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LOVINGLY
LAID AT REST
MANY
FRIENDS PAY RESPECT TO THE
LATE ALBERT A. BURTON
AN
OLD AND HONORED CITIZEN
Sketch
of a long and Honorable Career—One Who
Served His Country Well
on Many
a Battlefield in Time of Need
The remains of Albert A. Burton lay in state yesterday at
Masonic temple, where friends and old timers gathered to take a
farewell look at the well-remembered features and to pay respect
to the family who reverently laid at rest all that was mortal of
their beloved dead. In
the gathering were old friends who had known Mr. Burton well in
Masonic circles or in the ranks of the Grand Army of the
Republic. Services were conducted at the temple, according to
Masonic custom, by Butte lodge, No. 22, A. F. and A. M.
Rev. J. E. Noftsinger of the First Baptist church, who
was a friend of many years’ standing of the Burton family in
Darien, Wis., followed with a prayer.
The casket was covered with floral offerings, all of the
fraternal lodges sending emblems of their orders.
Mrs. Ruth Burton, the widow, who is well known in
connection with all benevolent and charitable work of the city,
and the only child, Mrs. R. N. Rand, with Mr. Rand and their
three children, were the only members of the family in the
state, though Mrs. George Foote and daughter of Helena, cousins
of Mrs. Burton, had come to be present at the last sad rites.
The pallbearers were chosen, three from the Masonic
fraternity and three from the G. A. R.
They were Messrs. F. Melcher, Neil McDonald, P. H.
Manchester, Stevens, Houston and Kenyon.
The
services at the temple took place at 2:30 o’clock.
In the march to Mt. Moriah cemetery, where interment was
made, the line was headed by members of the Masonic lodges, and
there followed comrades from the G. A. R., members of the W. R.
C. and O. E. S. The
beautiful and impressive burial services of the Masonic
fraternity were conducted at the grave.
Albert A. Burton was born in 1830 at Poughkeepsie, N. Y.
When he was 8 years old his parents moved West and
settled in Boone county, Ill.
At the time of the breaking out of the hostilities
between the North and the South, Mr. Button enlisted at Dubuque,
Iowa, where he was then residing.
He had the choice of entering the army as a volunteer or
in the regular service. He
chose the latter and was enrolled in the first battalion of the
thirteenth regulars, with Gen. William T. Sherman commanding.
His was company H, with Major Horr, now of the Horr,
Mont., coal mines, as superior officer.
Mr. Burton participated in 32 battles, and it is a matter
of honorable history, one that his family may well be proud of,
that he marched with Sherman from “Atlanta to the sea,” was
in the advance guard at Vicksburg and served his general and his
country faithfully until his formal discharge on Nov. 12, 1864.
Some of the famous battles in which Mr. Burton saw
service were Chickasaw Bayou, Arkansas Post, where he was
wounded, Champion Hills, better known in history as Mission
Ridge, Rolling Forks, Mississippi, Black Bayou, Miss. Jackson,
Miss., and Colliersville, Tenn.
His rank was that of first sergeant of company H.
On the 27th of November 1864, Mr. Burton was
married at Monroe, Wis., to Miss Ruth A. Milks, and soon
afterward they moved to Sharon, Wis., where their only child,
now Mrs. R. N. Rand, was born. It was in Sharon that Mr. Burton
was made a Mason. In
1870 Mr. and Mrs. Burton settled in Laramie, Wyo., and in 1882
they removed to Butte. In
this city they both made many friends, as was attested at the
funeral yesterday, which was largely attended, a number, not
withstanding the inclement weather coming from Elk Park, where
Mr. Burton had enjoyed their friendship and neighbors during the
years he had resided on his ranch.
Mr. Burton was a man of ability, a great reader and
splendidly informed on all current subjects.
His family has in their possession many mementoes of his
life as a soldier and many valuable documents relating to his
services in the war of the rebellion.
The
Anaconda Standard
Anaconda, Montana
5/25/1904
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