Burton operated mines in the Gogebic Range of Michigan and Wisconsin, as well as in Alaska's Seward Peninsula, California, Colorado, and Mexico.

John Edgar Burton graduated from the Whitestown Seminary with high honors in June 1868.

[2][4] The Equitable Life Assurance Society of New York hired Burton as general agent and manager for Wisconsin in 1881.

In 1885, Burton resigned from Equitable Life to speculate in iron and copper mining in Michigan and Wisconsin.

[2][1] He spent $140,000 developing a manufacturing facility in Chicago, situated on the corner of Clinton and Van Buren streets.

He expanded his real estate and business holdings in Lake Geneva, which encompassed dozens of buildings (one sixth of the town's property) and companies, including the First National Bank.

[4] He invested in the Aguan Navigation and Improvement Company, which sought to construct a canal connecting the Caribbean Sea with the Aguán River of Honduras to benefit mahogany markets.

He assembled one of the most comprehensive coin collections in the United States and was a member of the American Numismatic Association.