Arrow on browser to return back to
previous page
to bottom of pageThe Burgar/Burgess families in Shetland
Click Arrow on browser to return back to
previous page
to bottom of page
The earliest Burgar that have found in Shetland - pre 1680
The ancestors of the present Burgar/Burgess family are descended from Burgar families living in Hillwell in Dunrossness. Hillwell may thus be considered as the ancestral location of the Burgar family in Shetland. However, there are earlier records of other early Burgar in other parts of Shetland.
The earliest Burgars that we have found in the Shetland records are shown below.
See Map of Shetland to locate where they lived
Magnus Burgar who was around in the 1570s and 1580s in Fetlar.
James Burgar appears in the records for Yell between 1572 until his death in 1624.
See details of James Burgar in Yell
William Burger was a tailor and the evidence suggests that he was probably living in Dunrossness in 1619/21. William's father-in-law, Gilbert Irwin, was living at Brek in 1621 when he assigned a dowry to William. William is therefore a strong, but unproved, contender to be the ancestor of the modern Burgess family in Shetland.
See details of William Burger (born about 1595)
David Burgar(1) was in Skelloway when he died in 1664, but we do not know how old he was, or where his permanent home was. He may have been the son of William or possibly a brother of William above. (There is another David(2) see below).
See details of David(1) Burgar (died 1664)
George Burger was born in about 1630 and we can trace him and his children into the 1700s and through to the present day.
It is unclear who his parents were. The possibilities are that:
1. he is the son of William Burger (born about 1595) or that
2. he is the son of David(1) Burgar, assuming that David(1) was born in about 1600, and in turn David(1) may be a brother or close relative of William Burger.
George will feature prominently is the subsequent story.
David Burger(2) appears in a court case in 1678 together with George Burgar.
David(2) might be
1. the son of David(1) who died in 1664, or
2. the son of George Burgar, or
3. the brother of George Burgar.
With no firm evidence to go on it is impossible to say whether any of the above is correct.
George Burgar (born about 1630) has been found to be the ancestor of many (maybe all) of the modern Burgar/Burgess family.