|
|
My Greene County Indiana Ancestry
|
||
Pictures of David Boswell Burns
Mrs. Freida BURNS, 49, Culver, died at 10:45 p.m. Friday in her home after an illness of five weeks. She was the wife of David BURNS, Sr., Culver fire chief. Born in Fulton county on Nov. 20, 1911, she moved to Culver in 1927. Surviving are four daughters, Mrs. Eunice SCHRIMSHER, Mrs. Betty ROSEBAUM and Mrs. Nancy RAINEY, all of Culver, and Helen [BURNS], at home; three sons, David [BURNS], Jr. and Douglass [BURNS], Culver; Rickey [BURNS], at home; her father, Calvin M. REED, Culver; a sister, Mrs. Ruth FISHER, Pittsburgh; two brothers, Ira REED, Culver, and Cecil REED, Louisville, Ky., and seven grandchildren. Rites will be Monday at 2 p.m. in the Easterday funeral home with the Rev. Charles HANEY officiating. Burial will be in the Culver Masonic cemetery. Friends may call at the funeral home. Rochester Sentinel - - Saturday, 5 August 1961 Eunice [David's oldest daughter] had been interested in finding him for years. Eunice was always very curious about this - rather an obession of it and wanted to find this half-brother if she could but she could never provided any solid proof of - WHO, WHAT, WHEN and WHERE of the child's birth, the orphanage or as to the possible name of the mother. Since there were no papers to be found (even around the house in the 1970's and I never did question David on the matter - that was Eunice's place to), no one could remember any of the information from the envelope; no one had the name of the mother or son or the name and location of the orphanage and this makes it very impossible to trace him. He is the only one who has the clue to his real idenity (possibly if he was even told that he had been adopted) - and would have to be the one to come forward - as in that time period all adoptions were generally "sealed" and with the missing adoption papers on this end - and even possibly on the other end - Another family member remembers the envelope and her mother yelling and screaming at them to go get the papers and read about the brother they had - Freda had directed them to get and read the papers from within a buffet drawer or from under it but their dad stopped them and told Freda to shut up and keep her mouth quite. This incident took place about 1953-5. Eunice wrote of this back in the early 1980's- "he must be around Doug or David's age. Orphans home in Illinois somewhere contacted her father and that he had a son and wanted to know if he would adopt him it was to be by some woman who worked at the Palmer Hotel in Chicago" where Mike (David's brother worked). The letter came in a manilla envelope at that time must of been the late 1940's; no solid time period could be given as to the date the envelope arrived either. A close friend who retired for Culver Military Academy and neighboring firefighter said that David stated that he had a child in Chicago, Illinois but would give no other details. Since this is only word of mouth of Eunice and what she wrote I put in the family files and what another family member said about the papers concerning the adopted son one could acutally really wonder - how much truth there is in this matter - but I do believe the family member relating the story of Freda, the papers in the buffet - and the close friend of David's - but who knows - If the adoption papers did really exist - I have a feeling that David himself destroyed them right after Freda died or - since no papers were found in the tombstone - by what Eunice told others - that he was able to get them into the casket or dropped into the burial vault before it was closed up and without others seeing him do it. What happened to them is unknown and a mystery - that only he knows about and no one else - in essence he did take it with him - what he truly had intended. He never discussed it with me and all I have is what Eunice had written over the years to me because she wanted to find this half-brother, and what another family memeber and a friend of David's related to me. The could date from after Eunice's birth up to the time Mike entered the service during WWII - 18 Dec. 1943. Also David work for James I Barnes Construction Company which had contracts for Post Offices all over the United States. The letter came in a manilla envelope at that been the late 1940's" or early 1950's. It has been said also that it was by some Seller's woman of the Delong, Leiters Ford area. But only three people knew and they are no longer can divulge the information as they are long gone - the child could even be deceased - or even died as a young child - as I assume after the adoption papers were signed - no contact was kept between any of the parties invovled in it. A close friend who retired for Culver Military Academy and neighboring firefighter said that David stated that he had a child in Chicago, Illinois but would give no other details. The only way anything could be found or ever can be found is if this half-brother or his family is if one of them comes forward seeking his "true heritiage" - he is the only one who possibly has the Who, What, When and Why if the adoption papers still exist on his end. And if they ever come across this accounting and think it matches. Eunice also over the years has provided data on the family since her father died in 1990 - there is a lot or incorrect information that was given by her - and until I can fully document the names and dates - none of it will be listed - only a few in the family choose to correct the miss-information - she would send several versions of the families changing it each time every even to her own family; if discrepencies arose during these up dates it was noted in the notes section and who gave the information to me for the genealogy! Up till the death of her father - I have the birth announcements, wedding announcements etc that we were sent and still do - and they are copied off in full in the Source File. Eunice would only provide corrections to the printed version of the the PAF file as presented her no photocopies of documentation of any type. I have been told that they can do the family history without me - well - what they have to date I paid for and had research done over in Scotland and elsewhere I have paid for the documentation NOT EUNICE, NOT DAVID - NOT ANY OF THE FAMILY - so I have chosen to take all the documentation out but what is laid out here Maybe - if certain people want the documentation - I may be willing to provide it provide it and I may not. Left with Judi - was the burial receipt for Freda's funeral which the widow has given to his daughter Nancy and also the dining room table out fit that belonged to her mother the velvet Indian picture that hung in the dining room her father brought home to Judi in 1974 or 1986 and also the collage of all the fire pictures of him and the department that Judi made and had a poster picture made for father's day 1990; Helen received a large velvet Indian picture that was to go to her; Rickey was given back his battalion Marine picture and some wall hanging he had sent from Vietnam to his father also given to Rick in 2005 was some old fishing lures, and bait box for fishing and some tie clasps and novelty items given by fire department vendors; Eunice got a silver chain from her plus some other household end tables (rather outdoor) made out of cement lava rock and one wood one with stone pebbles (that Judi had bought and had glued the pebbles into to replace the rotting fiberboard top. Each of the male grandchildren got a ring that their grandfather collected over the last 2 years of his life. Eunice in 1960's got all of the things that belonged to her mother and dad such as pictures, home movie films, salt shakers; a mantle clock that was to have gone to Rick also. David during his lifetime had given many items away to family and friends among them were all the round bottom fire buckets - The saber went to a cottager on the east side along with the Moose head that hung on the wall in the late 1980's; and a collectors pistol of some sort went to a son-in-law; the Soccer medals of his Uncle David Boswell Burns went to his nephew David Burns son of Michael Thomas Burns. Where else things went - can't be rememberd as when David got the notion to give somthing away he did so and - he just done it - it did not matter if it was family or not - of someone wanted something he had he was generally generous beyond a point and gave it to them whether they were family or not. Wednesday April 2, 1997 pg 9 Former resident Helen D. Burns, 83, 1900 Andrew Avenue, LaPorte, died at 6:20 p.m. March 29, in LaPorte Hosptial, Mrs. Burns was a former dietary aide at the Culver Military Academies. The daughter of Anthony Durko and Annastasia Czicanies was born on May 13, 1913, in Hammond. In 1987 she married Chares Best, ne died in 1944. In 1946 she married John M. Altman, he died in 1959. On November 19, 1961, she marrried David B. Burns, They were later divorced. Survivors include her daughter, Jeanne, Janoweziyk New Carlisle; her son Arlo A., Overland Park, Kans.; six grandchildren; nine great-grandchildren; hersister Jeanne Richards, Cincinnat and her brother, Steve Durkett of Toledo, Ohio. Two brothers preceded her in death. The Funeral will be at 10- p.m. today at Bonine Funeral Home with the Rev. Wayne McAllister, pastor of Grace United Church of Christ, officiating. Burial will be in Culver Masonic Cemetery. Memorial contributions may be made to the Alzheimers Disease and Realted Disorders Association. |
|||
|
|
|||
