Esther Edwards Burr
Encyclopedia
Esther Edwards Burr was the mother of U.S. Vice President Aaron Burr, Jr.
and the wife of Princeton University
President Aaron Burr, Sr.
whom she married in 1752. Esther Burr's father was the great preacher of the Great Awakening
, Jonathan Edwards. She was named after Edwards' mother and grandmother, also named "Esther." Esther Burr was a member of the Church at Stockbridge and Northampton and later the church in Newark. As the wife of a university president and prominent minister, Burr managed the affairs of the household and hosted many of the scholars of the school at her home. Burr's daughter, Sarah, married Tapping Reeve
, the founder of America's first law school. Esther Burr's journal, which she kept from 1754 to 1757, is important in studies of American history and literature.
Aaron Burr
Aaron Burr, Jr. was an important political figure in the early history of the United States of America. After serving as a Continental Army officer in the Revolutionary War, Burr became a successful lawyer and politician...
and the wife of Princeton University
Princeton University
Princeton University is a private research university located in Princeton, New Jersey, United States. The school is one of the eight universities of the Ivy League, and is one of the nine Colonial Colleges founded before the American Revolution....
President Aaron Burr, Sr.
Aaron Burr, Sr.
The Reverend Aaron Burr, Sr., was a notable divine and educator in colonial America. He was a founder of the College of New Jersey and the father of the third United States Vice President, Aaron Burr , who killed Alexander Hamilton.-Biography:A native of Connecticut, Burr was born in 1716 in...
whom she married in 1752. Esther Burr's father was the great preacher of the Great Awakening
Great Awakening
The term Great Awakening is used to refer to a period of religious revival in American religious history. Historians and theologians identify three or four waves of increased religious enthusiasm occurring between the early 18th century and the late 19th century...
, Jonathan Edwards. She was named after Edwards' mother and grandmother, also named "Esther." Esther Burr was a member of the Church at Stockbridge and Northampton and later the church in Newark. As the wife of a university president and prominent minister, Burr managed the affairs of the household and hosted many of the scholars of the school at her home. Burr's daughter, Sarah, married Tapping Reeve
Tapping Reeve
Tapping Reeve was an American lawyer and law educator. In 1784, he opened the Litchfield Law School in Litchfield, Connecticut, the first school to offer a comprehensive legal curriculum in the United States....
, the founder of America's first law school. Esther Burr's journal, which she kept from 1754 to 1757, is important in studies of American history and literature.
Editions of her Journal
- Jeremiah Eames Rankin (ed.): Esther Burr's Journal. Howard University Print, Washington, D. C. 1901. Digitized at the Internet Archive]
- Carol F Karlsen, Laurie Crumpacker (ed.): The Journal of Esther Edwards Burr, 1754-1757. Yale University Press, New Haven 1984.