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A Guide to the Burnett Family Papers, 1881-1998 Burnett Family, Papers, 1881-1998 44300

A Guide to the Burnett Family Papers, 1881-1998

A Collection in
the Library of Virginia
Accession Number 44300


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Library of Virginia

© 2011 By The Library of Virginia. All Rights Reserved.

Processed by: Jim Greve

Repository
The Library of Virginia
Accession Number
44300
Title
Burnett Family Papers, 1881-1998
Physical Description
14 cubic feet (29 boxes)
Language
English

Administrative Information

Access Restrictions

There are no access restrictions.

Use Restrictions

Medical records are closed until 2050.

Preferred Citation

Burnett Family Papers, 1881-1998. Accession 44300. Personal papers collection, The Library of Virginia, Richmond, Virginia.

Acquisition Information

Gift of Charles Ryland Burnett, III, Houston, Texas.

Biographical Information

Charles Ryland Burnett, Sr. was born in Richmond, Virginia on 14 October 1873. He was the son of Henry Cox Burnett and Mary Jane Caldwell. Burnett attended McGuire's University School and Richmond College (now the University of Richmond). He was employed by the First National Bank beginning in 1891, and served as assistant cashier, as vice-president, and as director. In 1926, he was elected vice-president and director of the First and Merchants National Bank in Richmond. Burnett married Eugenia Whyte Griffin (1889-1981) of Salem, Virginia on 10 October 1917. She was the daughter of Judge Wingfield Griffin and Claudine Booker. Eugenia Griffin attended Sweet Briar College, and was a member of the first graduating class in 1910. She later served on their Board of Directors. Charles Ryland Burnett, Sr. died on 10 January 1949. Eugenia Griffin Burnett died on 15 April 1981. They are both buried in Hollywood Cemetery in Richmond.

Their son, Charles Ryland Burnett, Jr. was born in Richmond on 7 October 1918. He attended Episcopal High School in Alexandria, and then graduated from the University of Virginia. During World War II, he attained the rank of lieutenant commander aboard the U.S.S. Croatan. Burnett married Miriam Louise Weston in Richmond on 17 April 1954. Weston was born on 7 March 1922 in Toronto, Canada. She was the daughter of W. Garfield Weston and Reta Lila Howard. Weston graduated from Stanford University. She was chair of the W. Garfield Weston Foundation for 30 years. Charles and Miriam Weston had one son, Charles Ryland Burnett III (b. 1956). The family resided in a number of different countries, where the elder Burnett served as president or on the board of directors of various companies owned by W. Garfield Weston, including the Belmont Manor Golf and Country Club in Bermuda, Howardsgate Holdings Limited, and Walter's Biscuits Limited. Charles Ryland Burnett, Jr. died on 27 August 2004 in Toronto. Miriam Louise Weston Burnett died in Richmond on 12 March 2008. They are both buried in Hollywood Cemetery.

Scope and Content

Papers, 1881-1998, of the Burnett family of Richmond, Virginia, and Florida, Bermuda, England, South Africa, and Canada, namely Charles Ryland Burnett, Sr. (1873-1949), Eugenia Griffin Burnett (1889-1981), Charles Ryland Burnett, Jr. (1918-2004), and Miriam Louise Weston Burnett (1923-2008). The collection includes correspondence, clippings, diaries, financial records, greeting cards, insurance papers, naval service records and publications, photographs, school work and class notes, scrapbooks, travel brochures, and other materials.

The earliest correspondence in the collection, 1895-1902, is between Charles Ryland Burnett, Sr. and his brother Henry Caldwell Burnett (1875-1935), who was employed with the National Bank of Commerce in St. Louis, and sister Malen Burnett (1878-1947), while she was studying and teaching music in St. Charles, Missouri, and in Germany. Subjects include financial matters, investments, and the health and death of their father, Henry Cox Burnett (1839-1902). There are also letters between Charles Ryland Burnett, Sr. and Eugenia Whyte Griffin prior to their marriage, and between her and her father Judge Wingfield Griffin (1846-1930) of Salem, Virginia. Subjects include courtship, social life, health, and family news. Correspondence during the 1940's is mainly between Burnett and his son, Charles Ryland Burnett, Jr., and deals with the latter's investments while he was serving in the Navy during World War II, and his efforts to secure employment in the banking industry following the war.

The post-1950 correspondence is between Charles Ryland Burnett, Jr. and Miriam Louise Weston prior to their marriage in 1954, and their parents and siblings. Following their marriage, Charles and Miriam Burnett lived in Bermuda, England, Fort Lauderdale, Florida, South Africa, and Canada, where Miriam's father, W. Garfield Weston (1898-1978), owned many business enterprises, which Burnett was involved in as a director or president. There is a good deal of correspondence while Charles Burnett, Jr. was president of the Belmont Manor Golf and Country Club in Bermuda, and on the board of directors of Walters Biscuits, Ltd. There are also many letters written between Miriam Burnett and her mother-in-law, parents, and siblings.

Other materials in the collection include information on the Burnett's investments, trust accounts, and other financial matters. There are class notes, school work, and report cards from St. Christopher's School in Richmond, Episcopal High School in Alexandria, Pine Crest School in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, and St. John's College in Johannesburg, South Africa. There are clippings, diaries, garden club materials, greeting cards, insurance papers, invitations, passports, photographs, scrapbooks, and travel brochures and itineraries.

There is also information regarding the Weston Girls' Tour, which was led by Miriam Weston prior to her marriage to Charles Burnett. The tour was funded by Miriam's father, Garfield Weston, and gave 50 young girls from across Canada a chance to travel to England. In 1952, the group witnessed the coronation of Queen Elizabeth II. Also of note in the collection are materials related to the Burnett's interest in research on Parkinson's Disease, as well as the beneficial effects of procaine to prevent or postpone aging. There is correspondence between the Burnett's and Romanian biologist and physician Dr. Anna Aslan (1897-1988), and also the Swedish scientist Dr. Arvid Carlsson (b. 1923).

Contents List

Box 1 Folder 1
Address Book .
Box 1 Folder 2
Addresses .
Box 1 Folder 3
Affel .
Box 1 Folder 4
Allied Bakeries Ltd. .
Box 1 Folder 4a
All's Fair in Love and War by Nina Kirby-Smith Buck, 1945 .
Box 1 Folder 5
American Medical Association .
Box 1 Folder 6
Americans United for Separation of Church and State .
Box 1 Folder 7
Among Ourselves - Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago, 1922, 1924 .
Map-case 2 Drawer 13
Architectural Drawings - Home Renovations (Three Chopt Road) .
Box 1 Folder 8-9
Art .
Box 1 Folder 10
Aslan, Dr. Anna .
Box 1 Folder 11
Associated British Foods Ltd. .
Box 1 Folder 12
Astrology .
Box 1 Folder 13
Bank of Bermuda .
Box 1 Folder 14
Bank of Nova Scotia .
Box 2 Folder 1-2
Bank of Virginia .
Box 2 Folder 3
Barclays Bank Ltd. .
Box 2 Folder 4-7
Belmont Manor Hotel .
Box 2 Folder 8
Bermuda .
Box 2 Folder 9
Bermuda - Letters to W. Garfield Weston .
Box 2 Folder 10
Bessie .
Box 2 Folder 11
Birth Certificate - Miriam Louise Weston .
Box 2 Folder 12
Bohannon .
Box 3 Folder 1-3
British Linen Bank .
Box 3 Folder 4
British Linen Bank - Charlie .
Box 3 Folder 5
Burnett, Charles Ryland Jr. - War Years and Later .
Box 3 Folder 6-9
Burnett, Charles Ryland Jr. and Eugenia Griffin .
Box 3 Folder 10-12
Burnett, Charles Ryland Sr., 1895-1902 .
Box 4 Folder 1-5
Burnett, Charles Ryland III - Birth/Childhood .
Box 4 Folder 6-8
Burnett, Charles Ryland III - Friends .
Box 5 Folder 1-4
Burnett, Charles Ryland III - School Years .
Box 5 Folder 5-8
Burnett, Eugenia Griffin .
Box 5 Folder 9
Burnett, Eugenia Griffin, 1946-1950 .
Box 5 Folder 10
Burnett, Wingfield Griffin .
Box 5 Folder 11
Calendar, 1970 .
Box 6 Folder 1
Camp Carolina, 1929 .
Box 6 Folder 2
Camps and Schools - Charlie .
Box 6 Folder 3
Canada Month .
Box 6 Folder 4
Canadian Bank of Commerce, Toronto .
Box 6 Folder 5
Canadian Bank of Commerce - Checking .
Box 6 Folder 6
Carlsson, Dr. Arvid .
Box 6 Folder 7
Cat .
Box 6 Folder 8
Certificates - Royal School of Music, 1940 .
Box 6 Folder 9
Chemical Bank & Trust Company .
Box 6 Folder 10
Christmas Gifts .
Box 6 Folder 11
Christmas Lists, 1954-1973 .
Box 6 Folder 12-13
Class Notes, 1940-1941 .
Box 6 Folder 14
Class Notes - Chemistry .
Box 6 Folder 15
Class Notes - Navigation .
Box 7 Folder 1-4
Clippings .
Box 7 Folder 5-6
Clubs .
Box 7 Folder 7-8
Colleges and Universities - Admissions, 1972 .
Box 7 Folder 9
Company Correspondence, 1965-1971 .
Box 7 Folder 10-12
Conservative Viewpoint .
Box 8 Folder 1
Correspondence, 1895-1897 .
Box 8 Folder 2
Correspondence, 1909 .
Box 8 Folder 3
Correspondence, 1911 .
Box 8 Folder 4
Correspondence, 1913 .
Box 8 Folder 5
Correspondence, 1915 .
Box 8 Folder 6
Correspondence, 1917 .
Box 8 Folder 7
Correspondence, 1918 .
Box 8 Folder 8
Correspondence, 1919 .
Box 8 Folder 9
Correspondence, 1921 .
Box 8 Folder 10
Correspondence, 1922 .
Box 8 Folder 11
Correspondence, 1926 .
Box 8 Folder 12
Correspondence, 1927 .
Box 8 Folder 13
Correspondence, 1928 .
Box 8 Folder 14
Correspondence, 1929 .
Box 8 Folder 15
Correspondence, 1930 .
Box 8 Folder 16
Correspondence, 1931 .
Box 8 Folder 17
Correspondence, 1932 .
Box 8 Folder 18
Correspondence, 1933 .
Box 8 Folder 19
Correspondence, 1934 .
Box 8 Folder 20
Correspondence, 1937 .
Box 8 Folder 21
Correspondence, 1939 .
Box 8 Folder 22
Correspondence, 1940 .
Box 8 Folder 23
Correspondence, 1942 .
Box 8 Folder 24
Correspondence, 1943 .
Box 8 Folder 25
Correspondence, 1944 .
Box 8 Folder 26
Correspondence, 1945 .
Box 8 Folder 27
Correspondence, 1946 .
Box 8 Folder 28
Correspondence, 1947 .
Box 8 Folder 29
Correspondence, 1948 .
Box 8 Folder 30
Correspondence, 1949 .
Box 9 Folder 1-17
Correspondence, 1950-1965 .
Box 10 Folder 1-15
Correspondence, 1966-1974 .
Box 11 Folder 1-4
Correspondence, 1975-1978 .
Box 11 Folder 5
Correspondence, 1981 .
Box 11 Folder 6
Correspondence, 1983 .
Box 11 Folder 7
Correspondence, 1986 .
Box 11 Folder 8-12
Correspondence, 1988-1992 .
Box 11 Folder 13
Correspondence, 1996 .
Box 11 Folder 14
Correspondence, 1998 .
Box 11 Folder 15-16
Correspondence, n.d. .
Box 11 Folder 17
Correspondence Study Program - LSU, 1955 .
Box 11 Folder 18
Corydon Point Accounts, 1974 .
Box 11 Folder 19
Dale Carnegie Course, 1951 .
Box 11 Folder 20-21
Damage Control - Naval Training School Lectures, 1944 .
Box 11 Folder 21a
Daniel, John W., 1881 .
Box 11 Folder 22
Diary, 1941-1943 .
Box 12 Folder 1
Diary, 1945-1947 .
Box 12 Folder 2
Diary, 1949 .
Box 12 Folder 3-5
Donations .
Box 12 Folder 6-7
Donations - Literature .
Box 12 Folder 8
Drugs .
Box 12 Folder 9
Educational Trust Fund, 1943 .
Box 12 Folder 10-11
Engagement Letters .
Box 12 Folder 12
Engagement Notes .
Box 28
Ephemera .
Box 13 Folder 1
Episcopal High School, Alexandria .
Box 13 Folder 2
Episcopal High School - Centennial Celebration, 1939 .
Box 13 Folder 3
Essays .
Box 13 Folder 4
Estate of Charles R. Burnett, Sr. .
Box 13 Folder 5
Estate of Claudine Griffin Holcomb .
Box 13 Folder 6
F.H. Deacon & Company Ltd., 1963-1965 .
Box 13 Folder 7-8
First and Merchants National Bank (Richmond, Va.) .
Box 13 Folder 9-12
First and Merchants Trust Account .
Box 13 Folder 13
First National Bank (Fort Lauderdale) .
Box 14 Folder 1-2
Florida House .
Box 14 Folder 3-4
Florida Pool .
Box 14 Folder 5
Fort Lauderdale Symphony Society, 1967-1968 .
Box 14 Folder 6-8
Fortnum & Mason .
Box 14 Folder 9
Funeral of Eugenia Griffin Burnett, 1981 .
Box 14 Folder 10-12
Garden Club .
Box 15 Folder 1
Genealogical Notes .
Box 15 Folder 2
Geriatrics/Gerontology .
Box 15 Folder 3-4
Girls' Tours .
Box 15
Grandma by Miriam Weston Burnett, 1997 .
Box 15 Folder 5
Greeting Cards - Anniversary .
Box 15 Folder 6
Greeting Cards - Birthday .
Box 15 Folder 7
Greeting Cards - Christmas .
Box 16 Folder 1-6
Greeting Cards - Christmas .
Box 16 Folder 7
Greeting Cards - Easter .
Box 16 Folder 8
Greeting Cards - Father's Day .
Box 16 Folder 9
Greeting Cards - Get Well .
Box 16 Folder 10
Greeting Cards - Mother's Day .
Box 16 Folder 11
Greeting Cards - Valentine's Day .
Box 17 Folder 1
Guest Lists - Wedding of George Grainger Weston .
Box 17 Folder 2
Harbor Defense - U.S. Naval School .
Box 17 Folder 3
History .
Box 17 Folder 4
House Sale Contract, 1994 .
Box 17 Folder 5
Howardsgate Holdings Ltd. - Weekly Sales Figures, 1961 .
Box 17 Folder 6-10
Insurance .
Box 17 Folder 11-14
Investments .
Box 27
Investments - Card Index .
Box 18 Folder 1
Investments - Correspondence .
Box 18 Folder 2
Invitations .
Box 18 Folder 3
It's Your Money by Walter E. Spahr, 1946 .
Box 18 Folder 4
Kersten .
Box 18 Folder 5-7
Literature .
Box 18 Folder 8
Loan - Bank of Nova Scotia .
Box 18 Folder 9-11
Magazines and Subscriptions .
Box 18 Folder 12
Malen Burnett School of Piano Playing .
Box 18 Folder 13
Manion Forum, 1978 .
Box 19 Folder 1
Maps .
Box 19 Folder 2
Marriage Certificate, 1954 .
Box 29
Marriage License - Joseph Caldwell and Mary Ann Adams, Shelby County, TN, 4 March 1830 (1931 copy) .
Box 19 Folder 3
Matriculation Englis Examination Questiona .
Box 19 Folder 4
The Matrimonial Post and Fashionable Marriage Advertiser, 1944 .
Box 19 Folder 5-7
Medical - General .
Box 19 Folder 8
Medical Records (RESTRICTED - CLOSED UNTIL 2050) .
Box 19 Folder 9
Membership Cards .
Box 29
Membership Certifiate - National Society of the Daughters of the American Revolution - Malen Burnett, 7 April 1914 .
Box 29
Membership Certificate - National Society of the Sons of the American Revolutions - Charles Ryland Burnett, 31 March 1943 .
Box 19 Folder 10
Mementos (Miriam L. Weston), 1949-1950 .
Box 19 Folder 11
Memorandum Book .
Box 19 Folder 12
Military Newsletters (WWII) .
Box 19 Folder 13
Lex Miller - Accounts .
Box 19 Folder 14-17
Lex Miller - Correspondence .
Box 20 Folder 1
Miscellaneous .
Box 20 Folder 2
Moore, S. Derrickson .
Box 20 Folder 3
National Parkinson Foundation .
Box 20 Folder 4
Nature 1999 .
Box 20 Folder 5-6
Naval Reserve .
Box 20 Folder 7
Navy Service Record .
Box 20 Folder 8
Notepaper Samples .
Box 20 Folder 9
Owner's Manuals .
Box 20 Folder 10
Paintings .
Box 20 Folder 11
Passports .
Box 21 Folder 1
Pay Day by David Milton Proctor, 1936 .
Box 21 Folder 2
Pay Stubs, 1948 .
Box 21 Folder 3
Personal - A .
Box 21 Folder 4
Personal - H .
Box 21 Folder 5
Personal - R .
Box 21 Folder 6
Personal - T .
Box 21 Folder 7-8
Photographs .
Box 21 Folder 9-13
Pine Crest School .
Box 21 Folder 14
Pocket Manual of the Negotiable Instruments Law of Virginia, 1937 .
Box 21 Folder 15
Poker Rules and Suggestions, 1941 .
Box 21 Folder 16
Political .
Box 22 Folder 1
Postcards, n.d. .
Box 27
Postcards - Unused .
Box 22 Folder 2
Pratt, William K. - Contract, 1970 .
Box 22 Folder 3
Programs .
Box 22 Folder 4
Ration Book (England) .
Box 22 Folder 5
Receipts (Pre-1970) .
Box 22 Folder 6
Receipts - General .
Box 22 Folder 7
Recogntion Pictorial Manual of Naval Vessels, 1943 .
Box 22 Folder 8
Recollections of Banks and Bankers Since 1865 by Richard H. Smith, 1939 .
Box 22 Folder 9
Report Cards - Episcopal High School .
Box 22 Folder 10
Report Cards - Richmond Normal School .
Box 22 Folder 11
Report Cards - St. Christopher's School .
Box 22 Folder 12
Report Cards - Sweet Briar Institute .
Box 22 Folder 13
Report Cards - University of Virginia > .
Box 22 Folder 14
Resolutions .
Box 22 Folder 15
School Compositions .
Box 22 Folder 16-17
Scrapbook - Eugenia Griffin Burnett .
Box 29
Scrapbook - Grover C. Holcomb .
Box 23 Folder 1
Scrapbook - Miriam Louise Weston .
Box 23 Folder 2
The Ships and Aircraft of the United States Fleet by James C. Fahey, 1944 .
Box 23 Folder 3
The Side Boy - United States Naval Reserve, 1941 .
Box 23 Folder 4
The Signers of the Declaration of Independence .
Box 23 Folder 5
Silver and Jewelry .
Box 23 Folder 6
Soberman, Isenbaum & Colomby .
Box 23 Folder 7-8
South Africa - St. John's College .
Box 23 Folder 9
Speech - Eugenia Griffin Burnett, Sweet Briar College, 2 October 1951 .
Box 23 Folder 10
Stamps .
Box 23 Folder 11
Stanford University Directory, 1945-1946 .
Box 23 Folder 12-13
Sympathy Letters - Death of Reta Lila Weston .
Box 24 Folder 1
Taxes, 1946-1948 .
Box 24 Folder 2
Taxes, 1953 .
Box 24 Folder 3
Thank You, Congratulations, Sympathy Letters - Examples .
Box 24 Folder 4
Three Chopt Road Property (5906) .
Box 24 Folder 5-7
Travel .
Box 24 Folder 8
Travel Diary, 1935 .
Box 24 Folder 9
Trunk .
Box 24 Folder 10
University of Virginia Directory and Graduation Program, 1939-1941 .
Box 24 Folder 11
Up With People! .
Box 24 Folder 12
Via Marsi Montessori School, Milwaukee .
Box 24 Folder 13
Vitamin E .
Box 25 Folder 1-5
Walters Biscuits Ltd., 1964-1965 .
Box 25 Folder 6
Walters Biscuits Ltd., 1975-1976 .
Box 25 Folder 7-8
Wedding, 1954 .
Box 26 Folder 1
Wedding Invitations and Announcements .
Box 26 Folder 2
Weston Family Birthdays .
Box 26 Folder 3-8
Weston, Grainger .
Box 26 Folder 9
Weston, W. Garfield - Memorial Service, 25 October 1978 .
Box 26 Folder 10
Whittington Condominiums .
Box 26 Folder 11
Whittington Realty .