The Strange Case of Catherine Simmons and Joseph Ira Burwell

~ karynfamilytree

What if you tried to divorce your husband three times — and the government wouldn’t let you?

I began researching this couple as part of researching my Simmons family in Sussex County, NJ

In 1812, Catherine “Caty” Simmons marries Ira Burwell (aka Joseph Ira Burwell) in Frankford, Sussex, NJ. They sell land together in 1813, have children in 1812 and 1815, then seem to disappear.

With a little sleuthing, I found they did not disappear at all!

But it seems that each Burwell sibling family did not know about the other siblings’ families, so it’s been a mystery for 210 years.

Here is their timeline; I begin with Catherine’s grandfather, John Simmons 1, because it’s his land that she and Ira Burwell inherit.

Take special note of the Mary Bowers Burwell Ackerman estate records beginning in 1842 in Hardyston, Sussex, NJ. Her grandson, John Simmons Burwell is the administrator, and begins to tie together the Burwell and Simmons families.

All the people who inherit from Mary Ackerman’s estate are either her children, or her grandchildren, per the 1842-1847 records. So despite what the Morristown Presbyterian book says about a first wife Kate Summers, Kate is not the mother of these children. Because she died intestate, only blood relatives would inherit — these are Mary’s children, not Kate’s.

FYI, sometimes this Burwell family has records under the name BURRELL.

  • 1773
    • John Simmons 1 dies in Newtown Township, Sussex, NJ. Newtown is a defunct township but covered Frankford and Lafayette townships at this time. His land is split among his children, including John Simmons 2, father of Catherine “Caty” Simmons who eventually marries Ira Burwell in Sussex, NJ.
  • 1804
    • Joseph Ira Burwell’s sister, Ruth Burwell, marries John Ryan in Sussex County.  Her children are born in NJ through 1814.
  • 1805
    • John Simmons 2 writes a will. Among the children is daughter Catherine. The married children get cash and/or land. Catherine, unmarried, gets cash. He owns land in Frankford, Sussex, NJ.
  • 1809
    • April 1809: John Burrell (Burwell), brother of Joseph Ira Burwell, and John Ryan (his brother-in-law), are communicants to the Sparta Presbyterian Church (aka First Presbyterian Church of Hardyston) per Sparta Centennial book.
    • Aaron Ackerman begins to have Sussex, NJ records.
      • Later he marries Mary Bowers Burwell Ackerman, mother of the Burwell children, and that’s why her 1843 estate is in the name of Mary Ackerman.
      • SHE is important: She’s the mother of the Burwell children and they are named in her estate record in Sussex, NJ
      • He is always in Hardyston, Sussex County, NJ.
      • In 1822 he purchases Hardyston land.
      • In 1835 Aaron and Mary are selling land to Adam Simmons (cousin of Caty Simmons Burwell), so they’re married by 1835 at least.
      • In 1839, Mary is the admin on his estate along with Joseph Boss
      • In 1840 she is Widow Mary Ackerman on the Hardyston, Sussex, NJ census.
      • In 1842-43, Mary Ackerman dies in Hardyston, Sussex, NJ.
      • If Mary and Jedediah were not legally divorced, she might not be able to marry Aaron until after 1829 when Jedediah dies in Ohio. I don’t see a divorce record in the NJ Legislature for them.
  • 1812
    • 11 Jan 1812
      • Caty Simmons (of Frankford, daughter of John Simmons 2) marries Ira Burwell. (All his records in Sussex County are under the name “Ira Burwell”.)
    • February 1812
      • John Simmons Burwell  is born to Ira Burwell and Catherine Simmons per John’s later census records. I don’t know how accurate this date is, but if it’s accurate, Catherine was 8 months pregnant when they marry.
    • 12 February 1812, Catherine Simmons Burwell’s father, John Simmons 2 dies in Frankford, Sussex, NJ.
      • After the death of John 2, his remaining siblings (Philip, Peter and Mary Simmons), and his own children (and their spouses) divide the land of his father, John Simmons 1 in Newtown, Sussex, New Jersey. (John Simmons 1 probably owned land in the Augusta or Lafayette area today, but was Newtown Township at the time).
    • 3 June 1812
      • John Simmons 2’s siblings and his children (and his children’s spouses) divide John Simmons 1’s land and John Simmons 2 land in Frankford, Sussex, NJ
        • Ira and Catherine Burwell are noted as inheriting land from her father and grandfather.
  • 1813
    • 15 Apr 1813
      • Ira Burwell buys land in Frankford, Sussex, NJ from David and Sarah Simmons Hopkins, Catherin’s sister and brother-in-law.
    • 13 Dec 1813
      • Ira and Catherine Simmons Burwell of Frankford, Sussex, NJ sell the land she inherited from her father and grandfather to John Simmons 3, her brother.
      • This is their last record together.
  • 1815
    • Simeon (or Simmons) Burwell born to Ira and Catherine Simmons Burwell per his census records and the Mary Bowers Burwell Ackerman estate records. I don’t know if Ira Burwell is in NJ at this time or has already gone to western PA.
    • NOTE: All of his records in NJ are under “Ira Burwell” — he begins to use “Joseph Ira Burwell” when he goes to Westmoreland, PA.
  • 1818
    • Jedediah Burwell, Joseph Ira Burwell’s father, applies for a Revolutionary War pension from Weathersfield, Trumbull, Ohio. He served in NJ from 1776-1782 (and has tax records in Hanover, Morris, NJ through 1794, as do the Bowers, his in-laws). In 1820 he notes that his wife is 70 years old, weak and feeble.
      • When he dies in 1829, his wife is MARGARET and she says in his estate records that Jedediah has no children. She would be the 70 year old in 1820, so she’s born 1750. Margaret is noted as “weak and feeble.”
      • Note that in 1842, MARY Burwell Ackerman has an estate record in Hardyston, Sussex, NJ. It names Jedediah Burwell’s children as her heirs.
      • Mary has a known birth year of 1757, so she is not Margaret born 1750 who was living in Ohio with Jedediah in 1820 She is buried in Sparta Cemetery.
      • Her estate names all the children of Jedediah Burwell, but says that Ira Burwell is dead and names Ira’s sons, John Simmons Burwell and Simeon Burwell. See 1843 below for details. The only reason to name all these children in her estate is that they are blood relatives to her and she’s likely the mother of all of them.
      • (Yes, I’m aware that the Morristown Presbyterian Church book says that Jedediah has a first wife, Kate Summers, but that information was written in 1891 when the Back Matter section of the book was written, so 70 years after Catherine and Ira are married, and over 100 years since Jedediah and Mary were married. The information is likely given to the author by someone in the Morristown area in 1891 who knows of the family but doesn’t have all the facts, perhaps a Luse. Whoever gave the information to the author of the book seems to confuse Jedediah with his father for some children, and “Kate Summers” could be “Katy Simmons” a name Catherine Simmons Burwell uses in many documents.
        • There are no Summers/Somers families in the Hanover or Morristown area at this time, the only ones are in Oxford, Warren, NJ.
        • But Mary Bowers’ family is in Hanover, NJ at the same time Jedediah is.
        • PLUS, there is no legal reason for Mary Bowers Burwell Ackerman estate to devolve to these Burwell children unless they are her blood relatives because Mary’s estate includes cash from Aaron Ackerman’s estate, too. That’s how estate law works.
        • I’ll leave it up to the Burwell researchers to sort out whether a Kate Summers ever existed and when Jedidiah married her. DNA should prove it one way or another, if they have Bowers DNA matches or Summers DNA matches.
    • Joseph Burwell, Allegheny County, PA – manslaughter charge per newspaper clippings. Sentenced 13 Jan 1818 to be imprisoned for 4 years; pardoned 16 July 1818 because it was a first offence. I don’t know which Joseph Burwell this is, but whoever he is, he’s in western PA near where Joseph Ira Burwell shows up in 1820.
  • 1819
  • 1820
    • On 20 May 1820, Maria Burwell is born to Joseph Ira  Burwell and Hannah Peterson in Westmoreland County, PA.
      • Hannah’s parents were in Warwick, Orange, NY through 1814, and sold land in Vernon, Sussex, NJ in 1814 as well. That might be how they met.
      • It’s unknown whether Joseph (as I’ll call him from now on, because that’s the name he uses in PA) and Hannah met in the Sussex/Orange area prior to 1814 or if they met in Westmoreland, PA.
      • But if Maria is born in May 1820, Hannah gets pregnant in August 1819, so it’s likely Joseph and Hannah knew each other for 6-12 months before she gets pregnant (sometime in 1818 or 1819 they met).
      • Her family is in Westmoreland, PA by 1814. It’s possible that Joseph goes to PA as early as 1814 because then he would be gone “five years” by 1819 when Catharine first files for a divorce. So it’s possible that Joseph and Hannah met in the Orange/Sussex area (Warwick, NY is just across the border from Sussex County) and he went with the Peterson family to Westmoreland, PA. However, I would be surprised if Hannah’s parents would have allowed this unless they didn’t know that he was married.
    • 4 Feb 1820 (in 17 Feb newspaper):
    • 23 Feb 1820
    • 1 March 1820
    • 6 Nov 1820
    • 8 Nov 1820.
      • Upon examination of the documents, the Legislative Committee thinks it inexpedient (not advisable) to grant the divorce.
      • They were never legally divorced.
      • She never remarries.
      • The paperwork she submitted must not have included information about his second marriage and/or child. My best guess was that she was trying to get a divorce based on the grounds of desertion, not adultery. If she had known about his other family, she would have included it with the paperwork as a much stronger case, and the divorce would have been granted based on adultery.
      • https://archive.org/details/votesproceed22newj/page/n34/mode/1up?q=ira
  • 1825
    • Mary Bowers Burwell Ackerman joins the Sparta Presbyterian Church. She’s buried in this cemetery. This is the same church that John Burwell and John Ryan joined in 1809.
  • 1826
  • 1830
    • Caty “Simmons” has a census records with two sons in Frankford, Sussex, NJ the right age to be John Simmons Burwell and Simeon Burwell. She must have taken back her maiden name, whether she was divorced or not.
  • 1839
  • 1842
    • On 19 June 1842, Mary Bowers Burwell Ackerman dies in Hardyston, Sussex, NJ.
      • She’s buried in Sparta Cemetery and noted in the Sparta Cemetery “grave walking” list from 1927 with the date 1843, not 1842 (I’ve asked for a photo of this gravestone, if it’s readable). The 1927 grave walking list indicates she should have a stone in the old part of the cemetery nearest to the church.
    • Her estate is administered by John Simmons Burwell, her grandson.
    • Estate payout go to:
      • John Burwell, son of Jedediah Burwell
      • Josiah Jr, Elizabeth and Lonadoo Burwell (aka Lamadoo Burwell) children of Josiah Burwell Sr, grandchildren of  Jedediah Burwell
      • Ruth “Byram” (Ryan), daughter of Jedediah Burwell — the estate record says “heirs of” so presumably she’s dead by 1843 and John S. Burwell knows his aunt is dead. But he gets the surname wrong — is Ryan not Byram (a well-known local family). I don’t see any payout records for her and it’s possible he couldn’t locate her because he didn’t have the right name.
      • Where is everyone in 1842?
        • John S. Burwell and his brother Simeon Burwell are in Frankford, Sussex, NJ
        • John Burwell has an 1840 census in Washington, Muskingum, Ohio
        • Joseph Ira Burwell is in Cumberland, Greene, PA
        • Josiah Burwell Sr is dead, his children Josiah Jr and Elizabeth are in Somerset County, OH. Lonadoo has an 1844 tax record in Milford, Somerset, PA (Josiah is in Somerset Boro, Somerset, PA – a hatter.)
        • Ruth Burwell Ryan is dead, according to the 1843 payout estate records, her children are scattered and some are in Hempfield, Westmoreland, PA, and some in Iowa.
      • 21 Jun 1842 Inventory of Mary Ackerman made in Hardyston.
      • $687.80 (personal property, before debts are paid)
      • 22 June 1842
      • John S Burwell okay’s Mary Ackerman inventory
      • “Mary Occerman”
  • If she dies on the 19th, within 2 days they’ve done the inventory.
  • 1843
  • 1844
  • 1845
    • Payment in 1845 to
      • Josiah Jr (son of Josiah SR, grandson of Jedediah)
      • Elizabeth (daughter of Josiah Sr, granddaughter of Jedediah)
      • and John (son of Jedediah)
      • Decree of Distribution
      • Heirs of Josiah Burwell
      • $135.68
      • Elizabeth and Josiah Jr have received their distribution
      • Josiah Burwell Jr by his attorney Ross Forward
      • M. A. Sanner signs, not sure why, perhaps simply a bondman and witness, not related
      • Elizabeth Burwell signs
      • Somerset County, PA – Ross Foward appears before the judge as attorney for Josiah Burwell and Elizabeth Burwell and Michael Sanner.
      • 23 Oct 1845
        • Why is Michael A Sanner signing this? Is he Michael Ankey Sanner who is in Somerset, PA i 1840 and 1850?
        • He seems to just be a witness; he doesn’t get a payout. He’s a fellow bondsman
      • Next page,
      • 30 Sept 1845
      • John Burwell and JJ Huber are bondsmen for John S Burwell
      • John, Josiah Sr’s son
      • received his full distribution
      • John Burwell signs from Westmoreland County, PA
      • But he lived in Somerset, PA?
      • And if he’s in Westmoreland, PA, doesn’t he know the Joseph Ira Burwell is still alive?
      • https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:3QS7-893Q-T4ZD?view=fullText&keywords=Mary%20Ackerman%2CMary&groupId=M9DN-MJS
  • 1847
    • 31 May 1847 payment to “Lamadoo Burwell” (son of Josiah Sr):
      • Why is this 1847, three years after Mary dies? Maybe they didn’t know where he lived. He’s born 1822 so would turn 21 in 1843.
      • To Lomadoo Burwell and Catherine his wife
      • $135.68
      • So each child of Josiah Sr gets 135.68 for a total of $407.04
      • Lonadoo signs from Wayne County, Ohio
      • (The spelling of Lonadoo’s first name is tricky. It’s sometimes spelled “Lamadoo” or something like that. Printed newspaper article use “Lonadoo.” But it’s entirely possible it’s pronounced Lamadoo and is really  L’Hommedieu. That’s a well-known Sussex and Morris County, NJ family.)
      • https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:3QS7-893Q-T4SG?view=fullText&keywords=Mary%20Ackerman%2CMary&groupId=M9DN-MJ9
  • 1863
    • Catharine Simmons Burwell dies in Wantage, Sussex, NJ. Her son, John S. Burwell is the administrator. She is buried in Wantage Cemetery.

So that’s the story of Catherine and Ira. I hope this helps researchers who have been stumped by this family!

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Published by karynfamilytree

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