When John Burruss, Jr. was less than two years old, his father died. He had two older brothers, Henry and Thomas Burruss, and one younger brother, Nelson. In 1780, John's mother, Rachel, married Thomas Hackett about two years after his father's death. Rachel and Thomas Hackett had at least five children, who grew up together with the Burruss boys.
John Jr's father, was a young man when he died. It is assumed he must have been ill prior to his death, because he left a will. It was uncommon for a man so young to have a will. It was his wish that his four sons , Henry, Thomas, John, Jr., and Nelson, be educated in a manner that would make them suitable "to do county business." From the Burruss family letters kept by John , Jr. and his descendants, we know that he and his brothers received that education.
On January 8, 1806 in Spotsylvania County, Virginia John Burruss, Jr married Ann Lewis Merriwether, the daughter of David Merriwether and Mary Ann Lewis. Ann Lewis Merriwether, was the great granddaughter of Robert Lewis and Jane Merriwether. Robert Lewis born in Gloucester County, Virginia became one of the largest land owners in Albemarle County, owning over 6500 acres near Ivy Depot. Ann Lewis Merriwether was born about July 7, 1785. There is a conflicting birth date in a family bible that says she was born March 22, 1783.
John Burruss, Jr. spent some time in Albemarle County, Virginia. He married into a very prominent Virginia family. He possessed carpentry skills, because he helped to build "Snugly" the homeplace of Robert Lewis. Snugly was located in Albemarle County, near Pen Park, which was the family home of the Gilmer family, close friends of the Burruss family. Snugly belonged to Robert Lewis, who was the son of Major John Lewis and Ann Lewis of Spotsylvania County, and the uncle of John Burruss' wife, Ann Lewis Merriwether. The intermarriages for several generations between the Lewis and Merriwether cousins, makes relationships confusing.
From Carmel Church records, we know John Burruss, Jr. attended services and preached there. This was the first Baptist Church in Caroline County and was started by his father. In the early 1800's, John and Ann Lewis Merriwether Burruss left Virginia for Jefferson County, Kentucky and then to Carrollton, Illinois.
John Burruss' grandfather, Jacob Burruss, had been one of the first men to settle Caroline County, Virginia. His father was one of the first Baptist ministers and first to establish a baptist church in Caroline County. Like the Burruss pioneers before him, John Burruss, Jr. and his wife would become one of the first families in Kentucky and likely one of the first families in Illinois John Burruss, Jr. died in 1846 in Green County.
His tombstone in Carrollton reads "Prepare to Meet Thy God." John and Ann had at least ten children.
Go to Nelson Burruss, youngest son