Résumé

Apprentice, Barrows and Barton, Architects, Chicago, IL, c. 1867-1871. Asahel Barrows, Jr., and John Barton had an office in Room #41 of the Lombard Building in Chicago in 1869. (See Chicago, Illinois, City Directory, 1869, p. 70.) The 1891 book Industrial Chicago,a survey of architects and architecture in Chicago of that year, said of Burnham: "At the age of fourteen years he began the study of architecture with J.H. Barrows, in the old Lombard block, and at the age of eighteen, with only four years' experience in the profession, commanded a salary of $3 per day, which at that time was considered large for one of his years, which is an indication of the rapidity of his advancement." (SeeIndustrial Chicago: The Building Interests, [Chicago: Goodspeed Publishing Company, 1891], p. 618-619.)

Partner, Wolfe and Burnham, Architects, San Francisco, CA, 1879. Wolfe and Burnham was a San Francisco branch office of Wolfe and Son, Architects, with Franklin P. Burnham as head. (See San Francisco, California, City Directory, 1879, p. 936.)

Partner, [Willoughby James] Edbrooke and Burnham, Architects, Chicago, IL, 1879-1896. In 1885, the Edbrooke and Burnham office was located at 184 Dearborn Street in Chicago. Edbrooke and Burnham operated in Chicago at the same time as the more well-known firm of Burnham and Root, operated by Daniel Hudson Burnham (1846-1912) and John Wellborn Root (1850-1891); the two Burnhams were not directly related.

Edbrooke and Burnham maintained their practice in Room #38 of the Howland Block in Chicago in 1882. (See Chicago, Illinois, City Directory, 1882, p. 1363.) In 1891, the firm operated in the Chamber of Commerce Building, Room #1310. (See Chicago, Illinois, City Directory, 1891, p. 411.)Edbrooke and Burnham became significant, designing residential, commercial and institutional buildings throughout the State of Illinois, and across the US. Its highest-profile commissions included the Main Administration Building (1879) and other early buildings on the Notre Dame University Campus, Tabor Grand Opera House, Denver, CO, (1881, designed for H.A.W. Tabor), and, most notably, the Georgia State Capitol in Atlanta (1884-1889).

Of his time with Edbrooke, Industrial Chicago stated: "In 1879 Mr. Burnham entered into a partnership with W.J. Edbrook [sic], a prominent architect of Chicago, and has since acted in the capacity of designer of the work of the firm, until the appointment of Mr. Edbrooke as supervising architect of the treasury, when he assumed the general management of the firm's business. Mr. Burnham is strictly a self-made man, having picked up his architectural education in various offices in this city." (SeeIndustrial Chicago: The Building Interests, [Chicago: Goodspeed Publishing Company, 1891], p. 618.) Edbrooke (1843-1896) was appointed Supervising Architect of the US Treasury in 1891, during the administration of President Benjamin Harrison.

Principal, F.P. Burnham, Company, Architects, Chicago, IL, c. 1896. F.P. Burnham and Company operated at 132 Clark Street in 1896, with A.H. Lowden as its office manager. (See Chicago, Illinois, City Directory, 1896, p. 352.)

Principal, Franklin P. Burnham, Architect, Los Angeles, CA, 1898-1902, 1904-1909. In 1900, Burnham maintained an independent office at 942 West 32nd Street in Los Angeles. (See Los Angeles, California, City Directory, 1900, p. 401.) By 1901, he had an office in the Stimson Building, Room #215. (See Los Angeles, California, City Directory, 1901, p. 1226.) From 1905-on, Burnham rented office space in the Huntington Block, aka the Pacific Electric Building, 612 South Main Street. (See Los Angeles, California, City Directory, 1905, p. 243.) He continued to rent space in the Pacific Electric Building, Room #655 in 1907-1909. (See Los Angeles, California, City Directory, 1907, p. 1651; Los Angeles, California, City Directory, 1908, p. 241; Los Angeles, California, City Directory, 1909, p. 1519.) In his last year in this building, business was good enough to enable him to expand to occupy a suite of offices, Rooms #655-659. (See Los Angeles, California, City Directory, 1909, p. 231.)

Partner, Burnham and Bliesner, Architects, Los Angeles, CA, 1902-1904. In 1902-1904, Burnham and Bliesner maintained an office in Room #303 of the Douglas Building in Downtown Los Angeles. (See Los Angeles, California, City Directory, 1902, p. 1528; Los Angeles, California, City Directory, 1903, p. 1705; Los Angeles, California, City Directory, 1904, p. 1750)

Secondary School

Burnham attended the Flavel Moseley Social Adjustment School, Chicago, IL, opened in 1854, with a new building opened in 1857. This public school served working class children, and was named for Flavel Moseley (1798-1865), who made money investing in real estate, and, between 1850 and 1862, he served on Chicago's Board of Education. Having no children of his own, he donated money for an "Indigent Children's Fund" and funded the erection of a new high school. At the end of this life, he gave $10,000 for a public school book fund of his nearly $200,000 estate. (SeeAlfred Theodore Andreas, History of Chicago: Vol. II, From 1857 until the Fire of 1871, [Chicago : A.T. Andreas, 1885], p. 104-105.)

Relocation

Born in Rockford, IL, Franklin Pierce Burnham continued to live in that city, according to the 1860 US Census. His father worked as a carpenter, and his mother minded the family's five children, of which Franklin was the youngest. Most of Franklin's family (save for his father) had been born in NH, but the Burnhams relocated to Rockford by c. 1852, where he was born the following year.

The Burnhams moved to the city of Chicago by about 1860. The Chicago, Illinois, City Directory, 1869, (p. 139), noted that a "Frank Burnham" worked as a clerk, and boarded at 186 Wabash Avenue, although it is difficult to tell if this was the same man. It is likely not, as Burnham's family lived at 204 26th Street in 1869.In 1870, Franklin P. Burnham lived with his family in Chicago's 4th Ward. The block on which the Burnhams lived was populated by a number of others from Canada, NH and ME. His future wife, Adelia, also born in ME, lived several doors down with Charles P. Libby (born c. 1837 in ME), perhaps a brother-in-law, who worked in slaughterhouse. (See Ancestry.com, Source Citation Year: 1870; Census Place: Chicago Ward 4, Cook, Illinois; Roll: M593_200; Page: 50B; Family History Library Film: 545699, accessed 10/16/2017.)

Just after his marriage in 1877, Burnham and his wife, Adelia, moved to the San Francisco Bay Area. He registered to vote in the City of San Francisco on 08/28/1877, and lived at 1701 Howard Street. He and Adelia relocated to Oakland, CA, by about 1878, where their daughter, Jennie, was born. They continued to reside in Oakland, CA for part of 1879. (See San Francisco, California, City Directory, 1879, p. 170.) They didn't remain here long. His mother, Sarah Goodhue Burnham, passed away in 1879, necessitating a return to IL, and, at that time, Franklin received the opportunity to return to Chicago to partner with the older, more established architect Willoughby J. Edbooke. Edbrooke was working on buildings for Notre Dame University in South Bend, IN, following a disastrous fire in 04/1879 and needed addtional assistance in his office.

According to the 1880 US Census, Burnham lived back in Chicago, at his father's residence. (His mother had died by this point.) Others living in Paul Burnham's household included an elder brother, John P. Burnham (born c. 1840 in NH), who worked in a planing mill in Chicago, Mary Burnham Orcutt (born c. 1842 in NH), her husband, William, who was a "traveling catarrh salesman," (born c. 1838 in NY), their daughter, May (born c. 1874 in IL), Franklin Pierce, his wife, Adelia, and their daughter, Jennie, (born c. 1879 in IL), Iona Still, (born c. 1856 in IA), a boarder who worked as a seamstress, and Louise Holtz, (born c. 1859 in IL), a servant. (See Ancestry.com, Source Citation Year: 1880; Census Place: Chicago, Cook, Illinois; Roll: 190; Family History Film: 1254190; Page: 335B; Enumeration District: 076, accessed 10/16/2017.) A son, John Paul, was born back in IL in 1882.

Burnham lived in the Windsor Park neighborhood of Chicago, IL, in 1885. (See Chicago, Illinois, City Directory, 1885, p. 270.) In 1891, he lived in the suburb of Kenilworth, IL, where he worked as the architect for the real estate development firm, The Kenilworth Company, founded in 1889 by Joseph Sears (1843-1912) and his associates. Sears had been influenced by picturesque architecture and town planning that he had seen in England in the 1880s. The Glessner House has said of him: "Shortly after completing his home at 1815 S. Prairie Avenue, Sears traveled to England, where he became entranced with the beautiful planned communities there. He came back to the U.S.and purchased a large tract of land on Chicago’s north shore, where he soon after established the community of Kenilworth." (See Glessner House.org, "Joseph Sears and his Prairie Avenue roots," published 05/08/2012, accessed 10/16/2017.) Burnham designed some of the earliest houses in the 226-acre Kenilworth development. According to the Chicago Tribune, "Franklin Pierce Burnham, official architect for the Kenilworth Co., designed best-of-class Queen Annes, including Waverly, the former Joseph Sears house in Kenilworth, and Burnham's own house.'No Chicago architect surpassed Burnham's skill at handling this picturesque style,' says Evanston architect and historian Stuart Cohen, co-author of the just-published "North Shore Chicago, Houses of the Lakefront Suburbs" (Acanthus Press, New York) (Burnham-built Victorian row houses, circa 1887 are at 2838-2848 W. Warren Blvd.)" (See Monica Kass Rogers, Chicago Tribune.com "So, why are they called Queen Annes anyway?" published 06/10/2005, accessed 10/16/2017.) Burnham designed his family residence at 37 Kenilworth Avenue, and was living here by 1891. (See Chicago, Illinois, City Directory, 1891, p. 411.)

Edbrooke and Burnham designed the US Government Pavilion at the 1893 Columbian Exposition and its Cold Storage Building, although Burnham was not credited for the former commission.

Burnham resettled in Los Angeles, CA, c. 1899. He first appeared in the Los Angeles City Directories in 1900. In 1905, he resided at 1957 Estrella Avenue. (See Los Angeles, California, City Directory, 1905, p. 243.) In 1907, the architect lived at 2024 LaSalle Avenue in Los Angeles. (See Los Angeles, California, City Directory, 1907, p. 247.) He moved to Pasadena by 1908, and in his last year, Burnham and his wife lived at 1945 La France Avenue in South Pasadena, CA. (See Los Angeles, California, City Directory, 1909, p. 231.)

He died at the age of 56 in Los Angeles, CA.An obituary for Franklin Pierce Burnham appeared in the Boston Transcript on 12/17/1909.

Parents

His father was Paul Burnham, (born 07/1811 in Salem, MA-d. 09/04/1884 in Chicago, IL), his mother, Sarah Johnson Goodhue, (born 01/30/1815 in Enfield, NH-d. 05/21/1879 in Chicago, IL). Paul and Sarah married on 01/07/1840 in NH. According to the 1870 US Census, Paul worked as a carpenter. In the 19th century, many American boys who went into architecture had fathers who worked as carpenters or cabinetmakers, and many of these boys would work as builders themselves before transitioning into the more prestigious and less physically strenuous field of architecture. In 1870, the Burnham household included Paul, Sarah, John Paul Burnham (born 10/30/1840 in NH), who worked as an engine builder, Mary Jane Burnham (born 11/11/1842 in NH), a music teacher, and Alice Garrison, (born c. 1853 in IL), whose relationship with family is unknown. An elder brother, Oliver Goodhue Burnham (born 11/15/1844), lived next door with his wife and infant daughter at the time. The Chicago, Illinois, City Directory, 1869, (p. 139), indicated that Paul and Oliver worked as carpenters. According to the 1870 US Census, Paul Burnham's personal estate consisted of $2,000, but he owned no real estate. (See Ancestry.com, Source Citation Year: 1870; Census Place: Chicago Ward 4, Cook, Illinois; Roll: M593_200; Page: 50B; Family History Library Film: 545699, accessed 10/16/2017.) Another daughter, Ella Maria Burnham (1851-1865), passed away during adolescence.

Spouse

At the age of 23, Franklin P. Burnham married Adelia S. Milliken, age 20, on 01/29/1877 in Chicago, IL. (See Ancestry.com, Source Information Cook County, Illinois, Marriages Index, 1871-1920 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2011, accessed 10/16/2017.) She was the daughter of Phebe Milliken (born c. 1825 in ME) and Freedom Milliken (born c. 1831 in ME), a merchant. The US Census of 1900 indicated that Adelia had been born in 02/1857 in ME. (See Ancestry.com, Source Citation Year: 1900; Census Place: Los Angeles Ward 5, Los Angeles, California; Roll: 89; Page: 5B; Enumeration District: 0050; FHL microfilm: 1240089, accessed 10/16/2017.)

According to her son's World War I draft registration card, Adelia Burnham continued to live in Los Angeles after Franklin's death. In 1914-1915, she lived at 328 West Avenue 59 in Los Angeles, (See Los Angeles, California, City Directory, 1914, p. 660 and Los Angeles, California, City Directory, 1915, p. 512), and by 1916-1917 resided at 2000 7th Avenue in 09/1918. (See Los Angeles, California, City Directory, 1916, p. 481 andAncestry.com, Source Citation Registration State: New York; Roll: 1765791; Draft Board: 105, accessed 10/16/2017.)

Children

Adelia and Franklin had two children, Jennie Pearl Burnham Tuttle, (born c. 10/07/1878 in Oakland, CA-d. 07/16/1958 in Orange County, CA) and John Paul Burnham, (born 08/14/1883 in IL-d. 02/08/1956 in Los Angeles County, CA). In 04/1942, his World War II draft registration card indicated that he worked as a self-employed artist. (See Ancestry.com, Source Citation The National Archives at St. Louis; St. Louis, Missouri; World War II Draft Cards (4th Registration) for the State of California; Record Group Title: Records of the Selective Service System, 1926-1975; Record Group Number: 147, accessed 10/16/2017.)

Biographical Notes

Another Franklin P. Burnham (born c. 10/1851 in MI) worked as a farmer and mason in the Maple Grove, MI, c. 1900. He married in 1873 to Alvira E. Mc Castney. (See Ancestry.com, Source Information Ancestry.com. Michigan, Marriage Records, 1867-1952 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2015, accessed 10/16/2017.)

• Los Angeles, CA (Architect's Death)
  Los Angeles, CA

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