Ok

My Niece Denise

Years ago when I was young,
A baby cried, Life had Begun,
Its a Boy, NO, NO, NO, its a Girl,
They named her Denise, my niece to be.
Denise is now grown and lives by the lake,
of this I do not partake, I live many, many
miles away, but I did manage to stop by one day.
As we visited and I talked with this lady, very beautiful
indeed, my thoughts took me back to the days of yesteryear
as I remembered Denise as an infant baby, a toddler, a young child, a
girl in her teens, and finally an adult.As I looked around and talked with her
daughter Mara recently married, I thought to myself the cycle is beginning again,
Denise will hear the cry of a newborn, only this time my niece will be GRANDMA.
So you see my beloved niece, life moves at a very fast pace, the oldgrandfather
clock ticks second after second and it fools you as its hands move so slow, but
don't be fooled as time and life is precious, make everyday a special day,
do the things you always wanted to do when you were young or are
still young enough to want to do them, as you get older your
prioritieschange, so live a good full life, but most important,
live it for GOD.As your Grandfather recently passed
away, that moves both of us a step closer
ourselves, now I am the Old Man on
the Mountain.

Wrote by Uncle Arnold Burkett for my Niece, Denise.
17 December, 2000
5:00 a.m. Sunday Morning, est.

   GOD LOVES YOU,
    YOU'RE SPECIAL TO ME TOO.
    ARNOLD

ELLERY ROSENCRANS WAS A GOOD FRIEND OF MY FATHER AND SAM BURKETT MY GRANDFATHER I WAS NAMED WAYNE AFTER ELLERY WAYNE ROSENCRANS. ELLERY

SOLD MY FATHER ABOUT 4 ACRES OF LAND AT THE BOTTOM OF THE MOUNTAIN JUST ACROSS THE STREAM FROM WHERE ELLERY LIVED, THAT WAS 1`947, SHORTLY AFTER ELLERY PASSED AWAY, HE SMOKED BROWN CIGARETTES HE GOT AT THE PHARMACY,

THESE CIGARETTES WERE SUPPOSED TO EASE HIS ASTHMA ATTACKS AND MAKE BREATHING EASIER. HIS BROTHER GEORGE ROSENCRANS DIED IN 1955, GEORGE WAS A CELEBRATED MUSICAL COMPOSER, THE MARCH KING AND MANY MORE. GEORGE LIVED IN A LITTLE ONE ROOM SHACK IN PENFIELD.

PHILLIP P. BLISS , THE SINGING EVANGELIST DIED IN A TRAIN WRECK NEAR CHICAGO IN THE 1940'S, HE WAS BORN AND RAISED ONLY A COUPLE OF MILES FROM PENFIELD.

TOM MIX IS ALSO A LOCAL FELLOW, BORN AND RAISED AT MIX RUN, ABOUT 20 MILES FROM PENFIELD, THEN LATER HIS FAMILY MOVED TO DUBOIS, PA , THAT'S ABOUT 15 MILES FROM PENFIELD. TOM MIX WAS ONE TOUGH HOMBRE, I HAD A GOOD FRIEND TED HUFFMAN THAT KNEW TOM , TOM DIED IN A CAR ACCIDENT IN OKLAHOMA ABOUT 1940, I VISITED THE COWBOY HALL OF FAME IN OKLAHOMA CITY, THEY CLAIM HIM AS A NATIVE SON, THIS IS NOT TRUE, TOM WAS BORN AND RAISED AT MIX RUN, THE AREA WHERE THE PENNSYLVANIA ELK HERD ROAMS PLENTIFUL AND FREELY.

THEN WE HAVE A GREAT MAN JIMMY STEWART, HE TOO HAS TIES BACK TO ONE OF THE OLDEST FAMILIES AROUND INDIANA, PA, THE KELLYS, I GO BACK ON THE KELLY LINE ALSO, THE MCCORMICK CASTLE IS BETWEEN PLUMVILLE AND SMICKSBURG, JIMMY STEWARTS GRANDPARENTS, MY COUSIN JOAN GRIFFITH LIVES CLOSE BY AND YEARS AGO, JIMMY STEWART WOULD BE IN THE AREA AND STOP AT THE CASTLE, A FAMILY WAS RENTING IT AND LIVED THERE WHEN JIMMY STOPPED AND GOT OUT OF HIS CAR AND WALKED AROUND , SHE TOLD JOAN ABOUT IT, JOAN SAID WHY DIDN'T YOU GO OUT AND TALK TO HIM, SHE SAID, I DIDN'T HAVE MY FALSE TEETH IN. JIMMY STEWART LIVED ON WILSHIRE BLVD , I WROTE TO HIM A FEW TIMES, HE ANSWERED, I TOLD HIM I THOUGHT WE WERE RELATED THRU THE KELLYS.

This was an old tin picture over 150 years old, probably taken about 1850.
Peter Burket fought in many of the major battles of the civil war, fought
in the battle of Gettysburg, his unit CO. E 148 th. Inf., PA Vol.
was one of the first at Gettysburg before the grain fields were knocked
down, his outfit took the blunt of Pickett's famous last all out effort charge,
his outfit was amongst the ones that chased Robert E. Lee's army down and
made him surrender at Appomattox Courthouse in Virginia.

Also at the battle of Gettysburg was Peter Burket's brother in law Cyrus
Geer with the 105 th. out of Brookvile, PA. Cyrus was married to Peter's sister
Nancy Jane, Cyrus Geer also came home alive and ok.

I once counted 14 relatives, almost all Burket's that fought at the battle of Gettysburg.
Little Abe Burket from Claysburg, south of Altoona, PA, Little Abe was
at Gettysburg, he was the son of Peter Burket's brother David King Burket and wife
Barbara Dively, Little Abe was Peter's nephew.

Peter Burket's parents lived in Greenfield Twp, Claysburg area, Bedford County. then in 1838 moved to Jefferson County, PA. between Punxsutawney and Brookville, PA.

Peter Burket's parents was Samuel Burket Sr. and wife Mary Magdalene
Dunmire. Peter's great grandfather was a Revolutionary Soldier.
The Burket's were well established in the Colonies of America long before
the Revolutionary War.

My father, James P Burkett often told me ( Arnold ) the civil war battle stories his grandfather, Peter Burket told him, especially the battle of Gettysburg, when we took my father to the Gettysburg battleground he recognized most things like the Devils Den
etc, and said everything was exactly as he had it pictured in his mind
from Pete Burket's account of the battle. I recently gave my son Bruce two pictures of Peter Burket to be placed in the Welcome center museum at Gettysburg as many families had their
veterans picture displayed there. Peter Burket's name is on the PA Memorial at Gettysburg, you had to fight in the battle to have your name on the memorial.
In all the battles Peter was never wounded, he got sick at Gettysburg from drinking bad water, my father said after the days battle, soldiers on both sides went to the stream for water,
spoke to each other, then continued the fighting at first light in the morning.

Peter was an expert rifleman, he told my father about putting his hat on a stick, raising it above the stone way he lay behind, a Confederate sniper would shoot a hole thru the hat, giving his
position away, and as quickly as he shot thru the hat, Peter would pick him off, crawl to a new location, do it all over again. Peter for Sunday dinner would let a rooster out
of the chicken yard, have my Father, a young boy, throw something to make the rooster run fast, ( Dead gallop ) and then Pete with the muzzle loader would shoot its head off while it was running flat out.

Peter Burket was also blessed with Healing power, pow-wow secret incantations, certain verses from the bible to stop bleeding and etc. Harvey Keller, a neighbor, his daughter was badly burned and bleeding, doctor done everything he could, told the parents the little girl would
die shortly, Peter Burket went to the little girl, he is credited with his pow-wow incantations, stopping the bleeding and saving the little Keller girl's life.
I tried to research what Peter read from the bible, I concluded it was
Ezekiel 16-6.

Wrote by,
Arnold Burkett
Burket Family Historian
And Storyteller of Burket Tales and Trails
6 April, 2002

Ok, starting with Samuel Sr., and Sally Hatfield, had a son,
Jacob, that married Angeline Cochran.
Jacob and Angeline's children. . .
Samuel, Jeffy John Calbin, Jacob Irvin, Jeffy Davy,
Rebeka, Martha, Katie and Mary.

Jacob and Angeline's son, Jacob, married Catherine Brocious,
one of their children was Nellie, that married the Homer.
Nellie is 102, still lives in Punxy, has a good mind, her daughter
is Jenny Homer Harriger.

Angeline Cochran's sister, Mary Miller, was Peter Burket's
last wife. See page 91, Vol 1 for picture of Jeffy John.
I know Jeffy John's granddaughter, met his daughter before she died
of cancer.

Jeffy John and Jeffy Davy (Big Dave) got the nickname Jeffy for
Jefferson County, PA., because they traveled frequently back and
forth between Burket Hollow in Jefferson County and Burkett Hill in
Polecat hollow area of Beford/Blair county, Greenfield Twp., area with
relatives.

My wife and I bought a little farm in the
country, GREEN ACRES

Early next morning I went to the barn to milk, BETSY THE COW,
then I remembered I didn't know how!
I asked the neighbor that lived across the way, he said, pat her gently
on the head and give her some hay,
Then pump her tail and she will fill your pail.
Well I did what he said, patted her head,
gave her some hay and pumped her tail to fill my pail,
I wanted some milk from her udder for the churn to make some butter.
I pumped and pumped to no avail,
she did not fill my pail.

About that time a neighboring farmer came by,
took a look, LAUGHED, then said,
I think you should name that cow FRED.

Arnold's fables.
wrote by ArnoldS
19 December, 1999

JOHN WILLIAM BURKET AND CATHERINE McCLURE MARRIED IN BERLIN, SOMERSET COUNTY, PA. AT THE INN OF GEORGE BURKET, JOHN WM'S UNCLE, MARRIED BY CATHERINE'S UNCLE A SCOTCH IRISH CIRCUIT RIDING MINISTER ON HORSEBACK TO THE CHURCHES IN HIS CHARGE., THAT WAS IN THE 1790'S, THEN JOHN WM. BURKET SOLD HIS LAND AT STONY CREEK TOWNSHIP IN SOMERSET COUNTY, ( STONY CREEK TOWNSHIP IS WHERE FLIGHT 93 CRASHED IN 2001 FROM TERRORIST).

DAVID BEING THE OLDEST, HE MARRIED MARY ANN ZUMWALT, THEY BECAME FRIENDS WITH DANIEL BOONE AND HIS FAMILY AT BOONESBORO, ( DANIEL BOONE WAS BORN IN BERKS COUNTY, PA.),

THEN THE BURKET'S SIGNED UP WITH DEWITS WAGON TRAIN TO TEXAS, THEY ARRIVED IN TEXAS IN 1830 SETTLED ABOUT 60 MILES EAST OF SAN ANTONIO WHERE THE ALAMO IS, DAVID PARENTS DIED OF DRINKING BAD WATER, CHOLERA WITHIN THE FIRST YEAR, DAVID BURKET'S SISTER IN LAW, ELIZABETH ZUMWALT MARRIED ANDREW KENT, HE DIED IN THE BATTLE OF THE ALAMO ALONG WITH 212 OTHERS INCLUDING JIM BOWIE AND DAVY CROCKETT OF TENNESSEE, TEXAS WAS OWNED BY MEXICO, DAVY BURKET HAD A LAND GRANT OF 55,000 ACRES FROM THE MEXICAN GOVERNMENT, 60 MILES EAST OF THE ALAMO ALONG THE GUADALOUPE RIVER WHAT IS PRESENTLY CALLED HOHEIM ALONG RTE 10 BETWEEN HOUSTON AND SAN ANTONIO.

ALL THE COUNTIES IN TEXAS ARE NAMED FOR THE MEN THAT DIED AT THE ALAMO AT THE HANDS OF SANTA ANTA'S ARMY OF OVER 5000 MEXICAN SOLDIERS. KENT COUNTY IS SOUTHWEST OF FT. WORTH.

WHEN I VISIT MY COUSIN NINA AT KERRVILLE, TEXAS THE GUADALOUPE RIVER FLOWS IN A CANYON BEHIND HER HOME. DAVY BURKET'S JOB WAS TO MOVE THE WOMEN AND CHILDREN TO SAFETY BACK EASTWARD OUT OF REACH OF SANTA ANTA'S ARMY. THERE IS A HIGHWAY MARKER NEAR HOHEIM STATING DAVID BURKET AN ORIGINAL PIONEER OF TEXAS. TEXAS AFTER WINNING ITS INDEPENDENCE WITH THE LEADERSHIP OF SAM HOUSTON, THE GENERAL IN CHARGE, TEXAS WAS AN INDEPENDENT COUNTRY TILL IT VOLUNTARILY JOINED AND WILLINGLY BECAME PART OF THE USA. DURING THE CIVIL WAR, TEXAS WAS A CONFEDERATE STATE. 1861-1865.