The cemetery is located off Andromeda Drive in Burke. The markers are broken and separated from their bases. Markers for Hannah and Silas, placed by their grandchildren, were the only ones found, although early surveyors indicated finding depressions which might indicate more burials. The markers rest on a slope down from the top of a hill. The surveyors wondered if the markers had been on the top of the hill at one time, for that would be a more likely burial location. Library research indicated that Silas’ brother Levi was buried at Burke Station, which might be with Hannah and Silas.
Silas Burke was born in Prince William County. He married into the well-to-do Coffer family, who had owned land in the area since the early 18th century. During his lifetime, he was an overseer to the Ravensworth estate and owned and operated a farm, a store, a blacksmith shop, a mill, and a brickyard. He served as county justice and sheriff and as a director of the Fairfax Turnpike Company and the Orange and Alexandria Railroad. He served in the county militia, was a school trustee, and presided over the Fairfax County Agricultural Society. Shortly before his death, he applied for a license to keep “a house of entertainment.”
Source: Memories of Beautiful Burke, Virginia by Netherton and Rose
Photos of Burke Family Cemetery
County Survey Record
