John Atlantic Burr

John Atlantic Burr is one of my ancestors. I had to write a paper on an ancestor at school (that unit was awesome! I got an A) So I choose him. I thought I'd show you it. If you are by chance, part of the Burr family you should check out this book, that is by Wesley R. Burr and his wife Ruth J. Burr. It is called a history of the Burr pioneers.

Anyways, here is the easiest assignment ever:

John Atlantic Burr

John Atlantic Burr’s father lived in New York. He had a great life going then, Charles worked on his father’s farm as a youth. It was a very large farm, with amazing crops, animals, and orchards. When he was four a little girl, whose name was Sarah was born in Jefferson.  She was over 100 miles away from Charles, but fate brought them together. They were married December 28,1843. They had their first son on October 26,1844, his name was Charles E. W. Burr.

Not long after they were married, the Book of Mormon was introduced to them. Two years later they were pregnant again, and moving west with the Saints. They were one of the families that took the USS Brooklyn. John Atlantic Burr was born in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean, hence the middle name. John’s early months were on a ship. Those months were treacherous for John. Sarah Sloat and Charles Clark Burr almost never saw their baby boy grow. The journals of people from the USS Brooklyn say that it is a miracle that he survived. With little provisions onboard  it was a miracle. It is assumed he must have also been nourished by some of the other women in the party. Sarah and Charles were very grateful for the love and kindness their baby received. When they made it to California their journey was not yet over. They stayed in California till they had enough money to move to Utah. They moved to Payson where Charles started a sawmill to make a living.

They lived in Salt Lake until 12 year old John and his father were sustained as a missionaries to settle Payson. They moved to Payson where Charles started a sawmill up Peeteneet canyon, now known as Payson canyon. It was built about a mile north of Maple Dell. While living in Payson John fell in love with a pretty girl named Angeline. Angeline and John were married on November 7,1868. Their first child was born December 14,1869. John was a nomadic person. He hated to sit still. He did many things in his life. He started the burr trail, as a cow herding trail. People now use it as a hiking trail, it takes into a beautiful wilderness. He started a ferry at Lake Powell, it lasted until 1930 then sank. It was replaced around the 1940’s as a memorial to him. He lived in many places in his life, they include: Atlantic Ocean, Salt Lake, Payson Utah, Muddy River, Glenwood, anywhere between Sevier county and Payson Utah, Burrville, Park city, Loa, Teasdale, Escalante, Salina, 4 corners, Provo, Monticello, Moab, Cortez Colorado, Fruitland, New Mexico, Burr Desert, Lake Powell, and California. I think John Atlantic Burr was a man who followed his spirit, but I would not want to be in his shoes. Moving all the time with 5 children!