Hiram Burnett
Encyclopedia
Intro
Hiram Burnett, one of the well-known pioneers of the Puget SoundPuget Sound
Puget Sound is a sound in the U.S. state of Washington. It is a complex estuarine system of interconnected marine waterways and basins, with one major and one minor connection to the Strait of Juan de Fuca and the Pacific Ocean — Admiralty Inlet being the major connection and...
country, and an honored citizen of Seattle, was born at Southborough, Massachusetts
Southborough, Massachusetts
Southborough is an affluent town in Worcester County, Massachusetts, United States. It incorporates the smaller villages of Cordaville, Fayville, and Southville. Its name is often informally shortened to Southboro, a usage seen on many area signs and maps. Its population was 9,767 at the 2010...
, July 5, 1817. He died in Seattle, Washington
Seattle, Washington
Seattle is the county seat of King County, Washington. With 608,660 residents as of the 2010 Census, Seattle is the largest city in the Northwestern United States. The Seattle metropolitan area of about 3.4 million inhabitants is the 15th largest metropolitan area in the country...
1906. His parents were Charles Ripley Burnett and Kezia (Pond) Burnett, both natives of the Bay State and descendants of colony pioneer ancestry, all of whom followed agricultural pursuits. His father and grandfather made ropes and harnesses as well as farmed.
Siblings
Hiram Burnett's brother Joseph Burnett (educator)Joseph Burnett (educator)
Joseph Burnett , educator, was born in Southborough, Massachusetts in November, 1820 and died there in 1894. He was an innovator in the production of premium vanilla extract in the United States. Vanilla extract was previously imported from France and made by processes which were proprietary secrets...
was a chemical inventor who originated American manufacture of vanilla
Vanilla
Vanilla is a flavoring derived from orchids of the genus Vanilla, primarily from the Mexican species, Flat-leaved Vanilla . The word vanilla derives from the Spanish word "", little pod...
extract and founded St. Mark's School (Massachusetts)
St. Mark's School (Massachusetts)
St. Mark’s School is a coeducational, Episcopal, preparatory school, situated on in Southborough, Massachusetts, from Boston. It was founded in 1865 as an all-boys' school by Joseph Burnett, a wealthy native of Southborough who developed and marketed the world-famous Burnett Vanilla Extract . ...
in Southborough. Hiram's brother Henry Burnett a fireman and sister Mrs. Parker later Burnell joined him in Seattle. Hiram Burnett arranged passage for them with Asa Mercer.
Our subject was educated in the public schools of the town of Southborough, Massachusetts
Southborough, Massachusetts
Southborough is an affluent town in Worcester County, Massachusetts, United States. It incorporates the smaller villages of Cordaville, Fayville, and Southville. Its name is often informally shortened to Southboro, a usage seen on many area signs and maps. Its population was 9,767 at the 2010...
and at the city of Worcester, Massachusetts
Worcester, Massachusetts
Worcester is a city and the county seat of Worcester County, Massachusetts, United States. Named after Worcester, England, as of the 2010 Census the city's population is 181,045, making it the second largest city in New England after Boston....
. At the age of eighteen years he began learning the carpenter's trade in Framingham, and after four years of service went to Slatersville, Rhode Island
Slatersville, Rhode Island
Slatersville is a village on the Branch River in the town of North Smithfield, Rhode Island, United States. It includes the Slatersville Historic District, a historic district listed on the National Register of Historic Places....
, where he continued in that occupation.
He was married in Lowell, Massachusetts
Lowell, Massachusetts
Lowell is a city in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, USA. According to the 2010 census, the city's population was 106,519. It is the fourth largest city in the state. Lowell and Cambridge are the county seats of Middlesex County...
, in 1845, to Miss Elizabeth Merriam Gibbs of Framingham, and continued to reside in the State of Rhode Island
Rhode Island
The state of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations, more commonly referred to as Rhode Island , is a state in the New England region of the United States. It is the smallest U.S. state by area...
until 1852, when, after providing comfortable arrangements for his family he started for California. Duly arriving in San Francisco, he found ready employment in one of the planing mill
Planing mill
A planing mill is a facility that takes cut and seasoned boards from a sawmill and turns them into finished dimensional lumber. Machines used in the mill include the planer and matcher, the molding machines, and varieties of saws...
s at $7 per day.
Career
He remained in San Francisco until 1855, and then came to Port Gamble, WashingtonPort Gamble, Washington
Port Gamble is an unincorporated community on the northwestern shore of the Kitsap Peninsula in Kitsap County, Washington, United States. It is also a small, similarly named bay, along which the community lies, near the entrance to Hood Canal. The unincorporated communities of Port Gamble and...
under engagement with the Puget Mill Company, (a company controlled by Pope & Talbot) as superintendent of their planing mill, in 1856 he returned to time East for his family, but instead of returning at once to the Pacific coast he located near Lawrence, Kansas
Lawrence, Kansas
Lawrence is the sixth largest city in the U.S. State of Kansas and the county seat of Douglas County. Located in northeastern Kansas, Lawrence is the anchor city of the Lawrence, Kansas, Metropolitan Statistical Area, which encompasses all of Douglas County...
. While in Massachusetts he was influenced by the abolitionist Rev. Thomas Wentworth Higginson
Thomas Wentworth Higginson
Thomas Wentworth Higginson was an American Unitarian minister, author, abolitionist, and soldier. He was active in the American Abolitionism movement during the 1840s and 1850s, identifying himself with disunion and militant abolitionism...
to join the Massachusetts Emigrant Aid Company and take a part in the struggle known as Bleeding Kansas
Bleeding Kansas
Bleeding Kansas, Bloody Kansas or the Border War, was a series of violent events, involving anti-slavery Free-Staters and pro-slavery "Border Ruffian" elements, that took place in the Kansas Territory and the western frontier towns of the U.S. state of Missouri roughly between 1854 and 1858...
.
After a short time, however, he became dissatisfied with that State, and in 1856 he removed to Puget Sound again, returning to the employ of the Port Gamble mill, in his old position of superintendent. In 1862 he removed his family to Seattle, in order to improve the educational advantages of his children. He was one of the parents who served at times as a teacher.
At that time he purchased four lots on Fourth street, between Marion and Columbia, (currently 2009 the Rainier Club
Rainier Club
The Rainier Club is a private club in Seattle, Washington; Priscilla Long of HistoryLink.org calls it "Seattle's preeminent private club." Its clubhouse building, completed in 1904, is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. It was founded in 1888 in what was then the Washington Territory...
) and subsequently added two more lots, at an average price of $100 each. His was the first house erected on Fourth street. After thus providing a home for his family, he returned to mill work in various localities, at which he continued until 1878, when he retired from active labor and permanently settled in Seattle and began improving his property, which is now well covered with substantial houses for tenants.
In 1880 he bought 10 acres (40,468.6 m²) of land at Edgewater, in Lake Union addition, which he subdivided and sold for residence purposes, except four lots on time corner of Richard and Henry streets, upon which, in the summer of 1890, he erected an elegant and spacious residence, overlooking the beautiful lake, where he now resides in the full enjoyment of the fruits of his labors, accompanied by his dear wife, the companion of his pioneer struggles.
Children
Two children have been born to Mr. Burnett and wife, one of whom survives, - Charles Hiram Burnett SrCharles Hiram Burnett Sr
Charles Hiram Burnett the son of Hiram Burnett and Elizabeth Merriam Gibbs Burnett of Seattle, Washington. He married Jeanette Campbell McLean and they had two children Amy Louise and Charles Hiram Jr...
., - who is superintendent of the South Prairie Coal Company at Burnett, Washington
Burnett, Washington
Burnett is an unincorporated community in Pierce County, Washington, United States. It is located just south of Buckley, Washington. It is on State Route 165 between Buckley, Washington and Mt. Rainier National Park. It is located at ....
in Pierce County, Washington
Pierce County, Washington
right|thumb|[[Tacoma, Washington|Tacoma]] - Seat of Pierce CountyPierce County is the second most populous county in the U.S. state of Washington. Formed out of Thurston County on December 22, 1852, by the legislature of Oregon Territory...
, and who is active in the coal development of Washington State. His daughter was Nellie Maria who was married to Stephen Pearl Andrews II nephew of anarchist essayist Stephen Pearl Andrews
Stephen Pearl Andrews
Stephen Pearl Andrews was an American individualist anarchist and author of several books on Individualist anarchism.-Early life and work:...
. Nellie Maria Burnett's second husband was Stewart Hoskinson (together they were the great-grandparents of Michelle Phillips
Michelle Phillips
Michelle Phillips is an American singer, songwriter, and actress. She gained fame as a member of the 1960s group The Mamas & the Papas, and is the last surviving original member of the group.-Early life:...
). Politically, Mr. Burnett is a stanch Republican. While at Port Gamble he served as Justice of the Peace, and for ten years as Probate Judge, and has also served a term as Commissioner of King County, Washington
King County, Washington
King County is a county located in the U.S. state of Washington. The population in the 2010 census was 1,931,249. King is the most populous county in Washington, and the 14th most populous in the United States....
.
Religious Activity
While employed by Pope & Talbot he spent periods of lesser activity at the mill in touring Puget Sound during which time he both prospected for business buying timber and cutting logs. He spent considerable time evangelizing to the Indians and distributing bibles and prayer books in this he was active with Rev. Benjamin Wistar Morris. Mr. Burnett is the recognized father of Trinity Episcopal Church, of Seattle, which was founded in 1865, and the first church erected in 1869. He was one of time first Vestrymen, and served in that capacity and as Senior Warden up to 1889, when he withdrew to assist in time organization of St. Mark's Church, in which he has continued as Senior Warden. While in the performance of mill work about the Sound he was always active in Sunday-school work, and lots done much pioneer work in that capacity, always exerting his influence on the side of morality and in the upbuilding of Christian institutions. He was first a layreader and ordained as a deacon.As a pioneer and citizen Mr. Burnett stands in the same relation to Seattle and the Sound country as such old citizens as Arthur A. Denny
Arthur A. Denny
Arthur Armstrong Denny was present at the founding of Seattle, Washington, the acknowledged leader of the pioneer Denny Party, and later the city's wealthiest citizen and a 9-term member of the territorial legislature...
, Thomas Mercer
Thomas Mercer
From An Illustrated History of the State of Washington, by Rev. H.K. Hines, D.D., The Lewis Publishing Co., Chicago, IL. 1893 A portrait of Mr. Mercer appears between pages 588 and 589...
, Henry Van Asselt
Henry Van Asselt
Henry Van Asselt was a Dutch immigrant to the US, one of the first to settle the area that is now Seattle, Washington. He was born in The Netherlands on April 11, 1817, and in 1847 was one of the first from his area to immigrate to the New World....
, George Whitworth
George Whitworth
George F. Whitworth was a Presbyterian missionary. He is considered to be the Father of the Presbyterian Church in the State of Washington. He was active in the founding of numerous Washington churches, including the first church in Grand Mound, Washington, which he co-pastored with J. W. Goodell...
, John J. McGilvra
John J. McGilvra
John J. McGilvra was a prominent lawyer and judge in late 19th century Seattle, Washington. Rev. H.K. Hines, D.D. in An Illustrated History of the State of Washington described him as "the oldest member of the legal profession in Seattle, Washington, both in years and practice" and "the father of...
, Orange Jacobs
Orange Jacobs
Orange Jacobs was a Delegate from the Territory of Washington.Born near Geneseo, New York, Jacobs moved with his parents to Michigan Territory in 1831....
, Dexter Horton
Dexter Horton
Dexter Horton was the founder of the first bank in the City of Seattle. Before his founding of the Bank of Dexter Horton in 1870 financial transactions were conducted by merchants....
, and many others, who are regarded not only as the pioneers but as the most honored men of the State of Washington today.