The Executive Committee for the Formation of the Charles Burns Family Association is thrilled that you are visiting our new home!
Like any new home, moving in will require exploring its nooks and crannies, rearranging furniture, meeting new friends, and getting settled.
Above image: Red = Highest priority tasks
It's almost 14 months since we closed the Founding Cousins fundraiser and began the hard work of turning our dream into reality. And frankly, it's been hard work.
The above is one view of all of the tasks we need to accomplish to be fully-functional. You will probably need a magnifying glass to read it and a hankie nearby in case your eyes start to water. 😊
We began the effort by working with a lawyer to write our bylaws and incorporate as a 501(c)7 nonprofit. We have applied for nonprofit status with the IRS, but are awaiting their decision.
Above image: A map of the most inhabited part of Virginia containing the whole province of Maryland: with part of Pensilvania, New Jersey, and North Carolina. Fry, Joshua, Peter Jefferson and Thomas Jeffreys. (London, Printed for Robt. Sayer, 1775) Map. Retrieved from the Library of Congress.
The above snippet of the Fry and Jefferson Map depicts where Charles Burns settled in western Virginia and where all of his children were likely born. During his lifetime we know that Charles Burns lived in Halifax, Pittsylvania, and Henry counties, but that is because country jurisdictions changed, not his physical location. As the poulation grew the county jurisdictions for the area in which Charles Burns were as follows1:
Burnswick from Isle of Wright 1720
Lunenberg from Brunswick 1748
Halifax from Lunenberg 1752
Pittsylvania from Halifax 1767
Henry from Pittsylvania 1776