I. Townsend Burden

Isaiah Townsend Burden (February 21, 1838 – April 23, 1913) was prominent American member of New York Society during the Gilded Age. Early life Burden was born February 21, 1838, in Troy, New York, the fifth son of Helen (née McOuat) (1802–1860) and Henry Burden (1791–1871), the founder of Burden Iron Works. His siblings were Peter Abercrombie Burden (1822–1866), Margaret Elizabeth Burden (1824–1915), Helen Burden (1826–1891), Henry James Burden (1828–1846), William Fletcher Burden (1830–1867), James Abercrombie Burden (1833–1906), and Jessie Burden (1840–1917). Burden received a public school education and completed studies at Russell's Academy, a private academy in New Haven, Connecticut. Career Following his studies, at age 19, he began working for his father's company, Burden Iron Works. His father was known as the "Ironmaster of Troy." The company was reorganized in 1881, ten years after his father's death, and he became an almost 50% owner, with his brother James A. Burden, until his death in 1913. After his brother James's death in 1906, his nephew, James A. Burden Jr., became more heavily involved in the company.