John H. Burtis

John Henry Burtis (September 5, 1832 – January 29, 1903) was an American businessman and politician from New York.

Life Burtis was born on September 5, 1832, in Hoosick Falls, New York. He moved to Washington County when he was five. He was the son of John Burtis, a sieve manufacturer and justice of the peace, and Eliza Lee.

Burtis attended Cambridge Academy. In 1854, he graduated from Union College, where he was a member of Phi Beta Kappa. He then studied law, then theology, at Princeton Seminary. From 1858 to 1864, he was the associate secretary of missions for the American Sunday School Union. He also spent a few years teaching, serving as principal of Cambridge Academy for two years. He wanted to have a professional career, but a partial paralysis of an eye prevented this. In 1897, Brooklyn mayor Frederick W. Wurster appointed him Commissioner of Charities.