I. Townsend Burden Explained

I. Townsend Burden
Birth Name:Isaiah Townsend Burden
Birth Date:February 21, 1838
Birth Place:Troy, New York
Death Place:Manhattan, New York
Education:Russell's Academy
Parents:Henry Burden
Helen McOuat
Children:4
Relatives:William A. M. Burden Sr. (son)
William Fletcher Burden (brother)
James A. Burden Jr. (nephew)
Shirley Carter Burden (grandson)
William A. M. Burden (grandson)

Isaiah Townsend Burden (February 21, 1838  - April 23, 1913) was prominent American member of New York Society during the Gilded Age.

Early life

Burden was born February 21, 1838, in Troy, New York, the fifth son of Helen (née McOuat) (1802–1860) and Henry Burden (1791–1871), the founder of Burden Iron Works.[1] His siblings were Peter Abercrombie Burden (1822–1866), Margaret Elizabeth Burden (1824–1915), Helen Burden (1826–1891), Henry James Burden (1828–1846), William Fletcher Burden (1830–1867), James Abercrombie Burden (1833–1906), and Jessie Burden (1840–1917).[1]

Burden received a public school education and completed studies at Russell's Academy, a private academy in New Haven, Connecticut.

Career

Following his studies, at age 19, he began working for his father's company, Burden Iron Works. His father was known as the "Ironmaster of Troy." The company was reorganized in 1881, ten years after his father's death, and he became an almost 50% owner,[2] with his brother James A. Burden, until his death in 1913.[3] After his brother James's death in 1906, his nephew, James A. Burden Jr., became more heavily involved in the company.[4] [5]

He also served as president of Port Huron Iron Company and was one of the organizers of the Knickerbocker Trust Co. of New York, of which he held a large ownership interest. He was also a trustee of the Lake Champlain and Moriah Railroad Company, and president of Bailey's Beach in Newport.

Society life

Burden and his wife were members of the infamous "Four Hundred" of New York Society, as dictated by Caroline Schermerhorn Astor and Ward McAllister and published in The New York Times on February 16, 1892.[6] [7] His wife was credited with introducing Harry Lehr to high society at their home in Newport. He was also a member of the Union Club, the Newport Casino, and was President of the Spouting Rock Beach Association of Newport.

He purchased former Vice President of the United States and New York Governor Levi P. Morton's residence, designed by Seth C. Bradford and built in 1852–1853. The home was known as "Fairlawn" and was located on Bellevue Avenue in Newport, Rhode Island.[8] In 1870, Morton had Richard Morris Hunt, designer of Ochre Court, add a ballroom to the house for a visit by Ulysses S. Grant shortly after he became president.[9] In 1881, McKim, Mead and White designed family rooms on the second floor over the ballroom and added Tiffany & Co. stained glass windows to the Great Hall.[10] When Burden bought the home from Morton in 1900,[11] he commissioned Peabody and Stearns to add a curved porch. After his death, the home was passed to his children.[12]

Personal life

On April 18, 1871, he was married to Evelyn Byrd Moale (1847–1916),[13] a daughter of William Armistead Moale (1800–1880) of Baltimore, Maryland,[14] who was a descendant of the Carter and Byrd families of Virginia. Her sister Judith Carter Moale was married to Robert Livingston Cutting Jr., a prominent banker.[15] Together, they were the parents of four children:

Burden died on April 23, 1913.[26] [27] [28] Following his death, he was buried at the Albany Rural Cemetery in Menands, New York.[26]

Descendants

Through his son William, he was the paternal grandfather of William Armistead Moale Burden Jr. (1906–1984),[29] a banker[30] who served as U.S. Ambassador to Belgium from 1959 to 1961,[31] [32] and Shirley Carter Burden (1908–1989), a prominent photographer.[33]

Notes and References

  1. Book: William F. Burden, Born in Troy, Rensselaer County, N.Y., March 14, 1830. Died at Troy, N.Y., December 7, 1867. 1867. 7. 19 September 2017.
  2. Book: Glaeser. Edward L.. Goldin. Claudia. Claudia Goldin. Corruption and Reform: Lessons from America's Economic History. 2007. University of Chicago Press. 9780226299594. 136. 20 September 2017.
  3. Book: The Iron Age. 1893. Chilton Company. 467. 20 September 2017.
  4. News: JAMES A. BURDEN'S WILL.; Bequests Made to Widow, Sons, and Business Associates.. 19 September 2017. The New York Times. 19 October 1906.
  5. News: James A. Burden Dead In Syosset . President of Iron Company Bearing the Family Name Victim of Embolism. Sequel To An Accident. Prominent In New York Society Prince of Wales Entertained at Woodside, His Estate . . June 2, 1932 . 2015-08-04 .
  6. News: McAllister. Ward. THE ONLY FOUR HUNDRED WARD M'ALLISTER GIVES OUT THE OFFICIAL LIST. HERE ARE THE NAMES, DON'T YOU KNOW, ON THE AUTHORITY OF THEIR GREAT LEADER, YOU UNDER- STAND, AND THEREFORE GENUINE, YOU SEE.. 26 March 2017. The New York Times. 16 February 1892.
  7. Book: King. Moses. Notable New Yorkers of 1869-1899: A Companion Volume to King's Handbook of New York City. 1899. Moses King. 568. 19 September 2017.
  8. Book: Morris. Edward. Rogues and Heroes of Newport's Gilded Age. 2012. Arcadia Publishing. 9781614236665. 78. 20 September 2017.
  9. News: Newport Historical Society. History Bytes: Vice President Morton. 20 September 2017. Newport Historical Society. August 9, 2016.
  10. Web site: Young Building. www.salve.edu. Salve Regina University. 20 September 2017.
  11. News: THE NEWS OF NEWPORT.. 20 September 2017. The New York Times. January 17, 1904.
  12. News: JURY SEES BURDEN ESTATE.; Acts in First Dispute Over Newport Assessments.. 20 September 2017. The New York Times. 30 June 1925.
  13. News: MRS. I. TOWNSEND BURDEN; Widow of Iron Manufacturer Dies of Heart Disease in-Her 70th Year. 19 September 2017. The New York Times. 30 April 1916.
  14. Book: Magruder. Alexander Contee. Miller. Oliver. Brewer Jr.. Nicholas. Stockett. John Shaaf. Brantly. William Theophilus. Perkins. William Henry. Tiffany. Herbert Thorndike. Coan. Malcolm J.. Reports of Cases Argued and Adjudged in the Court of Appeals of Maryland. 1917. 553. 19 September 2017.
  15. News: DISINHERITS SON NOW DEAD. Mrs. Cutting in Will Declares Robert Was Undutiful and Disloyal. 14 May 2018. The Washington Post. July 4, 1915. 5.
  16. Web site: Portrait, Mr. Robert Goelet and Miss Evelyn Byrd Burden, Hyde Ball.. collections.mcny.org. Museum of the City of New York. 19 September 2017.
  17. News: MISS E. BURDEN HURT, FAMILY HOME BURNED; Fire Caused by Overturning of an Alcohol Lamp. Plucky Maid, Rescued by a Policemen, Also Suffering from Burns -- Butler Escapes with Aid of Telegraph Wires.. 19 September 2017. The New York Times. 1903.
  18. News: I. TOWNSEND BURDEN DIES IN NEWPORT, 77. 19 September 2017. The New York Times. 20 July 1953.
  19. News: MRS. I. TOWNSEND BURDEN. 19 September 2017. The New York Times. 11 August 1949.
  20. News: W.A.M. BURDEN DIES OF STRANGE MALADY; Chronic Recurrent Fever the Only Name Physicians Can Give It -- No Remedy. AN ATHLETE AT HARVARD Married Miss Twombly, Granddaughter of the Late W.H. Vanderbilt, in 1904.. 19 September 2017. The New York Times. 3 February 1909.
  21. News: Mrs. William A.M. Burden Dies; Donor to Church and Schools. 20 September 2017. The New York Times. 19 November 1969.
  22. News: WORLD OF FASHION AT THE TWOMBLY WEDDING; William A.M. Burden Marries H. McK. Twombly's Daughter. FIFTH AVENUE IS CROWDED Ceremony at St. Thomas's Church -- Mr. and Mrs. Burden Will Go to the Far East on Honeymoon.. 19 September 2017. The New York Times. 13 April 1904.
  23. News: MRS. DOW'S FUNERAL HELD ON LONG ISLAND; Members of Society and Nassau County Officials Pay Tribute at Service in Brookville.. 19 September 2017. The New York Times. 2 August 1935.
  24. News: DAVID DOWS DIES: EX-SHERIFF ON L.I; Also Cattle Breeder, 4-Goal Polo Player, Researcher. 20 September 2017. The New York Times. 15 August 1966.
  25. News: DAVID DOWS WEDS GWENDOLYN BURDEN; Fashionable Throng in Grace Church at Marriage of Daughter of Mr. and Mrs. I. T. Burden.. 19 September 2017. The New York Times. 13 December 1911.
  26. News: I. T. BURDEN, VICTIM OF APOPLEXY; Well-Known Figure In New York and Newport Passes Away at Age of' 75. 19 September 2017. The New York Times. 24 April 1913.
  27. Book: The National Cyclopaedia of American Biography Being The History of The United States. 1916. James T. White & Company. New York. 327. 19 September 2017.
  28. News: BURDEN ESTATE IN TRUST.; Value Estimated at "More Than $20,000" -- $10,000 to Church.. 19 September 2017. The New York Times. 3 May 1913.
  29. News: Pace. Eric. WILLIAM BURDEN, EX-MUSEUM PRESIDENT, DIES. 19 September 2017. The New York Times. 11 October 1984.
  30. News: INVESTMENT FIRM FORMED; William A. M. Burden & Co. Plans to Handle Own Capital. 19 September 2017. The New York Times. 19 July 1949.
  31. News: Envoy in the Air Age; William Armistead Moale Burden. 19 September 2017. The New York Times. September 4, 1959.
  32. News: Beaver. William S.. IN BUSINESS; Acres of Affordable Housing On Chappaqua's Drawing Board. 19 September 2017. The New York Times. 16 June 2002.
  33. News: Shirley Burden, 80, a Writer-Photographer. 19 September 2017. The New York Times. 5 June 1989.

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