Collection ID:

Collection context

Summary

Creator:
Historic Geneva
Abstract:
The Burrall family has maintained a presence in Geneva since the 1810s and continues to run their insurance business today on Linden Street.
Extent:
One Box
Language:
English

Background

Scope and Content:

This collection encompasses the entirety of the Burrall family’s time in America, but mainly focuses on their time in Geneva from 1817 to present day. It includes articles, photos, genealogy work, and various ephemera produced by CS Burrall & Son.

Biographical / Historical:

The Burrall family has deep roots in Geneva’s history. Thomas D Burrall purchased 370 acres of land on the north side of Geneva in 1814. Though he had a career in law, when he came to Geneva he became a farmer, a field in which he became known for his inventions. His wife Charlotte died in Geneva in 1820 with no children. Thomas then married Sarah Jenkins Mann in 1822 and together they had 3 children before her death in 1831. Thomas remarried a third time to Margaret Mott (a widow), and they had 2 more children. Thomas served as a trustee for several ventures including Hobart College and was active in village affairs. His inventions include a thrashing and winnowing machine, the Geneva cooking stove, a mill to clean clover seeds, grass mower, and the hand corn sheller.

Edward Jenkins Burrall entered the business with his father in 1847 and Thomas turned over the business to him in 1851. Edward worked with his half-brother William for several years before passing on the mantle to William full-time. Soon, the Burralls would turn their attention to insurance when Edward Jenkins purchased an insurance agency in the early 1850s and jointly worked to purchase another agency with William.

Edward’s son Charles worked for his father as a clerk and in 1882 Edward and Charles entered a partnership, EJ Burrall & Son. In 1887, Edward died suddenly and Charles continued on in the same business. In 1915, he renamed it Charles S Burrall and Son when he entered a partnership with his son Hallett. Hallett Sr. remained the only family Burrall until his son Hallett Jr. became the 4th generation in the business. Hallett Jr.’s third child, Thomas Hallett, started in the insurance business in 1984 and is the current owner of CS Burrall & Son which continues to operate in Geneva today.

Rules or conventions:
Describing Archives: a Content Standard

Access

RESTRICTIONS:

No restrictions apply.

LOCATION OF THIS COLLECTION:
Geneva History Museum
543 South Main Street
Geneva, NY 14456, United States
CONTACT:
315-789-5151
archivist@historicgeneva.org