Michael J. Burke

BURKE, HARE, MARTIN, NOLL, NALL, BUCKLEY, NELSON

Posted By: Carol Veio (email)
Date: 11/28/2004 at 19:38:24

Note: This article was originally written in one paragraph by the author. I have changed the format to read in sentence structure; otherwise, the article has been typed verbatim.

Source: Blair, Ed. (1915). History of Johnson County, Kansas, v. (1), (pp. 358-360).
Lawrence, Kansas: Standard Publishing Company.

W. F. Burke, a successful fruit grower of Mission township, belongs to one of the representative pioneer families of Johnson county. He was born in Dubuque, Iowa, July 17, 1855, and was only two years old when his parents settled in Johnson county. He is the son of M. J. Burke and Catherine (Martin) Burke, both natives of Ireland, the former of the city of Dublin, and the latter of County Antrim.

M. J. Burke was a very highly educated man, being a graduate of Trinity College, Dublin. He was born about 1810 and his wife was ten years his junior. M. J. Burke came to America in 1848 and located at Dubuque where he met and married Catherine Martin, about 1850. For the next eight years he was in the employ of the Government as a civil engineer in the vicinity of Dubuque, Iowa, and in the fall of 1858 came to Kansas City, Kan., with his family and spent the winter there. In the spring of 1859 he came to Johnson county and shortly afterwards bought a quarter section of school land in Shawnee township for which he paid $11 per acre, near where Elmhurst is now located. The Sante Fe Trail passed through the northern part of the place. The father built a log house which was the family residence for about twenty years.

The location of the Burke home on the Sante Fe Trail was a convenient stopping place for many travelers over that famous highway in the early days, and during the stormy days of the Civil war many soldiers, bushwhackers and others sought accommodation at the Burke home. They kept everybody who wanted to stay over night, regardless of which side of the conflict they were in sympathy with. Many interesting incidents took place during that period of tense excitement. Mrs. Burke, the mother, related that one night, two men came along and, as was the custom, asked if they could get accommodations for the night. She told them they could if they would sleep on the floor. They said that was satisfactory and when bed time came she furnished them pillows upon which to rest their heads and when they proceeded to retire they unbuckled their belts and placed their revolvers under the pillows. At this juncture Mrs. Burke offered to take care of their revolvers, saying that she would place them in a bureau drawer where they would be safe. One of the visitors said, “No, thank you. We will keep them where they will be handy for we may need them before morning.” The next morning at daylight a detail of about thirty men rode up to the door and leading with them two saddled horses. The two men mounted the horses and they rode away. Mrs. Burke afterwards learned that one of the men was Quantrill, the famous guerilla chief. At another time some men were about to take their only team of horses and Mrs. Burke remonstrated with them and they finally went their way without taking the horses.

The Burke family endured may hardships during their first few years in Kansas but were never discouraged and always maintained their faith in the future of the new country. The father followed his profession a great deal and did much surveying. He surveyed for the Santa Fe railroad from Lawrence to Kansas City via Olathe and also surveyed a State road when the question of its exact location was in doubt. He was one of the pioneer surveyors of Johnson county and was elected county surveyor in 1868.

W. F. Burke was one of a family of six children, as follows: W. F., the subject of this sketch; Mary Laura, born in Iowa, married J. W. Buckley, of Mission township, and is now deceased; Joseph, born in Shawnee township, died at the age of thirty-two, unmarried; Anna, born Shawnee township, married Albert Nelson in 1904 and now resides on the home place; Veronica, born in Shawnee township, married Robert Noll, of Mission township, and now resides in California; and Christina, born in Shawnee township, married Timothy Hare, and lives on a farm adjoining the home place.

W. F. Burke attended the public school in district No. 38 at Pleasant Prairie. This was one of the first schools in Johnson county. The Doherty children, Shawnee Indians, attended the same school. Mr. Burke has made farming the principal occupation of his life and in recent years has devoted himself more particularly to fruit culture. He has a farm of forty acres, well adapted to fruit raising, located at Elmhurst and he is quite an extensive peach grower. In 1901 he sold 3,400 pecks of peaches which were the product of 500 trees. He is one of the successful fruit men of Johnson county and has prospered in that venture.

Mr. Burke was married in 1889 at Quincy, Ill., to Miss Mary Hare, of that place. They have six children, as follows: Loretta, a successful Johnson county teacher, Catherine, Edmond, William, James and Mary, all residing at home.

Source: Blair, Ed. (1915). History of Johnson County, Kansas, v. (1), (p. 74). Lawrence, Kansas: Standard Publishing Company.

County Surveyors. --- 1861, R. Morgan; 1863, I. C. Stuck; 1865, M. J. Burke; 1867, Frank L. Weaver; 1869-71, I. C. Stuck; 1873, D. Hubbard; 1875, J. P. Hindman; 1877, A. G. Carpenter; 1879-81, T. A. Parker; 1883, David Hubbard; 1885-87, E. C. Owens; 1889-91, Jesse Pearson; 1897, Lewis Terrill; 1904, Ole Hibner; 1908, E. C. Owens; 1893-95, Fred Pickering; 1899-1901, A. G. Carpenter; 1906, Fred S. Pickering; 1910-12, T. W. Nowland; 1914, George Pike.