The Burnetts can be traced back to the times of Robert the Bruce King of Scotland in the early 1300s who rewarded Alexander Burnard large grants of land for his loyal service. He also was made Keeper of the Forest of Drum symbolized by the Horn of Leys which hangs today in Crathes Castle. For more details on the history of the Burnetts click here. For photos of my visit to Crathes Castle in Scotland in October 2000 click here.

     My great-grandmother was Lucinda Burnett of Knox County, Tennessee, who is a descendant of John Burnett I, the immigrant to Virginia in 1635. In 1638 John received a license from King Charles I of England "the sole merchant of our Kingdom of Scotland, that hath supplied the plantations of Virginia and become Our tenant there, and his factors to have free commerce and traffic between Scotland and Virginia." John was from Aberdeen, Scotland, and is a descendant of the Burnetts of Leys.

     Additional information on the descendants of John Burnett I, the immigrant to Virginia, can be found in the three volume publication, Burnetts and Their Connections, by June Baldwin Bork. Further research was conducted by Carl J. York on the Burnetts of East Tennessee primarily Knox County which corrected errors contained in Bork's work. This research can be found in a three part article entitled The Burnett Families of Knox County, Tennessee, found in Vol. 22, Nos. 1, 2, and 3 of Tennessee Ancestors, A Tri-Annual Publication of The East Tennessee Historical Society.

      See Charts for my descent from Alexander Burnard.

Conventions Used in this Site

     If the surname of an individual is unknown, I have indicated this by a ?.

     If the given name of an individual is unknown it is indicated by "Unknown."