Charles Burwick
Charles
Burwick
Born
May 6, 1866
Died
July 22, 1894
A precious one from us is gone
a voice we loved is stilled
a place is vacant in our home
which never can be filled
Photo Credit: Rosa G. Gonzales
The grave of Charles Burwick lies between the graves of John Watson Lowe and Jane Lowe because he is the son of Mary Jane Lowe by a marriage previous to her union with John Watson Lowe. In the 1870 census of Refugio County (p. 152B) John Lowe of New Hampshire is list with Jane and two children. In this census the children are listed under the family name of “Loweâ€. However, in the 1880 census of San Patricio County (p. 379B) the children are listed properly as “step†children of John, and their family name is given as “Berwick†(or “Berrick†depending on how the handwriting is interpreted). In this census Charles appears listed as “Laurene†(Laurence/Lawrence) and his sister (Kate in 1870) is listed as “Catherineâ€. In this census, the children’s father is reported as a native of Germany and their mother (Jane) as a native of Ireland. Shortly after the death of John Watson Lowe, the deed records of Nueces County contain reports of land transactions that note that the surviving heirs of Mr. Lowe are Jane and her two children who are listed as “Catherine Lowe†and “Lawrence C. Loweâ€. This son is apparently Lawrence Charles Burwick. His gravestone notes that he was born 6 May 1866 and that he died 22 July 1894. Unfortunately no extant copy of the Caller from that time has been found to this date (2006). By the 1900 census of Nueces County (E.D. 130, page 1B/sheet 2), his mother Mary Jane (listed as “Mary J.†in this census) is reported as living on Mesquite Street along with her daughter Kate. Kate has married Alexander Smith, and they have two children—Edna and Edward. In this census Mary Jane Lowe acknowledges that she has actually had four children, but only one (Kate) presently survives. Also in this census Kate now says that her father came from New York. This may only indicate his place of origin before coming to Texas where Kate and Charles were reported as born. City Directories from 1907-8 and 1913-4 report Jane and Kate living in the 1600 block of Mesquite Street (usually the address is given as 1600, 1601, or 1603). It seems that after the death of her stepfather (in 1890), her brother (in 1894), and then her mother (in 1913), Kate and her husband and children moved out of the area of Corpus Christi. The last time they are found in a census in this area is 1910 (Nueces County federal census E.D. 97 sheet 9A). In the 1910 census Mary Jane states that she actually is English though she came from Ireland, and she reports that she came to the United States in 1855. She is living with her daughter Kate and the Smith family at 1601 Mesquite Street. Alexander Smith is from Pennsylvania and is engaged in real estate work. It may be that this involvement with property development and sales led him to move away from the area after the death of Mary Jane Lowe. At any rate the family is not found in later city directories or local census records.
Research by: Msgr. Michael A. Howell