3 Wives of Ezekiel Luther Burdick (1838-1918)

Ezekiel Luther Burdick was born about 1838 in Rhode Island, son of George and Mary Burdick. Around the time of the Civil War, Luther made his way to Bibb County, Georgia and married Mary Ella Clark/e on 12 December 1865.

Mary Ella, born 25 August 1843 in Georgia, was a daughter of Henry and Mary Ann Clark. Though she and and Luther were married 13+ years before her death on 21 February 1879, I have found no children attributed to them as a couple.

Macon Telegraph and Messenger (Georgia)
22 February 1879 - pg. 4 [via Georgia Historic Newspapers]

Death of Mrs. E. L. Burdick.
The friends of Mrs. E. L. Burdick were shocked yesterday morning to learn of her death, which occurred yesterday morning at one o'clock, after a very short illness. The deceased was well known in the city and much loved by her friends. She was taken suddenly ill on Thursday night and expired in about two hours. She had been in ill health for some time. The immediate cause of her death, however was supposed to have been congestion. The funeral services took place from her late residence on Plum street. She was about thirty-five years of age.

The mother of this first Mrs. E. L. Burdick had died less than a year before.

E. Luther Burdick married again eight months later. This second wife was Mary Ella Riley, born 7 January 1854, and thought by me to be the daughter of David Ferrell Riley and Mary Jane Neal.

For the taking of the 1870 Bibb County, Georgia Federal census, Luther and first wife Ella were listed in the household of his father-in-law (her father) Henry Clark. Also in the household was Ella Riley (age 15, b. GA), "attending school." So it's possible Luther had known his eventual second wife for some time.

I know of three children born to Luther and Ella Riley Burdick before her death on 3 December 1885:

• Lucille (b. abt 1880)
• Myrtle (b. & d. 1882)
• Clarice "Clarissa" (b. abt 1883)

Myrtle was laid to rest near her mother.

Luther's third wife was his second wife's younger sister, Elizabeth "Lizzie" Riley. They were married in Pike County, Georgia on 3 August 1887 and had one daughter, Florine (b. abt 1892).

This marriage, however, would not end the same way as the others. Lizzie and Luther were divorced in 1914, though they possibly were separated years before. The taking of the 1910 U.S. Federal census found the couple in different households. E. Luther Burdick was in the household of his son-in-law and daughter, Frank and Clarice B. Walker, in Louisville, Kentucky. Lizzie could be found at the family home – 140 High Street in Macon, Bibb County, Georgia.

Lizzie remarried before 1918 to James Campbell Edwards. She died 30 March 1931.

Macon Telegraph (Georgia)
Tuesday, 31 March 1931 - pg. 15 [via GenealogyBank]

DEATHS AND FUNERALS

MRS. J. C. EDWARDS
Mrs. Elizabeth Riley Edwards, wife of J. Campbell Edwards, of 140 High street, died at a private hospital early yesterday morning following an illness of two weeks from influenza and pneumonia.

Mrs. Edwards was a member of Christ Episcopal church and a worker in the D. A. R., the U. D. C., and the Daughters of 1812. She was the daughter of David Ferrell Riley and Mary Jane Neal and was a descendant of pioneer residents of Bibb and Pike counties.

She is survived by her husband, J. Campbell Edwards; a daughter, and son-in-law, Mr. and Mrs. W. H. Davis;…two step-daughters, Mrs. Henry O. Farr, of Brunswick, and Mrs. Clarice B. Walker, of Jacksonville, and two brothers, D. H. and F. L. Riley, of Macon.

Funeral services will be held at 3 o'clock this afternoon from the residence 140 High street, by Rev. Cyril E. Bentley, rector of Christ church. Interment will follow in Rose Hill cemetery…

According to the Historic Rose Hill cemetery directory, E. L. Burdick died 9 December 1918. He (supposedly), both Ellas, and daughter Myrtle were buried in the Eglantine Square section of the cemetery. Elizabeth Burdick Edwards was laid to rest in Cabiness Ridge.