Eliza Burgwin Clitherall (1784-1863)
The Life of Caroline Elizabeth "Eliza" Burgwin Clitherall (1784-1863)
Caroline Elizabeth "Eliza" Burgwin was born on April 9, 1784, in Charleston, South Carolina. Caroline Burgwin was the daughter of John and Elizabeth Burgwin. The birth of Eliza occurred that evening after a ten-week voyage across the Atlantic Ocean, as John and Elizabeth, along with Elizabeth’s sister Pricilla, were arriving at the port in Charleston.
Eliza’s first three years of her life were spent in Wilmington, North Carolina. Upon her mother’s death in 1787, John sent his daughter and her aunt back to England for Eliza to be raised among her mother’s relatives. During her childhood in England, Eliza received a Quaker education and frequently received gifts from her father. When she was about fifteen, Eliza returned to Wilmington.
On May 5, 1802, Eliza Burgwin married George Campbell Clitherall, a United Sates Army Assistant Surgeon, in Wilmington, North Carolina. Since her father John would not give his blessing for the marriage, Eliza and George married at the courthouse in Wilmington. Eliza had the most financial difficulties of John Burgwin’s children, as her husband would drink and gamble their money away. Despite their hardships, the couple had nine children together.
Once George died in 1829, Eliza spent most of her time operating girl’s schools and helping young women. Towards the latter half of her life, in 1837, Eliza left Wilmington and travelled to Alabama where her children resided. After the move, Eliza never had much further contact with her relatives except her own children. However, her brother John Fanning Burgwin would still send money to Eliza regularly to make sure she was taken care of. On October 9th, 1863, Eliza passed away at the age of 79. She is buried in Oakwood Cemetery in Montgomery, Alabama.
