Jonathan Burke

Jonathan Burke (1797-1875) was an early settler of the Big South Fork region, and the paternal ancestor of most Burkes living in Scott County today. It was at his home on the Big South Fork River that a Civil War skirmish was fought in 1863, known as the Battle of No Business.

See Also: Noteworthy Settlers of the Big South Fork Region
See Also: The Scott County Lineage Project

Biography

Jonathan Burke was born Aug. 14, 1797 in Russell County, Va., the son of Benjamin Burke and Elizabeth Troxell. He was of Scots-Irish descent; his great-grandfather, James Edward Burk, migrated from Ireland to Pennsylvania colony in the early 18th century, and married a Pennsylvania woman — Mary Bane — whose grandfather had migrated from Scotland to the colonies in the 17th century.

Elizabeth Troxell was a sister to Jacob Troxell, who is believed by some family genealogists to be “Big Jake Troxell,” a character in Thomas H. Troxell’s 1858 book, “Legion of the Lost Mine.” Big Jake supposedly married a Cherokee Indian named “Princess Cornblossom.” However, the book has been largely discredited by historians.

Jonathan Burke was one of 13 children. He had three older sisters: Sarah, Nancy and Anna. His younger siblings included Peter, Allen (Baldy), Mary, Hudson, Benjamin, Riley, James, Dicey and Disa.

During Burke’s childhood, the family moved from Virginia to present-day McCreary County, Ky. Burke married Nancy Cooper (1803-1880) on March 31, 1820 in Wayne County, Ky. She was the daughter of Isaac Cooper and Nancy Nunhyi (Black Fox), a full-blooded Cherokee.

Jonathan and Nancy Burke had eight children: Peter (born 1821), Susanne (born 1823), Haden Lowell (born 1828), John Granville (born 1830), Elizabeth (born 1831), Harmon (born 1834), Jonathan (born 1837) and Lewis (born 1841).

Life & Times

Jonathan Burke and his family were among a group of settlers who moved from the Rock Creek and Little South Fork areas in Kentucky to the Big South Fork in the early 19th century. He built a cabin on the Big South Fork River in the area of Duck Shoals, which is between Parch Corn Creek and No Business Creek, about 1.5 miles downstream from Station Camp Creek.

It is not clear when the Burke family made the move to the Big South Fork. However, they were living there when Scott County was formed in 1849.

At some point, Jonathan Burke and Nancy Cooper separated. The 1860 census found her living with their oldest son, Peter, and several of the younger children. However, the couple were living together once more when the 1870 census was taken.

The Battle of No Business

It was at Burke’s cabin on the Big South Fork River that a small Civil War skirmish was fought in May 1862. It is referred to as the “Battle of No Business” or the “Duck Shoals Skirmish.”

A group of Confederate soldiers under the command of Capt. Alec Evans spent a day in May 1862 raiding the settlements of the Big South Fork region. It was likely on this day that they visited the Tackett home on Station Camp Creek, near present-day Charit Creek Hostel, that resulted in the deaths of two teenagers. Oral legend has it that an elderly relative had the boys hide beneath a feather mattress and lay atop it when the Rebel soldiers visited her home, pretending to be sick in an attempt to prevent the boys from being forced into service. Once the soldiers had left, she threw back the mattress only to find that both boys had suffocated.

As night fell on the Big South Fork region, the Confederate soldiers sought refuge in the Burke home. Like most others in the region, the Burkes were Union sympathizers.

During the night, neighbors — including members of the Burke family — surrounded the cabin and attacked the Rebels, all of whom were killed or drowned in the Big South Fork River as they attempted to escape. Most of the dead were buried in a mass grave nearby, the location of which is no longer known. Family members of Capt. Evans journeyed to the Big South Fork to return his body home. However, the decomposing corpse smelled so badly that they stopped on the return trip and buried him in present-day Pickett State Forest. The grave marker was destroyed in a logging operation years later, and the location of his grave is unknown.

The battle created such a stir that it was written about in the New York Times.

In her book, Mountain Memories, historian Marie Hickey Davis wrote that the Burke family moved out of their home after the fight: “Too much blood had been spilled on its floors for it to ever seem like home again.”

The Burkes moved to what is now Charit Creek Lodge on Station Camp Creek.

Death

Jonathan Burke died on Aug. 28, 1875, two weeks after his 78th birthday. He was buried at the Hatfield-Burke Cemetery at Charit Creek Lodge.

Following his father’s death, Peter Burke sold the cabin at Duck Shoals to George Pennington. It was later sold again to France Miller, who dismantled it and moved it to No Business Creek.

Peter Burke moved from the Big South Fork with his mother, Nancy Cooper Burke, and several of his siblings. They were bound for Oklahoma, but Nancy did not complete the journey. She fell ill along the route and died, likely in Texas.

Among Jonathan Burke’s children who made the trip to Oklahoma, in addition to Peter, were Haden Burke, Harmon Burke and Jonathan Burke. Their sister, Elizabeth Burke Hatfield, made the journey to Oklahoma later, after her husband died and was buried in the Hatfield-Burke Cemetery.