Eleazer
BURNHAM
Born
15 July 1780
,
Preston, Crown Colony of Connecticut
Died
3 May 1867
,
Ledyard, New York, USA
Parents & Family of Eleazer BURNHAM
Parents
2 recorded
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Grandparents
4 recorded
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Spouses, Marriages & Children
2 recorded relationshipsView family relationships
Family Tree
Born: 15 July 1780 in Preston, Crown Colony of Connecticut
Parents of Eleazer BURNHAM
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Mother
Grandparents of Eleazer BURNHAM
Paternal grandparents
Maternal grandparents
Spouse(s)/Partner(s) and Child(ren):
Eleazer married Caroline Matilda WOOD abt. 1807 in Cayuga County, New York, USA . The couple had (at least) 3 children.
Caroline Matilda WOOD was born 3 July 1789 in Dartmouth, Massachusetts, USA . Caroline Matilda died 27 June 1832 in Ledyard, New York, USA . Caroline Matilda was the child of Walter WOOD and Paulina MOSHER.
Eleazer married (2) Urania SMITH 23 February 1843 in Ledyard, New York, USA . Urania SMITH was born 4 July 1788 in Groton, Connecticut, USA. Urania died 26 October 1865 in Ledyard, New York, USA . Urania was the child of Moses SMITH and Mabel SEYMOUR.
Eleazer BURNHAM died 3 May 1867 in Ledyard, New York, USA .
NOTES from www.wesleyhardenzone.com -- When Walter Wood left Aurora for Montville, his son-in-law Eleazer Burnham became Postmaster. Burnham (1780-1867) was also Surrogate of Cayuga County, Collector of U. S. Internal Revenue, Member of the New York Assembly, and Presidential Elector in 1824 and 1856. In 1822 Postmaster Burnham was succeeded by Seneca Wood, who held office until 1828. For the first thirty-three years, therefore, the three Aurora Postmasters Were Walter Wood, his son-in-law, and his son.
Walter Wood died in 1827 leaving an estate valued at $500,000 and a will so involved that generations of lawyers worked for ninety-three years to complete its provisions. Of his six sons, Seneca, Isaac, and Thomas were lawyers. All three began the practice of law in Aurora and Isaac remained here all of his life. Walter Wood, his wife Paulina Mosher Wood, and all but one (who died in infancy in 1797) of their eleven children are buried in Oak Glen Cemetery, Aurora.
Eleazer and Urania had a son, James N. Burnham (also a lawyer), who died in Aurora in 1840 at the age of 25 and is buried in Oak Glen Cemetery.
Misc Notes: Judge Walter Wood b 17 Aug 1765, m. Paulina Mosher.
Walter Wood died in 1827 leaving an estate valued at $500,000 and a will so involved that generations of lawyers worked for ninety-three years to complete its provisions. Of his six sons, Seneca, Isaac, and Thomas were lawyers. All three began the practice of law in Aurora and Isaac remained here all of his life. Walter Wood, his wife Paulina Mosher Wood, and all but one (who died in infancy in 1797) of their eleven children are buried in Oak Glen Cemetery, Aurora.
Eleazer and Urania had a son, James N. Burnham (also a lawyer), who died in Aurora in 1840 at the age of 25 and is buried in Oak Glen Cemetery.
Misc Notes: Judge Walter Wood b 17 Aug 1765, m. Paulina Mosher.
Details of the family tree of Eleazer appear below.
Spouses, Marriages & Children of Eleazer BURNHAM
Eleazer BURNHAM married 
Caroline Matilda WOOD
Marriage date: abt. 1807
Marriage place: Cayuga County, New York, USA
Caroline Matilda WOOD was the child of Walter WOOD and Paulina MOSHER
Caroline Matilda WOODMarriage date: abt. 1807
Marriage place: Cayuga County, New York, USA
Caroline Matilda WOOD was the child of Walter WOOD and Paulina MOSHER
Children of Eleazer BURNHAM and Caroline Matilda WOOD
Eleazer BURNHAM married Urania SMITH
Marriage date: 23 February 1843
Marriage place: Ledyard, New York, USA
Urania SMITH was the child of Moses SMITH and Mabel SEYMOUR
Urania SMITHMarriage date: 23 February 1843
Marriage place: Ledyard, New York, USA
Urania SMITH was the child of Moses SMITH and Mabel SEYMOUR
Children of Eleazer BURNHAM and Urania SMITH
No children are currently listed for this couple.
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Birth — 178015 July 1780
Preston, Crown Colony of Connecticut
1784 - The bifocal lens is invented (Benjamin Franklin, United States)The oil lamp is invented (Aimé Argand, Switzerland)
1799
settled in Aurora, New York in 1799 (Brigham's General Directory of Auburn page 257)
Appointments
By the Hon. the Council of Appointment...
February 5...
New General Commission...
Eleazer Burnham of Cayuga, Master in Chancery.
Date: February 13, 1811
Location: New York
Paper: Public Advertiser
February 5...
New General Commission...
Eleazer Burnham of Cayuga, Master in Chancery.
Date: February 13, 1811
Location: New York
Paper: Public Advertiser
The War of 1812 was a conflict between the United States and Great Britain, lasting from 1812 to 1815. It was primarily fueled by issues such as trade restrictions due to Britain's ongoing war with France, impressment of American sailors into the British Navy, and British support of Native American tribes against American expansion. The war ended with the Treaty of Ghent, restoring pre-war boundaries but resolving few of the initial disputes.1812 Birth of ChildIsaac W BURNHAM was born 29 May 1812, Cayuga County, New York, USA
Eleazer was 31 years old.
1817 Birth of ChildJames N BURNHAM was born 11 February 1817, Ledyard, New York, USA (Aurora)
Eleazer was 36 years old.
From the N. Y. Statesman, Nov. 17 Choice of Electors
...A resolution then passed, declaring the following persons chosen electors of President and Vice-President, on the part of this State:
...Eleazer Burnham, Cayuga...
Date: November 23, 1824
Location: Connecticut
Paper: Connecticut Herald
...Eleazer Burnham, Cayuga...
Date: November 23, 1824
Location: Connecticut
Paper: Connecticut Herald
1826 - Glenheim / Leffingwell House - first brick building in Aurora
From The New Century Atlas Of Cayuga County, New York - 1904 - Page 121
'GLENHEIM, the home of Dr. Albert Leffingwell, embraces nearly twenty acres, extending from the main street in the village of Aurora, nearly half a mile to the top of the hill. The residence, considerably improved by the presdent owner, is of brick and stone, and its broad piazzas, shaded by chestnut trees, overlooks Cayuga Lake. The house was built in 1827 by Hon. Eleazer Burnham, a distinguished early resident of Cayuga County, who was twice chosen as a Presidential elector; it was occupied by him for forty years, passing by his death to his nephew, James Burnham Smith, and becoming the residence of Dr. Leffingwell in May, 1896. Nearby is a small building, which a century ago was the law office of Judge Walter Wood, and here Millard Fillmore, afterward President of the United States, first began the study of law. On the same premises, and on the north, is one of the oldest houses of the village. It was the
'GLENHEIM, the home of Dr. Albert Leffingwell, embraces nearly twenty acres, extending from the main street in the village of Aurora, nearly half a mile to the top of the hill. The residence, considerably improved by the presdent owner, is of brick and stone, and its broad piazzas, shaded by chestnut trees, overlooks Cayuga Lake. The house was built in 1827 by Hon. Eleazer Burnham, a distinguished early resident of Cayuga County, who was twice chosen as a Presidential elector; it was occupied by him for forty years, passing by his death to his nephew, James Burnham Smith, and becoming the residence of Dr. Leffingwell in May, 1896. Nearby is a small building, which a century ago was the law office of Judge Walter Wood, and here Millard Fillmore, afterward President of the United States, first began the study of law. On the same premises, and on the north, is one of the oldest houses of the village. It was the
![Save to Pinterest](https://www.pinterest.com/pin/create/button/?url=https%3a%2f%2fgreenerpasture.com%2fAncestors%2fDetails%2f361&media=https%3a%2f%2fgreenerpasture.com%2fContent%2fancestorimages%2fburnham_780_photo_ames.jpg&description=Eleazer BURNHAM - 1830 Ezra Ames portrait
From The Henry Luce III Center for the Study of American Culture:
"Eleazer Burnham (1780-1867)
1826
sitter: Eleazer Burnham
1780 - 1867
Artist/Maker: Ezra Ames
1768 - 1836
Overall: 30 x 24 in. ( 76.2 x 61 cm )
Oil on canvas
Purchase
Inventory Number: 1955.31
Classification: PAINTINGS-Portraits
Curatorial Remarks:
Eleazer Burnham was the son of Asa Burnham and Lucy (Huntington) Burnham of Bennington, Vermont. About 1798 he moved to Aurora, the first settlement in Cayuga County, New York. Burnham was county surrogate from 1811 to 1813 and from 1815 to 1820, deputy postmaster from 1798 and postmaster from 1811 until about 1822, collector of revenue at Aurora during the War of 1812, and county representive in the assembly in 1826."
Miss Catharine Bacon, Wells '18, wrote the author about two portraits, one of Eleazer Burnham and one of his wife, which she had seen in an Albany exhibit. They were painted in 1826 by Ezra Ames, an Albany artist; the portrait of Burnham bears the inscription, "Eleazer Burnham (1780- ) Lawyer and Presidential Elector of Aurora, New York."){kind=small}
1830 Ezra Ames portrait
From The Henry Luce III Center for the Study of American Culture:
"Eleazer Burnham (1780-1867)
1826
sitter: Eleazer Burnham
1780 - 1867
Artist/ Maker: Ezra Ames
1768 - 1836
Overall: 30 x 24 in. ( 76.2 x 61 cm )
Oil on canvas
Purchase
Inventory Number: 1955.31
Classification: PAINTINGS-Portraits
Curatorial Remarks:
Eleazer Burnham was the son of Asa Burnham and Lucy (Huntington) Burnham of Bennington, Vermont. About 1798 he moved to Aurora, the first settlement in Cayuga County, New York. Burnham was county surrogate from 1811 to 1813 and from 1815 to 1820, deputy postmaster from 1798 and postmaster from 1811 until about 1822, collector of revenue at Aurora during the War of 1812, and county representive in the assembly in 1826."
Miss Catharine Bacon, Wells '18, wrote the author about two portraits, one of Eleazer Burnham and one of his wife, which she had seen in an Albany exhibit. They were painted in 1826 by Ezra Ames, an Albany artist; the portrait of Burnham bears the inscription, "Eleazer Burnham (1780- ) Lawyer and Presidential Elector of Aurora, New York."
emuseum.nyhistory.org
1832 Death of Spouse/PartnerCaroline Matilda WOOD died 27 June 1832, Ledyard, New York, USA (Aurora)
1832 Death of ChildIsaac W BURNHAM died 24 October 1832, Ledyard, New York, USA (Aurora)
Eleazer was 52 years old.
1840
Eleazer Burnham and family are living in Ledyard, Cayuga, New York.
Source / record details
1840 Census Ancestry (U.S.)
Exploring the U.S. Census: Your Guide to America’s Data
1840 Census Ancestry (U.S.)
Exploring the U.S. Census: Your Guide to America’s Data
From the 1840s through the 1880s, thousands trekked westward, carrying only a few belonging and supplies for the journey, and settling on the western frontier, forever changing the American West.1840 Death of ChildJames N BURNHAM died 29 January 1840, Ledyard, New York, USA (Aurora)
Eleazer was 59 years old.
1842 Death of ChildEliza Maria BURNHAM died 29 August 1842, Cayuga County, New York, USA
Eleazer was 62 years old.
1843 Marriage / PartnerEleazer BURNHAM and Urania SMITH 23 February 1843, Ledyard, New York, USA (Aurora)
He was 62 years old.
1843 - The Christmas card is invented (Sir Henry Cole and John Callcott Horsley, England)Artificial Freezer Patented (Nancy M. Johnson, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA)
1845 - The rubber band is invented (Stephen Perry, England)The refrigerator is invented (John Gorrie, United States)
1850
Eleazer Burnham, age 70, is living in Ledyard, Cayuga, New York. He was born in VT. Living with him are: Urania, age 61, b. CT; William Corrich, b. England; Catherine Shear, age 28, b. NY.
Source / record details
1850 Census Ancestry (U.S.)
Exploring the U.S. Census: Your Guide to America’s Data
1850 Census Ancestry (U.S.)
Exploring the U.S. Census: Your Guide to America’s Data
1855 Ledyard, Cayuga, New York
Name: Eleazer Burnum
event: Census
Event Date: 1855
Event Place: Ledyard, Cayuga, New York, United States
Gender: Male
Age: 74
Relationship to Head of Household: Head
estimated Birth Year: 1781
family number: 351
Line Number: 4
pAge:
Film Number: 1435218
Digital Folder Number: 005207172
Image Number: 00691
Household Gender Age Birthplace
head Eleazer Burnum M 74
wife Hrania Or Urania Burnum F 65
servant William Carrick M 38
servant Louisa Beack F 20
'New York, State Census, 1855,' index and images, FamilySearch (familysearch.org/ pal:/ MM9.1.1/ K67R-R6B : accessed 09 Feb 2013), Eleazer Burnum, 1855.
event: Census
Event Date: 1855
Event Place: Ledyard, Cayuga, New York, United States
Gender: Male
Age: 74
Relationship to Head of Household: Head
estimated Birth Year: 1781
family number: 351
Line Number: 4
pAge:
Film Number: 1435218
Digital Folder Number: 005207172
Image Number: 00691
Household Gender Age Birthplace
head Eleazer Burnum M 74
wife Hrania Or Urania Burnum F 65
servant William Carrick M 38
servant Louisa Beack F 20
'New York, State Census, 1855,' index and images, FamilySearch (familysearch.org/ pal:/ MM9.1.1/ K67R-R6B : accessed 09 Feb 2013), Eleazer Burnum, 1855.
Article
The Hon. Eleazar Burnham, of Aurora, Cayuga County, who is now in attendance as an Elector of President and Vice President, was in the Electoral College of 1824, and then cast his vote for John Quincy Adams.
The venerable Daniel Cady, also an Elector and Mr. Burnham, are among the few Lawyers who were in full practice more than half a century ago. Both, we are happy to see, are surrounded by all the compensations which reward honest industry, integrity and virtue.
Date: December 02, 1856
Location: New York
Paper: Albany Evening Journal
The venerable Daniel Cady, also an Elector and Mr. Burnham, are among the few Lawyers who were in full practice more than half a century ago. Both, we are happy to see, are surrounded by all the compensations which reward honest industry, integrity and virtue.
Date: December 02, 1856
Location: New York
Paper: Albany Evening Journal
1860
Eleazar Burnham, age 79, is living in Ledyard, Cayuga, New York. He was born in VT. Living with him are: Urania, age 72, b. CT; Susan Rapp, age 50, domestic; James Sulett, age 33, servant. NOTE: They are living next to Sherman Smith and family.
Source / record details
1860 Census Ancestry (U.S.)
Exploring the U.S. Census: Your Guide to America’s Data
1860 Census Ancestry (U.S.)
Exploring the U.S. Census: Your Guide to America’s Data
1863 - November 19 – American Civil War: U. S. President Abraham Lincoln delivers the Gettysburg Address at the military cemetery dedication ceremony in Gettysburg, Pennsylvania.1865 Ledyard, Cayuga, New York
Eleazar Burnham, 85, m, b. VT, married 2 times, now married
Urania Burnham, 76, f, wife, b. Connecticut, married 1 time, now married
Charles Jennings, , m, servant, b. England, single, Gardiner
Urania Burnham, 76, f, wife, b. Connecticut, married 1 time, now married
Charles Jennings, , m, servant, b. England, single, Gardiner
1865 Death of Spouse/PartnerUrania SMITH died 26 October 1865, Ledyard, New York, USA (Aurora)
Gravestone of Eleazer Burnham - Oak Glen Cemetery, Aurora, New York
Oak Glen Cemetery
Ledyard, New York, USA (Aurora)
Photo taken by us
Death — 18673 May 1867
Ledyard, New York, USA
He died at the age of 86.
Proof of Will
'THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK, to Eddy Cole, of Versailles, Morgan county, Illinois; Eleazer Cole, of Indianapolis, Indiana; Frederick Cole and Albert B. Cole, of Noblesville, Indiana; Lorinda J. Butler, Lucy H. Stone, of Freeport, Shelby county, Indiana; Myron Galusha, Augustus Galusha and George B. Galusha, of Shaftsbury, Vermont; Marcius Galusha, Barthena Huntington, Rebecca Huntington and Almira Howlett, of Kalamazoo, Michigan; Calvin B. Galusha, of Cape Girardeau, Missouri; Asa Draper, of Pontiac, Livingston county, Illinois; Laura W. Bangs and Lucy Spencer, of Plainfield, Will county, Illinois; Sophia F. Waste, Mary B. Corkins and Emeline W. Corkins, of Mendota, Illinois; Cornelia Draper, of Centre Shaftsbury, Vermont; Sophia Adams and Caroline Thompson, of Rochester, N. Y.; Charles N. Mattoon, of Monroe, Monroe county, Michigan; Myron Mattoon, Jane Belden and Frances Mattoon, of Lenox, Berkshire county, Massachusetts; Julia A. McAlister, of Tiffin, Ohio; Charlotte M.
1876 - Aurora Centennial Festival - A Brilliant Affair - Large Attendance and Complete Success
The good citizens of the quite village of Aurora have been for some weeks preparing for a Centennial Festival in aid of the State fund, and to assist in repairing the Washington Homestead at Mount Vernon… On either side of the long rooms were arranged refreshment tables, one for each of the old thirteen colonies… Pennsylvania displayed its pennants of pink and gold. Its name of power suitable inscribed - vert and argent - and upon its white curtained drapery, the portrait of a remembered citizen of Aurora, Major Asa Burnham, a revolutionary soldier, if indeed his years did not extend to the old French war, and also of the Hon. Eleazer Burnham who on more than one occasion was of the Presidential Electoral College.
At this table Mrs. Town presided...
At this table Mrs. Town presided...
Source / record details
Auburn Daily Bulletin
Auburn, New York
Saturday, April 22, 1876
Auburn Daily Bulletin
Auburn, New York
Saturday, April 22, 1876
FINAL RESTING PLACE
Burial & Cemetery
Burial details for Eleazer
Ledyard, New York, USA
Historical names: Aurora
RECORD HISTORY
About this genealogy record
Added
12/16/1999 12:00:00 AM
Last updated
7/3/2025 2:26:31 PM
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The name Connecticut originates from the Algonquian word 'Quinnehtukqut' (beside the long tidal river). (statesymbolsusa.org)Prior to 1638 - Connecticut, New England
1638 - 1662 - New Haven Colony
1662 - 1687 - Connecticut Colony
1688 - 1689 - Dominion of New England
1690 - 1787 - Crown Colony of Connecticut
January 5, 1788 - Connecticut becomes 5th U.S. state
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