The Book of Burwell Students

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The Book of Burwell Students offers a rare glimpse into the world of women's education in the antebellum South. From 1837 to 1857, Anna and Robert Burwell ran the Burwell Female School in Hillsborough, North Carolina, educating more than two hundred young women. The Book of Burwell Students illuminates a time and place, now preserved as the Burwell School Historic Site. The late historian and genealogist, Mary Claire Engstrom, wrote informative biographical sketches of many Burwell students, offering insight into life in antebellum Hillsborough, inside and outside of school, and the seminal role of Anna Burwell in shaping the students' lives.

The revised roster of 201 names of authenticated Burwell School students listed alphabetically below includes the 107 names published by the Burwells in their 1848 catalogue, plus 94 additional names discovered in Mrs. M.A. Burwell's letters, her diaries, various student letters, autograph albums, and keepsake books, acquired from the descendants of students. It is certain that the roster given here is by no means complete. The present list records all students authenticated through genealogical research as of May 1983. The roster form used below lists students alphabetically; otherwise the form used in the Burwells' catalogue has been followed:

Alston, Anna - Chatham County, North Carolina

Alston, Eugenia - Chatham County, North Carolina

Alston, Lavinia M. - Chatham County, North Carolina

Alston, Sally - Chatham County, North Carolina

Amis, Fannie J. - Granville County, North Carolina

Amis, Rosa - Granville County, North Carolina

Anders, Ellen - Bladen County, North Carolina

Ashe, Ann Eliza - Wilmington, North Carolina

Ashe, Annie - Waynesborough, Virginia

Ashe, Annie R. - Wadesborough, North Carolina

Ashe, Eliza - Wadesborough, North Carolina

Ashe, Maria - Waynesborough, Virginia

Attmore, Sally - New Bern, North Carolina

Barton, Sally - Caswell County, North Carolina

Bell, Emily Rowena - Plymouth, North Carolina

Bell, Jane Williamette - Plymouth, North Carolina

Benners, Julia - Waynesville, North Carolina

Berry, Elizabeth Ann - Hillsborough, North Carolina

Berry, Josephine - Hillsborough, North Carolina

Berry, Rosanna - Hillsborough, North Carolina

Bridges, Sally - Richmond, Virginia

Bridges, Virginia (Jenny) - Richmond, Virginia

Brook(e)s, Harriet - Halifax, Virginia

Brookes, Sallie - Halifax, Virginia

Brown, Bettie C. - Salisbury, North Carolina

Brown, Charlotte Ann - Hillsborough, North Carolina

Brown, Laura H. - Hillsborough, North Carolina

Bunting, Mary L. - Sampson County, North Carolina

Bunting, Sally - Sampson County, North Carolina

Burwell, Fanny - Hillsborough, North Carolina

Burwell, Mary - Hillsborough, North Carolina

Burwell, Nannie - Hillsborough, North Carolina

Cameron, Annie Ruffin - Hillsborough, North Carolina

Carrington, Betty - Halifax, Virginia

Chapman, Kate - New Bern, North Carolina

Chapman, Mary Snead - New Bern, North Carolina

Coit, Elizabeth - Cheraw, South Carolina

Coit, Martha - Cheraw, South Carolina

Cole, Harriotte Middleton Gillespie - New Bern, North Carolina

Cole, Lavinia Ellis - New Bern, North Carolina

Cooley, Emily Eliza - Hillsborough, North Carolina

Cooley, Mary Cain - Hillsborough, North Carolina

Cowan, Caroline E. - New Bern, North Carolina

Craig, Martha Jane - Orange County, North Carolina

Davis, Anna - Pittsborough, North Carolina

Davis, __ - New Hanover County, North Carolina

Davis, __ - New Hanover County, North Carolina

Douglas, Margaret - Orange County, North Carolina

Easley, Mary Bailey - Cluster Springs, Virginia

Faison, Amelia - Sampson County, North Carolina

Faison, Sallie E. - Sampson County, North Carolina

Faucette, Eliza Jane - Alamance County, North Carolina

Faucette, Martha - Orange County, North Carolina

Faucette, Sally - Orange County, North Carolina

Freeland, Mary - Hillsborough, North Carolina

Fuller, Virginia Ann - Hillsborough, North Carolina

Garland, Victoria - Caswell County, North Carolina

Garrett, Bettie - Chatham County, North Carolina

Garrett, Mary L. - Chatham County, North Carolina

Gilchrist, Fannie - Fayetteville, North Carolina

Gilchrist, Lucy - Fayetteville, North Carolina

Gilchrist, Susan - Fayetteville, North Carolina

Glass, Lizzie - Graham, North Carolina

Grice, Sarah - Sampson County, North Carolina

Hall, S. - New Bern, North Carolina

Hammond, Ella - Waynesborough, Virginia

Harrison, Cassandra - New Bern, North Carolina

Hawks, (Hannah?) - Washington, North Carolina

Holditch, Henrietta - New York, New York

Hollister, Janet - New Bern, North Carolina

Holmes, Bettie A. - Fayetteville, North Carolina

Holt, Annie - Alamance County, North Carolina

Holt, Frances - Alamance County, North Carolina

Hooker, Margaret Parthenia Evelyn - Hillsborough, North Carolina

Horner, (C.?) - Granville County, North Carolina

Howerton, Emily - Hillsborough, North Carolina

Howerton, Maria Louise - Hillsborough, North Carolina

Jeffreys, Mary E. - Caswell County, North Carolina

Johnson, Margaret - Orange County, North Carolina

Johnston, Harriet - _____

Jones, Eliza Adam (Lizzie A.) - Hillsborough, North Carolina

Jones, Fanny Iredell - Hillsborough, North Carolina

Jones, Frances - Wadesborough, North Carolina

Jones, Mary Albertine - Hillsborough, North Carolina

Jones, Mary Cameron - Hillsborough, North Carolina

Jones, Mary Rebecca - Hillsborough, North Carolina

Jones, Sally Rebecca - Hillsborough, North Carolina

Jordan, Ann (Nan) - Orange County, North Carolina

Jordan, Elizabeth (Bet) - Orange County, North Carolina

Kirkland, Annie Ruffin - Hillsborough, North Carolina

Kirkland, Susan Mary - Hillsborough, North Carolina

Kollock, Sara(h) Jane - Hillsborough, North Carolina

Lindsay, Annette Eliza - Greensboro, North Carolina

Lindsay, Mary Virginia - Greensboro, North Carolina

Long, Helen Caldwell - Hillsborough, North Carolina

Long, Margaret Taylor - Hillsborough, North Carolina

Lunsford, Frances Elizabeth - Roxboro, North Carolina

Lunsford, Virginia - Roxboro, North Carolina

Lynch, Elizabeth Palmer - Hillsborough, North Carolina

Lynch, Mary Jane - Hillsborough, North Carolina

McAuley, Caroline - _____

McDiarmid, Annie - Cumberland County, North Carolina

McDiarmid, Catharine - Cumberland County, North Carolina

McKay, Flora - Memphis, Tennessee

McKay, Isabella - Cumberland County, North Carolina

McKeithan, Margaret - Cumberland County, North Carolina

McLester, Margaret - Hillsborough, North Carolina

Mangum, Sally Alston - Orange County, North Carolina

Mebane, Martha F. - Orange County, North Carolina

Mebane, Mary E. - Orange County, North Carolina

Middleton, Jemima - Duplin County, North Carolina

Mitchell, Eliza N. - Chapel Hill, North Carolina

Montgomery, Barbara Maria - Alamance County, North Carolina

Moore, Ann - Hillsborough, North Carolina

Moore, Julia Rebecca - Chapel Hill, North Carolina

Moore, Mary (Mitty) - Hillsborough, North Carolina

Morris, Bettie S. - Hillsborough, North Carolina

Morrow, Martha - Oaks, Orange County, North Carolina

Moseley, Virginia - Tallahassee, Florida (Centerville, Florida)

Murchison, Kate - Cumberland County, North Carolina

Murchison, Margaret - Cumberland County, North Carolina

Murphy, Julia - Sampson County, North Carolina

Murphy, Mary Bailey - Sampson County, North Carolina

Murphy, Susan Moseley - Sampson County, North Carolina

Nash, Elizabeth Simpson - Hillsborough, North Carolina

Newkirk, Emma - New Hanover County, North Carolina

Norwood, Annabella Giles - Hillsborough, North Carolina

Norwood, Margaret Yonge - Hillsborough, North Carolina

Norwood, Robina - Hillsborough, North Carolina

Nunn, Sally - Orange County, North Carolina

Owen, Mary - ____

Owen, Sally Roberta - Mayo, Virginia

Palmer, Eliza - Hillsborough, North Carolina

Parker, Jane Rebecca - Hillsborough, North Carolina

Parks, Maria L. - Hillsborough, North Carolina

Pearce, Annie Blount - Hillsborough, North Carolina

Pearce, Mary Huske - Fayetteville, North Carolina

Perkins, Henrietta (Martin) - Caswell County, North Carolina

Pointer, Margaret - Person County, North Carolina

Primrose, Mary Anne - New Bern, North Carolina

Ray, Sarah C. - Fayetteville, North Carolina

Roberts, Susan - Orange County, North Carolina

Robinson, Mary Elizabeth - Bladen County, North Carolina

Ruffin, Rebecca Edwards (Beck) - Hillsborough, North Carolina

Ruffin, Susan Mary - Orange County, North Carolina

Sanders, Bettie - Johnston County, North Carolina

Sanders, Laura - Johnston County, North Carolina

Scales, Emma Jane - Rockingham County, North Carolina

Sellers, Frances A. - Sampson County, North Carolina

Sellers, Rosa - Sampson County, North Carolina

Shepard, Margaret - New Bern, North Carolina

Shepard, Mary - New Bern, North Carolina

Smith, ___ - Caswell County, North Carolina

Smith, ___ - Caswell County, North Carolina

Smith, Bettie - Cumberland County, North Carolina

Smith, Fanny - Caswell County, North Carolina

Smith, Isabella - Cumberland County, North Carolina

Smith, Julia - Cumberland County, North Carolina

Smith, Lou - Fayetteville, North Carolina

Smith, Mary - Granville County, North Carolina

Smith, Sarah - Granville County, North Carolina

Smith, Sarah - Smithfield, Virginia

Speed, Jennie - Granville County, North Carolina

Speed, Nannie Taylor - Granville County, North Carolina

Spotswood, Rosaline Brooke - Petersburg, Virginia

Stedman, Eliza - Fayetteville, North Carolina

Stevens, Jane Ellen - Sampson County, North Carolina

Stevenson, Elizabeth - New Bern, North Carolina

Thompson, Ann - Hillsborough, North Carolina

Unthank, Narcissa - Greensboro, North Carolina

Vanderford, Emily - Hillsborough, North Carolina

Venable, Isabella - Hillsborough, North Carolina

Venable, Martha - Hillsborough, North Carolina

Waddell, Bella - Hillsborough, North Carolina

Waddell, Maria E. - Hillsborough, North Carolina

Walker, Margaret Isabella - Hillsborough, North Carolina

Watkins, ___ - Farmville, Virginia

Watkins, Elizabeth - Farmville, Virginia

Watters, Caroline J. - Wilmington, North Carolina

Webb, Anne H. - Greensboro, Alabama

Webb, Elizabeth G. - _____

Webb, Fannie - ____

Webb, Henrietta - Orange County, North Carolina

Webb, Martha Ann - Granville County, North Carolina

Webb, Mary - Hillsborough, North Carolina

Webb, Mary Caroline - Orange County, North Carolina

Webb, Susan A. - Orange County, North Carolina

Whitted, Elizabeth - Orange County, North Carolina

Williams, Bell - Cumberland County, North Carolina

Williams, Cornelia - Person County, North Carolina

Williams, Kate - Cumberland County, North Carolina

Williams, Martha K. - Cumberland County, North Carolina

Williams, Phi - ____

Wilson, Mary - Morganton, North Carolina

Witherspoon, Denah McEwen - Camden, South Carolina

Witherspoon, Mary Nash - Hillsborough, North Carolina

Womack, Fanny - ____

Woodrow, Mary - ____

Woods, Sarah - ____

Wortham, Mary - Granville County, North Carolina

Yonge, Annabella - New Hanover County, North Carolina