Eunice Dennie Burr

This portrait of Eunice Dennie Burr was painted by John Singleton Copley circa 1758-1760, and is now at the Saint Louis Art Museum; it is titled Portrait of Eunice Dennie Burr.

Eunice Dennie Burr (1732-1805) and her husband Thaddeus Burr were considered the "first couple" of Fairfield, Connecticut in pre-revolutionary times.^[1] Eunice married Thaddeus Burr in 1759.^[1] Before the American Revolution, their house hosted John Adams, Samuel Adams, Aaron Burr, John Hancock, and George Washington.^[2] In 1779 their house was burned by British soldiers under General Tryon's command; the soldiers also looted the house and stole Eunice's rings, buckles, and silver buttons, and Eunice hid from them in the marshes behind her house.^[1] The house was rebuilt by Eunice and Thaddeus in 1791.^[2][1] For its rebuilding, John Hancock presented the frame, as his own house frame was the model after which the Burr mansion (as it is now known) was built, though the Burr mansion has changed since.^[3][1]

In 1804 Eunice bought nine shares of the Fairfield Academy for $5 on the condition that young women would be allowed to attend classes there.^[4]

The Eunice Dennie Burr Chapter of the National Society Daughters of the American Revolution is located in Fairfield, Connecticut.^[5]

References

1. "EuniceDennieBurrDAR.org - Chapter History".
2. "The Burr Homestead - Burr Mansion".
3. "Full text of "The old burying ground of Fairfield, Conn. A memorial of many of the early settlers in Fairfield, and an exhaustive and faithful transcript of the inscriptions and epitaphs on the 583 tombstones found in the oldest burying ground now within the limits of Fairfield.."".
4. "A living lesson in Fairfield history: Old Academy rededicated". Fairfield Citizen.
5. "EuniceDennieBurrDAR.org - Home".