BURNETT, THOMAS

The first record we have of Thomas Burnett is an entry in the Durham City Directory for 1887, when he was already nearly 40 years old.¹Directory of the Business and Citizens of Durham City for 1887 (Durham, N.C.: Levi Branson, 1887) p. 35, Burnett surname; digital image, “North Carolina City Directories,” DigitalNC (https://lib.digitalnc.org/record/25123 : accessed 16 Jan 2020). He’s listed there as a farm hand for George M. Harden, a local entrepreneur who ran a livery stable in Durham’s Five Points. It seems likely that Thomas worked with horses there, given that his later occupations were teamster, hostler, coachman, and driver.

The 1910 Federal Census specifies that he was driving a “City Cart.”²“United States Census, 1910,” database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:33S7-9RVY-XY5?cc=1727033&wc=QZZ4-8PF%3A133642301%2C137874101%2C137961801%2C1589088848 : 24 June 2017), North Carolina > Durham > Durham Ward 3 > ED 39 > image 14 of 54; citing NARA microfilm publication T624 (Washington, D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration, n.d.). This was a horse-drawn wagon used for multiple purposes, but mainly for the pickup of refuse. This was physically demanding work, as the City Carts had a crew of one: the driver was also responsible for loading and unloading the cart, generally with a shovel. This was long before the days of tidy drawstring garbage bags.³One man, one cart: “Yesterday’s Proceedings,” The News and Observer (Raleigh, North Carolina), 11 October 1885, p. 4. https://www.newspapers.com/image/76198040/: accessed 24 Dec 2020.

Duties of cart driver: “Will Enforce Trash Ordinance Vigorously,” The News and Observer (Raleigh, North Carolina), 26 Jun 1920, p. 12. https://www.newspapers.com/image/650812366/: accessed 24 Dec 2020.

City Cart drivers were often called to other duties, including delivery of coal to the poor and participating in neighborhood cleanup projects.⁴“City Wagons Hauling Coal,” Durham Morning Herald (Durham, North Carolina), 26 Feb 1914, p. 5. https://www.newspapers.com/image/79687266/: accessed 19 Jan 2022. During the 1910s they periodically assisted a branch of the health department designated as the “sanitary police.⁵“Report of City Canitary [sic] Police—Byrd, Wiggins, Riggs, for November and December 1916,” Durham Morning Herald (Durham, North Carolina), 2 Jan 1917, p. 8. https://www.newspapers.com/image/75275318/: accessed 24 Dec 2020. This was an era when infectious diseases were not well understood, and poor hygiene was beginning to be blamed for their spread. Sanitary police had the power to inspect private homes, where they cleaned closets, fumigated, ordered trash removed, sent the sick to hospitals, and could even place the premises under quarantine. Measles was epidemic in 1916, and of course the Spanish Flu struck with deadly force in 1918. Other critical diseases included diphtheria, tuberculosis, and whooping cough. City Cart drivers were on the front lines of all these battles.⁶George Martin Kober, “Progress in Health Conservation During the Past Fifty Years,” Public Health Reports 38 no. 14 (6 Apr 1923): 725-775, https://stacks.cdc.gov/view/cdc/68121/cdc_68121_DS1.pdf.

Thomas married Mary Ellen Smith in 1872.⁷U.S. Census 1910 Durham ED 39. Their two daughters, Mary and Lessie, both became schoolteachers.⁸Durham, N.C. Directory 1915-1916 (Durham, N.C.: Hill Directory Company, 1915-1916) p. 128, Burnett surname; digital image, “North Carolina City Directories,” DigitalNC (https://lib.digitalnc.org/record/25122 : accessed 24 Dec 2020). Thomas and Ellen may have previously had a son, James, but we’re not able to verify that.⁹Ramsey’s Durham Directory 1892 (Durham, N.C: N. A. Ramsey, 1892) p. 175, Burnett surname; digital image, “North Carolina City Directories,” DigitalNC (https://lib.digitalnc.org/record/25120 : accessed 24 Dec 2020).

Thomas’s headstone tells us he was born on 1 January 1848, though often 1/1 was used as a default when the actual birth date was unknown.¹⁰U.S. Census 1910 Durham ED 39. The Masonic symbol celebrates Thomas’s membership in the Prince Hall (African American) Freemasons; he was affiliated with Doric Lodge No.28 PHA, from 1897 until his death.¹¹Nicholas Levy, “Freemasons in Geer Cemetery,” spreadsheet, (Durham, N.C.: Friends of Geer Cemetery private database, last modified 6 Jun 2021).

There is some question about the date of Thomas’s death. His headstone says 10 March 1918, but his death certificate—more likely to be correct—shows 11 March 1917.¹²“North Carolina Deaths, 1906-1930,” database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:S3HT-6M4Q-CL9?cc=1609799&wc=MJWY-RM9%3A1042558501 : 3 May 2019), 004163103 > image 1345 of 3036; State Department of Archives and History, Raleigh. In any case, after decades of hard physical labor, Thomas Burnett’s heart simply gave out.

BORN: 1 Jan 1848¹⁴Geer Cemetery, Thomas Burnett headstone.

DIED: 11 March 1917¹⁵Thomas Burnett death certificate.

BIRTH PLACE: Wake County, NC¹⁶Thomas Burnett death certificate.

DEATH PLACE: Durham, NC¹⁷Thomas Burnett death certificate.

SPOUSE: Mary Ellen Burnett (b. 1852)¹⁸“United States Census, 1900,” database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:S3HY-68FD-JS?cc=1325221&wc=9BWW-4WP%3A1030551601%2C1032311101%2C1032351601 : 5 August 2014), North Carolina > Durham > ED 31 Durham Township Durham city > image 39 of 48; citing NARA microfilm publication T623 (Washington, D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration, n.d.).

PARENTS: Henry Edwards, Eula Johnson¹⁹Thomas Burnett death certificate.

CHILDREN: James?
Mary (b. 1883)
Lessie (b. 1887)²⁰U.S. Census 1900 Durham ED 31.

OTHER FAMILY: N/A

FAMILY BURIED IN GEER CEMETERY: Unknown

OCCUPATION: Teamster, driver²¹Durham city directories 1887 – 1915.

CHURCH: N/A

AFFILIATIONS: Doric Masonic Lodge No.28²²Nicholas Levy, “Freemasons in Geer Cemetery.”

ADDRESS: 306 Proctor St. Durham, NC²³Thomas Burnett death certificate.

MILITARY SERVICE: N/A