L. R. Burleigh Jr.: Lithographer of Bird's-Eye Views

L. R. Burleigh, son and namesake of the preacher L. R. Burleigh, moved away from reform causes, and, like his cousins Charles C. Burleigh and Sydney Burleigh, moved into the artistic sphere. L. R. Burleigh became one of the finest lithographers of the late 19th and early 20th centuries, producing many city views. He located his business in the Albany/Troy/Schenectady region of New York State. His output was extensive, with detailed and accurate to-scale quality.  Many of his bird's-eye-views are accessible on the internet; even his Wikipedia page has an admirably comprehensive set of them.

In his (presumed) retirement, L. R. Burleigh took on the role of leading an alumni association for the (defunct) Plainfield Academy. Thus he helped retain historical memory of the family, along with his neice, Agnes Burleigh Allen.

At this time, very little is known about L.R. Burleigh's personal life story. He was married twice; his first wife, Margaret Russell Courtney (1847-1886), married him in 1880 in Troy N.Y. They had two surviving children before her early death. In 1890, L.R. married his second wife, Mary Mink (1866-1952); they had four children. All six of his children outlived their father, and so we can hope to discover more about him in future if any of them, and their descendants, retained stories and artifacts.

The L.R. Burleigh lithographs below were chosen because they connect to various points in the Burleigh story. Charles Calistus Burleigh (Sr.) visited the Vermont sites when editing a newspaper in that state. William Henry Burleigh was connected to Schenectady in the 1830s. John Oscar Burleigh lived and worked in the Douglas, Massachusetts area; L.R. Burleigh attended college in Worcester. Finally, Moosup and Jewett City were both proximate to Plainfield, and would have been places that L.R. Burleigh knew from his youth.