William Fletcher Burden (March 14, 1830 – December 7, 1867) was an industrialist born in

Troy, New York Troy is a city in the U.S. state of New York and the county seat of Rensselaer County. The city is located on the western edge of Rensselaer County and on the eastern bank of the Hudson River. Troy has close ties to the nearby cities of Albany a ...

Early life

William F. Burden was born March 14, 1830, in Troy, New York, the third son of

Henry Burden Henry Burden (April 22, 1791 – January 19, 1871) was an engineer and businessman who built an industrial complex in Troy, New York called the Burden Iron Works. Burden's horseshoe machine, invented in 1835, was capable of making 60 horseshoes ...

(1791–1871) and Helen (

née A birth name is the name of a person given upon birth. The term may be applied to the surname, the given name, or the entire name. Where births are required to be officially registered, the entire name entered onto a birth certificate or birth re ...

McOuat) Burden (1802–1860). His siblings included James Abercrombie Burden Sr. (the father of

James A. Burden Jr. James is a common English language surname and given name: *James (name), the typically masculine first name James * James (surname), various people with the last name James James or James City may also refer to: People * King James (disambiguat ...

and

Arthur Scott Burden Arthur Scott Burden (August 11, 1879 – June 15, 1921) was an American banker, equestrian, and member of the young set of New York society during the Gilded Age. Early life Burden was born on August 11, 1879, in Troy, New York. He was the yo ...

), Margaret Elizabeth Burden, Helen Burden (who married Gen.

Irvin McDowell Irvin McDowell (October 15, 1818 – May 4, 1885) was a career American army officer. He is best known for his defeat in the First Battle of Bull Run, the first large-scale battle of the American Civil War. In 1862, he was given command o ...

), Henry James Burden, Peter Abercrombie Burden, Isaiah Townsend Burden, and Jessie Burden. Burden attended Troy Polytechnic Institute (later known as

Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute () (RPI) is a private research university in Troy, New York, with an additional campus in Hartford, Connecticut. A third campus in Groton, Connecticut closed in 2018. RPI was established in 1824 by Stephen Van ...

Career

William designed the steam derricks, used for unloading coal, at the

Burden Iron Works The Burden Iron Works was an iron works and industrial complex on the Hudson River and Wynantskill Creek in Troy, New York. It once housed the Burden Water Wheel, the most powerful vertical water wheel in history. It is widely believed that George ...

. A wire cable stretched between, on which an iron carriage traveled three hundred feet from the dock to the coal heap, carrying a self-dumping bucket with the capacity to hold a ton of coal. A steam engine hoisted the filled bucket to the cable, along which it traveled to the point where the tilting apparatus overturned its contents upon the pile.

Personal life

In 1856, he married Julia Ann Hart (1833–1887), daughter of Hon. Richard P. Hart from Troy. Together, they were the parents of five sons, only three of which survived to adulthood: * William Fletcher Burden, Jr. (1856–1897), who married Esther "Daisy" (née McCoy) (1855–1928). * Howard Hart Burden (1857–1926). * Henry Burden (1861–1861), who died young. * Henry Burden (1863–1864), who also died young. * Henry Burden (1866-1937), moved to Cazenovia, NY. Married Julia Radcliffe Hart Burden. Burden died in Troy on December 7, 1867, at the age of thirty-seven, and was interred in the family vault in the

Albany Rural Cemetery The Albany Rural Cemetery was established October 7, 1844, in Colonie, New York, United States, just outside the city of Albany, New York. It is renowned as one of the most beautiful, pastoral cemeteries in the U.S., at over . Many historical Am ...

."William F. Burden, In Memoriam"
/ref> After his death, the iron works were inherited by his nephew, James A. Burden Jr. A memorial plaque dedicated to William Fletcher Burden is in the Woodside Church, Troy, New York.

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Burden, William Fletcher 1830 births 1867 deaths 19th-century American businesspeople Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute alumni Businesspeople from Troy, New York