SUNDAY, AUGUST 11, 1912
Society
Mrs. Octavia Eichelberger, of North Eighth street, has been for several years interested in
the genealogy of her father's family, and when visiting the libraries in the east two years
ago found many things of interest. At the St. Louis Library during the past week, where Mrs.
Eichelberger has been visiting, she found a valuable collection of the genealogical records,
and that from three different ancestors found she is eligible to membership in almost any of
the colonial societies.... Mrs. Eichelberger is a member of the Fort Harrison chapter of the
D.A.R.
Mrs. Eichelberger before her marriage was Miss Burnett. This family was of considerable
importance and held large possessions in England during the two centuries following the
(Norman) conquest. Their ancestors appear in the "Domesday book" as land owners. Down to the
middle of the fourteenth century they owned Farningdon county, Roxburg, and were prominent
figures among the benefactors to the Melrose abbey. Among the Burnett ancestors were baronets,
bishops and knights. Mrs. Eichelberger has a copy of the coat of arms taken from an
illustration in "Burke's Peerage, Baronetage and Knightage." The Rev. Alexander Burnett
married a descendant of Oliver Cromwell. One of the sisters of Charles Dickens was the wife
of Henry Burnett, Esq. One of the early governors in New York was William Burnett, son of Sir
Gilbert Burnett, bishop of Salisbury, England. He was named by William, prince of Orange, who
was his god-father. He served as governor of New York, New Jersey and afterwards of
Massachusetts and New Hampshire. His portrait is hanging now in the state house at Boston,
Mass. Hutchison, the historian, says of William Burnett, "He was the delight of men of sense
and learning."
Mrs. Eichelberger's grandfather, Stephen Grover Burnett, was the grandson of Stephen Crane,
whose father was Azariah Crane, and whose mother was Mary Treat, daughter of Gov. Robert Treat.
Both the Crane and Treat families were of great prominence in England, and afterwards in America,
Gov. Robert Treat having come to this country in 1621. Robert Treat Payne, grandson of Robert
Treat, was one of the signers of the "Declaration of Independence." The Treat family in England
can be traced back to 1456.
The Crane family was originally from Normandy and settled in Suffold county, England. The Crane
coat of arms show that three of the families participated in the fifth crusade under the grand
prior of the Templars. Some of the family were ambassadors of foreign courts, and one a keeper
of the king's forest. Sir Ralph Crane was with Sir Francis Drake when, on the Golden Hind, he
visited America in 1577.