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The Kennebec Historical Society August 2026 Program:
“Like Father, Like Sons – The Burbank Family in the Revolutionary”
Throughout history, people have often been caught up in the momentous events of their era, and so it was for members of the Burbank family of Scarborough in what was then the Province of Maine. Upon hearing of the outbreak of fighting between colonists and British regulars at Lexington and Concord in 1775, Silas Burbank immediately joined a militia group heading for Boston. In something unheard of in later wars, he was joined by his two young sons, thirteen-year-old David as a drummer and eleven-year-old Eleazer as a fifer.
These family members remained in George Washington’s army for five years. This illustrated program tells the amazing story of the Burbank’s service in the American Revolution, beginning with the siege of Boston and continuing to the battle of Saratoga, the winter spent at Valley Forge, and much more. We learn of Eleazer’s being captured by the British and his father dining with General Washington. Silas also playing a role in the traitor Benedict Arnold’s defection. Stunning 18th century Revolutionary War art is included.
KHS presenter, Linda Snow McLoon, is a published author who has deep roots in Scarborough but grew up in Maine’s Belgrade Lakes Region. She served as Executive Director of the Portland Harbor Museum and has served on the boards of the Belgrade Historical Society and the Scarborough Historical Society. She currently volunteers at the Maine Historical Society and the South Portland Historical Society, and as a local history historian, she presents illustrated lectures on topics of Maine history.
The presentation, free to the public (donations are gladly accepted), is scheduled to begin at 6:30 p.m. Wednesday, August 19, at Augusta City Center, located at 16 Cony Street in Augusta. For more information, call Scott Wood, KHS executive director, at 622-7718.
