John Burrill II

John's surname was spelled in various ways: Burrill, Burrell, Burrel, and some other ways. I am here using the modern version, Burrill.

John Burrill II was probably part of the heroic, civic-minded Republican Generation; his wife, Margaret Brown Burrill, and his mother, Anna Tuttle Burrill, definitely were. All of his siblings were younger than he, and they were part of the Compromise Generation. We know the dates of two of his children: Esther Burrill, was part of the adaptive Compromise Generation, and Joseph Burrill, was part of the idealistic Transcendental Generation.

John was 24 years old when he married Margaret, from nearby Lynn, who was already 31 years old.

They raised their children in the family homestead, the old "Burrill place," which was probably nearly a century old at that time. The property was on the west side of the artificial Lily Pond (later called Prankers Pond), east of the Newburyport Turnpike in Saugus (which was then part of Lynn), Essex County, Massachusetts.

The old Burrill place
[Click the picture to enlarge it.]

The Burrill place was on rather low land. When the mill operators dammed the Saugus River to run the mills, thus enlarging Lily Pond, water tended to overflow onto part of the properties of the Burrills and their neighbors. Over the years the various operators had been sued repeatedly by irate property owners. In 1776, Ebenezer Hawkes had built a rude dam over the river to power his grist and sawmill, and the farms in the vicinity suffered from this "progress." In 1794, Benjamin Sweetser began operating a very successful chocolate mill at the dam, and he persevered for several years. From 1815 to 1822, Robert Ames operated the Duck Cloth Mill there. In 1826, True and Bradhead took over the mill site, repaired and raised the dam, subleased a portion of the mill to Briefly and Whitehead for the manufacture of flannel. In 1838, an Englishman named Edward Pranker purchased the water privileges and complex, built another two-story building on the east side of the pond, and operated a successful business manufacturing flannel, wool pulling, and sheepskin tanning; his woolen fabrics became world acclaimed. Pranker increased his water power by raising the dam another 2 feet. The enlarged body of water was thereafter called Prankers Pond.

By that time, John's daughter Esther and her husband, Lott Edmands, were responsible for the homestead and were dealing with the various mill owners damming the river and flooding the neighborhood. Lott often sued the owners for flooding the property, and he usually won.

The early years of John Burrill in their historical context
The later years of John Burrill in their historical context

Descent chart

*Birth of John Burrill II*
Born:	Probably 1765
Birthplace:	Saugus, Essex County, Massachusetts
*Parents*
Father:	John Burrill I, d. 1812 (our ancestor), from Lynn, Essex County, Massachusetts
Mother:	Anna Tuttle, b. 1744 (our ancestor), from Chelsea, Suffolk County, Massachusetts
*Siblings*
Sister:	Sarah "Sally" Burrill Born 21 July 1767 Married 1790 to John Penison
Brother:	William Burrill Married 1799 to Sally Hall
Sister:	Hannah Burrill Married 1806 to Bildad Flowers
Brother:	Samuel Burrill Born 13 March 1781 Married 1799 to Lois Grover
Brother:	Ebenezer (Abner) Burrill Born 4 March 1784 Married 1804 to Mary Waite
Sister:	Lois Burrill Married 1796 to John Grover
Brother:	Isaac Burrill Married 1806 to Ruth Hawkes
*Spouse and children*
Wife:	Margaret "Peggy" Brown, b. 1758 (our ancestor) (daughter of Joseph Brown and Esther Merriam Brown [our ancestors]), from Lynn, Essex County, Massachusetts. Married 6 December 1789 in Lynn, Essex County, Massachusetts
Daughter:	Esther Burrill, 1790-1883 (our ancestor)
Son:	Joseph Burrill Born 1792
Daughter:	Sally Burrill
No information on any other children
*Other information*
Occupation:	Farmer
Religion:	No information available
*Death of John Burrill II*
No information on date or place of death

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Sources on John Burrill II:

Nancy B. Edmands Allen, b. 1925, who included a family group chart of John's parents and siblings.

Theodore Wesley "Ted" Edmands, 1928-1999, Nancy Allen's brother, citing the census data (compiled by Ann S. Larnhart, PO Box 1487, Boston, MA 02117) for 1855, demonstrating the age of John's son Joseph.

"New Prankers Pond to Officially Open," The Saugus Advertiser, 7 October 1976.

Nathan Mortimer Hawkes, Hearths and Homes in Old Lynn with Studies in Local History (Lynn, MA: Thos. P. Nichols & Sons, Publishers, 1907), pp. 76-77.

The "American Silversmiths" site, of (William Erik Voss, for information on John Burrill's ancestors.

Ethel Jean Edmands Weeks, b. 1909 in an interview with Allan Christie Edmands II, b. 1942

Mary Caroline Findley Edmands, 1887-1970

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