns, and from the U.S. Census records for Tippecanoe County, Indiana; Polk County, Missouri; Santa Clara County, California and Breckinridge County, Kansas; as well as Missouri Marriage Records and California Death Records; Missouri Death Certificates.
3 Information provided by D. Majernik, Pittsburgh, PA, a great-great granddaughter of Elizabeth “Betsy”Burns and Zimri Stubbs. Zimri Stubbs was the son of John Stubbs and Rhoda Whitcomb. He was a great-great grandson of immigrant ancestors Thomas Stubbs who emigrated from Worchestershire County, England and his wife Mary Minor who emigrated from Limerick, Ireland. They were Quakers and died in Chester County, Pennsylvania. Rhoda Whitcomb was a 4X great granddaughter of immigrant ancestors John Whitcomb who emigrated from England, and his wife Frances Cogan who emigrated from Taunton, Somersetshire, England. They died in Lancaster, Middlesex Co., Massachusetts.