The first Burdick of record in America, and the ancestor of the Burdicks of Galway, Saratoga county, New York, is Robert Burdick, of Westerly, Rhode Island, who died in 1692. He was a farmer of Newport, Rhode Island, 1655, and was of Westerly, November 1, 1661. He was a seceder from the Baptist church, joining with the Seventh Day Baptists. He was in the thick of the fight with Massachusetts over jurisdiction, and was arrested with Tobias Sanders and others, brought before Governor John Endicott, charged with "forcible entry and intrusion" into the bounds of Southertown in the Pequot country. He admitted he was upon the lands mentioned and had built a small house there. He and Sanders were committed to prison, both refusing to give bail for their appearance at general court, denying that Massachusetts had any jurisdiction over them or the territory in which the house was built. They were committed to the Boston jail and kept there two years, finally being exchanged for two Massachusetts officials taken in retaliation by the Rhode Island authorities. May 8, 1669, he was on a list of the inhabitants of Westerly. May 17, 1671, he took the oath of allegiance. July, 1675, he and his family went to Newport on account of the Indian war, but later returned to Westerly. May 17, 1691, he and wife Ruth sold one hundred acres of land for ten pounds. March 8, 1692, he made an agreement with his son-in-law, Joseph Crandall, by which the latter was to take care of his father-in-law and "find him with suitable meat, drink, washing, lodging and apparel, etc., for life, in consideration of which Joseph Crandall was to have the dwelling house and land adjoining forever." He died October 25, 1692. He married, November 2, 1655, Ruth Hubbard, who was the first white child born in Springfield, Massachusetts, January 11, 1640, died 1691, daughter of Samuel and Tacy (Cooper) Hubbard. Children:
- Robert, married Dorcas Lewis.
- Hubbard, died 1758; married Hannah Maxon, died 1752; children: Hubbard (2), Nathan, John and Ezekiel.
- A son, died 1683.
- Thomas, married (first) Martha ————; (second), February 9, 1738, Penelope Rhodes.
- Naomi, married Jonathan Rogers; child, Content.
- Ruth, married, in 1682, John Phillips.
- Benjamin, died in 1741; married (first) Mary ————; married (second) Mrs. Jane Shelley, a widow, died 1748. He was a deacon of the Seventh Day Baptist Church. By first wife he had eight children: Mary, Rachel, Peter, Benjamin, John, David, William and Elisha.
- Samuel, died 1756; was one of the thirty who purchased five thousand three hundred acres of "vacant lands." He married Mary ————, and had five children.
- Tacy, died 1747; married Joseph Maxon, born 1672, died 1750; children: Joseph, John, Tacy, Mary, Judith Ruth and Elizabeth.
- Deborah, married Joseph Crandall, died September 12, 1737, children: John, Joseph, and a daughter.
From this sturdy, conscience-guided ancestor, Robert, sprang all the Burdicks who claim an early Rhode Island ancestry. The history of the Saratoga county family herein recorded begins with Daniel, a descendant of Robert Burdick, of Westerly.
(VI) Daniel Burdick was born in Rhode Island, and settled in Saratoga county, New York. He married Nancy Lewis, in New London, Connecticut. Children:
- Pardon, died young.
- Lewis, went west, all trace lost.
- Mary, married Josiah Gibbs, lived in Michigan, and is buried there.
- William, married (first) ———— Arnold, of Saratoga; married (second) Mary Pulling, of East Galway, New York.
- Truman, married Patience Webb, of Greenfield. Saratoga county.
- Frank, married Susan Tabor, of Benedict Corner, Fulton county, New York.
- Peleg, see forward.
(VII) Peleg, youngest child of Daniel and Nancy (Lewis) Burdick, was born in the town of Galway, Saratoga county, New York, September 30, 1826, died December 28, 1894, in the same town. He was educated in the town schools, and was still a young man when he engaged in agricultural pursuits in Galway. He owned a farm in the town which he operated until seven years before his death, when he retired to the village of Galway. He was a prominent man of Galway; was an active Democrat, and a leader of that party in his town, holding many local offices. He married (first) August 26, 1849, Louisa Clark, of Galway, daughter of William V. and Mary J. Clark, who bore him a daughter, Mary Amelia, November 4, 1851. She died in 1890 after her marriage to Allen S. Glenn, a soldier of the civil war. Peleg Burdick married (second) March 21, 1860, Clarissa Morehouse, born June 13, 1840, who yet survives him (1910). She is a daughter of William and Rhoda (Monroe) Morehouse, of Galway, and granddaughter of Caleb Morehouse, born February 1, 1767; married, May 7, 1794, Rhoda Peck. Children of Caleb and Rhoda (Peck) Morehouse:
- Ransom, born June 5, 1795, died November 24, 1824.
- Carlton, December 11, 1797, died April 7, 1855.
- Erastus, October 19, 1800, died August 26, 1857.
- Orrin, March 24, 1804, died April 24, 1804.
- Henry, June 30, 1805, died February 2, 1875.
- William, August 17, 1812, died March 22, 1884; married Rhoda, daughter of Eliphalet and Rebekah (Nash) Monroe.
Children of William and Rhoda Morehouse:
- Clarissa, born June 13, 1840, married Peleg Burdick.
- Frances, November 30, 1842, married John Waring.
Children of Peleg and Clarissa (Morehouse) Burdick:
- Carrie Louise, born April 5, 1861; married George Herrick West, then of Galway, now of Ballston Spa, New York. (See West VIII.)
- Scott M., May 6, 1863, died April 12, 1865.
- Frances, June 4, 1865, married, May 22, 1907, Thomas Chester Kelley, who died April 7, 1908. She survives her husband and resides at Ballston Spa, New York.
(Monroe Line)
Rhoda Monroe, wife of William Morehouse, descended from Thomas Monroe, who came from England to Plymouth, from there removed to Bristol, finally settling at Rehoboth, Mass. He married and had a son John.
(II) John, son of Thomas Monroe, was born in 1702, died April 11, 1793. He married Hannah, a granddaughter of Benjamin Church. In his will, proved in Rehoboth, Massachusetts, John mentions his widow and children, Comfort Bowen, Nathan, Rosbotham, Benjamin and John.
(III) Rosbotham, son of John and Hannah Monroe, was born 1731 or 1732, died in Galway, Saratoga county, New York, 1831. He was a farmer and land owner of Galway, his land lying in the northern part of the town. He married and had sons.
(IV) Eliphalet, son of Rosbotham Monroe, was born August 16, 1769, died September 26, 1848. He was a farmer of Galway, having the homestead acres. He married Rebekah Nash, born March 7, 1779, died 1853. Children: Clarissa, Willard, Fanny, Azor, John, Major, Rhoda, see forward, E. Lloyd and Hannah.
(V) Rhoda, daughter of Eliphalet and Rebekah (Nash) Monroe, was born September 22, 1817. She married William Morehouse, August 8, 1839. Children: Clarissa and Frances.
(VI) Clarissa, daughter of William and Rhoda (Monroe) Morehouse, was born June 13, 1840; married 1860, Peleg Burdick (see Burdick VII).