The Burnett Family

James and Christina (nee Eaton) Burnett and their family, about 1880

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Whether Burnet(t) evolved from Burnard/Bernard or was an individual surname in its own right has been debated. Whilst eleventh century records of Burnard/Bernard exist in Anglo-Saxon England in Bedfordshire, Hampshire and Wiltshire and later in the 13th century in southern Scotland, there are several instances where the name can be shown to be interchangeable. There are also differing opinions as to whether the early members of the family had Norman or Anglo-Saxon origins.

The Bernard derivation has Germanic origins and means "brave bear". It comes from the Old German words ber, meaning bear, and hard, meaning brave or strong. The name is also found in French and other European languages with historic Germanic influence.

In Aberdeenshire, the name Burnett is typically pronounced Burr-nit with a short "u" sound in the first syllable. The "e" is also pronounced with a short vowel sound.

Gerrard Burnett wrote (The Scotland Magazine, July 1972) that Burnett comes from the Old English name of Boernheard, through the later Burnard. About the year 1200, Roger Burnard made two grants to the Monks of Melrose from his lands at Farengdun. Alexander Burnard, or Burnett, went north in the Train of Robert I and received lands on Deeside in the Forest of Drum, as well as the Barony of Tulliboyll in the sheriffdom of Kincardine. The family [is] still in possession of Crathes Castle, near Drum. The Burnetts of Barnes, who gave the name to Burnetland in the Parish of Broughton, claimed descent from a Robertus de Burneville, who lived under David I.

Burnards were given the large barony of Farningdoun / Farnington in Roxburghshire, Scotland under a new system of land-holding instigated by King David I. As King David had a particular wish to introduce Norman or Flemish settlers to his Scottish kingdom it would not be unreasonable to assume that the Burnards were of that extraction. In this area the name evolved to Burnet and the family became associated with the lands of Burnetland and Barns. A John Burnard accompanied King David II on his journey south ending in the defeat of the King at the Battle of Neville’s Cross in 1346. Burnard, who owned Scottish lands of Ardross in Fife and of Currie in Midlothian, was killed in 1346.

A history of the wider Burnett family is at the Burnett website.

The Burnetts of Leys went to the Northeast of Scotland. The Loch of Leys is near Banchory.

Gerrard Burnett wrote (The Scotland Magazine, July 1972) also wrote that the Burnetts are “possibly of Saxon origin” is accepted since there is documentary evidence showing without any shade of doubt that the First Laird of Leys’ (viz Alexander Burnett, c 1323) ancestors received mention in the Domesday Book (1086) and in records before the time of William the Conqueror. These forebears appear to have lived in the neighbourhood of Bedfordshire, England. By the time of David the First (c 1124) of Scotland the Burnetts had gone north and settled in the south of that country, in Roxburghshire, but more particularly in Peeblesshire. It is interesting to note that this Peebles branch, the Burnetts of Burnetland or Barns were still to be found represented there at the turn of the 20^th century; and some Burnetts of the [present day] no doubt descend from this ancient line. In the time of Robert the Bruce (c 1323) they settled on Deeside.

The present day spelling with the double “t” has evolved from the Anglo Saxon personal name of Beorn hearde; and over the centuries the name has taken on many forms. For example, in olden times, when Norman French was the language of the cultured the name was prefixed by the familiar “de” which is well seen in the works of Walter Scott. Hence this does not necessarily indicate French ancestry, which is frequently but wrongly suggested.

The Bishop of Salisbury, Gilbert Burnett, was the eleventh son of Lord Crimond (Robert Burnett), both of whom were mentioned although this relationship was not indicated. Incidentally, Gilbert was Professor of Divinity at Glasgow University in 1669. Interestingly, it was his oldest son William who emigrated to America and subsequently became in turn Governor of New York and New Jersey; of Massachusetts and then of New Hampshire. And there have been Burnetts living in the United States and Canada since that time. A David Burnett from Texas became Vice President of the US. Even the 23rdLaird of Leys, Sir Robert Burnett, owned and then sold a vast ranch around and including the metropolis of Los Angeles in the 1830s. No mention was made of the globetrotting of the Burnetts over the centuries; even in recent years they have been found on all continents.

Apart from the famous Australian medico-scientist, Sir Macfarlane Burnet, the Burnetts have produced many fine surgeons and medical men. In fact one Aberdonian member, Sir Napier Burnett (also Director of the British Red Cross among other posts), was one of the earliest recipients of the Knighthood of the Order of the British Empire (KBE) instituted by King George V in 1917. Another notable Aberdonian, William Burnett, [is the present] Professor of Surgery of the University of Queensland. Incidentally his chemist father, sometime on Deeside, was attendant of the needs of the Royal Family at Balmoral.

There have been those who have followed in the footsteps of the Rev Gilbert. Although not as famous, many fine ministers have come of this family, some of whom have been missionaries in various and remote parts of the world. One [present day] notable in this connection whose service was considered above and beyond the call of duty was Rev Ernest Burnett, another of Aberdonian extraction, who was first in East Africa before the War.

Burnetts have also followed Lord Monboddo in the legal world, although they have not become so well known.

I’m very grateful to Gerrard Burnett for his help with aspects of this genealogy.

							James Stirling 4^th Laird of Keir and Cadder	Archibald Napier Owner of the Merchiston Estate and estates at Lennox and Menteith Married Janet Bothwell, sister of the Bishop of Orkney, in 1549 Justice Depute, knighted Master of the Mint in 1582 Merchiston	Sir James Chisholm of Cromlix Excommunicated by the General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church following the Spanish blanks plot
							Elizabeth Stirling (Died 1579) Married John Napier in 1572	John Napier 1550 to 4 April 1617 Merchiston Castle Scottish scholar who is best known for his invention of logarithms, but other mathematical contributions include a mnemonic for formulas used in solving spherical triangles and two formulas known as Napier's analogies.	Agnes Chisholm
							2 children		10 children
								Napier?
									Napier?
										Napier?
							John Simson 1660 to 1731	Agnes Prentice		[John Napier 1650 Married Isobel Hutcheson Bervie, Kincardine]
						Peter Burnett 1690 BUR00017	Patrick Simson 1700 to 1794	Jean Kincaid 1702		[Robert Napier 10 August 1671 (baptism) Married Isobel Law (1670) on 6 May 1688 Kincardine]
						Robert Burnett 1715 to 2 November 1767 Backhill of Thornton, Kirkton of Bourtie, Aberdeenshire BUR00016	Jane Simpson 1718 to 10 March 1796			[David Napier 16 April 1710 (baptism) to 1761 Married Margaret Cobb (1712) on 1 June 1731 Montrose, Kincardine, Marykirk]
		Thomas Burnett 1744 to 1806 School Master for 35 years BUR00013				Robert Burnett 20 March 1745 to 1815 May have married Anna Lunan in 1770 BUR00012	Anne Lunan 22 June 1746 (baptised) to 12 May 1791 Pitsligo, Fraserburgh	Peter Burnett c 1750 BUR00018	Mary Burnett 1763 to 4 January 1847 Married James Bruce (died 23 June 1842, crofter of Gowner, clerk in Episcopal Chapel) BUR00014 James Bruce Died 12 September 1856 Bogota, South America	[David Napier 5 March 1732 (baptism) Married Elizabeth Gibb (1735) on 20 January 1760 David’s children seem to have been Elizabeth (b 1765), Margaret (1767 to 1836), David (b 1772), Alexander (b 1775) and William (b 1777), so this is probably the wrong family, unless John was born first in 1760) Marykirk, Kincardineshire]
					Isobel (“Beli” or “Bell”) Gall 1767 to 21 February 1851 Fraserburgh	James Alexander Burnett 1776 to 1851 Married Isobel (“Beli”) Gall on 8 June 1797 A maltman Fraserburgh, Pitsligo, Tyrie BUR00011	Alexander Simpson Married Ann Caird from Fetteresso		Thomas Eaton 1756 to 1869 Married Isabella Johnston (1756 to 1847)	John Napier 1760 Born in Montrose Married Catherine Mitchell (born 1760 at Marykirk, Kincardineshire) Montrose, Arbroath
	Robert Burnett 1801 to 1864 Married Abigail (“Abby”) Davidson Robert was accused of poisoning his wide in about 1864, but cleared BUR00028	George Burnett 1807 Married Sophia Chalmers BUR00029	Margaret Burnett 1809 Married William Middleton BUR00030	Christina (Christian) Burnett 1810 to 1835 Married William Chivas BUR00031	James Burnett 1806 to 11 April 1890 Agricultural labourer, Crofter of 5 acres, tailor Married Jane Traill (1798 to 1885, a twin) in about 1825 Aberdeen, Fraserburgh, Pitsligo BUR00010	Not James? Fraser? Burnett 1799 to 1834 Married Ann Simpson, school mistress Died tragically in a fatal accident (Shoemaker)	Ann Simpson 4 December 1802 to 12 November 1888 Schoolmistress Stonehaven, Fraserburgh, Kinonmonth, Fetteresso SIM00001	James Brebner	William Eaton 1788 to 28 February 1869 Married Mary Napier on 10 December 1826 Farm Labourer Montrose, Arbroath EAT00001	Mary Napier 7 November 1800 (baptised) to 3 February 1886 Clothes Mangler Montrose, Arbroath NAP00001
			William Chivas May have been in an asylum later in life at Portsoy	George Burnett Chivas 4 November 1835 Lived with his grandparents, James and Isobel Burnett His family emigrated to the Americas His grandsons were killed in action in World War 1 Fraserburgh				Jean Brebner 18 October 1838 to 6 December 1926 18 October 1838 to 6 December 1926 Half Sister of James Burnett (daughter of Ann Simpson) Married James Patrick Murphy (1829 to 28 March 1906) Travelled from East Canada on a wagon trail to Kansas and Missouri, where they established a ranch Buried at Enloe Cemetery, Missouri Burris Fork, Moniteau County, Michigan SIM00002
					Robert Burnett Married Jane Gavin	James Burnett September 1826 to 16 December 1902 Married Christina Eaton on 9 or 15 March 1851 Fish curer, fisherman, Master Cooper Fraserburgh BUR00009	Christina (“Christian”) Eaton 1827 to 23 August 1909 EAT00002	Catherine Eaton 21 January 1830 to 1922 Married John Sandison on 22 March 1850 Montrose, Arbroath EAT00004 Several descendants, some went to the Cape	John Eaton 30 July 1833 Married Margaret Gibson on 23 November 1855. Margaret died soon afterwards. Married Agnes Lundie on 24 September 1858 Montrose, Leith EAT00003 George Eaton c 1873 Married Jane Burns on 21 August 1898 Edinburgh	George Napier Eaton 20 July 1837 to 1892 Married Jean Scott Montrose EAT00005 William Eaton 25 September 1842 to 1917 Master Mariner Montrose, Brisbane See Family tree of descendants in his record EAT00006
Mary Ann Burnett 27 December 1851 to 1934 Married Joseph Humphrey Salter on 4 November 1876 Fraserburgh, Lambert, London, Lewisham, Sydenham, Bromley BUR00022	William Burnett 11 July 1853 to 15 May 1860 Fraserburgh BUR00023 Christina Burnett c 1855 Married Joseph Stephen, a grocer Fraserburgh, Govan, USA BUR00003	James Burnett 23 December 1856 to 31 October 1918 Fish Curer, Cooper Married Elizabeth McCondach Fraserburgh BUR00024	John Burnett 27 November 1858 to 20 December 1889 Married Jessie Davidson Cooper Died at sea Fraserburgh, Orkney, Argentina BUR00004	William Eaton Burnett 4 August 1860 to 18 May 1925 Married Margaret S (“Maggie”) Gerrard (1863 to 1917) on 31 January 1884 Fish Curer Fraserburgh BUR00025	Alexander Simpson Burnett 5 August 1862 to 28 January 1919 Joiner, cabinet maker Married Sarah Julia Appleby at Lambeth in 1892 Fraserburgh, Wandsworth, 2 Loanhead Terrace, Aberdeen BUR00002	Sarah Julia Appleby 1863 to 11 March 1945 Lambeth APP00001	Rev George Burnett 18 October 1864 to 6 September 1940 Minister Friockheim Church, United Free Church, Arbroath, Angus Married Margaret Howie (1870), the daughter of Rev Robert (“Brimstone Bob”) Howie, in 1896 Fraserburgh, Glasgow, Kirkden, Angus BUR00005	Catherine Burnett 26 December 1866 to 12 August 1895 Fraserburgh BUR00006	Thomas Park Burnett 30 January 1870 to 1945 Fish curer Married Isabella Fowlie Merson on 17 October 1895 Married Elizabeth Marion Synobia Crawford Fraserburgh, Coulter Farm, Fyvie, Aberdeenshire BUR00007	Sir Edward Napier Burnett, MB, CM, MD, FRCS, FRCP, KBE 12 July 1872 to 25 December 1923 Surgeon, Director of Medical Services, British Red Cross Society Married Jane McCoull (born 1880), later Lady Jane Burnett on 26 March 1903 Fraserburgh, St Andrews, Newcastle, Hampstead BUR00008
William James Thomas Salter (1877 to 1905), Mabel Christina Salter (1879), Bella C Salter (1881), Joseph E Salter (1883), Amy M Salter (1885), Ada Georgina Salter (1888), Clara Ann Salter (1889), Mabel Salter (19 June 1892)	Christina B Stephen (1880), Edith Alice Stephen (1881)		Oliver Davidson Burnett 1887 to 1919 Oliver, died in 1919 aged 37 from wounds that he'd sustained in the SS Emile Nobel being torpedoed. Tower Hill has his name engraved Fraserburgh, Argentina
				Go Under			Go under
Thomas Hugh Burnett 26 March 1878 to 22 December 1942 Married Ann Smith Fraserburgh BUR00032	Christina Burnett 25 April 1880 Married William Porter	Elizabeth (“Lizzie”) Burnett c 1882 to 30 March 1965 Married Dr Lewis Beaton Beddie of Strichen Fraserburgh, Aberdeen	Helena Burnett 1885 to 27 April 1965 Married Dr Eneas Kenneth Mackenzie on 12 April 1911 Fraserburgh, Tain Ashley Macenzie (1912 to 1978), Eneas Burnett Mackenzie (1915 to 1997)	The Scott Family William Alexander Scott 6 June 1898 Married Winifred Elizabeth Burnett on 7 July 1931 Chicago, Nigg, Aberdeenshire SCO00002	Winifred Elizabeth Burnett 1900 to 1987 Tooting, Wandsworth BUR00001		John James Burnett 26 December 1893 Married Gertrude Drummond Fraserburgh, London BUR00019	Sydney Alexander Burnett 23 October 1895 to 10 July 1975 Artist Married Dorothy Agnes Hermann Black (1896 to 1985) Fraserburgh BUR00020	Gertrude C Burnett 31 October 1897 Married Alex Mackie BUR00021
		Margaret Beddie, Lewis Beddie, (later Dr) Alistair Beddie						Sydney (“Syd”) James Burnett 1941 Sculptor Vice President of Aberdeen Artists Society 1988 to 1990 Married Dorothy Matthews
			Geoffrey Scott Aberdeen, Edinburgh SCO00014	The Coutts Family Thomas Gordon Coutts QC 1933 Married Winifred Scott on 1 August 1959 Aberdeen, Edinburgh COU00001	Winifred Katherine Scott 1935	Stella Julia Scott 1935 Married Professor Hugh Wynn-Edwards Canada		Simon Burnett
					Robert Alex Wynn Edwards	Katherine Wynn Edwards	Catherine Burnett	Hazel Burnett Married John Wood	Alex Burnett Married Emily Stoddard
Go under	Jennifer R Wilcock 1965	Julian Thomas Gordon Coutts 2 July 1962 to 1 July 2008 Edinburgh COU00036	Richard Farndale 1963 The Farndale Story The Wensleydale Line	Charlotte Coutts 1964			From Rev George and Margaret (nee Howie) Burnett
				From William and Margaret Burnett Go Under				Mary (“Peg) Burnett 1904 to 1987	Marjorie Isobel Burnett 1908 to 1999	Jean Burnett 1911 Helen Burnett 1914
Zoe Rachael Coutts 1992	Imogen Hannah Coutts 1995		James Martin Richard Farndale 1994	Sarah Louise Farndale 1997
From Thomas Hugh Burnett
				Victoria Catherine Burnett 1897 to 1971 Married Dr Tom John Honeyman	James Burnett 1898 to 1917 Friockheim, Angus BUR00037	Robert Howie Burnett 1900 to 1983 Married Jessie S M Stirling (died 1970) Friockheim, Angus, New Kilpatrick, Dunbartonshire	George Binnie Burnett 1902 to 1987 Married Janet M Henderson Rutherglen, Strathendrick, Stirlingshire	Margaret Isabel Eaton Burnett Married Dr John Cumming Cameron	Ernest Wood Burnett 9 February 1910 to 2 September 1982 Minister of Rothiemay Married Charlotte Bell Ross in Chitambo, Northern Rhodesia (now Zimbabwe) on 15 September 1936
				Tom Burnett Honeyman, Meredith Edith Honeyman, Dr Duncan Grant Wood Honeyman			Dr George David Burnett, married Elizabeth Miller, Norman Burnett, Eleanor Burnett, married Robert Pollock, Dr Alan Kenneth Burnett, married Alison Liddell	Ian Burnett Cameron, married Margaret Clark, Dr Joan Catherine Cameron, married Dr Robin W W Paterson, Alison Margaret Cameron (1951)
				From William and Margaret Burnett	George James Burnett Married Marion Married Robertson	Robert Stirling Burnett Married Patricia E Brackenberry	Alice Mary Burnett Married Hugh S Scott Bell
				Ian Robert Burnett 1953	Duncan Stuart Burnett 1955		Pamela J Alice Bell (1961), Pauline M Jane Bell (1963), Scott Burnett Bell (1965), Bruce Stephen Bell (1967)	Dr Robin Ross Burnett Married Isobel S Carmichael	Dr Margaret Joan Burnett Married David Habeshaw
Go under
William Alexander Burnett 11 January 1886 to 19 November 1942 Commission Agent, yarn merchant Married Jean Rae Watt Port Huron, USA, Fraserburgh BUR00035		James Burnett 25 May 1890 to 6 September 1947 Married Jesse Isabella (“Dolly”) Stuart HM Chemist to George V and George VI Port Huron, USA, Ballater BUR00027		Dr Gerrard Burnett 1 May 1898 to 17 February 1985 Surgeon Married Dr Hilda Pratt on 10 December 1925 Fraserburgh, Pontefract	Scoras Rhoderick Burnett 1960	Roderick Paul Burnett 1963	Gareth Stirling Burnett 1968	Rosalind Rachel Burnett (1965) Lorraine Carole Burnett Colin Ross Burnett (1971) South Africa Graham Craig Burnett (1975) South Africa	Paul Ernest Habeshaw (1970) Iain David Habeshaw (1971) Roderick John Habeshaw (1974)
		Go Under		Go under
Jean Rae Burnett 1915 to 1921	Gerrard Burnett 1917 to 1996 Married Ethna Ethel Married L Jennings (Photographs in this section of the family tree kindly provided by Gerrard Burnett)	Bruce Burnett 6 June 1917 to 10 February 2003 Married Wilma Tait Teignbridge, Devon James Bruce Burnett	Margaret Gerrard Watt Burnett 18 November 1918 to 6 December 2001 Married Rolf Hauge Teignbridge, Devon		William Alexander (“Bill”) Burnett 19 November 1920 to 28 June 1944 Married Eileen Norma (“Norma”) Craddock Shot down at Canada Farm near Bury St Edmunds returning from a Lancaster raid over a flying bomb factory in France His name is on the Fraserburgh War Memorial BUR00026	John Napier Burnett 1922 to 24 February 1992 Married Margaret Isabella Cunningham-Leny BUR00036 Gail Ann Burnett	James Watt Burnett 28 January 1928 to 14 May 1990 Married Ann Carhill
From Thomas Hugh Burnett		From James Burnett	Finn William Hauge 1943 to 2020	From Dr Gerrard Burnett			Jane Carey Lavinia Burnett	Jennifer Ann Burnett	Alistair Francis Burnett
					Norma Burnett 1943	William Alexander Burnett 9 March 1945
						Marcos Alexander Burnett
						Oliver Alexander Burnett
		Professor William Burnett MB CHB FRCS FRFPSG FRACS 23 March 1921 to 30 August 1981 Established Department of Surgery at Queensland University Ballater, Brisbane, Queensland, Australia BUR00033	Helen Ann Gordon Burnett 18 July 1924 to 12 July 2003 Married Edward Stratham (“Gordon”) Rimmer Queensland, Australia BUR00034	Dr Margaret Jean Burnett 1926 to c 2017 to 2019 Married Norman P H Dewes	Sheila Burnett 2 October 1928 Married John Terence Coppack	Ruth Marianne Burnett 1932 Married James W Benson
	Gerrard Alexander Burnett 1947	Margaret Ethna Burnett	Maurice Burnett		Helena Coppock, John Coppock	Julia Benson, Rachel Benson, Grace Benson
	Emily Burnett	Charlotte Burnett
James Smith Burnett c 1903 to 24 March 1943 Staff Sergeant RAMC Died in Kranji, in the Federated Malay Straits Settlements aged 37	George Burnett 1906 to 1978 Emigrated to British Columbia before the Second World War Died in Vancouver	Thomas Park Burnett Junior 1910 to 1978 Buckie	Elizabeth Burnett, Married Thomas Henderson	Christina Burnett (later Friend) c 1921 to 12 November 1999	Helena Burnett c 1922 to 12 September 1966	Nan Jean Burnett, Married Mr Thomson
		William Reid Burnett

Back row - Alex Burnett 1862-1919, Rev George Burnett 1864-1940, Catherine Burnett 1867 - 1895.

Middle row - Christian Burnett 1855, James Burnett 1827 -1902, Christina Eaton 1827-1909, John Burnett 1858 - 1890.

Front row - Thomas Park Burnett 1870 -1945, Sir Edward Napier Burnett 1872 - 1923.

The gravestones of William Alexander Burnett (1886 to 1942) and Jean Rae (nee Watt) Burnett, Jean Rae Burnett (1915 to 1921) and Margaret Gerrard Watt (nee Burnett) Hauge (1918 to 2001) just opposite Lord Saltoun (Chief of Clan Fraser)'s Mausoleum in Fraserburgh cemetery. Immediately behind this ever-so aggressive ivy-clad wall, on its other side where the ground is at a lower level too, rest Margaret Gerrard's parents and her Grandparents; also two of her brothers. (with thanks to Gerrard Burnett).

For future work

William Burnett 1860-1925's cousin's son, along with John Napier B, senior's son Henry

Below in 1899, John N Burnett junior, the aspiring Canadian Educationist / Educationalist - born in Fraserburgh - as was another younger brother Theodore Roosevelt Burnett

Theodore R Burnett from Fraserburgh whose last resting place in Coquitlam - a younger sibling to educationist John Napier Burnett junior

Keith Hamilton Eaton (1900 to 28 June 1958)’s last resting place in South Africa: