The Virginia Genealogist

04/14/2026

Have you experienced an AI-generated obituary yet?

Unfortunately, I have. Several times since 2023, all in that period shortly after the deceased's deaths seeking further information about circumstances of death and any plans for tributes, funerals, etc. Yet, AI-written obituaries fall in two categories: AI-written memorials generated through a funeral home (or someone close to the decedent, using an obit writer and generating summaries through keywords and facts) and AI-generated clickbait pages that have obscure sources and will disappear within days after legitimate funeral obituaries and tributes appear in Google searches.

As AI technology continues to lay fingers into all aspects of our lives, the technology is a double-edged sword for obituaries. On one hand, it saves the stress of loved ones having to dwell upon how to memorialize one's life. At the same time, it is a perfect breeding ground for malicious scams, clickbait, and false information. Would you know how to know the difference?

There's some discussion already out there about this, but it's not permeating the surface yet. Here's my discussion about some of the technology, some personal experiences and observations, and also how to beware and steer clear of any possible scams. Yes, it's sad but true.

In August 2025, Drew Harwell of The Washington Post published an article concerning the rise of AI tools used towards memorializing recently deceased loved ones: “Artificial intelligence tools are …

04/03/2026

A heads up - my next virtual lecture will be on Saturday, 16 May 2026 at 1 pm. I will be presenting to the Capital District Genealogical Society (of upstate New York). The topic will be "Loyal or Doubtful: Loyalism in New York During the American Revolution," discussing the research I uncovered when compiling my 2023 series "Loyal and Doubtful" regarding acts of Loyalism in the New York City/Long Island area during the American Revolution. It will further discuss Loyalist research across the rest of New York, some you may not know or have heard of.

This event will be available through Zoom only, but it does require registering with the Capital District Genealogical Society. Members of the society can register for the event at the beginning of the month. Non-members are allowed to join as well, but you still must reach out for access and to get the Zoom link.

Please visit https://www.cdgsny.org/saturdays for further information.

Regular meetings are now either Zoom only (which will always be an option) or a hybrid of Zoom and in-person.  Pre-registration is required for Zoom attendance and is encouraged for those who will be joining us in-person. Members may register for our Zoom presentations starting the 1st of the month...

04/03/2026

Happy 2026 everyone. For anyone who has made it here and has any questions or is seeking any potential research requests, please reach out to me at my e-mail, at bsburns1985@gmail.com. Please make sure the subject line mentions something along the lines of "Genealogy Inquiry" or something along those lines, so that my mailbox will filter it properly!

I have cut back drastically on the amount of social media time I am spending these days, which includes Facebook (and, as a result, this page). This page will largely serve to highlight any work I have published (either as a book or on my blog) or any upcoming lectures, etc. Use my e-mail address to reach me faster for any questions!

This 2026, I am also scaling down my side hours to focus on completing the large backlog of side projects I have started in the last few years. Additionally, having some free time is also an important thing!

That said, I am happy to take on research requests which are largely focused on either Virginia topics/families or related to the Revolutionary War (in any of the 13 colonies/states). Unfortunately, I do not have time to commit to traveling to archives or courthouses outside of the state, so please consider that when reaching out.

Thanks! - Brendon

03/25/2025

Have you been watching "Finding Your Roots" on PBS? The season 11 finale airs on 8 April 2025, the very episode in which Dr. Gates is also a guest on his own show. I helped with a lot of the court record research in West Virginia that should be a part of that episode...be sure to watch!

Finding Your Roots on PBS will feature 19 celebrity guests who discover ancestral secrets and surprising answers in their family trees.

12/12/2024

Was there really going to be an insurrection against the patriots in southwestern Virginia in 1779?

So many people who have ancestors living in the colonies during the American Revolution want to believe their ancestors fought for or believed in the cause for independence. However, the fact is that, depending on where your ancestors resided, there's quite a bit of conflict with that belief. There were plenty of pacifists and Loyalists, or those in general who were doubtful that independence could be successful. Those who remained inimical to the patriotic cause through the war may not have necessarily assimilated right away.

Montgomery County, in southwestern Virginia, is the parent county of what also later became Wythe, Grayson, Carroll, Pulaski, Giles, Bland, Smyth (part of), and Tazewell counties (in addition to the modern Montgomery County. This area was also populated with one of the largest Loyalist and/or pacifist populations in Virginia during the war; part of this was the thin government jurisdiction at the time, in addition to how the area was settled and which ethnic/religious groups were moving west at the time.

Those people today who have ancestors residing in southwestern Virginia during the Revolutionary War certainly need to face the facts with the likely reality their ancestor was probably not for the American cause during the war (maybe later they did!). There is not a lot of material published out there on all of this, but for what papers that do survive or exist out of the old Montgomery County court, there's a bundle of warrants and depositions out there that illustrate just how many people in this area were planning an insurrection at the prosperous "Lead Mines" (in what is now Austinville, Wythe County), one of Virginia's most important economic sites during the war.

Local estimates believed about 4,000 people had "signed a paper" (an oath to the King of England) and were galvanizing to meet at the Lead Mines for a possible insurrection. This conspiracy alarmed many local militia officers and leading officials, though the state failed to send an army to guard the mines. Nonetheless, many people were accused, several were imprisoned for months, many others were let go but at the cost of heavy bonds.

This article is not an in-depth look at things; I am going to explore some of that in an upcoming book which abstracts the Lead Mine accounts and the history of the Lead Mines during the Revolutionary War. This article abstracts several loose papers found in the Library of Virginia's Archives and Manuscripts collection which illustrates some of the accusations and those who were accused.

Though we may believe all residents of the thirteen colonies made patriotic contributions towards the war for independence from Great Britain during the American Revolution, such thoughts are highl…

11/04/2024

The Charles Cole family of Grayson County, Virginia, is just one of many lower-to-middle class yeomen families who left very little in terms of a paper trail in their lifetime. Such small paper trails make genealogical research very difficult at times. Many of these families often end up being a dead end for many genealogists. Some of these will truly remain dead ends due to a lack of local resources, but there are some that can be resolved.

I am a descendant of Charles Cole and Elizabeth Haga myself, and over the years, it had been quite irritating at times trying to work through tangling the various Cole families in Grayson County. No Cole family member left a probate record in Grayson County until 1862, when Lorenzo D. Cole's estate was probated. Few other vital records exist for many of them aside from marriage records and a few deeds. Furthermore, there are some unrelated Cole families living in the region at the same time (this is very much demonstrated by the Cole families of the Holston River Valley just north and west of the Grayson County border). These unrelated groups throw some conflicting evidence when trying to use cluster genealogy to examine local relationships.

However, when getting down to the root of the lineage issue, it came to realizing how MANY men of this name existed. There were three Charles Coles in 1794, the first Grayson County personal property tax list. From 1794 through 1830, the tax records are very inconsistent in enumerating every inhabitant consistently, but coupled with the few census records that do exist, a better image of the Cole family could be realized (see the end of the attached article where all the tax results are included in a table). Some very subtle cues from a few elder Cole descendants in the 1880 census pointed the way towards the Cole family migrating from Maryland, despite rumours from other family members they had come from other areas. After a few years of tracking things down, including a few very important clues found in Montgomery County court records in the 1780s, it appears that Maryland is the correct nativity of at least all four Charles Coles existing in Grayson County prior to 1830.

My latest research article examines the four Charles Coles of Grayson County between 1794 and 1830 and better serves to clear up some of the otherwise common misinformation that heretofore exists on these families. Note it does not clear up many other Cole relationships as there is still further research required to resolve the other loose ends.

Grayson County, Va, Historical Society

It’s easy to use name association in genealogical research when you have clear dates and facts that sort out any number of people of a given name in a given location. However, we aren’t…

06/04/2024

If you happened to miss it, don't worry. Last week, I spoke in a virtual presentation on behalf of GRIVA (Genealogical Research Institute of Virginia), providing information about how to research your ancestors for possible Revolutionary War service in Virginia and how you may use that for applications to an applicable lineage society.

I certainly could fill up a much longer time slot, but this presentation (including questions at the end) clocks in at slightly more than an hour and a half! If you go to the GRIVA website and find this event, you may also download a PDF-format handout containing most of the relevant information and links I provided in this presentation.

Stay tuned for a second presentation for GRIVA later this August!

GRIVA was pleased to host Brendon S. Burns on 28 May 2024. Do you have an ancestor who resided in Virginia during the Revolutionary War and were curious whet...

05/11/2024

Did I mention I will have some books for sale this month? I have 6 copies each of both volumes of my Grayson County Genealogical References books that I will have available at the genealogy workshop on May 25 at Hillsville, VA. Selling for $20 each, only to those attending the workshops...if I sell out and you attend, I can order additional copies for that price. Come on out!

05/11/2024

If you are going to be in the upper New River Valley around Memorial Day weekend, I will be speaking at this event in Hillsville. I will be speaking specifically about my genealogical reference books and "what is a genealogical reference," in addition to some general research tips for Grayson County genealogy (which can also apply to those in the neighboring counties, too). I will be speaking about 1pm that day. I will have some books for sale...

04/17/2024

Among the other things keeping me busy in the coming months, I will be presenting a virtual presentation to the Genealogical Research Institute of Virginia (GRIVA) on Tuesday evening, 28 May 2024, at 7pm (EDT). The topic covers researching Revolutionary War records in Virginia and what records may help you identify whether your Virginia ancestor participated in the patriotic cause of the revolution. Additionally, the theme will also relate towards those aiming towards future membership with lineage societies such as the DAR, SAR, SR, or CAR (or anything related to the American Revolution), as well as highlighting special collections of the DAR that may assist you in your research. This will include resources for ancestors of color and also any possible women who contributed towards the patriotic cause.

I'm still working on the presentation, but expect at least 45 minutes to an hour in length. The presentation will later be uploaded onto YouTube through GRIVA's website, in the event you are unable to join us live. Registration is free and simply requires the Zoom app.

Details will be forthcoming about a second presentation coming up in August 2024 with GRIVA - this one will be all-encompassing on Revolutionary War research, not just Virginia ancestors. This second presentation will also be virtual and available through GRIVA's website.

The webpage of GRIVA's events and sign-up links is attached herewith:

All programs are virtual unless otherwise noted. Tuesday, April 23, 2024, 7pm ET: Program Meeting – Trish Little Taylor Topic: Celtic Connections – What’s New In Researching Irish…

01/19/2024

I may operate as the "Virginia Genealogist," but I do host some genealogical and historical expertise and skills outside of Virginia! At my main job, I am often referred as the "New York" guy...I guess having some New York ancestry warrants me that title.

You may remember I released a series of 5 volumes documenting individual acts of Loyalism in the American Revolution on Long Island and New York City. This past week, Chris Kretz, an academic librarian and researcher, hosted me on his podcast, "The Long Island Project." We chatted about my new series, Loyalism in NYC/Long Island during the war, my job at the DAR, and some of the research efforts concerning this area during the war.

The podcast has just been posted today. Visit his website and give it a listen! His website also includes many other podcasts covering a wide variety of historical topics on Long Island, if that also interests you!

No one sheds a tear for the British Loyalists of Long Island, those inhabitants who remained loyal to the crown during the American Revolution. But genealogist Brendon Burns has spent a tremendous …

01/18/2024

Are you a descendant of Peter Delp(h) of Grayson County, Virginia? Well, quite a few people today with Grayson County connections can claim that connection. He has long been given an erroneous connection to George Delp and wife Barbara Moyer, a family of Mennonites residing in what is now Montgomery County, Pennsylvania. This connection has long since been proven erroneous, though people continue to include the relationship in their research. The common excuse for his not being named in his father's will was that he was "shunned." That excuse, however, is contemporary to our time and not through any earlier resource - it wouldn't legally stand in probate court then and it wouldn't now!

No one has otherwise been able to resolve his mysterious background...until now! In my latest blog entry, I've published some original research resolving the mystery of Peter Delp's ancestry and proving how he ended up in Grayson County. It was partly through two things: using cluster genealogy (using his connections with the Hittel and Shuler families, who originated in Northampton County, Pennsylvania) and by expanding the knowledge of all the possible surname spellings of Delp. Earlier in his life, Peter is found as Peter Doelp, Dolp, Delf, Telp, Delb. Suspicious as some of those spellings may be, once put together, the evidence all proves the connection. I had long been suspicious because of a Jacob Delp who resided in the 1780s-1790s in Lincoln County, North Carolina. With very few Delps found in the 18th century in North Carolina, they had to have had a German connection with the families in Pennsylvania. Now, that link has been resolved.

The research also works to ascertain how Peter Delp's ancestry is connected with Wilhelm Delp, the earliest known ancestor of most of the Delp family we know (including the aforesaid George Delp and wife Barbara, and also the Delps of Culpeper/Page/Madison Co, VA, to name a few).

Access this blog article at: https://vtcrewcat.wordpress.com/2024/01/17/resolved-the-ancestry-of-peter-delp-of-grayson-county-finally-connected/

[Note: as this is original research, please cite this article when using in your own research.]

Note: This article contains new research that has yet to be published elsewhere. As there is great demand for information concerning Peter Delp’s ancestry, I have provided my research findings thro…