Served in the Civil War as Sergeant, Co. A, Shecoe's Chickasaw Mounted Volunteers, C.S.A

Birth: Jan. 19, 1844 Shreveport Caddo Parish Louisiana, USA Death: Nov. 28, 1892 Marshall County Oklahoma, USA

Served in the Civil War as Sergeant, Co. A, Shecoe's Chickasaw Mounted Volunteers, C.S.A

Born to David Calhoun Burney and Lucy James Burney, Jan. 19, 1844, on a steamboat bound for Indian Territory, Benjamin Crooks Burney was named after the ship’s captain, Capt. Benjamin Crooks.

The Burney family settled in an area now known as Burneyville in Love County, Okla., where they worked as farmers. His mother Lucy died in 1845 and his father David died in 1871.

Prior to David Burney’s death, the Chickasaw Nation honored him by naming the girls’ school Burney Academy, which opened in 1859. The Post Office for Burneyville was established May 5, 1879 and named for David C. Burney.

Benjamin Burney attended Chickasaw Orphans School, Tishomingo. He later returned home to Burneyville, working as a farmer and rancher before moving east and establishing a comfortable farm at Aylesworth, land that is now the banks of Lake Texoma in Marshall County, Okla. Governor Burney married Louisa Gaines, a daughter of James Gaines at Tishomingo in the early 1870s. She died June 26, 1904.

Nominated for governor by the Pullback party, 34-year-old Burney entered the race for Chickasaw governorship in the fall of 1878, when Gov. B.F. Overton was ineligible to run for a third consecutive term. Gov. Burney was one of the youngest candidates to be elected as Chickasaw Governor, serving for one term 1878-1880. In the fall of 1880, Gov. Burney retired from office. He was succeeded by Gov. B.F. Overton.

He was a member of the Presbyterian Church and Odd Fellows Society. When he died Nov. 28, 1892, he was buried in the Burney Cemetery near his farm in the community of Aylesworth.

The Burney cemetery was relocated in 1942 for construction of Lake Texoma and combined with Moore Indian Cemetery to form the New Burney Cemetery, according to rootsweb.com. The New Burney Cemetery is located about 3 miles west and one-half mile north of Aylesworth, in Marshall County, Okla.

Family links:

Parents:

 David Calhoun Burney (1820 - 1871)

Spouse:

 Louise Gaines Burney (____ - 1904)

Siblings:

 Rebecca Burney McAlester (1841 - 1919)*

 Benjamin Crooks Burney (1844 - 1892)

 Wesley Browning Burney (1849 - 1912)*

*Calculated relationship

Burial: Moore Burney Cemetery Aylesworth Marshall County Oklahoma, USA

Created by: Stone Seeker Record added: Aug 13, 2008 Find A Grave Memorial# 28977093

• Benjamin Crooks Burney Find A Grave