Leadership

Hello from Burns, Oregon. Both of my father's paternal grandparents were descendents of Charles Burns through his son William's children William, Andrew, Mary, and Sarah, but I've also discovered that my mother shares common ancestors from the British Colonial period with my dad. I'm a bit like the cat with nine lives: I've managed a family farm, served in the Marine Corps, worked in the federal and private sectors, and operated a small business with my husband. But now we are retired and spend our time volunteering in our wonderful community. My hobbies are genealogy, gardening for veggies and beneficial insects, and exploring the outdoors. My personal interest in the the Charles Burns Family Association is to help us all discover and document our ancestors and cousins and preserve our family history.

We are in desperate need of a secretary. It's not a hard job, but it IS a helpful and required position. If you can type a letter on a computer, then you have the requisite skills. If interested, or if you have questions, please contact us.

Image by Vectorportal.com, CC BY

Hello from Livermore, California. Charles Burns is my 5th g-grandfather. The line goes to William, Andrew, Andrew J, Beverly, and my father, Roy T. I am a retired educator (14 years teaching and 20 years high school administration). I also coached for 30 years and am still active in sports as a participant and coach (wrestling, snow skiing, and technical rock climbing). I also enjoy traveling. In between I started and built a concrete company. My personal interest in CBFA is to build our family genealogy and history with best practices and to meet family members with the same desire. I also am excited to share our family history with my children.

Hello from San Diego, California. I was born and bred in Illinois and descend from Charles Burns through William's son John Jack Burns 1798, Wiley Burns 1829, John Burns 1856, Wiley Bell 1897, and my father Denzil 'Barre' Bell. I am a clinical psychologist. Part of my work has been as a pioneer in the field of disaster mental health in California and nationwide. My husband and I love to travel, and, no, we didn't travel by hot air balloon to over 96 countries and territories, even though I hold a hot air balloon license. My interest in genealogy was sparked at the age of seven when I wrote down my family tree while visiting with my grandmother. I took my first official genealogy class in 1973, and it's been a wonderful journey ever since. I look forward to learning what DNA genealogy reveals about our family.

Hello from Christiansburg, Virginia. I descend from Charles Burns through his William Burns, his grandson William Burns, Jr., and his g-grandson George Washington Burns. I was born and raised in Kentucky. I served 21 years in the US Army, where I specialized in avionics for Apache helicopters and attained the rank of First Sergeant. I love the teaching environment and earned an EdD from North Central University in Educational Technology and E-Learning upon retiring from the military. I now manage Support Services at Virginia Tech. I enjoy learning about my Burns family. Serving on this Executive Committee has been an opportunity for me to develop relationships that I enjoy. In my spare time I love woodworking and spending time with family.