Esther Edwards Burr (February 13, 1732 – April 7, 1758) was the mother of 3rd U.S. Vice President
Aaron Burr, Jr. and the wife of
Princeton University
Princeton University is a private university, private research university in Princeton, New Jersey. Founded in 1746 in Elizabeth, New Jersey, Elizabeth as the College of New Jersey, Princeton is the List of Colonial Colleges, fourth-oldest ins ...
President
Aaron Burr, Sr. whom she married in 1752, one year after she moved to
Stockbridge in western
.
Her journal (which she began in October 1754) records her perspectives on her daily activities and current events; it is important in studies of American history and literature for it is an important insight into a woman's daily life in the late colonial period of the United States but it was not until 1984 that her Journal was published in its entirety to the public.
Early life and family
Esther Edwards was born in
Northampton
Northampton () is a market town and civil parish in the East Midlands of England, on the River Nene, north-west of London and south-east of Birmingham. The county town of Northamptonshire, Northampton is one of the largest towns in England; ...
,
Province of Massachusetts Bay
The Province of Massachusetts Bay was a colony in British America which became one of the Thirteen Colonies, thirteen original states of the United States. It was chartered on October 7, 1691, by William III of England, William III and Mary II ...
, the third of the eleven children of
Sarah (Pierpont) Edwards and the famed preacher of the
Great Awakening
Great Awakening refers to a number of periods of religious revival in American Christian history. Historians and theologians identify three, or sometimes four, waves of increased religious enthusiasm between the early 18th century and the late ...
,
Jonathan Edwards. Esther was named after Edwards' mother and grandmother who came before her. She initially grew up in the town of
Northampton
Northampton () is a market town and civil parish in the East Midlands of England, on the River Nene, north-west of London and south-east of Birmingham. The county town of Northamptonshire, Northampton is one of the largest towns in England; ...
, but Jonathan Edwards had a falling out with the church in Northampton, the First Church of Northampton was unwilling for Jonathan Edwards to change his position on the Lord's table. This led to the Edwards family moving to the frontier settlement
Stockbridge, Massachusetts
Stockbridge is a town in Berkshire County in Western Massachusetts, United States. It is part of the Pittsfield, Massachusetts, Metropolitan Statistical Area. The population was 2,018 at the 2020 census. A year-round resort area, Stockbridge is h ...
in 1751, where she met
Aaron Burr, Sr. whom she married in 1752. Though the Edwards children were encouraged to read the Bible and engage in piety at all times, they were not kept in the dark about all forms of contemporary, non-religious culture. For instance, they were allowed to read novels, if their parents approved of their content, but
Jonathan Edwards was still a rather strict father,
Esther Edwards was never given a proper formal education, but she given quite an education at home. Both her parents were as interested in her writing ability. These writing abilities carried over to her adult life, evident in her journal, consisting of letters sent to her friend.
Esther Burr was a member of the Church at Stockbridge and Northampton and later the church in Newark. In 1752, Esther married
Aaron Burr, Sr. She was just seventeen when she received her first and only marriage proposal,
Aaron Burr, Sr. was the president of the College of New Jersey (now Princeton University). In 1754 Esther had a daughter named Sarah nicknamed Sally and in 1756 she gave birth to
Aaron Burr, Jr. who would become
vice president of the United States
The vice president of the United States (VPOTUS) is the second-highest officer in the executive branch of the U.S. federal government, after the president of the United States, and ranks first in the presidential line of succession. The vice ...
(1801–05). The marriage seems to have been a happy one. Esther, however, desperately missed her friends and close-knit family. Her new husband's duties frequently kept him away from home, and Esther found her own responsibilities as the wife of a university president and prominent minister. Esther managed the affairs of the household and hosted many of the scholars of the school at her home.
Esther Burr's daughter, Sarah, married
Tapping Reeve
Tapping Reeve (October 1, 1744 – December 13, 1823) was an American lawyer, judge, and law educator. In 1784 he opened the Litchfield Law School, the first law school in the United States, in Litchfield, Connecticut.
Early life
Tapping Reev ...
, previously Aaron jr. and Sarah's School Tutor and the founder of America's first law school
Litchfield Law School
The Litchfield Law School of Litchfield, Connecticut, was the first independent law school established in America for reading law. Founded and led by lawyer Tapping Reeve, the proprietary school was unaffiliated with any college or university. (Whi ...
. Esther Burr's son,
Aaron
According to Abrahamic religions, Aaron ''′aharon'', ar, هارون, Hārūn, Greek (Septuagint): Ἀαρών; often called Aaron the priest ()., group="note" ( or ; ''’Ahărōn'') was a prophet, a high priest, and the elder brother of ...
, was the
third
Third or 3rd may refer to:
Numbers
* 3rd, the ordinal form of the cardinal number 3
* , a fraction of one third
* Second#Sexagesimal divisions of calendar time and day, 1⁄60 of a ''second'', or 1⁄3600 of a ''minute''
Places
* 3rd Street (d ...
vice president of the United States
The vice president of the United States (VPOTUS) is the second-highest officer in the executive branch of the U.S. federal government, after the president of the United States, and ranks first in the presidential line of succession. The vice ...
(1801–05), who shot and killed Alexander Hamilton in a duel in 1804. Esther kept to a plain style, proudly asserting that she was a "busy housewife."
Her journal
Like the earlier journal of
Sarah Kemble Knight
Sarah Kemble Knight (April 19, 1666 – September 25, 1727) was a teacher and businesswoman, who is remembered for a brief diary of a journey from Boston, Massachusetts Bay Colony, to New York City, Province of New York, in 1704–1705, which prov ...
in 1704–1705, Esther Burr's Journal provides insight into a woman's daily life in the
late colonial period of the United States. Esther Burr's Journal might be called an epistolary diary, since, rather than being a traditional diary written as a private record for oneself, Esther Burr's Journal consists of letters exchanged with her childhood friend
Sarah Prince Sarah Prince Gill (July 16, 1728 – August 5, 1771) was an American Christian prayer group leader and writer.
Life
Prince was the 4th of five children born to Deborah Denny and Thomas Prince. Thomas was the minister at Boston's Old South Chur ...
in Boston from 1754 to 1757. In the Journal, Sarah Prince is referred to as ''Fidelia'' while Sarah refers to Esther as ''Burrissa'' most likely a reference to her last name after she married
Aaron Burr Sr.
Aaron Burr Sr. (January 4, 1716 – September 24, 1757) was a notable Presbyterian minister and college educator in colonial America. He was a founder of the College of New Jersey (now Princeton University) and the father of Aaron Burr ( ...
Esther wrote about ordinary things that happened around her, but she also sometimes expressed original thoughts about serious topics in passing such as the dominant themes of loneliness and hardship of everyday existence as well as slavery.
That there exist multiple editions of Esther Burr's Journal can be somewhat confusing. In 1901, the president of
Howard University
Howard University (Howard) is a private, federally chartered historically black research university in Washington, D.C. It is classified among "R2: Doctoral Universities – High research activity" and accredited by the Middle States Commissi ...
,
Jeremiah Rankin
Jeremiah Eames Rankin (January 2, 1828 – November 28, 1904) was an abolitionist, champion of the temperance movement, minister of Washington D.C.'s First Congregational Church, and correspondent with Frederick Douglass. In 1890 he was appoin ...
, published a book which, despite being entitled ''Esther Burr's Journal'' is actually a fictionalized account of Esther's life. It was not until 1984 that Esther Burr's Journal was published in its entirety by Carol F. Karlsen and Laurie Crumpacker but this book is no longer in print and it is quite hard to find a copy in good condition.
Death
Less than a month after the sudden death of her father, Jonathan Edwards (who had come to Princeton to be Burr's successor as president of the college who died March 22, 1758, due to compilation with
smallpox
Smallpox was an infectious disease caused by variola virus (often called smallpox virus) which belongs to the genus Orthopoxvirus. The last naturally occurring case was diagnosed in October 1977, and the World Health Organization (WHO) c ...
), Esther died on April 7, 1758, after "a few days illness". The illness turned out to be a deadly case of
smallpox
Smallpox was an infectious disease caused by variola virus (often called smallpox virus) which belongs to the genus Orthopoxvirus. The last naturally occurring case was diagnosed in October 1977, and the World Health Organization (WHO) c ...
, and her death left her two children, Aaron and Sarah Burr, as orphans, Burr and his sister went to live with their wealthy maternal uncle Timothy Edwards in a cramped, crowded environment.
Aaron Burr, Sr. had died previously in September 1757.
Sarah Edwards, her mother, died soon after in October 1758 Esther, along with the rest of the Edwards family, where buried together at the Bridge Street Cemetery in
Northampton
Northampton () is a market town and civil parish in the East Midlands of England, on the River Nene, north-west of London and south-east of Birmingham. The county town of Northamptonshire, Northampton is one of the largest towns in England; ...
.
After Esther's death in
Princeton
Princeton University is a private research university in Princeton, New Jersey. Founded in 1746 in Elizabeth as the College of New Jersey, Princeton is the fourth-oldest institution of higher education in the United States and one of the nine ...
, on April 7, 1758.
Sarah Prince Sarah Prince Gill (July 16, 1728 – August 5, 1771) was an American Christian prayer group leader and writer.
Life
Prince was the 4th of five children born to Deborah Denny and Thomas Prince. Thomas was the minister at Boston's Old South Chur ...
was nearly inconsolable. "My whole dependance for Comfort in this World
sgone," Sarah wrote in her personal book of meditations. "
stherwas dear to me as the Apple of my Eye- she knew and felt all my griefs..."
[Norton, Mary Beth (2011-05-16). Separated by Their Sex: Women in Public and Private in the Colonial Atlantic World. Cornell University Press. ISBN 978-0801461378.
]
In popular culture
Theatre and film
Aaron Burr Jr. is featured in the hit Broadway show "Hamilton", played by
Leslie Odom Jr.
Leslie Lloyd Odom Jr. (; born August 6, 1981) is an American actor and singer. He made his acting debut on Broadway in 1998 and first gained recognition for his portrayal of Aaron Burr in the musical ''Hamilton'', which earned him a Tony Award f ...
, Aaron Burr mentions Esther twice in the first half of the musical. Esther is personified by a female ensemble member during "Wait For It" after
Leslie Odom Jr.
Leslie Lloyd Odom Jr. (; born August 6, 1981) is an American actor and singer. He made his acting debut on Broadway in 1998 and first gained recognition for his portrayal of Aaron Burr in the musical ''Hamilton'', which earned him a Tony Award f ...
playing the role of
Aaron Burr Jr. sings the line "My Mother was a genius" and then proceeds to sing, "when they (Esther Edwards Burr and
Aaron Burr Sr.
Aaron Burr Sr. (January 4, 1716 – September 24, 1757) was a notable Presbyterian minister and college educator in colonial America. He was a founder of the College of New Jersey (now Princeton University) and the father of Aaron Burr ( ...
) died they left no instructions, just a legacy to protect", implying that they didn't tell
Aaron Burr Jr. anything before she died, Esther is briefly also mentioned in "Aaron Burr, Sir".
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Burr, Esther Edwards
Colonial American women
American diarists
Women diarists
People of colonial Massachusetts
People of colonial New Jersey
1732 births
1758 deaths
Esther Edwards
Jonathan Edwards family
American people of English descent
Mothers of vice presidents of the United States
18th-century diarists