Person:Lewis Burwell (10)

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!Lewis was a student at William and Mary in 1718. Lewis was the progenitor of the "Kingsmill" line, the third major branch of the Burwell family. There were a number of children, however only two have been identified - Lewis Burwell of Kingsmill and Armistead Burwell of Stoneland, Mecklenburg Co.

 In "Burwell Kith and Kin of the Immigrant

Lewis Burwell", Stuart Brown, Jr. wrote: [Lewis] was in 1728 Naval Officer of the Upper District of James River and Collector of Customs and was a member of the House of Burgesses for Jamestown and later for James City County. He was one of the "friends and political supporters" who received large loans from John Robinson, Speaker of the House of Burgesses and Treasurer of Virginia.

 He established the riverside village of

Burwell's Ferry...the ferry crossed the James River to Isle of Wight County and also served Williamsburg (the present ferry on Route 31 is upriver ten miles). During the Revolutionary War Yorktown campagin, the Burwell's Ferry area was the scene of naval activity. Burwell's Ferry had a warehouse and tavern site and Civil War fortifications." In 1718, Lewis' half-brother, Nathaniel (age 38), wrote a letter to another of Lewis' half-brothers, James (age 28) pertaining to Lewis' education. It gives an amusing glimpse into the concerns the older brothers had for Lewis.

 The letter read, in part: "Brother, I'm

very much concerned for ye occasion of your Sending & more to see how insensible Lewis is of his own Ignorance, for he can nither read as he aught to do, nor give one letter a true shape when he writes nor spell one line of English & is altogether ignorent of Arithmetick, so that he'l be noways capable of management of his own affairs & unfit for any Gentleman's conversation, & therefore a Scandalous person & a Shame to his Relations, not having one single qualification to recommend him; if he would but apply himself heartily one year to write well, learn ye Mathematics & Consequently arithmetick of Mr. Jones, & to Translate Latin into English of Mr. Ingles to learn him to spell well, I would then take him home & imploy him till he comes of Age in my Office and Plantation Affairs that he might the better to be capable to manage his own, & to my knowledge this will be no disservice to him, & a greater than any other method he'l fall into through his own inclination; for my part, tis not advantage to me whether he be a Blockhead or a man of parts, were he not my Brother, but when I have to do with him, to schoole he shall go, & if he don't go till I can go over, he then Shall be forced to go whether he will or not & be made an example...need not Scare him, & therefore he had better go by fare means than fowl, for go he shall, & Send him forthwith. I am, Yo' Affection' Broth', N. Burwell"

At the bottom of the letter he wrote:

"Abingdon, June 13, 1718" and directly under that he wrote, "Show him this letter". We can only imagine Lewis' reaction!

1. ↑ ^{1.0 1.1 1.2} Brøderbund Software, Inc. World Family Tree Vol. 7, Ed. 1. (Release date: October 17, 1996)
   Tree #3244.

   Date of Import: Jan 17, 1998

2. ↑ Armistead / Burwell / Carter Family, Web Page of John Marshall, www.intercall.com/~jmarshall/esmd42.htm.