He was born on January 10, 1871, in
Canandaigua,
Ontario County, New York, the son of Perrine Burnett and Harriet E. (Rowley) Burnett. He graduated from
Canandaigua Academy in 1889, and
LL.B. from the
University of Michigan Law School in 1892. Then he was admitted to the bar, and practiced law in Canandaigua. He became the chief lieutenant of the local
Republican boss
John Raines who took Burnett along to Albany. In 1897, Burnett was Chief of the Revision Room of the State Assembly. He was a member of the
New York State Assembly (Ontario Co.) in
1899,
1900,
1901,
1902,
1903,
1904,
1905,
1906 and
1907; and was Chairman of the Committee on General Laws from 1900 to 1902, and Chairman of the Committee on Affairs of Cities from 1903 to 1907. He married Margaret Gillette, and they had two children: Margaret (born 1903), and Jean who was born on the day his father died. Burnett died during the legislative session on February 26, 1907, at the Ten Eyck Hotel in
Albany, New York, from
pneumonia; and was buried at the
Woodlawn Cemetery in Canandaigua. ==Sources==