PERSONAL HISTORY 187 



house of Shandwick and Balnagown. Col. 

 George Ross, one of the signers of the Declara- 

 tion of Independence, was of this family. The 

 descent from Malcolm (1165-1214), first earl of 

 Ross, is traced through the earls of Ross, to the 

 family in America."* 



The name of mother's mother was Burpee, a 

 family of French descent. Thus it will be seen 

 that our ancestry, like that of most people in 

 America, is made up from many nationalities. 



The Burbanks were generally farmers, paper 

 manufacturers, railroad men, teachers, and 

 clergymen; while on the Ross side the ancestry 

 were more often merchants, mechanics, and horti- 

 culturists. Few families of New England have 

 more reason to be proud of a prestige so well 

 and universally sustained as the Burbanks; few 

 families have been so eminently represented in 

 the learned professions, in civil enactments, in 

 military stations, and in all public reforms. 



Professor Levi Sumner Burbank, a cousin, 

 who lived with us part of the time, was a per- 

 sonal friend and associate of Louis Agassiz, and 

 in rambles with him Luther's love of nature was 

 greatly increased, as he knew the names of the 

 rocks, flowers, and trees. This cousin was at one 

 time principal of the Lancaster Academy, and 



* Clan Ross in America, 1914. 



