Scope and arrangement
The Burgess Family Genealogical Research papers contain genealogical research notes and family papers. The notes consist primarily of handwritten copies of entries from original sources. They are organized by family name and location. These include the Burgess and allied Winslow, Crosby, Cole, and Robblee families of Lanesboro, Duxbury, and Newbury, Mass. and Putnam County, N.Y.
The family papers include the writings of Rev. Chalon Burgess (1817-1903), a Presbyterian minister whose published writings include The Life and Character of Abraham Lincoln with Some Lessons of His Death and The Presbyterian Church of Silver Creek, N.Y. Burgess was the pastor of the First Congregational Church of Harmony, N.Y. from 1861 to1875 and pastor of the Presbyterian Church of Silver Creek, N.Y. from 1875 to 1891. He was also a member of the International Sunday School Association. Burgess' writings include sermons, newspaper editorials, and diaries. Notable is his travel diary, dated 1880, relating to his trip to London and Glasgow for the celebration of the Centenary of Sunday Schools. Among the items found tucked into the diaries are schedules, maps, tickets, flyers, programs, ships' passenger lists including one for the S.S. ANCHORIA, New York to Glasgow, 1880; and letters received by Burgess from his wife and family during the journey.
Three more diaries, dated 1884, record a European trip taken by Sarah J. Heough of Silver Creek, N.Y. The diaries present a detailed account of her sightseeing trip through Rome, Strasbourg, Liverpool, Baden Baden, and other European cities.
The Burgess family genealogical research papers are arranged in two series: