
Biographies for Tuolumne County
John W. BURKITT
John W. Burkitt, jeweler, fruit-grower and gardner, Arlington Heights, Illinois, was born at Arlington Heights,
August 8, 1854, the son of Richard and Mary A. (Pigott) Burkitt, who were natives of England and settled in Wheeling
Township, Cook County, in 1846. The elder Burkitt died in 1864. The son was educated in his native village, and
early acquired a fondness for horticulture, in which his father had been interested in England. Of late years,
he has proved himself a successful grower of cherries of a superior quality, which are shipped to dealers in distant
cities and find a ready sale at high prices. His experiments in this branch of horticulture have been watched with
deep interest, and have already won him the title of the "Cherry King of Illinois." On January 7, 1882,
Mr. Burkitt was married to Lydia Alma Pratt, of Palatine, Illinois, who died March 1, 1898, at the age of thirty-four
years. He has four children living: Ralph Edward, Granado Ross, Hazel Alma and John W., Jr. The son, Granado, within
the last year, has taken charge of the fruit-garden part of his father's business. In addition to his other branches
of business, Mr. Burkitt is a Director of the local bank at Arlington Heights, Illinois, and also a stockholder,
Director and Vice-President of the Sierra Gold Mining Company of Tuolumne County, California. [Source: Historical encyclopedia of Illinois, Cook County Edition - transcribed by Jerry Zimmerman]
FEW, Ignatius A.,
educator, was born in Columbia , Ca., April 11, 1789, son of
Capt. Ignatius Few, a Revolutionary soldier. He was educated at the
College of New Jersey, studied law, served as colonel in the war of
1812, and practiced law, 1815-28. He was an itinerant minister in
the South Carolina and Georgia M. E. conferences, 1828-35, and in
1837 was active in rounding Emory college and was its first
president, 1837-39. He received the degree of LL.D. from Wesleyan
university in 1838, and was a delegate to the general conference of
1844. He died in Athens, Ga., Nov. 28, 1845.
The Twentieth Century Biographical Dictionary of Notable Americans:
Volume IV, 1904
Submitted to Genealogy Trails by Dena Whitesell