Temperance Burns: Suspicions Confirmed!

Since my last post about my third great grandmother, Temperance Burns O'Hare, I've had an email from a cousin, Teri, with more information about this family. Thank you for getting in touch with me, Teri!  Teri has done considerable research on this family, and the information she's amassed seems to confirm my suspicions that Temperance's maiden name was Burns, not Mathis.

It looks very likely that Temperance Burns' parents were Absalom Burns and Nancy Matthews of Williamson County, Illinois. The misattributed surname "Mathis" for Temperance seems to stem from the fact that her mother, Nancy Matthews, is listed on various legal documents with the surname Mthis, Mathews, Mathes, Mathias, and Matthews. Somehow, this became Mathis and was incorrectly attached to her daughter, Temperance.  The rumors of Temperance being called "Tennessee" might have to do with the fact that her parents were married there and her father, Absalom Burns, fought in the Tennessee Militia during the War of 1812. We have no evidence that she was ever called Tennessee. More likely, she was called Tempy.

Absalom Burns was born in South Carolina about 1791. He was in Tennessee by 1812, when he fought with the Tennessee Militia. In 1826, he married Nancy Matthews in Tennessee.  Nancy was born about 1800 in North Carolina. Their first two children were born in Tennessee, and then the Burns family moved to Williamson County, Illinois, where their second two children were born.

The children of Absalom Burns and Nancy Matthews were as follows:

Dizana (nickname "Zena" or "Zany") Burns (born about 1827); married William Miller in 1847 and James Taylor in 1858
Margaret Burns (born about 1828); married Joseph Garrett in 1847
Nancy Jane Burns (born about 1832); married Alexander Williams in 1852
Temperance Burns (born about 1833); married Samuel Burns in 1859 and Michael O'Hare in 1870

Absalom Burns died in Williamson County on March 30, 1836, when Temperance was just three years old. In 1850, his widow, Nancy, applied for Bounty Lands, which were granted to veterans of American military service.

From "Affidavits, Warrants, and Assignment In Military Bounty Land Warrant File For Nancy Burns, Widow of Absolom Burns"

On this 4th day of November AD 1850 personally appeared before me, Justice of the Peace in and for the county and the state aforesaid, William Burns and John S. Roberts, residents of the County of Williamson and State of Illinois, who being duly sworn according to law declare Nancy Burns is the widow of Absolem Burns, deceased, who was a private in the Company commanded by Captain George Kincade in the Regiment of Tennessee Militia commanded by Col. Hammons in the War of the United States with Great Britain declared on the 18th day of June AD 1812, that the said Nancy Burns was married to the said Absolem Burns, deceased, on the 17th day of April 1826 by one John McColly, a Justice of the Peace in the County of Montgomery, State of Tennessee, and they recollect that the name of the said Nancy Burns before her marriage was Nancy Mathews, that her husband, the said Absolem Burns, died in Williamson County, Illinois on the 30th day of March AD 1836 and that she is still a widow, that they knew the said Absolem Burns during his life and was intimately acquainted with his family, that he lived with the said Nancy Burns and that they were represented as husband and wife and lived together as such from the time of their marriage until the date of his death and that they are disinterested.

On September 1, 1852, Nancy Burns and her children deeded 80 acres of land to John Burns. John is believed to have been a first cousin of the four Burns daughters, and likely a brother to Samuel Burns, future husband of Temperance Burns. The marks of Nancy Matthews Burns and her daughters, Nancy Jane Burns, Margaret Garrett, D. Burns Williams and Temperance Burns are all found on the deed, confirming their relationship. 

I'm very glad to have this new information about Temperance Burns. Thank you, Teri, for providing me with some helpful documentation that may well take my tree back another generation!

Mary Temperance Mathis Burns O'Hare: The Woman of a Thousand Questions

(Note: since writing this post, I've learned my third great-grandmother's name was not Mary Temperance Mathis, or Tennessee Burns.  It was Temperance Burns.  Read the follow-up article to this one for more information.)

My third great-grandmother, Mary Temperance Mathis, is the last proven ancestor in my direct maternal line.  She is also one of those frustrating ancestors who generates more questions than answers each time you look at her information.  Her date of birth, place of birth, and even her name are all up for debate.  So, what do we really know about Mary Temperance Mathis?  Not much for certain, as it turns out.

Since my Grandma told me that her grandmother, Nellie Barrett, referred to her mother as Temperance, that's what I'll call her here.

Date of Birth
Temperance was born between 1833 and 1839, likely in September or October.  Her obituary, dated July 7, 1899 and printed in the O'Fallon Progress, states, "Died at her home here on Thursday morning, Mrs. Mary O'Hare wife of Michael O'Hare Sr. aged 59 years 10 months."  This would make her birth year 1839.  However, the 1860 census shows a 27-year old Temperance living with her first husband, a six-year old daughter and a two-year old son.  This would make her birth year 1833.  I'm inclined to believe the census rather than the obituary, in this case.  If Temperance was really born in 1839, she would have been 15 when her first child was born.  That's certainly not impossible, but it seems more likely that the obituary is incorrect.  As noted further below, the obituary contained other errors, as well.

Date of First Marriage and Children From That Marriage
Temperance was married first to Samuel Burns.  The 1860 census indicates that he was born in Tennessee about 1811, making him twenty years older than Temperance.  They were wed on April 24, 1859 in Williamson County, Illinois, as proven by their marriage license.  Temperance and Samuel had at least two children: Robert Burns and Martha Burns.  As with nearly everything related to Temperance, even the number of her children and the dates of their birth are up for debate.  The 1860 census indicates that young Martha Burns was 6 years old during the year of the census.  This means she was born about 1854, five years prior to the marriage of her parents.  Martha's brother, Robert, also appears in the 1860 census, aged 2.  This means he was born in about 1858, a year before the marriage of his parents.   Did Samuel and Temperance have two children out of wedlock before marrying in Illinois?  This seems unusual.  Could the marriage license be incorrect or somehow refer to another couple?  This also seems unlikely, especially given the the year is written as 1859 in two separate places on the license.  This is just a big question mark.

A Possible Third Child
Many family trees located online claim that Temperance and Samuel had a third child, Joseph Burns.  This may be based on an 1880 census record that shows 49-year old Mary E. Burns living in Grand Tower, Illinois, with a 17-year old son, Joseph S. Burns.  However in 1880, Temperance had remarried and was living with her second husband, Michael O'Hare, and their two children.  The Mary E. Burns shown on the 1880 census is not Mary Temperance Mathis.  Temperance and Michael O'Hare can be found in the 1880 census living in Summerfield, Illinois, with their children.  Furthermore, the Joseph S. Burns born in 1864 who is often attributed as the child of Samuel Burns and Temperance, has a death certificate from 1935 that claims his mother is Sarah Burns.  So, I don't see any evidence that Temperance had a child named Joseph.

Adding to the confusion, Temperance's obituary states that she left five children behind at her death, but then mentions only four by name: Martha Distler (Burns), Robert Burns, Ellen Barrett (O'Hare), and Thomas O'Hare.  Her second daughter is also mis-identified here.  Her correct name was Helen O'Hare Barrett, not Ellen.  Did Temperance have a fifth child?  I don't have proof of that at this time.  My hunch is that at the time of her death, she left her four biological children and her stepson, Joseph.  Her other stepson, John, predeceased her.

Mary's Second Marriage
Temperance's second husband was my third great-grandfather, Michael O'Hare.  He was an immigrant from County Down, Ireland.  Temperance and Michael were married on October 2, 1870, as proven by their marriage license.  This was also Michael's second marriage.  He had been married previously and had two sons, John and Joseph O'Hare.  Joseph, aged 18, was living with Michael and Temperance at the time of the 1880 census, making his birth date around 1862.  Temperance was still married to Samuel Burns in 1862, so Joseph was not her child.  I believe some researchers have incorrectly claimed Joseph as the son of Temperance and Samuel, when he was actually Temperance's stepson.  Michael's older son, John O'Hare, was 25 at the time of the 1880 census and already married and living on his own.  In a unusual twist, John O'Hare married Temperance's daughter from her first marriage, Martha Burns.  Although they were step-siblings, they were unrelated by blood.

Mary's Place of Birth and Nicknames
Much has been made of the location of Temperance's birth and whether she was referred to as "Tennessee" or "Tempy."  Temperance left a trail of conflicting documentation during her life which does little to settle the debate.  Was she born in Tennessee or Illinois?  Was she called Tennessee or Temperance?  Here's what the records say:

Place of birth:

• Temperance's obituary in the O'Fallon Progress: "The deceased was born near Marion, Williamson Co. ILL."
• Death certificate for Temperance's daughter, Helen "Nellie" O'Hare Barrett in 1942: Knoxville, Tennessee (information supplied by Nellie's son Stephen)
• 1860 Census: Illinois
• 1880 Census: Tennessee

Name:

• Marriage License for Marriage to Samuel Burns: Temperance Burns
• Marriage License for Marriage to John O'Hare: Tennessee Burns
• 1860 Census: Temperance Burns
• 1880 Census: Temperance O'Hare 
• Martha Burns' Marriage License for Marriage to Frank Distler: M. Mathis (or Mathews)
• Obituary, 1899: Mary O'Hare
• Probate Court Records, 1899: Tempy O'Hara

I can't really make any concrete judgements with so much conflicting evidence.  The item that I find most interesting here is the marriage license for Samuel Burns and Temperance Burns.  It clearly lists Burns as the bride's maiden name.  Perhaps the surname Mathis is not correct at all, and Temperance was actually a Burns to begin with, perhaps even a cousin of her first husband.  Mathis is only listed on one document that I've located, the marriage license for Martha Burns and Frank Distler.  This document misidentifies Martha's father as John Burns, rather than Samuel.  Was her mother's name also listed incorrectly?  Clearly, there is so much more to discover here.

Please see my follow-up post on Temperance for more information!