Edward M. Burst

EDWARD M. BURST.

Edward M. Burst, numbered among the strong and able members of the DeKalb comity bar and now filling the office of states attorney, was born in Sycamore in 1872. His father, Captain John W. Burst, for many years a resident of this county, was born in Delaware county, New York, and has figured very prominently in Grand Army circles. He was one of the first to join the organization, having been mustered into Ransom post, Chicago, in 1866. He was transferred to the post in Sycamore, Illinois, in 1874, and was its commander for several years. He was very active in building up the order in Illinois and, besides holding many subordinate positions, was senior vice commander and commander of the department. He served for many years on the G. A. R. national pension committee and did effective work in the formulation and passage of the disability bill. He has been three times the candidate of the department of Illinois for commander-in-chief of the Grand Army of the Republic. His appointment by Commander-in-chief Lawler as quartermaster general met the enthusiastic approval of thousands of personal friends among the comrades.

During the campaign of 1896, Captain Burst was a part of the aggregation made up of crippled veterans of the war for the Union that made a tour of the country in the interest of the republican party. In the party were Generals Alger, Sickles, Howard, Stewart, Corporal Tanner and others. Soon after his election President McKinley appointed Captain Burst chief inspector of immigration, with headquarters at Chicago, which position he now holds.

Captain Burst married Lettice A. Mayo, a daughter of Hon. Edward L. and Emily (Holden) Mayo. Her father settled at Sycamore, Illinois, in 1841, and for many years was the acknowledged leader of the bar of DeKalb county. As a lawyer and a man he was prominently identified with its early history. He was born in Moretown, Washington county, Vermont, in 1807, and while his advantages in early life were limited, he obtained a fair education. His friends tried to persuade him to enter the ministry but he those the law and was admitted to the bar in 1835. He was twice married, his first wife being Miss Lettice Ann Holden, who died shortly afterward, and in September, 1840, he married Miss Emily Holden, her cousin. In politics he was a democrat and in 1854 was the candidate of that party for congress but he was defeated, the district being strongly republican. He was three times elected county judge notwithstanding his politics and the fact that he belonged to a party casting the minority vote. He was on intimate terms of friendship with the leading men of the state, among them being Stephen A. Douglas, Judge John D. Caton and Lyman Trumbull. After 1860 he was a ''war democrat, in full sympathy with the Union cause. His integrity and honor were never questioned. Possessed of a legal mind, it was among his legal bretlaren, who knew him best and were best able f Oh judge,': 1 5;as most appreciated. He died In t>l'K4lhVJS(>Jfeniber 16, 1877, at the age of seventy years, leaving a widow and one son, Dr. E. L. Mayo, of- Da Kalb, and three daughters: Mrs. John W. Buret, of:.ycamore; Mrs. T. E. Bagley, of Genoa; and Miss Kate Mayo, of DeKalb, surviving. To Captain and Mrs. Burst three children were born: Edward M., of this review; Bessie, wife of Henry W. Prentice, an attorney of DeKalb; and Bertha C, wife of Lieutenant Peter Lloyd Pratt, of the United States navy, now retired and practicing law in Seattle, Washington. In taking up the personal history of Edward M. Burst we present the life record of one who has continually grown in public favor as a result of the character development which the years have brought him and the use he has made of the powers and qualities with which nature endowed him. A public-school education, acquired in Sycamore, was followed by preparation for the practice of law in the Michigan University at Ann Arbor. He entered that institution in 1890 and was graduated in 1892 with the degree of Bachelor of Laws. The same year he was admitted to practice in the courts of Michigan and in 1893 entered the law offices of Caldwell & Pierson of Chicago, with whom he remained for about a year. Returning to Sycamore he opened an office in the room occupied by Judge L. Lowell, and began the practice of his

Google profession. He was not lopg in demonstrating his thorough knowledge of legal principles and in 1895 was chosen by his fellow townsmen to the office of city attorney, in which capacity he gave such able service that he was re-elected in 1897. His election to the office of states attorney of DeKalb county followed in November, 1904. As a practitioner at the bar he has been accorded a liberal patronage. He has won for himself a very favorable criticism for the careful and systematic methods he has followed in his work in the courts. As an orator he stands high, especially in discussions of legal matters before the courts, where his comprehension and knowledge of the law is manifest and his application of legal principles demonstrates the wide range of his professional acquirements. Utmost care and precision characterize his preparation of a case and have made him one of the most successful attorneys of the county.

Mr. Burst, moreover, figures prominently in political circles. He is a stalwart republican when a matter of principle is involved but was elected to the position of city attorney for the first term by the independent voters and to the second term on the citizens ticket. In 1892 he was one of the delegates from Illinois to the National Republican League convention held at Buffalo, New York, and in 1898 re-arranged and revised the city ordinances of Sycamore. Mr. Burst is yet a young man and has not yet reached the prime of life. Those who have watched his progress have noted the development and growth of his powers and the excellent use to which he has put his native talents. He is making substantial advancement in his pro* fession and undoubtedly the future holds for him still greater success.

As printed in Past and present of DeKalb County, Illinois (1907). See the original pages. Wording is the original; obvious scanning errors have been corrected, and a few may remain.