b. 23 March 1799, d. 23 August 1877
| Birth | 23 Mar 1799 | Lewis Burk was born on 23 Mar 1799 near Lexington, Fayette County, Kentucky.2,3 |
| Migration | 1809 | Lewis migrated with his parents to Indiana in 1809.2 |
| Residence | 1813 | In 1813 at the age of fourteen he returned to Kentucky for a visit, and remained there to learn the trade of blacksmith.2,3 |
| Occupation | between 1816 and 1828 | Returning to Indiana in the fall of 1816, Lewis worked at a variety of occupations. He cut logs for a blacksmith shop, worked as a stone mason and harvested crops. Eventually he opened his own blacksmith shop, but was forced to give it up in 1827 or 8 due to failing health.2 |
| Marriage | 27 Nov 1823 | He married Mariah Moffett, daughter of Thomas Moffett and Mary Brown, on 27 Nov 1823.4 |
| Children | | Lewis and Maria spent their married lives in Richmond (Wayne County) where they had five children together. Only one child, a daughter named Mary Jane, lived into adulthood.3 |
| | They also raised a foster daughter, Eliza.1 |
| | Lewis did not have the benefit of a formal education so as an adult he hired a teacher. He applied the business knowledge he had acquired with his shop and spent several years working in the grocery, tavern, livery-stable and hotel keeping business.2 |
| Public Serv | 1839 | Lewis was respected by his peers and and served his community in a variety of ways. In 1839 he was elected to represent Wayne County in the lower house of the State Legislature.2,5 |
| Public Serv | 1841 | He was elected to the State Senate from 1841 to 1845 and again from 1855-57.6 |
| Cens-1850 | 6 Sep 1850 | The first federal census to name all household members was held in 1850. Lewis and Mariah were enumerated in Wayne County with Mary J., George and William [the boys last name should have been recorded as Moffett; they were the children of Mariah's deceased brother, William Moffett]. Lewis reported that he owned land valued at $30,000; he called himself a horse dealer. Interestingly, all other members of the household were also listed with occupations. Mariah was a merchant, 9 year old Mary was a teamster, 8 year old George was a livery keeper and 5 year old William a pedler.7 |
| | In the early 1850s Lewis organized the Peoples Bank of Richmond and was its president until the passage of the national banking law. In 1863 he sold the bank to a group of investors who renamed it the First National Bank of Richmond. He remained a shareholder.6 |
| | Lewis served as a pallbearer to convey the body of President Lincoln to the state Capitol in Indianapolis, where it lay in state on April 30, 1865. He was also a member of the original board of trustees of Purdue University from 1865 through 1870.6 |
| Death | 23 Aug 1877 | Lewis died on 23 Aug 1877 in Indianapolis, Marion County, Indiana, at age 78.6 |
| Burial | | He was buried with Mariah at Earlham Cemetery in Richmond. She had died the preceding year.8 |
| Obituary | | One of Lewis's obituaries described him as an upright and honest man. It noted that at one time he was considered quite wealthy, but died comparatively poor, due to a series of misfortunes as well as his generous support of benevolent causes.9 |
