William Preston Burch

William Preston Burch[1, 2]

Male 1846 - 1926  (79 years)

Personal Information    |    Notes    |    Sources    |    All    |    PDF

  • Name William Preston Burch 
    Born 8 Apr 1846  Randolph Co., North Carolina Find all individuals with events at this location 
    Gender Male 
    Residence Washington, DC Find all individuals with events at this location  [3
    Died 1926  Aiken Co., South Carolina Find all individuals with events at this location 
    Person ID P18010  Robert Jackson
    Last Modified 5 Jul 2020 

    Father John Sebrey Burch,   b. 9 Jun 1821, Mt. Croghan, Chesterfield Co., South Carolina Find all individuals with events at this location,   d. 24 Jun 1886, Heath, Rockwall Co., Texas Find all individuals with events at this location  (Age 65 years) 
    Relationship natural 
    Mother Lucy Harrison Waddill,   b. 23 Apr 1823, Anson Co., North Carolina Find all individuals with events at this location,   d. 2 Sep 1886, Rockwall Co., Texas Find all individuals with events at this location  (Age 63 years) 
    Relationship natural 
    Married 23 Feb 1843  [4
    Family ID F5222  Group Sheet  |  Family Chart

    Family Emily J. Unknown,   d. date unknown 
    Last Modified 5 Jul 2020 
    Family ID F5230  Group Sheet  |  Family Chart

  • Notes 
    • Note from Kathy Burch Williams: William Preston Burch is said to have been a "horseracer", and possibly lived in the Washington, DC area. He apparently never went to Texas to live." The Burch book also said he lived in DC.

      Article below found at
      William P. Burch's lengthy career covered the late 19th century and the early 20th century. He was the first of three generations of Hall of Fame trainers from the Burch family. Born in 1846 in South Carolina, Burch served as a courier under Gen. Wade Hampton's command in the Confederate army. After the war Burch raced Quarter Horses at southern fairs and gradually shifted to Thoroughbred racing.

      Burch's first good horse was named Wade Hampton; he won the 1872 Monmouth Sequel and the Saratoga Sequel Stakes. Burch trained his own horses until the 1890's when he began training for Francis Hitchcock.

      Among the horses W.P. Burch trained for Hitchcock were Decanter, Gen'l. Mart Gary, and Grey Friar, winner of the 1902 Matron and Grand Union Hotel Stakes. Prior to his death in 1926 Burch also trained Adm. Cary Grayson's My Own, winner of the 1923 Saratoga Cup, Uncas and Maryland Handicaps, and 1924 Saratoga Handicap.

      [Picture] William P. Burch, right, with his son Preston Burch, left - ©C.C.Cook

      Burch brought other significant horsemen into the sport of Thoroughbred racing, including: apprentice jockey George Odom, A.J. Joyner, Burch's stable foreman and another future Hall of Fame trainer, and his son trainer Preston Burch.

      William P. Burch was inducted in the Hall of Fame in 1955.

  • Sources 
    1. [S347984738] 1850 U.S. Census, (https://www.ancestry.com/search/collections/8054/), Chesterfield District, South Carolina.

    2. [S347985778] Research of Kathy Burch Williams, (kb-smwilliams@sbcglobal.net).
      Her source was Sara Walker Powell, 15 Mar 2000.

    3. [S347984892] Book: Burch Family and Hollendsworth, Thomas, Meadow, Jackson, No.1 Jackson, No.2 Blakeney, Timmons etc., Burch, W. Bernette, (http://web.archive.org/web/20041129225945/http://www.jeffanna.com/sites/familytree/families/myers/names/burchfamily.pdf), 5.

    4. [S347985724] Email from Jack Hendrick, Oct 2008.



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