Abolitionist John “Jean” Pierre Burr, believed to be one of two children of color fathered by US Vice President Aaron Burr, was buried in an unmarked grave at Eden Cemetery near Philadelphia
Aaron Burr, the US vice president who shot dead Alexander Hamilton in a duel, had children of color with an Indian servant – and one went on to be an abolitionist and was buried in an unmarked grave near Philadelphia
Burr’s descendants said they are convinced he fathered abolitionist John Pierre Burr with Mary Emmons, a servant who was from Calcutta, India.
The couple also are believed to have had an older daughter, Louisa Charlotte.
On Saturday, descendants of both father and son laid a black marble gravestone at Eden Cemetery in Collingdale, Pennsylvania, just outside Philadelphia, where the younger Burr is buried, reports the Daily Times.
He was relocated there after his death in 1864 from Olive Cemetery, a historic African American cemetery.
Sherri Burr (left) and Stuart Johnson (right), descendants of US Vice President Aaron Burr, unveil a gravestone for John ‘Jean’ Pierre Burr at Eden Cemetery near Philadelphia
‘It was a long time coming. There was never anything marking his grave, not even a wood stake. He was totally unrecognized above ground,’ attorney Stuart Johnson, a descendant of one of the elder Burr’s cousins told DailyMail.com.
Aaron Burr
While he wasn’t black, the younger Burr was a well-known member of Philadelphia’s African American community.
He had been a barber and abolitionist, who helped slaves escape to freedom on the underground railroad. He also was rumored to have been the son of the vice president’s for years.
The elder Burr was the third US vice president, serving in President Thomas Jefferson’s first term. He is best known for shooting Hamilton dead in a duel in 1804.
Alexander Hamilton
Johnson, who is white and head of the Aaron Burr Association, said he was linked by DNA to another descendant, Sherri Burr, who is black and also a descendant of the vice president’s.
Sherri Burr, who is an emeritus professor of law at the University of New Mexico, produced research the historical group used to officially declare the younger Burr as the vice president’s son.
Using cemetery records, the group located the son’s remains at the Eden Cemetery.
Stuart said the group will now move on to Louisa Charlotte.
‘She will be one of our future projects,’ he said. ‘It’s only fair to give her equal time.’
Written by Ralph R. Ortega for The The Daily MAil ~ August 25, 2019
