From The Settlement of Prince Edward County by Nick and Helma Mika. Transcribed here by Linda Herman

Pioneers of Prince Edward County 
BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES

THE BURR FAMILY

Descendants of Puritans.

William Burr came to Prince Edward County from Watertown, New York in 1820. His father was Noadiah Burr, a descendant of the first Puritans, who escaped religious persecution in England by sailing to America in 1630. The name Burr, which was originally spelled DeBurr or Beur, has a more ancient history in Germany.

William Burr was not one of the first settlers who farmed Prince Edward County, but he became one of the most prosperous farmers in the county. He was born in Watertown, New York, in 1806. At the age of fourteen, he ventured to Northport in Prince Edward County. William Burr's decision to move to Canada was influenced by his stepfather, Philip Ainsworth, who married Joanne Burr after the death of Noadiah. Ainsworth, a preacher, had visited Canada and told William Burr of the country's beauty and wealth.

When William Burr first arrived in Northport he was a poor boy who lived with the Munro family. He must have been a hard worker who saved his money, because at the age of twenty-four he was able to pay $400.00 for a hundred acres of land in Hillier. Bur was not a Loyalist, so he did not qualify for a grant of land.

William Burr married Sophia Redner, the daughter of Peter and Catharine Brickman Redner, when she was eighteen years old. The young couple first lived in a crude log cabin which was built by William, but the industrious Burr aimed at improving their living conditions. He cleared much of the land for farming, and within a few years he planted an orchard, built a wagon house, a barn and shed, and replaced the log cabin with a wooden frame house. William Burr purchased several other farms so that his holdings became extensive and very valuable. In 1846 he bought a 225 acre farm from Cornelius Ainsworth, his stepbrother and the son of Philip Ainsworth. In 1852 Burr purchased the Henry Snider farm, and in 1854 he bought the Thomas Davidson lot and part of the Massey farm. By 1861, William Burr owned over six hundred acres of land in Prince Edward County.

William and Sophia Burr had five children: Charity Ann was born in 1835; Peter was born in 1836; Naomi L. was born in 1838; Marshall Bidwell was born February 26, 1840; and Wesley Kenton was born April 18, 1843.

Peter Burr was married three times before he died June 17, 1927. His first wife, Mary Jemima Saylor of Bloomfield, died at the age of twenty. They had two children, Wilfred and Mary. Wilfred married Anna Cronk of Wellington. They had two children, Arthur and Everett Harold. Wilfred Burr worked as a farmer and general merchandiser in the Bloomfield area. Mary Burr wed Joseph Ward of Kingston. Two of their four children, namely Fred and Arthur, lived in Consecon. Roy Ward chose to reside in Kingston and Edith in Belleville.

In 1861 Peter Burr married Adelaide Trumpour of Hillier. They became the parents of five children: Effie, who married Frank Storey of Bloomfield; Cora, who married Thomas E, Waring of Picton; Herman, an official of the Bloomfield Methodist Church, who married Nettie Brewer of Picton; Gertrude , who married Edward Baxter of Bloomfield; and Harold, who died at the age of seven.

Peter Burr's third wife was Mary Barker of Toronto. Naomi Burr married Jesse Wellington Harns, of Ameliasburgh, in 1856. She had a son, Jesse W., who was named after his father who died in the first year of the marriage. At the age of twenty-three, Naomi married a second time, to Hiram Buckley Valleau. The couple raised four children: Dorwin W., Alberta, Mary J., and Phoebe. They had another child who died as an infant. Naomi Burr Valleau helped to found the Burr Church in Hillier.

The children of Naomi Burr inte-married with other well-known Prince Edward County residents. Dorwin W. married Maud Redner, and Mary Jemima married another Redner, Fred.Alberta married James Redner Anderson and Phoebe married George Huffman. Jesse Wellington Harns Jr. married Kittie Denike of Tyendinaga.

Marshall Bidwell Burr, the fourth child born to William and Sophia Burr, married Phoebe A. Saylor of Bloomfield. They had four children: Edna, Matura, Adam S, and Clayton W. Marshall Bidwell Burr was engaged in farming, milling, manufacturing, and general merchandising. He helped , along with his sister, to build the Burr Church. The oldest daughter from this family, Edna, married Willoughby W. Anderson of Ameliasburgh. Matura married Henry Gibson of Bloomfied. Adam S. resided in Consecon with his wife Zeddie Stafford. Clayton W. married Ethel Thom of Bloomfield.

The youngest son of William and Sophia Burr, Wesley Kenton Burr, became a preacher. He and his wife, Mary Catharine Valleau, had five children: Kirwin, Sophia, William Langdon, Charity Virginia and Lenne G. Kirwin, a farmer, married Aurelia Ainsworth Trumpour. Sophia married Elwood L. Spencer of Rednersville, and Lenne G. married Dr. Elwood A. Kingston of Picton.

The founder of the Burr family in Prince Edward County, William Burr, died in 1877 and was buried in the Burr Cemetery.