My Genealogy Hound

JOHN HOWARD BURNHAM, Bloomington; was born at Essex, Mass., on the north side of Cape Ann, Oct. 31, 1834; his parents were of the old Puritan stock; his father, John Burnham, was a descendant of John Burnham, who came to this country in 1634, and the original farm descended from father to son for six generations; his mother was a Perkins, and a Choate on her mother’s side; she is a first cousin to Rufus Choate, the famous lawyer; Mr. Burnham emigrated to Illinois in the fall of 1855, living for two years at Barrington, Cook Co.; while there, he taught school two winters; in the spring of 1858, he came to Bloomington, where he attended the Normal School; here he graduated July 4, 1861; Aug. 20, 1861, he entered the army as 1st Lieutenant of the Normal Students Co. A, in the 33d Regiment I. V. I.; he was in the battle of Fredericktown, Mo., Oct. 25, 1861; at the fight at Cotton Plant, or “Cache River,” Ark., July 7, 1862, and in several skirmishes; he was promoted Captain, Sept. 5, 1862; in 1864, he was Superintendent of the Bloomington City Schools, and in July, 1864, became editor of the Pantagraph, remaining nearly three years in this position. Jan. 23, 1866, he married Miss Almira S. Ives, daughter of A. B. Ives, of Bloomington; in 1867, he became general contracting agent for an iron highway bridge company, which position he now fills.