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DAVID BURNS, SR. 

David Burns, Sr. -the founder of the early Laurens District (County), South Carolina, Burns Families - came from Amelia County, Virginia.

 

David moved his family first to Wilkes County, North Carolina, evidently prior to the Revolutionary War, then to the Laurens District in South Carolina about 1781. He purchased a 396 acre plantation on Rabun Creek late that year. His sons and daughters and sons-in-law were his neighbors on Rabun Creek and nearby Duncan Creek. David Burns, Sr. died in 1798 in Laurens County, South Carolina.
 

David Burns, Sr. was true to the tradition of the Scotts Irish Burns Family. These frugal and careful settlers in the new world did not accumulate debts, therefore at death, had no estate probated. Their lands and holdings were sold, usually under an et-al contract, and the proceeds divided among the heirs. David Burns, Sr. left no estate. His land was sold in two tracts on October 17, 1804.
 

Records would indicate that David & Hannah's children were probably born between the years 1755 and 1775.  

 

 

 

REVEREND JOHN BURNS, SR.:

John Burns Sr. was one of the 10 Charter Members of the Chestnut Ridge Baptist Church in Laurens County, South Carolina, organized in 1811. Their first sermon was preached by Elder Joseph Babb "under a Poplar tree".

 

John was also "allowed to preach at sister churches" in 1818, and some records list him as the Rev. John Burns.
 

Land records indicate that John first bought land in Laurens District, S.C. in 1787 on North Creek. About 1788, John and Sarah moved to a farm on Reedy River. In 1810, They purchased a 200 acre Plantation on Duncan Creek and named it "Burns' Spring". Here they remained to raise their large family until moving to Anderson District, near Townville, South Carolina, in 1837.
 

John Sr. was pensioned from Laurens District, S.C. (#S9118, N.C. Certificate No. 27873) on October 15, 1832 for his American Revolutionary War service. He is listed in the DAR Patriot Index.
 

John Sr. was in the most decisive battle of the American Revolutionary War: The Battle of Kings Mountain in Northeastern South Carolina. The following article was written by Frank Dickson in the December 7, 1975 issue of the "INDEPENDENT-DAILY MAIL" of Anderson, South Carolina.
 

BATTLE OF KINGS MOUNTAIN - BURNS: HEROIC SERVICE
 

"Nearly two centuries after the Battle of Kings Mountain in Northeastern South Carolina, the name of an Anderson County HERO has been added to the list of participants in the fierce attack which American Frontiersmen made against Lord Charles Cornwallis' scouting force on October 7, 1780.
 

The Andersonian was John Burns, Sr. of Townville, pensioned from Laurens County on October 15, 1832, for his service in the Revolutionary War.
 

Mr. W.G. Suttles of Iva, South Carolina, is responsible for the recognition of John Burns on the participation rolls kept at Kings Mountain National Military Park, maintained by the National Park Service. The park was established on March 3, 1931, and contains 4,012 acres of land where four monuments stand in commemoration of that decisive American victory.
 

A relative of John Burns, Sr., Mr. Suttles provided Mr. James J. Anderson, Historian at the park, with the information concerning Burns late last year. The information was registered in the records of the battle in which Burns fought as a member of Col. Benjamin Cleveland's Regiment. This regiment battled the enemy near the Northeastern crest of the mountain in the area of the main camp of the Troy leader, Maj. Patrick Ferguson."
When Maj. Ferguson found himself completely surrounded, he used his silver whistle in an attempt to rally his troops against the mountaineers.Maj. Ferguson suddenly realized he faced a trap and tried to escape through Col. Cleveland's line.
 

In the Tory leader's attempt to flee on horseback, he was struck by at least eight balls from the guns of Col. Cleveland's sharpshooters and died within minutes.His grave is a feature of the battlefield where American troops fought, which consisted of about 1,400 men, mostly mounted fighters, equiped with hunting clothes, knapsacks, blankets and hunting rifles.
 

Burns, who had been born in Amelia County, Virginia, in 1763, had enlisted in the Revolutionary Army in 1780. It was my pleasure to have known personally all the grandchildren of the old HERO. Two grandsons were in the U.S. Army, and were in the removal of the Cherokee Indians west of the Mississippi in 1835."
 

Today, Kings Mountain National Military Park commemorates a pivotal and significant victory by American Patriots over American Loyalist during the Southern Campaign of the Revolutionary War. The victory destroyed the left wing of Cornwallis' army and effectively ended Loyalist ascendance in the Carolinas.
 

More About REVEREND JOHN BURNS, SR.:
Burial: 1843, Anderson District, South Carolina
 

Notes for SARAH GLAZE: This story about Sarah GLAZE is from a family history called:
 

BURNS FAMILY, OLD 96 DISTRICT, SOUTH CAROLINA
 

Compiled in 1954 by James Calhoun Burns, Sr.
 

"Sarah was a very 'out-spoken' Whig, it seems, expecially after the death of her stepfather (Lt. Christopher Hardy). Her younger sister, Susan, was more timid, and always feared for Sarah's life when she talked with the Tories.
 

On one occasion, a crowd of children were playing near Milton Bridge (Laurens County) when they were approached by "Bloody Bill" Cunningham and his gang.The younger children hid under the bridge, but Sarah was defiant. One Tory was heard to say, as he hitched his horse to the bridge post, 'Let's give that girl a good scare.' His partner spoke up, 'Don't you know who that is? She's Sallie Glaze and the Devil himself couldn't scare her!'
 

Another time, on a cold winter night during the War, Jane Hardy and her little fatherless children were sitting by a glowing fire in the fireplace of their home waiting for the corn cakes on the Johnny Boards to reach their delicious 'brown-eating' stage. Sarah was standing by a window and noticed a band of Tories approaching. She quickly threw the bread into the fire.

When the soldiers came into the house to fill their haversacks with food, they saw the charred Johnny Cakes. One Tory, with up-raised sword, said to Sarah, 'I'll bet you burned up the Johnny Cakes.' She replied, 'I certainly did! We don't cook for Tories here!'

 

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