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William Fletcher Burden (March 14, 1830 – December 7, 1867) was an industrialist born in Troy, New York.

Early life

William F. Burden was born March 14, 1830, in Troy, New York, the third son of Henry Burden (1791–1871) and Helen (née McOuat) Burden (1802–1860). His siblings included James Abercrombie Burden Sr. (the father of James A. Burden Jr. and Arthur Scott Burden), Margaret Elizabeth Burden, Helen Burden (who married Gen. Irvin McDowell), Henry James Burden, Peter Abercrombie Burden, Isaiah Townsend Burden, and Jessie Burden.

Burden attended Troy Polytechnic Institute (later known as Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute).

Career

William designed the steam derricks, used for unloading coal, at the Burden Iron Works. A wire cable stretched between, on which an iron carriage traveled three hundred feet from the dock to the coal heap, carrying a self-dumping bucket with the capacity to hold a ton of coal. A steam engine hoisted the filled bucket to the cable, along which it traveled to the point where the tilting apparatus overturned its contents upon the pile.

Personal life

In 1856, he married Julia Ann Hart (1833–1887), daughter of Hon. Richard P. Hart from Troy. Together, they were the parents of five sons, only three of which survived to adulthood:

• William Fletcher Burden, Jr. (1856–1897), who married Esther "Daisy" (née McCoy) (1855–1928).
• Howard Hart Burden (1857–1926).
• Henry Burden (1861–1861), who died young.
• Henry Burden (1863–1864), who also died young.
• Henry Burden (1866-1937), moved to Cazenovia, NY. Married Julia Radcliffe Hart Burden.

Burden died in Troy on December 7, 1867, at the age of thirty-seven, and was interred in the family vault in the Albany Rural Cemetery. After his death, the iron works were inherited by his nephew, James A. Burden Jr. A memorial plaque dedicated to William Fletcher Burden is in the Woodside Church, Troy, New York.

References

1. ^ William F. Burden, Born in Troy, Rensselaer County, N.Y., March 14, 1830. Died at Troy, N.Y., December 7, 1867. 1867. p. 7. Retrieved 19 September 2017.
2. Sylvester, Nathaniel Bartlett. History of Rensselaer Co., New York, 1880
3. Kappa Alpha Massachusetts Alpha, Williams College (1881). A Biographical Record of the Kappa Alpha Society in Williams College, Williamstown, Mass: From Its Foundation to the Present Time. 1833-1881 ... Society. pp. 271–272. Retrieved 19 September 2017.
4. "DEATH OF W.F. BURDEN; Member of the Well-Known Family of Ironmakers Expires at the Waldorf-Astoria. HEART DISEASE THE CAUSE Stricken as He Was About to Go Down to Dinner with His Wife --- Popular Here and in Newport". The New York Times. 22 November 1897. Retrieved 19 September 2017.
5. "WILLIAM F. BURDEN'S WILL.; His Wife, Daisy McCoy, to Receive the Big Estate in Its Entirety". The New York Times. 17 December 1897. Retrieved 19 September 2017.
6. "Clarke-Burden". The New York Times. 1901. Retrieved 19 September 2017.
7. "DIED. Burden". The New York Times. 21 April 1926. Retrieved 19 September 2017.
8. "William F. Burden, In Memoriam"

External links

• William Fletcher Burden at Find a Grave
• Works by or about William Fletcher Burden at the Internet Archive

• 1830 births
• 1867 deaths
• 19th-century American businesspeople
• Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute alumni
• Businesspeople from Troy, New York
• Burden family