Burgess was born October 6, 1853, in Providence, Rhode Island.

He was ordained deacon in 1876 by Bishop William Woodruff Niles in Grace Church, Providence, Rhode Island, and priest in 1878 by Thomas M. Clark.

Amongst the different parishes he served in Connecticut, Pennsylvania and Detroit, he was rector of Grace Church in Brooklyn, New York from 1898 till 1901.

When he died, the General Convention of the church adjourned business in his honor.

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