Burnside Family

 

Briefing Document: Historical Assessment and Genealogical Analysis of the Burnside Family of Pocahontas County, West Virginia

Executive Summary

The Burnside family (frequently recorded as Burnsides) represents one of the foundational Ulster Scot pioneer dynasties of northern and central Pocahontas County, West Virginia. Concentrated along the Greenbrier River, the high mountain plateau of the Upper Elk River (near Slaty Fork and Old Field Fork), and the Edray District, the family played a central role in early frontier settlement, high-altitude livestock droving, and regional road construction.

This briefing details the Covenanter origins of the Burnside line, their 18th-century land acquisitions along the upper Elk River divide, their cornerstone dual alliance with the Hannah family, and their long-term economic and civic legacy in Pocahontas County.

1. Ulster Scot Origins and Trans-Allegheny Migration

Covenanter Migration Route

The Burnside family traces its roots to Scottish Covenanters who fled religious persecution to Northern Ireland (Ulster) in the 17th century before emigrating to colonial Pennsylvania and Delaware in the early-to-mid 18th century. Following the Great Wagon Road south into the Shenandoah Valley, the family was established in Augusta County, Virginia, by mid-century.

Crossing the Allegheny Divide

In the 1770s and 1780s, family members crossed the Allegheny Mountain divide into the upper James and Greenbrier river basins while the area was still part of Augusta and Bath counties.

"The Burnside family traces its lineage to Scottish Covenanters who fled religious persecution to Northern Ireland... Following the Great Wagon Road southward... the family was established in Augusta County, Virginia, by the mid-18th century."

2. Pioneer Patriarchs and the Upper Elk River Boundary

Land patents acquired by early heads of household John Burnside and James Burnside anchored the family in central Appalachia:

               [Ulster Scot Covenanter Progenitors (Augusta Co., VA)]
                                         │
                   [John & James Burnside (1770s–1780s Patents)]
                                         │
        ┌────────────────────────────────┴────────────────────────────────┐
   [Greenbrier River Bottomlands]                       [Upper Elk River Plateau]
   - Agricultural Base & Edray                         - Slaty Fork & Old Field Fork (2,500–3,500 ft)
   - Frontier Defense Musters                          - High-altitude Bluegrass Cattle Droving

The Upper Elk River Boundary

• Geographic Nucleus: The family became especially identified with the Old Field Fork and Slaty Fork of the Elk River, sitting at elevations between 2,500 and 3,500 feet northwest of Edray and Marlinton.
• High-Altitude Bluegrass Grazing: The natural open "old fields" and fertile limestone sod made these high plateaus ideal for summer cattle pasturage and sheep droving.
• Frontier Defense: Pioneer Burnsides served in regional militia units out of Augusta and Bath, defending mountain gaps against Indian incursions along the paths leading to the Ohio and Kanawha valleys.

3. The Cornerstone Burnside-Hannah Alliance

The defining genealogical feature of the Burnside family in Pocahontas County was their double-alliance with the pioneer Hannah family, one of the largest landholding dynasties of the Greenbrier and Elk rivers:

1. Elizabeth Burnside & Joseph Hannah

• Marriage Date: On June 11, 1805, in Bath County, Elizabeth Burnside married Joseph Hannah (c. 1775 – c. 1852), son of pioneer botanical physician Dr. David Hannah, Sr. and Elizabeth Gibson.
• Land Holdings: Joseph and Elizabeth established vast grazing boundaries along the Slaty Fork of the Elk River.

2. Margaret Burnside & David Hannah, Jr.

• Marriage Date: On June 15, 1815, in Bath County, Margaret Burnside married David Hannah, Jr. ("The Younger") (c. 1780 – 1854).
• Elk River Relocation: Around 1820, David Jr. and Margaret relocated their household from the lower Greenbrier Valley to the Elk River basin near Yelk and Edray.

Through these two marriages, thousands of contiguous acres of the upper Elk River watershed were consolidated under joint Burnside-Hannah stewardship.

4. Civic Organization, Livestock Economy, and Allied Lines

Formation of Pocahontas County (1821–1822)

Following county organization in December 1821, Burnside household heads served on inaugural grand juries, as estate appraisers, and as road overseers tasked with cutting pack-horse trails and wagon roads connecting Edray to Webster and Randolph counties.

Agrarian Economy and Timber Boom

• Cattle Droving: Burnside stockmen raised herds of cattle and sheep on highland bluegrass, driving them annually along the Warm Springs and Staunton turnpikes to eastern Virginia markets.
• Timber Era: Around the turn of the 20th century, ancestral Burnside timber tracts along the Elk River fed major band sawmills at Cass, Marlinton, and Burner.

Key Allied Families

In addition to the Hannah family, the Burnsides formed marital and property alliances with:

• Gibson & Cochran: Deep ties formed around Stony Creek, Edray, and the Elk River.
• Sharp & Barlow: Alliances around Marlin's Mountain, Edray, and Buckeye.
• Poage (Pogue): Property conveyances along the Greenbrier River bottomlands.
• Mollohan & Given: Connections established as family branches moved into Webster and Braxton counties.

5. Archival and Primary Source Guide

Repository / Source	Records Preserved
Pocahontas County Courthouse (Marlinton, WV)	Deed Books (original land patents along Slaty Fork, Old Field Fork, and Stony Creek from 1822); Will Books 1–4; Court Order Books.
Bath County Courthouse (Warm Springs, VA)	1805 marriage bond (Elizabeth Burnside & Joseph Hannah) and 1815 marriage bond (Margaret Burnside & David Hannah, Jr.); pre-1821 tax lists.
Augusta County Courthouse (Staunton, VA)	Mid-to-late 18th-century deeds, wills, and colonial militia rosters.
Published Histories & Cemeteries	Rev. William T. Price, Historical Sketches (1901); Edray Cemetery, Marlinton Cemetery, and Upper Elk River family plots.

Conclusions and Legacy Implications

The Burnside family exemplifies the Ulster Scot highland grazing strategy—leveraging high-elevation bluegrass limestone sod for cattle droving, forming strategic matrimonial land alliances, and laying out vital trans-mountain transportation corridors in central Appalachia.