On March 21, 1810, a petition was presented to chancery court in Essex County, “Humbly complaining shew unto your worships your orators & oratrices Wm Burke and infant under the age of twenty one years by John Jones his next friend, Polly Burke daughter of Martin Burke an infant under the age of twenty one years by Andrew Monroe her next friend, Polly Burke daughter of Wm Burke an infant under the age of twenty one years by John Martin her next friend and Betsey & James Burke infants under the age of twenty one years by John Jones their next friend, that Rickard Burke formerly of Essex county died seised in fee of a tract of land situated in south Farnham parish & Essex county containing about 271 acres, having made & publishing his testament & last will & writing by which he devised to his wife Ann Burke during her life his whole estate real & personal & after devising some Kentucky land he devised all the remainder of his estate, real & personal, to be equally divided among all his children John, Thomas, Martin, James & Lewis Burke, Barbara Chenault & Molly Meador & lent to his grand daughters Lucy Gatewood & Polly Burke an equal part of his estate real & personal & if they should dye without heirs their respective portions should go to the survivors, as will appear by an office copy of the same recorded in this court hereto annexed as part of this bill; that the testator’s son Thomas died in his life time & without having been married whereby the devise in his favor became void, and his sons John & Martin also died in the lifetime of the testator’s widow who died in Jany 1810; that his said son John left a will whereby he devised his interest in the said land in Essex county to your orator Wm Burke, his son, as will appear by the said John Burke’s will recorded in this court; that Martin Burke died intestate and your oratrix Polly Burke is his only child & descendant living. that James Burke died intestate in the lifetime of his Father Rickard and your orator & oratrix James & Betsey Burke are his only children & descendants living; that your oratrix Polly Burke, mentioned in the will of the testator as his granddaughter, is the only child & descendant of the testator’s son Wm who died in the testator’s lifetime; and the testator’s grand daughter mentioned in his will by the name of Lucy Gatewood was the only child & descendant living of a daughter of the testator who died in his life time, which said Lucy Gatewood intermarried with Wm Howard jr after the testator’s death…” Hundley Moody had purchased some of this land, and the petitioners seek division of the land. The case was finally settled in 1822 with division. [Essex County, Virginia, Box 138 D&W, 1820–1821, Folder N.]

The marriage of Vernon Eskridge to Polly Burke, daughter of Martin Burke, is taken from Wilkerson with reference to Essex County, Virginia, Marriage Register 1, page 241, and Deed Book 41, page 464.

On 5 April 1825, Vernon Eskridge and Polly his wife of Essex County sold to William Beazley. For $115, 50 acres, be it more or less, in South Farnham Parish bounded by estate of William Gatewood deceased, Hundley Moody and William Beazley, it being part of the lands of the late Rickard Burke deceased. This land went to Rickard’s son Martin, then to Polly, daughter of Martin. Signed Vernon Eskridge, Mary Eskridge. Polly examined by Robt P. Waring Jr., James Hunter to acknowledge the deed. Ordered recorded 30 December 1825. [Essex County, Virginia, Deed Book 41, pages 464–465.]