The Burch family researcher, Marilu Burch Smallwood (1888-1980), supported the idea that Joseph Burch (1758-1818), Charles Burch (1753-1823), and Edward Burch (1764-1833) were brothers. This was published in her book, Birch, Burch Family in Great Britain and America, Vol. II, with Addenda of; Families Allied to Burch Family of Georgia, Alabama, Florida and other States, published in 1959, on pages 3-4.
Edward Burch and Charles Burch were brothers as cited in the book, A Lost Arcadia: or, The Story of My Old Community (1909), by Walter A. Clark, on page 78,“Just beyond the limits of our town (Hephzibah, Georgia), near the waters of Little Spirit Creek, and only a little way removed from the old Malone place, now occupied by Judge Matt Kelly, there has stood for a hundred years or more, a cluster of ancient oaks that mark the site of the old-time home of Charles and Edward Burch. They were sons of an early immigrant, who came to Georgia about 1740”.
Ancestry DNA cousin matches confirm that descendants of Alfred L. Burch (1811-1894), a son of Joseph Burch (1758-1818), share DNA with known descendants of Joseph E. Burch (1808-1897), a son of Charles Burch (1753-1823).
The book, Biographical Souvenir of the states of Georgia and Florida, Containing Biographical Sketches of the Representative Public, and many Early Settled Families in these States (1889), by F. A. Battey& Company, on page 117, recorded that Joseph Burch (1758-1818), the father of Edward Allen Burch (1796-1836), was a “cousin” of Edward Burch (1764-1833). Edward Burch (1764-1833) officially or unofficially adopted Joseph Burch’s son, Edward Allen Burch (1796-1836), in 1796. However, Edward Burch (1764-1833) was most likely a brother of Joseph Burch (1758-1818), since it was common practice for a brother or brother-in-law to be assigned the guardian of a child in a loss of custody situation. A 1st cousin or other cousin would not have been considered by an Orphan’s Court.
