Edward Burcher (1543-c1625)

Biography
The Burchers appeared in a letter of 1623 by the master of the Little James, John Bridge, and Mrs. Burcher was the probable individual referred to by another passenger, Emmanuel Altham, in another letter written that year. In the first, Bridge said that “father Vircher and his wife were as hearty as the youngest on the ship.” Both “father,” used in this case as a term of respect, and the comparison imply significant age. Altham referred to “an old woman in our ship about four score [80] years of age, which was in good health.” Edward Vircher gave the two acres received in 1623 to another Plymouth colonist, Samuel Fuller (1580-1633), who mentioned them in his 1633 will. The Burchers do not again appear in Plymouth Colony records, and may have returned to England.

Edward Burcher and his wife received two acres in the 1623 Plymouth division of land. Their names to did not appear in the 1627 division of cattle, so they had died or left the colony by then.