Rediscovering Long Forgotten Ancestors

William Burwell was an elusive figure.  He and his wife, Gertrude Bright Champion, married at a young age, had four children, and then divorced within a span of a few years in the late 1800's.  I asked my grandmother about her grandfather William.  She had no memory of him and did not know anything about him.

When I started researching the Burwell line all I had was the name William Burwell that my grandmother wrote in my mother's baby book.  Generally, I knew that my mother's side came from Illinois and emigrated from England. 

One of the first steps was to collect vital records.  William and Gertrude's August 1888 marriage certificate revealed that William (his name was listed as John W.), age 19, was born in Champaign County, Illinois.  His father was Moses T. Burwell.  His mother's maiden name was Goodfellow.  He resided in Normal, Illinois and worked at a fruit cannery.  Later research uncovered that his father owned the Bloomington Canning Company in the late 1880s and that Gertrude's uncle Thomas Champion owned the Normal Canning Company.  The couple likely met through this connection.

Here is an article that ran in their local newspaper after the wedding:

Married Last Night

"—Last evening there was a happy group of friends assembled at the residence of Mr. and Mrs. George Champion, of Normal, to witness the marriage of Mr. J. W. Burwell to Miss Gertie Champion. The ceremony was performed by Rev. Mr. McVety. The groom is the son of Mr. M. T. Burwell of the Bloomington Canning company, and is the bookkeeper for that concern. The happy couple will make their home in Bloomington, having taken one of Mr. Kofold’s homes, at the north end of the city. Following the ceremony a wedding lunch was served. The young couple have the best wishes of all who knew them."

Source:  Bloomington Pantagraph, Bloomington, Illinois, August 2, 1888, p. 4 c4. Photocopy obtained from The Illinois State Historical Library, Springfield, Illinois.
 
This discovery led me to find several generations of Burwells and Goodfellows in America.  The Burwells were from Ohio and New Jersey and possibly descend from John Burwell of Milford, Connecticut who emigrated from England.  The Goodfellows were Scot-Irish Protestants from County Tyrone, Northern Ireland.  Moore Goodfellow came to America in the late 1700s and settled in Harmony Township near present day Springfield, Ohio.