Burton, Robert, 1747-1825.

Lawyer and Revolutionary War soldier, of Granville County, N.C.

Robert Burton, Revolutionary War officer, delegate to the Continental Congress, lawyer, and politician, owned a large plantation near Williamsboro in Granville County (now Vance County), N.C., as well as much land in what eventually became Tennessee.

Robert Burton (20 October 1747 - 31 May 1825), member of the Continental Congress, Revolutionary War officer, and planter, was born in Mecklenburg County, Virginia, the son of Tabitha Minge and Hutchings Burton. Around 1775, Burton moved to Granville (now Vance) County, North Carolina; married Agatha Williams (died 1807), daughter of Judge John Williams; and began to practice law.

During the Revolution, Burton was a lieutenant in the continental artillery and, later, quartermaster general of North Carolina with the rank of colonel. He was a member of the governor's council, 1783-1785, 1800-1807, and 1813-1815, and president of that body in 1807, 1813, and 1815. He was elected to the Continental Congress in 1785 but not seated until 1786; he was re-elected in 1787, but there is no record that he attended. In 1813, Burton served on the commission to establish the southern border of North Carolina. He also held several offices in Granville County and Edenton, including his appointment as sheriff in 1795. In 1790, he presented a bust of John Paul Jones, by the artist Jean Antoine Houdon, to the state of North Carolina.

Burton was a successful farmer and planter. Granville County records for 1790 indicate that he owned fourteen slaves and 2,405 acres there, as well as nearly 6,000 acres in what would become Tennessee.

Burton was survived by nine children, including two sons, Alfred M. and Robert H., who attended the University of North Carolina. He also raised his nephew, Hutchins G. Burton, who became governor of North Carolina, 1824-1827. Robert Burton was buried on his plantation, Montpelier, at Williamsboro. Montpelier was the home of his father-in-law, John Williams. Burton presumably inherited Montpelier upon Williams's death in 1799.