William Fletcher Burden

William Fletcher Burden (March 14, 1830 – December 7, 1867) was an industrialist born in Troy, New York.

Career William designed the steam derricks, used for unloading coal, at the Burden Iron Works. A wire cable stretched between, on which an iron carriage traveled three hundred feet from the dock to the coal heap, carrying a self-dumping bucket with the capacity to hold a ton of coal. A steam engine hoisted the filled bucket to the cable, along which it traveled to the point where the tilting apparatus overturned its contents upon the pile.

Personal life In 1856, he married Julia Ann Hart (1833–1887), daughter of Hon. Richard P. Hart from Troy. who married Esther "Daisy" (née McCoy) (1855–1928). Howard Hart Burden (1857–1926). Henry Burden (1861–1861), who died young. Henry Burden (1863–1864), who also died young. Henry Burden (1866-1937), moved to Cazenovia, NY. Married Julia Radcliffe Hart Burden.

Burden died in Troy on December 7, 1867, at the age of thirty-seven, and was interred in the family vault in the Albany Rural Cemetery. After his death, the iron works were inherited by his nephew, James A. Burden Jr. A memorial plaque dedicated to William Fletcher Burden is in the Woodside Church, Troy, New York.