The marker located in the northwest corner of this cemetery was erected in 1927 by the Newton, Kansas chapter of the D.A.R. (Daughters of The American Revolution) and reads, "In this cemetery is the grave of Mrs. Rebecca Keys Burch, the widow of a soldier of the American Revolution." The D.A.R. also supplied the marker located at the grave of Rebecca Burch, which reads, Rebecca, wife of William Burch, b. 12-14-1794, d. 4-22-1887, She was the last pensioner of the Revolutionary War."
Rebecca "Keys" was born Decemeber 14, 1794 near Winston-Salem, North Carolina, during George Washington's 2nd term as President. Rebecca was left abandoned as a baby with no identification except for some keys tied around her neck. As a result, the family that raised her named her Rebecca Keys.
In 1819, when Rebecca was 25 years old, she married the much older William Burch who had served 5 years as a Private in Captain Henderson's Company, Colonel Morgan's Regiment from Virginia. William and Rebecca Burch made their home in North Carolina and had 2 children William and Elizabeth Burch. After Rebecca's husband and son died, Rebecca, age 54, and daughter Elizabeth moved to Iowa, where Elizabeth married Edgar Brown, a native of England.
In 1869, Edgar and Elizabeth Brown and Rebecca Burch came by rail to Emporia, Kansas and Edgar staked two claims on Section 22 of Halstead Township, one under his name and one under the name of Rebecca Burch. A single woman or a widow could qualify for a homestead. To make her claim good, Rebecca Burch had to have a residence on her quarter section of land. To accomplish this without building two houses, they built a house that straddled the boundary line of the two properties, with Rebecca's bedroom on her land.
In Iowa, Rebecca had knitted wool socks as a way to earn extra income, but there was no demand for that here. For several years in Kansas, Rebecca, her daughter and granddaughters sewed shirts for the nearby Newton, Kansas stores to sell to the cowboys. Newton, Kansas was a last stop for many large cattle drives from Texas. When these cowboys came to the end of the cattle drive, their clothes were worn out and one of the first things they did was buy new clothes.
On April 29, 1887, the Halstead Independant published an account of Rebecca's funeral and stated she was the 93 year old widow of William Burch and mentioned the same details as mentioned above regarding his military service. It went on to say that she had been drawing a pension of $8.00 [per month] and that she was the last pensioner of the Revolutionary War.
Further information states that amazingly, Rebecca did not actually start receiving her pension payments until 1882, which was 100 years after her husband's service in the war.
Rebecca's daughter Elizabeth Brown (1836-1918) and Elizabeth's husband Edgar S. Brown (1832-1909) are buried at nearby Halstead Cemetery. At the northwest corner of this cemetery a plaque reads, "In this cemetery is the grave of Mrs. Elizabeth Burch Brown, a daughter of a Soldier of the American Revolution."
[Sources: Halstead Independant, Oct. 27, 1983. Wichita Beacon, Jan. 25, 1976, p. 16H. Harvey County History (by the Harvey County Historical Society), p. 53, 1990.]
Rebecca "Keys" was born Decemeber 14, 1794 near Winston-Salem, North Carolina, during George Washington's 2nd term as President. Rebecca was left abandoned as a baby with no identification except for some keys tied around her neck. As a result, the family that raised her named her Rebecca Keys.
In 1819, when Rebecca was 25 years old, she married the much older William Burch who had served 5 years as a Private in Captain Henderson's Company, Colonel Morgan's Regiment from Virginia. William and Rebecca Burch made their home in North Carolina and had 2 children William and Elizabeth Burch. After Rebecca's husband and son died, Rebecca, age 54, and daughter Elizabeth moved to Iowa, where Elizabeth married Edgar Brown, a native of England.
In 1869, Edgar and Elizabeth Brown and Rebecca Burch came by rail to Emporia, Kansas and Edgar staked two claims on Section 22 of Halstead Township, one under his name and one under the name of Rebecca Burch. A single woman or a widow could qualify for a homestead. To make her claim good, Rebecca Burch had to have a residence on her quarter section of land. To accomplish this without building two houses, they built a house that straddled the boundary line of the two properties, with Rebecca's bedroom on her land.
In Iowa, Rebecca had knitted wool socks as a way to earn extra income, but there was no demand for that here. For several years in Kansas, Rebecca, her daughter and granddaughters sewed shirts for the nearby Newton, Kansas stores to sell to the cowboys. Newton, Kansas was a last stop for many large cattle drives from Texas. When these cowboys came to the end of the cattle drive, their clothes were worn out and one of the first things they did was buy new clothes.
On April 29, 1887, the Halstead Independant published an account of Rebecca's funeral and stated she was the 93 year old widow of William Burch and mentioned the same details as mentioned above regarding his military service. It went on to say that she had been drawing a pension of $8.00 [per month] and that she was the last pensioner of the Revolutionary War.
Further information states that amazingly, Rebecca did not actually start receiving her pension payments until 1882, which was 100 years after her husband's service in the war.
Rebecca's daughter Elizabeth Brown (1836-1918) and Elizabeth's husband Edgar S. Brown (1832-1909) are buried at nearby Halstead Cemetery. At the northwest corner of this cemetery a plaque reads, "In this cemetery is the grave of Mrs. Elizabeth Burch Brown, a daughter of a Soldier of the American Revolution."
[Sources: Halstead Independant, Oct. 27, 1983. Wichita Beacon, Jan. 25, 1976, p. 16H. Harvey County History (by the Harvey County Historical Society), p. 53, 1990.]
The marker located in the northwest corner of this cemetery was erected in 1927 by the Newton, Kansas chapter of the D.A.R. (Daughters of The American Revolution) and reads, "In this cemetery is the grave of Mrs. Rebecca Keys Burch, the widow of a soldier of the American Revolution." The D.A.R. also supplied the marker located at the grave of Rebecca Burch, which reads, Rebecca, wife of William Burch, b. 12-14-1794, d. 4-22-1887, She was the last pensioner of the Revolutionary War."
Rebecca "Keys" was born Decemeber 14, 1794 near Winston-Salem, North Carolina, during George Washington's 2nd term as President. Rebecca was left abandoned as a baby with no identification except for some keys tied around her neck. As a result, the family that raised her named her Rebecca Keys.
In 1819, when Rebecca was 25 years old, she married the much older William Burch who had served 5 years as a Private in Captain Henderson's Company, Colonel Morgan's Regiment from Virginia. William and Rebecca Burch made their home in North Carolina and had 2 children William and Elizabeth Burch. After Rebecca's husband and son died, Rebecca, age 54, and daughter Elizabeth moved to Iowa, where Elizabeth married Edgar Brown, a native of England.
In 1869, Edgar and Elizabeth Brown and Rebecca Burch came by rail to Emporia, Kansas and Edgar staked two claims on Section 22 of Halstead Township, one under his name and one under the name of Rebecca Burch. A single woman or a widow could qualify for a homestead. To make her claim good, Rebecca Burch had to have a residence on her quarter section of land. To accomplish this without building two houses, they built a house that straddled the boundary line of the two properties, with Rebecca's bedroom on her land.
In Iowa, Rebecca had knitted wool socks as a way to earn extra income, but there was no demand for that here. For several years in Kansas, Rebecca, her daughter and granddaughters sewed shirts for the nearby Newton, Kansas stores to sell to the cowboys. Newton, Kansas was a last stop for many large cattle drives from Texas. When these cowboys came to the end of the cattle drive, their clothes were worn out and one of the first things they did was buy new clothes.
On April 29, 1887, the Halstead Independant published an account of Rebecca's funeral and stated she was the 93 year old widow of William Burch and mentioned the same details as mentioned above regarding his military service. It went on to say that she had been drawing a pension of $8.00 [per month] and that she was the last pensioner of the Revolutionary War.
Further information states that amazingly, Rebecca did not actually start receiving her pension payments until 1882, which was 100 years after her husband's service in the war.
Rebecca's daughter Elizabeth Brown (1836-1918) and Elizabeth's husband Edgar S. Brown (1832-1909) are buried at nearby Halstead Cemetery. At the northwest corner of this cemetery a plaque reads, "In this cemetery is the grave of Mrs. Elizabeth Burch Brown, a daughter of a Soldier of the American Revolution."
[Sources: Halstead Independant, Oct. 27, 1983. Wichita Beacon, Jan. 25, 1976, p. 16H. Harvey County History (by the Harvey County Historical Society), p. 53, 1990.]
Rebecca "Keys" was born Decemeber 14, 1794 near Winston-Salem, North Carolina, during George Washington's 2nd term as President. Rebecca was left abandoned as a baby with no identification except for some keys tied around her neck. As a result, the family that raised her named her Rebecca Keys.
In 1819, when Rebecca was 25 years old, she married the much older William Burch who had served 5 years as a Private in Captain Henderson's Company, Colonel Morgan's Regiment from Virginia. William and Rebecca Burch made their home in North Carolina and had 2 children William and Elizabeth Burch. After Rebecca's husband and son died, Rebecca, age 54, and daughter Elizabeth moved to Iowa, where Elizabeth married Edgar Brown, a native of England.
In 1869, Edgar and Elizabeth Brown and Rebecca Burch came by rail to Emporia, Kansas and Edgar staked two claims on Section 22 of Halstead Township, one under his name and one under the name of Rebecca Burch. A single woman or a widow could qualify for a homestead. To make her claim good, Rebecca Burch had to have a residence on her quarter section of land. To accomplish this without building two houses, they built a house that straddled the boundary line of the two properties, with Rebecca's bedroom on her land.
In Iowa, Rebecca had knitted wool socks as a way to earn extra income, but there was no demand for that here. For several years in Kansas, Rebecca, her daughter and granddaughters sewed shirts for the nearby Newton, Kansas stores to sell to the cowboys. Newton, Kansas was a last stop for many large cattle drives from Texas. When these cowboys came to the end of the cattle drive, their clothes were worn out and one of the first things they did was buy new clothes.
On April 29, 1887, the Halstead Independant published an account of Rebecca's funeral and stated she was the 93 year old widow of William Burch and mentioned the same details as mentioned above regarding his military service. It went on to say that she had been drawing a pension of $8.00 [per month] and that she was the last pensioner of the Revolutionary War.
Further information states that amazingly, Rebecca did not actually start receiving her pension payments until 1882, which was 100 years after her husband's service in the war.
Rebecca's daughter Elizabeth Brown (1836-1918) and Elizabeth's husband Edgar S. Brown (1832-1909) are buried at nearby Halstead Cemetery. At the northwest corner of this cemetery a plaque reads, "In this cemetery is the grave of Mrs. Elizabeth Burch Brown, a daughter of a Soldier of the American Revolution."
[Sources: Halstead Independant, Oct. 27, 1983. Wichita Beacon, Jan. 25, 1976, p. 16H. Harvey County History (by the Harvey County Historical Society), p. 53, 1990.]
