Last year I travelled to West Springfield, Massachusetts and found my great, great grandfather’s gravestone. It was a day I’ll never forget. After years spent researching and writing his story, I couldn’t believe I had finally found his memorial. What made it more special was that my husband and daughter were there beside me, flowers in hand, sharing this moment. We gathered close to the stone and I introduced everyone; telling him that I was a distant relative who found his letters and wrote a book about his life. Then lightening struck! No, that didn’t happen. Actually, nothing out of the ordinary happened, but seeing his engraved tombstone made the experience “real” for me. It wasn’t letters, or old tin photos; it was a gravestone with his name, regiment and birth and death record. This was my Florence Burke!
My daughter was curious as to why his gravestone was so much newer looking than the graves surrounding his plot and I explained that this was not an original tombstone from the 1800’s when he died, but that someone had commissioned it in recent years to honor him. I was thrilled that a relative or maybe a military acquaintance had recognized the importance of his life and was willing to make this beautiful memorial.
Irish immigrant Florence Burke has inspired me as well. I believe it was a “gift” to find his Civil War letters in my attic and I feel privileged to be the writer of his story. His letters were so expressive, chilling, and unique that I wanted to share them with others. His whole life was extraordinary. After all, how many people have lived through a famine (which killed one million people), survived a harrowing Transatlantic crossing, travelled through New York City to the farms of Western Mass, and voluntarily joined the American Civil War? Florence Burke was a 35-year-old husband and father of three when he joined the Union Army. He volunteered out of desperation and with the intent to help his impoverished family. His story is both tragic and inspiring. He’s a brave man who took a gamble. Did it pay off? (Read Yours Faithfully, Florence Burke to find out!)
On this Memorial Day weekend I want to honor the man behind my fiction novel. Florence Burke was a proud Irishman, a hard working farmer, a brave soldier, and a loving husband and father. He made the ultimate sacrifice for his family. I thank him for inspiring me to write his remarkable story.
I also want to thank all of those that have served in the military in the past and in the present. Thanks for protecting our great country.
Happy Memorial Day!
Author of Yours Faithfully, Florence Burke
Ellen, were you able to find where the farm was or any descendants of the neighbors, etc?
Hi Cindy, I have the original deed for the trade but it is outlined like this; “boundary lines on the corner of Mrs. Jenkins Farm and Col Parsons land, and the right field of Mr. Day.” They are not very specific so I don’t think I’ll ever find the exact plot of land he traded for… I don’t know much about the neighbors but there is a Civil War museum owned by the Day family which could be descendants of my Day in the book.. The wealthy man who gave Florence the land in return for Florence taking his son’s draft. Thank you for reading my book Cindy!
Very interesting to find an art iCal in Boston Globe this morning. I have done a little research on my family, my mother was a Burke and she had a brother Florence. Always wondered why a girl’s name was given to a man and where it came from.where the name came from
Hi Ellen, Florence Burke was from West Cork (Schull) and it seems Florence is/was a a common male name in that area. The nicknames are Flor and Florrie. I’ve read that sometimes the eldest son was named after his mother, but that tradition is not universal, so I am not sure why a girl’s name was given to a man. Perhaps they believe it is a masculine name like “Kerry”. Thanks for your interesting inquiry.
Hi My grandfather Was named Florence Joseph Burke. He was born in Peekskill MY in 1903 to HENRY Joseph BURKE and Ellen Lounsbury. Henry’s father was Willian HENRY BURKE of Boston married to Mary Sullivan b in Dartmouth Nova Scotia emigrated to Boston. I believe William’s parents were William BURKE of Boston and Rose Dowling of Gloucester. I don’t know who Williams parents were. Rumor is that Our Burke’s may have come from Skibbereen in Cork. I have to think my Florence could be connected!!! Any thoughts?
Hello Jamesine, I think there is a connection. Florence Burke had a son named Michael who had a son named Willian Burke of Boston. He attended Tufts University and was a prominent Boston dentist and professor. A terrific resource for genealogy is the Irish Cultural Centre of New England. They helped be and they offer free sessions each month. They are located in Canton, MA. Thanks for the exciting information–we may be related!!
Hi Ellen, I just wanted to say how much I enjoyed your book. It was particularly interesting to me because I also possess a collection of letters, in my case written by my 4x great uncle to his mother (my 4x great grandmother) back in Ireland, he left Ireland and served and died in the Civil War. I was fascinated to see how you brought your letters and Florence’s family and story to life through this book. Brilliant!
Thanks for responding from the UK! It’s very interesting that we have similar ancestry. Thanks for your kind words and you might think of writing a book of your own some day!