Burns/Booth...the beginning

The Burns name is introduced into the McKee family when William B. Burns marries Sarah C. Booth. William and Sarah went by the nicknames of Bill and Sally.

Sarah C, "Sally" Booth d/o Ananias Jackson Booth, Sr. and Mary Jane McKee
b. 8 Feb 1860 Randolph County, Illinois
d. 1898 Texas...Does anyone have any more concrete info?

The Booth family moves to Texas between 1872 and 1874 when Sally is between 12 and 14. Sally marries Bill Burns between 1874 and 1879 in Texas.

William B. "Bill" Burns s/o Isaac Burns and Mary Ann Ripley
b. 11 May 1856 Randolph County, Illinois (1880 census says North Carolina)
d. Rumor at this point: 15 Jan 1916 Simms, Bowie County, Texas (FAG memorial 7029432)

Henderson Family Lore
Ananias Jackson Booth was wealthy, and after his wife Mary Jane died, he remarried and his second wife was caught putting poison in the well water to kill him. Leaving her he told a daughter Sally and her husband, Bill Burns, that if they would give him a home the rest of his life, he would deed all his property to them. But the deed was not recorded at once, then while he was helping Sally and Bill Burns move into the home, he accidentally dropped a gun and it killed him. Bill Burns knowing that the deed had not been recorded, mounted a horse and rode to the county seat and had it recorded before Booth was buried. No other Booth realized anything out of his fortune.

Family Lore Not Withstanding...
If the Burns family had any substantial money, it isn't evident in the lives of the Burns children. Many of them are prosperous farmers and ranchers; however, none of them seem to evidence any great wealth.

Based on census entries, the oldest child, Henry Eugene Burns, seems to take much of the responsibility for his younger siblings after the 1898 death of his mother. In the 1900 census, siblings Charles Nathaniel, Cora Maude, Andrew Jackson, and Sara Carrie are living with him and his new wife Mae Henry (Anderson) Burns. Henry is 20 years old and responsible to the care of lots of people. Younger siblings Pearl Elizabeth, John Dow, and Lillie May can be found on the 1900 census with Fred and Amanda Tally in Franklin County. All three of the younger children are listed as boarders. Bill Burns is alive but seems not to have a hand in raising his children.