Editing Aaron Burr (section)

==Early life and education==
[[File:Jonathan Edwards.jpg|thumb|upright=0.8|left|Burr's maternal grandfather [[Jonathan Edwards (theologian)|Jonathan Edwards]], a [[Congregationalism in the United States|Congregationalist]] theologian]]
{{Aaron Burr series}}
Aaron Burr Jr. was born on February 6, 1756,<ref name=":0">{{cite web|title=Aaron Burr {{!}} Biography & Facts|url=https://www.britannica.com/biography/Aaron-Burr|website=Encyclopedia Britannica|language=en|access-date=May 20, 2020}}</ref> in [[Newark, New Jersey|Newark]], in what was then the [[Province of New Jersey]], one of the [[Thirteen Colonies]] of colonial era [[British America]]. He was the second child of the Reverend [[Aaron Burr Sr.]], a [[Presbyterianism|Presbyterian]] minister and second president of the [[College of New Jersey (18th Century)|College of New Jersey]], which later became [[Princeton University]]. His mother, [[Esther Edwards Burr]], was the daughter of [[Jonathan Edwards (theologian)|Jonathan Edwards]], a theologian, and his wife [[Sarah Edwards (missionary)|Sarah Edwards]].<ref name=":0"/><ref name=":1">{{cite web|title=The National Herald|url=https://www.thenationalherald.com/|website=The National Herald|language=en|access-date=May 20, 2020}}</ref> He had one older sister, Sarah, who was also known as Sally.<ref>{{cite web|last1=Bowles|first1=Suzanne Geissler|title=Tapping Reeve and Mumbet: Abolishing Slavery in Massachusetts|url=https://slavery.princeton.edu/stories/tapping-reeve}}</ref>

In 1757, Burr's father died while serving as president of College of New Jersey, which later became [[Princeton University]]. His grandfather, Jonathan Edwards, succeeded his father as the college's president, and lived with Burr and his mother in August 1799. Edwards died in March 1758, and Burr's mother and grandmother died the same year, leaving Burr and his sister orphaned when he was two years old.<ref name=":0" /><ref name=":1" /> Young Burr and his sister were then placed with the [[William Shippen Sr.|William Shippen]] family in the [[Philadelphia]], capital of British America.<ref>{{cite book |last=St. George |first=Judith |date=2016 |title=The Duel: The Parallel Lives of Alexander Hamilton and Aaron Burr |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=cmACDAAAQBAJ&pg=PA8 |location=New York|publisher=Penguin Random House |page=8 |isbn=978-0-4252-8821-4 |via=[[Google Books]]}}</ref> The following year, in 1759, the children's guardianship was assumed by their 21-year-old maternal uncle, Timothy Edwards.<ref name=":0" /><ref name=":1" /> The following year, Edwards married Rhoda Ogden, and moved the family to [[Elizabeth, New Jersey]], where Burr attended the [[Snyder Academy|Elizabethtown Academy]].<ref>{{Cite web |title=Hamiltonian Scholar Shares Insights at Snyder Academy |url=https://www.tapinto.net/towns/elizabeth/sections/education/articles/hamiltonian-scholar-shares-insights-at-snyder-aca |access-date=March 24, 2025 |website=TAPinto |language=en}}</ref> Burr had a very strained relationship with his uncle, who was often physically abusive. As a child, he made several attempts to [[runaway (dependent)|run away]] from home.<ref name=":1" /><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.let.rug.nl/usa/biographies/aaron-burr-jr/|title=Aaron Burr Jr. (1756–1836) < Biographies < American History From Revolution To Reconstruction and beyond|website=www.let.rug.nl}}</ref>

At age 13, Burr was admitted to the College of New Jersey as a sophomore, where he joined the [[American Whig Society]] and the [[Cliosophic Society]], the college's literary and debating societies.<ref name=whigclio>{{cite web |title=History |website=The American Whig–Cliosophic Society |year=2016 |publisher=Princeton University |url=https://whigclio.princeton.edu/about/history/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160406212214/http://whigclio.princeton.edu/about/history/ |archive-date=April 6, 2016 }}</ref> In 1772, at age 16, he received his Bachelor of Arts degree, but continued studying theology at Princeton for an additional year.<ref name=battlefields/> He then undertook rigorous theological training with [[Joseph Bellamy]], a Presbyterian, but changed his career path after two years.<ref name=worldhistory/> At age 19, he moved to [[Litchfield, Connecticut]] to study law with his brother-in-law [[Tapping Reeve]], founder of the [[Litchfield Law School]].{{sfn|Isenberg|2007|pp=9–16}}<ref>{{cite web |title=Aaron Burr Reeve |url=http://www.litchfieldhistoricalsociety.org/ledger/students/2117 |website=Litchfield Historical Society |access-date=May 21, 2018}}</ref> In 1775, news reached Litchfield of the clashes with British troops in the [[Battles of Lexington and Concord]], which launched the [[American Revolutionary War]], and Burr put his studies on hold to enlist in the [[Continental Army]], whose commander-in-chief was [[George Washington]].<ref name=battlefields/>