Burnos (Focus on Surnames)

Burnos is a name of Slavic origin. Today it is most common in Poland, Belarus, Ukraine, Russia, and among descendants of emigrants from these countries elsewhere in Europe and overseas. Burnos is also a Zamboangueño name. At least one Burnos family is centred in Zamboanga City on Mindanao in the Philippines. It was one of the Roman Catholic clans who founded the Zamboanga market.

There are no known Burnos Y-chromosome tests.

East Central European origins

Given its distribution and the relatively modern adoption of surnames in East Central Europe, Burnos are unlikely to be of a single patrilineal origin. Instead it is likely an anthroponym adopted multiple times across the region. Most likely, the majority of European Burnos families (that is to say, branches of the global patrilineal tree subsequently named Burnos), occurred in the 17th and 18th centuries within the boundaries of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth. Central European townsfolk and peasants did not use surnames before this era. Burnos patriarchs certainly spoke both Western and Eastern Slavic languages—their lineal descendants 9-12 generations later speak Polish, Belarusian, Ukrainian, and Russian. It is unclear to whether Burnos families also arose within Russian-speaking regions or whether they only arrived east through migration after the borders shifted in favor of the Russian Empire. A similar question applies to Silesia. Either a set of Polish speakers in Habsburg lands adopted the name too or Silesian Burnos families are descended from migrants from eastern Poland. These questions will likely only be resolved by tracing back current families through historical records.

Within East Central Europe, most Burnos families have been Roman Catholic or Eastern Orthodox. At least one Jewish family who came through Ellis Island was named Burnos, the family of Schendel Burnos, though they are as yet connected to no other known records.

Today, descendants of the East Central European Burnos origins continue to be found in Poland, Belarus, Ukraine, Russia, and Lithuania, and have also spread to at least Germany, France, the United Kingdom, the United States, Argentina, and Australia.

A few large families jump out from web-accessible records.

• Burnos family of Kharkov guberniya, Russian Empire / Tomsk - early 20th century
  
  Grigoriy Fedorovich Burnos (b. 1906) and Piotr Fedorovich Burnos (b. 1911), perhaps brothers, ethnic Ukrainians, both arrested under Stalin. Книга Памяти


• Burnos family of Vasil'yevka, Chernigov guberniya, Russian Empire / Saratov - early 20th century
  
  Lists of victims of political repression in the Soviet era mention a Burnos family with roots in Ukraine of which several members were arrested. Afanasiy Vasil'yevich (b. 1872), Rodion Vasil'yevich (b. 1874), probably brothers, and Rodion's sons Ivan Rodionovich (b. 1904) and Aleksandr Rodionovich (b. 1907). It may be also that Il'ya Vasil'yevich Burnos of Krasnoyarsk (b. 1908) is related. Книга Памяти, Списки жертв политических репрессий Саратовской области


• Burnos family of Biskupice, Russian Poland and Lynn, Massachusetts
  
  Wikenti Burnos (b. ca. 1884) of one of the several villages called Biskupice in Russian Poland, to Lynn, through immigration at Ellis Island 1912-11-28. Wife in Biskupice: Katarina. Brother Iwan Burnos (b. ca. 1889), to household of Wikenti 26 Ida Street, West Lynn, 1907-05-01. Stanislaw Burnos (b. ca. 1894), son of Ignaz Burnos, of Biskupice, to West Lynn, through Ellis Island 1912-10-11. Adam Burnos (b. ca. 1877) also of Lynn. There are many places called Biskupice in Poland


• Burnos family of Lantsevichi, Grodno governorate, Russia (Lantseviche, Belarus) and New York, New York
  
  Peter Burnos of Lansewitz, Russia (b. ca. 1888), through New York 1913-07-05. Anton Burnos of Lanzewiczy, Grodno governorate, Russia (b. ca. 1892), son of Wassily Burnos, through New York 1910-05-24, to New York, New York. Nastasia Burnos of Lansycz, Russia (b. ca. 1895), son of Prokopy Burnos, to Brooklyn, through New York 1913-08-09. Alexander Burnos (b. ca. 1880) of Lanzewicz, Grodno governorate, through New York 1911-05-23, to New York, New York. These are probably all related, and from Lantsevichi, Grodno governorate (now Lantseviche, Grodno region, Belarus).


• Burnos family of Ochotnica, Galicia and Meriden, Connecticut
  Halina Burnos of Ochotnica, Galicia (b. ca. 1873), son Jozef (b. ca. 1899), daughter Anna (b. 1902) arrived New York 1903-08-08. Joining Janos Burnos, 19 Second Street, Meriden, Connecticut.


• Burnos family of Russia and Boston, Massachuetts
  Through New York 1896-07-17. Head Schendel Burnos (b. ca. 1866.) Children Gittel (b. ca. 1885), Abraham (b. ca. 1887), Jacob (b. ca. 1899), Sozze (b. ca. 1891), and Itzig (b. ca. 1893).


• Descendants of Sylvester Burnos (1883-1927) of Galicia and Paulding County, Ohio and Mary Harshman (b. ca. 1890) of Austria-Hungary
  
  No known immigration record. Three children, all deceased. Youngest son Frank may be the ancestor of the Burnos family of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. If so, there are Y-chromosome descents.


• Burnos family of Western Pennsylvania
  
  Extant. Unknown origin. Perhaps part of line of Sylvester Burnos above.


• Burnos family of Pompano Beach, Florida
  
  Extant. Unknown origin. Including singer Melissa Burnos.


• Descendants of Joseph Burnos (1908-1986) and Helen Misa [Burnos] (1913-1995)
  married in Queens, New York 1934-09-03.


• Descendants of Joseph Burnos (b. ca. 1862) and Jennie [Burnos] (b. ca. 1866) of Russia and Waterbury, Connecticut
  
  Elisabeth, b. ca. 1883, Mary, b. ca. 1884, Martha, b. ca. 1886, John, 1888-1976 (m. Mary), Bessie, b. ca. 1890, Francis, b. ca. 1892, Ida, b. ca. 1894, Arthur, b. ca. 1896, George, b. ca. 1898


• Descendants of Michał Wincenty Burnos (1859-1943) of Bochnia county, Galicia and Kansas City, Missouri - 19th, 20th, and 21st centuries
  
  m. Aniela Franciszka Stańda (1884-1957) of Rzegocina, Bochnia county, Galicia and Kansas City, Missouri. Probably the Michał Burnos who went through Ellis Island on 1903-06-03 (origin: Rozdziele, Bochnia county, Galicia; destination: Coatsville, Pennsylvania). He joined his brother-in-law Stanisław Koniezek there. If he is the same Michal, either Michał was married before Aniela, Stanisław was married to a sister of Michał, Stanisław was married to a sister of Aniela, or he lied at immigration. By 1908, Mike lived in St. Joseph, Missouri. Aniela joined him there after passing through New York on 1908-03-11. They had eight children, born in St. Joseph, Des Moines, Iowa, and Kansas City, Missouri. Mike and Nellie died in Kansas City. The majority of their descendants remain in the Kansas City area. Another large group is centered around Meade in western Kansas. Individuals live in Florida, California, Colorado, Nevada, and Florida. This is my line.
  
  Genetics: Surviving male patrilineal descendants: ≥ 5 grandsons, ≥ 5 great-grandsons, ≥ 1 great-great-grandson. No Y chromosome test.


• Descendants of Lucian James Burnos (1889-1957) of Russian Poland and Minneapolis, Minnesota
  
  m. Agnes Theresa Kapinos (1905-1964) of Buffalo, New York and Minneapolis, Minnesota
  No known immigration record. A James Burnos with a different birthdate (1887) registered for the World War I draft in Minneapolis. This James Burnos was from Grodno governorate in the Russian Empire (parts are now in Poland, parts in Belarus). Perhaps Lucian was from there too. Lucian and Agnes had eight children. The majority of their descendants remain in Minnesota and Wisconsin.
  
  Genetics: Surviving male patrilineal descendants: 1 son, ≥ 1 grandson No Y chromosome test.

There are also unattached individuals from historical records, many web references to living people named Burnos on web sites and directories, and people named Burnos on social networking sites. For more, contact me, see a subsequent post, or search Google for Burnos or Бурнос.

Other European origins

Another family in the North American immigration records was of Greek origin. This name may be the same name which is elsewhere transliterated Bournos.

Southeast Asian origins

All the Filipino Burnoses are from Zamboanga City or Davao City. It may be a single origin anthroponym of Mindanao.

Other leads

At least two people named Burnos have Islamic first names, one an American man of unknown origin, the other a Filipino man Davao City, Mindanao who seems to have the maternal surname Burnos. I would guess the latter is related to the Zamboanga family.

Several seemingly Anglo-American Burnos names have popped up in my research as well. I do not know if these are record misspellings or shifts in spelling from British surnames such as Burns or Burness.

Focus on Surnames

I've been pleasantly surprised by the number of genealogical contacts I've made through the small number of posts I've made here at No Kings Attached. I suppose it is because of PageRank. I've read that Google's algorithm tends to privilege blogs. If a distant cousin of mine Googles a common ancestor I've written about here, there's a good chance my post will be at the top of the list.

I'm taking advantage of this with an upcoming series of substantive posts on the surnames I research. I hope to draw comments and email. I also plan to interlink these posts with the kind of meta-genealogical blogging I plan to start next door at The Radical Genealogist.

The first name in the series will be Burnos.

mtDNA test

So, after years of preaching to everyone about the wonders and limits of genetic genealogy, I ordered an mtDNA kit for myself from ArgusBioSciences. Their prices are very competitive, and for $125 I'm getting both HVR1 and HVR2 tested, for the maximum amount of information for that price. Their full mtDNA genome sequencing is also relatively reasonable, but not reasonable enough to justify right now.

Drying on my desk for the next 5 minutes, before I put it in its plastic tube, is a swab covered in myriad cheek cells, each with mitochondria, enough of which will be preserved for sequencing, the results of which I'll find out in a few weeks. I had a dream last week, on the eve of Chinese New Year, that I had sent in a swab after having eaten some pork ribs. The test came back and told me I was a pig. This may be auspicious for the year (though scientifically very silly), but in any case I rinsed my mouth out thoroughly before swabbing.

I share this sequence with my mother, grandmother, and about 60 other people in my genealogy database, living and dead. As I like to point out at The Radical Genealogist, who carries the sequence doesn't matter (I'm equally interested in patrilineages and matrilineages testable through cousins that lead to *other* ancestors), but it's easier to get my own done than to convince cousins, even when I'd pay (at least some or most).

The earliest woman in my matrilineage I know much about is Mary Alice Marsh, who was born in 1858 and grew up in Bloomfield, Iowa. She was the daughter of Emsley Parks Marsh, originally of Guilford County, North Carolina, and, reportedly, Mary W. Waddle (or Waddell), though my only evidence for this is another researcher's info posted without source. I haven't been able to contact her. The elder Mary, my current matriarch, died young, perhaps in childbirth, and the younger Mary was raised by her father and stepmother, Sarah F. Atteberry. In the 1880 census she is reported as having been born of a Missouri-born mother. This could be Mary Waddle, theoretically, but Sarah was born in Missouri, and this as likely, with the censustaker just filling in all children with Emsley's birthplace as father's birthplace and Sarah's as mother's. The 1890 census is lost to the world, but in 1900 and 1910, now Alice Manners of Pueblo, Colorado, she is reported as not knowing her mother's birthplace. In 1920 and 1930, all of a sudden (in genealogical terms), her mother's birthplace is Indiana. Did she do her own genealogical research and find out in the 1910s?

Part of my father's family took the same route out of Guilford County, NC, through Indiana to Southeastern Iowa. It was a common one for Friends/Quakers like the Marshes and Mills in my genealogy. Jean Creswick, who is the source for Mary Waddle's birthdate, posted elsewhere on a forum that she knows of Cherokee ancestry somewhere coming into that marriage, and she thinks it's Mary, presumably because Emsley's family was Quaker on both sides with Leonard Marsh and Hannah Thornburgh. Personally I doubt Emsley was their son, more likely grandson given ages. I know enough about claimed Cherokee ancestry to be skeptical. I also know enough about the reality of North American frontier biracial and triracial mixes in general that I would not be at all surprised that my test or one of a relevant cousin would come up with a typically Native American or West African haplogroup rather than a typically European one. I would also be pleased, though I would not be displeased with a typically European result for the same reason. The reality of close global interrelatedness is mathematically provable, and also historically demonstrable, given a bit enough data set. At this point in my life studies, it's also at the very core of my personal identity, It would be good though to have a personal story of such a lineage demonstrated through my own test. Statistically unlikely, but good.

That said, any haplogroup is great, any positioning in the clades of the deepest discernible human family tree. It will be the first of many such placements.

EDIT: I found a later post that Jean Creswick made that shows the family living in 1860 in Scotland County, Missouri, with an Indiana birthplace for Mary!

Fading away

Here's a funny screen capture from Google Earth, which I use to plot the births, deaths, and residences of my ancestors. It's talking about folders, but it works with genealogy as well.

At 25, still a miner

I have only very recent and very old connections to New York City residence—my own 7 years of living here, and some Beekman residents of Nieuw Amsterdam and Midwout. A few more passed through on their way to other places, including 2 through Ellis Island.

One, David Wilson, managed to get enumerated the one day he was here, 1880-06-23, when the censustaker came to Castle Garden. He and his brother Peter, moving from the coal mines of Stirlingshire to the coal mines of SE Iowa, took the Bolivia out of and were processed by New York state immigration officials, then again by the censustaker, asking many of the same questions. That must have been annoying.

RootsChat: Wilson/Aitken family of Polmont

print "Hello Cousins"

Welcome to No Kings Attached. This blog is part of my ever more distributed and ever less frequent online presence It is intended to be a space for thoughts on my own genealogy, as opposed to thoughts on the juncture of kinship, migration, identity, genetics, social history, and genealogical construction, which go at The Radical Genealogist, random and personal entries at my Livejournal, a few individual and group blog projects (genealogy/migration related and not), Flickr, Facebook, and more.

I figure it's easier to write things here and point particular relevant family members along to the posts than to try and create websites or book projects centered around the particular parts of the global family tree that are particularly near to us. There would have to be countless such websites, as I'm not just interested in one or two of "my" lines, or even just interested in "my own" lines at all. In addition, a blog will be frequently indexed by Google, searchable, and therefore findable by third or fifth or fiftieth cousins looking for names. I've had good experiences finding and sharing information on boards, and there's no reason why a blog cannot add to the overall amount of searchable and sharable data.

As soon as I bother to put my mountains of data into a GEDCOM, I'll edit this post to include a link to my PhpGedView database. Also by that time I will have transfered it to a server that doesn't break the PHP it doesn't like and then redirect me to the free hosting service's pages.