Matthias William Burt

The following is a letter by Matthias William Burt about his life and his ancestry, written to his grandson, John William aka Bill Burt, in Provincetown in 1924. In addition to this letter he left a huge compilation of genealogical gleanings about the ancestors of Catherine Esther Burt, his great-granddaughter. I (Janet Lee Burt Chalmers) made contact with Matthias's great-great granddaughter, Laura Burt, in the winter of 2000. She invited me to Provincetown to the Commercial Street home that had been her grandfather's home until his death the year before. That house is the repostitory of Matthias' genealogical gleanings, his laboriously hand-written genealogy for Catherine Esther Burt, and a huge collection of family photographs, including many that are the same as ones I have that belonged to my grandmother (Alice Gertrude Littlefield Mahady). Laura gave me an onion-skin typewritten copy of the letter and the genealogy. This is my typed copy of the typed version. The letter is somewhat hard to read because it has almost no punctuation. The letter is incredibly poignant. I can't read it without crying: Provincetown, Mass. 1924 To John William Burt from his grandfather Matthias William Burt. What I know about our ancesters Not has much has I wish it was but all that I have been able to find out if I had thought or cared has much about it when I was you Id now I could have found out a lot from my grand mother Small [Tamsin Lombard Small] about my mother's people she was born in Truro in 1785 and always lived there and was 89 years old when she died she was an interesting talker and had a good memory and knew the history of Truro and all the people that live there in her day. All I know about my fathers [John Graham Burt] people is what I remember hearing him or uncle Edward [Edward Clark Burt] say they were born on Essex St Boston the house there father [John C. Burt] lived in was near the water and must have been somewhare between the South Station and Hotel Essex and when my father was about 10 years old his father [John C. Burt] was killed in a mill that stood on Whealers Point it was near the versinty of the house I think I have herd uncle Edward say they ground plaster in the mill my grandmother [Elizabeth Seaver Burt] was left with three small children my father was the oldest about 10 uncle Edward about 2 and aunt Elizabeth [Elizabeth Eames Burt] between the two My father was playing about the docks one day and Capt Paul Bangs of Provincetown was there in a fishing vessel he took quite a liking to my father and found out about him and asked him if he did not want to go fishing with him and live with him in Provincetown my father told him he would go if his mother was willing so Capt Bangs went to his house and talked with his mother she thought it would be the best thing for him so she let him go he came to Provinctown and lived with Capt. Bangs went fishing with him and when a young man was Capt. of a fishing vessel himself His mother was married again [Israel Russell] she with her husband and other children came to Provincetown to live and all died there and are all buried in Provincetown soil My father went to sea about all his life or has long has he was able cod fishing whaleing mackerel or halibut fishing the last of his going he run a packet [James P. Foster Jr] between Provincetown and Boston at one time he bought a house on Long Point and lived there about 15 years and went fishing from there then he moved the house to town and lived in it until he died At one time there were about 40 houses on the Point but they were all moved to town and the most of them are at the west end [these are marked in P'Town today with plaques that identify them a "floaters."] My uncle Edward [Edward Clark Burt] fathers brother came here when a boy went fishing untill the civil war he was the first one that enlisted from Provincetown was in the navy during the most of the war after the war he went to New York for a small steamboat named the Tourest to be used in the engenurs dapartment arround Boston harbour he was Capt of her over thirty years has long has his health and age would let him His wife [Ruth Lecount] died some years before he did and when at home he lived with his daughter [Sarah Lecount Burt] untill she died just a few years before he did so he left no descendents My aunt Elizabeth [Elizabeth Eames Burt] my fathers sister came here when a girl she married Capt Myrick Cook he was Capt of a whaleman a good many years the last of his days he kept a grocery store they had two children that lived to grow up one was Edward Burt Cook when he was 22 he was Capt of a whaleman one day he was out in the boat and struck a blackfish the line got arround his leg and hauled him overboard and he was drowned they got his body and brought it home in a cask of oil he is buried here The other son George Myrick Cook went fishing when young then got into large vessels and was Capt for a four masted schooner and died of a fever in a port in South America was buied there he was married and left one son [Edward Clark Cook] whose home is in Philadelphia My fathers half sister Louisa [Russell] came here with her mother [Elizabeth Seaver Burt Russell] she first married a man named Blake he was lost at sea and she was left with a little boy named James H. Blake who is now living in Cambridge then she married Capt Nathaniel C. Atwood he was a great athoraty on fish they had three children Myrick who is living here now and is colectur in the Caustom House and two daughters who are not liveing here I [Matthias William Burt] was born on Long Point near where the end of the breackwater now is and not far from the place where the first boat from the Mayflower landed Nov. 11th 1620 I was born on the same day of the same month 231 years after When I was 4 or 5 years old father [John Graham Burt] moved the house over to town and is in the same place now that he move it some years after he moved it he raised it up and built a story under the old part the house is now owned by William Wolf When I was 10 years old I started in fishing and went 14 years in that business when my father bought the packet James P. Foster Jr I went in it with him has long has he went then I took her and went altogether 40 years then I sold her to Gloucester parties they kept her three years then sold her to the West Indies the vessel was built in 1862 in East Haddam Conn was 14 years old when father bought her I went in her 40 years was owned in Gloucester 3 years so was 57 years old when she went to the West Indies When I first went in her lots of business was done by packets Provincetown had 3 or 4 in summer and 8 or 10 more carrying fish in winter besides a steamboat Wellfleet had 2 or 3 packets Eastham 1 Barnstable 1 Plymouth 1 Scituate 1 Cohasset 1 Salem 1 Gloucester 2 or 3 Rockport 1 and a lot from places in Maine When I sold 40 years after there was not one left she was the last of the packets since then I have worked at diffrant things on shore and will keep at it has long has my health and streanth will let me I have worked ever sence I was big enough and want to has long has I can I had two brothers [Benjamin S.N. Burt and John Seaver Burt] and two sisters [Mary Elizabeth Burt and Rosetta Small Burt] I was the youngest my oldest brother [Benjamin] died young my oldest sister [Mary Elizabeth Burt] is liveing now with her daughter [Alice Gertrude Littlefield Mahady] she was 85 last Oct her husband [Joshua Owen Littlefield] is dead and of 4 children 1 is liveing and 7 or 8 grandchildren My other sister [Rosetta Burt White Small] died a few years ago she was married twice her first husband [Richard S. White] was Capt of a whaleman and lost at sea her second husband [Alexander Gross Small] was a store keeper and died at home she has 3 children 2 died young one grew up to be a young man then died so she left no descendents My other borther [John Seaver Burt] was lost at sea in the same vessel with my sisters husband he was married about two months before he sailed The vessel sailed from here on the 25th of Jan 1867 a heavy gale came up on the 27th and suppose she was lost in that gale with all her crew has she was never herd from after she sailed she was a new vessel had been fishing only a few months her name was the Willie Irwin some caller her the Little Willie he left no descendents I have two children one son [John Seaver Burt] one daughter [Myra Cook Burt] the son is married and has a son [John William Burt] the daughter is married and has a daughter [Lucia Burt Jones] I am in hopes my grandchildren will leave some descendents I hope the name Burt will not die out My grandfathers name was John Burt [John C. Burt] my fathers name was John Burt [John Graham Burt] my brothers name was John [John Seaver Burt] my sons name is John [John Seaver Burt] and his sons name is John [John William Burt] and I am in hopes he will live to have a son he can name John Burt I have written this so that my descendents will know something about there ancesters after I am gone they would find it hard work to find out if they wanted to every generation makes it harder I know this is not written well but it is the best I could do I have wished a good many times my education was better but I never went to school in the summer after I was 10 years old I went to the winter school but there were so many boys there they could not learn much if they tried but I did not try has hard has I wished I had after it was to late most all the men here went to sea and I thought it did not require much of an education to do that all I thought was to be smart and catch has many fish has any one so that is what I tried for and I caught my share of fish and did my share of work but in later years I found out my mistake has we have only one life to live and mine is nearly over now it is to late to alter it but in looking up my ancesters I have found out that some of them were very smart men in there day and when I think what they were and think what my life has been I feel ashamed of myself but I have the satisfaction of knowing I have used everyone has near right has I knew how and am not ashamed to look anyone in the face My father and all my relations that I can remember have been honest hard working people and I had rather be descednded from such people than a man that is worth millons that got it dishonest So now William [John William Burt, called Bill] I will close what your grandmother calls truck and write down what I know about the different families we are connected with but I wish some of my ancesters a 100 or more years ago had written down the same kind of truck for me Your education is better than mine and will see my mistakes but it will answer the purpose it was intended for to know some of your ancesters and whare thay came from.

http://trees.ancestry.com/tree/8111916/person/-997906833/mediax/1?p...

GEDCOM Note

Francis Littlefield Mahady in a letter dated March 14, 1971 to his sister, Alice Mahady Burt and brother in law, Charles Everett Burt says:

Dear Alice and Charlie,

Sorry to hear about cousin Charles. [this presumably is Charles Mahady] Apparently the connection between cigarettes and cancer came too late for him.

David [Charles David Burt] is doing will with his research. I did not know our great grandfather was an Orangeman. Perhaps the old Scot passed on Dad's business acumen. I suppose David has whatever he wants about the rest of the family. I remember Dad's admiration for his uncle Tom who fought in the Civil Wara. He apparently was GAR Post Commander as he marched down Massachusetts Avenue at the head of the parade. The widows of Uncles Charles and Dan might have some information. Uncle Dan's son we knew when he was in the Army stationed near Boston.

I keep in touch with Dr. Stephen Mahady whom you may remember when he came to Harvard Medical School. A couple of other Mahadys came to Harvard College from Philadelphia. Their addresses will be in the Harvard Alumni Directory. [Dr. Stephen Mahady, 3 Pineview Drive, G...land?, NY 12084 ] It is not known if related to us.

I think you have the information on Mother's family. Grandma's maiden name was Burt. One of her amusements was to slide down the backs of whales washed ashore. She lived on the "point" of Provincetown Harbor. One winter the houses were moved over the ice across the harbor to the town.

Our great uncle Will Burt owned a schooner the "Foster" which supplied packet service Provincetown, Gloucester, Boston. I sailed on his boat once. Davis and I had the measles so we had to stay in the stern. The other kids were in the bow. I cannot understand my recollection of his whirling the wheel. On every boat I have ever steered I was cautioned not to give it too much wheel. I looked up her registry with the idea of adding it to Frank Swift's windjammer fleet in Camben, but she came to a bad end in the warm water of the Caribean.

As you know Grandma married a Littlefield from Wells, Me. He made a lot of money but his investments went down.

If David wants any addresses I have, I'll be glad to send them> In examining the family tree I hope he does not find anyone hanging on it.

Loulette joins in sending love. Fran

The following is a letter by Matthias William Burt about his life and his ancestry, written to his grandson in Provincetown in 1924. In addition to this letter he left a huge compilation of genealogical gleanings about the ancestors of Catherine Esther Burt, his great-granddaughter. I (Janet Lee Burt Chalmers) made contact with Matthias's great-great granddaughter, Laura Burt, in the winter of 2000. She invited me to Provincetown to the Commercial Street home that had been her grandfather's home until his death the year before. That house is the repostitory of Matthias' genealogical gleanings, his laboriously hand-written genealogy for Catherine Esther Burt, and a huge collection of family photographs, including many that are the same as ones I have that belonged to my grandmother (Alice Gertrude Littlefield Mahady). Laura gave me an onion-skin typewritten copy of the letter and the genealogy. This is my typed copy of the typed version. The letter is somewhat hard to read because it has almost no punctuation. The letter is incredibly poignant. I can't read it without crying:

Provincetown, Mass. 1924

To John William Burt from his grandfather Matthias William Burt. What I know about our ancesters Not has much has I wish it was but all that I have been able to find out if I had thought or cared has much about it when I was you Id now I could have found out a lot from my grand mother Small about my mother's people she was born in Truro in 1785 and always lived there and was 89 years old when she died she was an interesting talker and had a good memory and knew the history of Truro and all the people that live there in her day.

All I know about my fathers people is what I remember hearing him or uncle Edward say they were born on Essex St Boston the house there father lived in was near the water and must have been somewhare between the South Station and Hotel Essex and when my father was about 10 years old his father was killed in a mill that stood on Whealers Point it was near the versinty of the house I think I have herd uncle Edward say they ground plaster in the mill my grandmother was left with three small children my father was the oldest about 10 uncle Edward about 2 and aunt Elizabeth between the two My father was playing about the docks one day and Capt Paul Bangs of Provincetown was there in a fishing vessel he took quite a liking to my father and found out about him and asked him if he did not want to go fishing with him and live with him in Provincetown my father told him he would go if his mother was willing so Capt Bangs went to his house and talked with his mother she thought it would be the best thing for him so she let him go he came to Provinctown and lived with Capt. Bangs went fishing with him and when a young man was Capt. of a fishing vessel himself His mother was married again she with her husband and other children came to Provincetown to live and all died there and are all buried in Provincetown soil

My father went to sea about all his life or has long has he was able cod fishing whaleing mackerel or halibut fishing the last of his going he run a packet between Provincetown and Boston at one time he bought a house on Long Point and lived there about 15 years and went fishing from there then he moved the house to town and lived in it until he died At one time there were about 40 youses on the Point but they were all moved to town and the most of them are at the west end

My uncle Edward fathers brother came here when a boy went fishing untill the civil war he was the first one that enlisted from Provincetown was in the navy during the most of the war after the war he went to New York for a small steamboat named the Tourest to be used in the engenurs dapartment arround Boston harbour he was Capt of her over thirty years has long has his health and age would let him His wife died some years before he did and when at home he lived with his daughter untill she died just a few years before he did so he left no descendents

My aunt Elizabeth my fathers sister came here when a girl she married Capt Myrick Cook he was Capt of a whaleman a good many years the last of his days he kept a grocery store they had two children that lived to grow up one was Edward Burt Cook when he was 22 he was Capt of a whaleman one day he was out in the boat and struck a blackfish the line got arround his leg and hauled him overboard and he was drowned they got his body and brought it home in a cask of oil he is buried here The other son George Myrick Cook went fishing when young then got into large vessels and was Capt for a four masted schooner and died of a fever in a port in South America was buied there he was married and left one son whose home is in Philadelphia

My fathers half sister Louisa came here with her mother she first married a man named Blake he was lost at sea and she was left with a little boy named James H. Blake who is now living in Cambridge then she married Capt Nathaniel C. Atwood he was a great athoraty on fishÉthey had three children Myrick who is living here now and is colectur in the Caustom House and two daughters who are not liveing here

I was born on Long Point near where the end of the breackwater now is and not far from the place where the first boat from the Mayflower landed Nov. 11th 1620 I was born on the same day of the same month 231 years after When I was 4 or 5 years old father moved the house over to town and is in the same splce now that he move it some years after he moved it he raised it up and built a story under the old part the house is now owned by William Wolf When I was 10 years old I started in fishing and went 14 years in that business when my father bought the packet James P. Foster Jr I went in it with him has long has he went then I took her and went altogether 40 years then I sold her to Gloucester parties they kept her three years then sold her to the West Indies the vessel was built in 1862 in East Haddam Conn was 14 years old when father bought her I went in her 40 years was owned in Gloucester 3 years so was 57 years old when she went to the West Indies When I first went in her lots of business was done by packets Provincetown had 3 or 4 in summer and 8 or 10 more carrying fish in winter besides a steamboat Wellfleet had 2 or 3 packets Eastham 1 Barnstable 1 Plymouth 1 Scituate 1 Cohasset 1 Salem 1 Gloucester 2 or 3 Rockport 1 and a lot from places in Maine When I sold 40 ears after there was not one left she was the last of the packets since then I have worked at diffrant things on shore and will keep at it has long has my health and streanth will let me I have worked ever sence I was big enough and want to has long has I can

I had two brothers and two sisters I was the youngest my oldest brother died young my oldest sister is liveing now with her daughter she was 85 last Oct her husband is dead and of 4 children 1 is liveing and 7 or 8 grandchildren My other sister died a few years ago she was married twice her first husband was Capt of a whaleman and lost at sea her second husband was a store keeper and died at home she has 3 children 2 died young one grew up to be a young man then died so she left no descendents My other borther was lost at sea in the same vessel with my sisters husband he was married about two months before he sailed The vessel sailed from here on the 25th of Jan 1867 a heavy gale came up on the 27th and suppose she was lost in that gale with all her crew has she was never herd from after she sailed she was a new vessel had been fishing only a few months her name was the Willie Irwin some caller her the Little Willie he left no descendents

I have two children one son one daughter the son is married and has a son the daughter is married and has a daughter I am in hopes my grandchildren will leave some descendents I hope the name Burt will not die out My grandfathers name was John Burt my fathers name was John Burt my brothers name was John my sons name is John and his sons name is John and I am in hopes he will live to have a son he can name John Burt

I have written this so that my descendents will know something about there ancesters after I am gone they would find it hard work to find out id they wanted to every generation makes it harder I know this is not written well but it is the best I could do I have wished a good many times my education was better but I never went to school in the summer after I was 10 years old I went to the winter school but there were so many boys there they could not learn much if they tried but I did not try has hard has I wished I had after it was to late most all the men here went to sea and I thought it did not require much of an education to do that all I thought was to be smart and catch has many fish has any one so that is what I tried for and I caught my share of fish and did my share of work but in later years I found out my mistake has we have only one life to live and mine is nearly over now it is to late to alter it but in looking up my ancesters I have found out that some of them were very smart men in there day and when I think what they were and think what my life has been I feel ashamed of myself but I have the satisfaction of knowing I have used everyone has near right has I knew how and am not ashamed to look anyone in the face My father and all my relations that I can remember have been honest hard working people and I had rather be descednded from such people than a man that is worth millons that got it dishonest

So now William I will close what your grandmother calls truck and write down what I know about the different families we are connected with but I wish some of my ancesters a 100 or more years ago had written down the same kind of truck for me Your education is better than mine and will see my mistakes but it will answer the purpose it was intended for to know some of your ancesters and whare thay came from