alternatehistory.com

Here's a little side project. It spans 1790-present, so I'm not sure where to put it...

A dynasty for the ages – The Burgess Family of New York

For a dynasty that has seen over two centuries of political, economic, and social prominence, the criticism levied against the Burgess family has proven remarkably constant. The most popular and enduring, perhaps, is the image of the Burgesses as anachronistic members of the landed gentry, sitting in feudal splendour at Blackwood surrounded by millions of acres of farmland filled with scores of tenants. While the Burgesses were never proper feudalists—a privilege belonging only to the Dutch patroons of the Hudson Valley---for the most part, this portrayal is remarkably close to the truth.

The Burgesses’ landholdings have stayed constant at just above 400,000 acres since the late 19th century, but continue to exert significant influence in the ten counties where they received title to nearly 3 million acres at the end of the 18th century. They have owned and managed v every sort of company and enterprise man has conceived—flour mills, canals, railroads, still mills, car companies, arms manufacturing, shipping, resorts, even an airline—and held almost every office possible in the United States—a Vice President, two Governors, three Senators, six Congressmen (and one Congresswoman), Secretaries of State, War, Treasury, and Agriculture—with only the Presidency eluding them.

While most members of the Burgess Family today chose to keep a low profile (only two members are active in politics as of 2012), the vast number heirs of and comparatively low profile conceal the sheer size of their interests—estimated at over $26 billion in 2012, which is held by some 25 households in varying amounts, mainly through shares of the several private holding companies under the control of the family as well as direct inheritance. Despite this, the senior line of the family—the direct patrilineal descendants of Rupert Burgess—holds the lion’s share of both influence and wealth within the family, a fact that has led to no shortage of strife and familial intrigue. Yet the Burgesses endure, helped by the fact that their trusts are arranged to prevent shareholding outside of the family—meaning as several descendants inherit smaller and smaller shares until they are compelled to cash out and resell to a more senior member, keeping the wealth cycling within the family, and not diluted amongst the twelve thousand descendants of Rupert Burgess; combined with an adamant refusal to sell off money-losing enterprises.

The result is a powerful few branches do much of the moving and shaking within the families businesses. Nearly all of the shareholders, even to this day, would be by definition members of the landed gentry, as they could live off the dividends based off of their agricultural interests alone. Practically, this is what most of them do: supervising the lands, investing the income of the 2,100 or so tenant farmers that rent land from them, developing subdivisions, managing the dozens of commercial and industrial interests that the family still controls: hotels, importers, transportation companies. The majority of Western New York’s grain passes through—and is thus purchased by—a Burgess Farm Company (BFC) elevator or mill. The famed Bread & Circus chain of upscale, organic groceries is a subsidiary of the Burgess Trust Group (BTG), as is the famed Burgess House Hotel facing New York’s Central Park. They have lent their name to a college, a county, and several ships of the US Navy.

For all their fame, the Burgesses are not known for flaunting their wealth. Perhaps it is because the nature of it is so un-American, being essentially acquired by poorly-taxed inheritance alone off of the backs of tenant farmers in aristocratic glory. Whereas the gentry of Britain saw their influence and lands dwindle in the 20th century, and the great families of America faded into time, the Burgesses have managed to endure, and, today, are wealthier and stronger than ever.

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Burgess joins Republicans angry over lack of Sandy aid
CBS News
1/2/2013


Congresswoman Helen Burgess (R-NY)

WASHINGTON - Another prominent Republican joined the choir of politicians disparaging their own party due to Congressional inaction over passing a relief package for Hurricane Sandy victims.

Republican Congresswoman Helen Burgess, of New York's 27th congressional district, criticized speaker John Boehner and House leadership on an appearance on NBC Nightly News yesterday.

"The intransigence over this bill is just sickening," she said. "You have people holding this up over-what- peanuts, a roof for the Smithsonian, some aid to fisheries to Alaska. It's ridiculous. We need help now. Actually, we needed help two months ago."

Burgess emphasized that Upstate New York suffered significant damage from the storm as well, saying, "we often focus the camera on the Jersey Shore or Long Island, when Upstate New York was affected as well. Thousands of trees were downed, power was knocked out, and we need to recover."

But she also noted that all affected regions needed aid.

"I do realize there are people, parts of the region that have suffered more than we have, and that's why we need to make passing this bill a top priority."

"And I have just not seen that from the Speaker. He outright refused to meet with us. There's a total lack of leadership from him and his office." When pressed on whether Boehner should step down, she said that "I would find it very hard to vote for him for Speaker again."

Burgess joins New Jersey Governor Chris Christie and fellow New York Congressman Peter King in her scathing criticism of fellow House Republicans on delayed aid.

Burgess, 31, was elected in a special election in 2011 to succeed Scott Lee after he resigned following a sex scandal; she was reelected in a landslide in November. She is currently the youngest member of the House of Representatives.
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