| L L Burke |
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| L.L. Burke, of Brookville, was born in Clark county, Indiana, March 2, 1829, and is a son of James McConn and Adeline (Roby) Burke. The paternal ancestors of the family were from the north of Ireland, whence representatives of the name crossed the Atlantic to America in the early part of the seventeenth century. A settlement was made in Virginia, and there the father of our subject was born. The family, being lovers of liberty and desiring to escape from the baneful influences of slavery, left the old Dominion and went to Nashville, Tennessee. Later they removed to Louisville, Kentucky, and in 1811 the family was founded in Clark county, Indiana, by the grandparents of our subject and their children. The latter located on General Clarke’s grant of land, in what is now Clark county, Indiana, but the grandparents spent their last days in Morgan county. James M. Burke was born in Bedford county, Virginia, in 1803, and in 1824 married Adeline (Roby) Green, who was born in Elizabethtown, North Carolina, in 1807. After their marriage they removed to Martinsville, Indiana, and subsequently to Putnam county, Indiana, where the father’s death occurred in 1862. His wife survived him ten years, and passed away in Connersville, Fayette county, Indiana, in 1872. In religious faith they were Methodists, and in politics Mr. Burke was a Democrat until the time of the civil war, when he espoused the cause of the Republican party, which stood so loyally by the Union. In his family were six sons and two daughters who grew to years of maturity, namely: William, now deceased; L.L., of this review; Luke A., who was a captain in the Ninetieth Indiana Volunteers and inspector general of the Twenty-fourth Army Corps, under General Scofield; Leonard G., who was sergeant of the Ninety-first Illinois Infantry; James W., who died in Illinois, in early life; John W., who was more familiarly known as Guy, and who was one of the five thousand minute-men who in twenty-four hours were organized to drive Morgan out of Indiana, after which he joined the Twentieth Light Battery and served until the close of the war, dying three of four years later; Mrs. Mary Clement, of Duluth, Minnesota; and Mrs. Sarah McMahan, of Lafayette, Indiana. In taking up the personal history of L.L. Burke, we present to our readers the life-record of one of the most prominent and influential citizens of Brookville, - the popular editor of the Brookville American, and until recently the efficient postmaster at this place. He was reared in Morgan county, Indiana, and educated in the public schools of Martinsville. In 1846 he became connected with the printing business in New Albany, Indiana, where he learned his trade and was made war news editor of the New Albany Bulletin, which was the property of his uncle. He remained on the staff of that paper for three or four years, and then worked on the Louisville Journal and on other papers for about nine years. In 1861 he accepted a position in connection with the Indianapolis Journal, and after serving as city editor for a time was appointed to a position in the adjutant general’s office. On the close of the war of the Rebellion he went to Washington, where he served in the government printing office for over eleven years, and in April, 1888, he purchased the Brookville American, which he has since published. The paper was established in 1833, by C.F. Clarkson as a Whig organ, and since the organization of the Republican party it has upheld the principles of this political body. During the existence of the paper it has had some able editors, including Rev. T.A. Goodwin, of Indianapolis, and William H. Greene, of Shelbyville. Mr. Burke is a very able editorial writer, and the American is now extensively quoted throughout this section of the country. He studies closely the important questions of the day, and after mature reflection his opinions are given to the public through the columns of his journal and have awakened deep thought and earnest consideration of the topics involved. He has even been a stalwart Republican, and his labors have been most effective in promoting the growth and securing the success of his party. In connection with his journalistic duties Mr. Burke is serving as a member of the board of directors of the Brookville Telephone Company, a position which he has filled since the establishment of the important enterprise. He also served as postmaster of Brookville, having assumed charge of the office April 15, 1898, and under his direction its affairs were most ably administered. He recently resigned his position as postmaster, by reason of failing health. He holds membership in the Methodist Episcopal church, and is ever deeply interested in the movements which tend to advance the material, educational and moral welfare of the community. As a citizen he is loyal and progressive, as a business man reliable, and as a friend true and trustworthy. Source: Biographical and Genealogical History of Wayne, Fayette, Union and Franklin Counties, Indiana. Chicago. The Lewis Publishing Company. 1899. |
