Melvina Jones Burke was the daughter of Calvin Jones and Katherine Katie Hart. She married Dr. Charles Henry W Burke on 12 Mar 1857. She was the 8th great granddaughter of Matoaka POCAHONTAS Powhatan and her husband John Rolfe.
She has been described as being very beautiful with long flowing black hair and striking blue eyes. One of her grandsons said that his father had told him that she used to run through the fields in North Carolina and people would say she was an Indian. She was of Cherokee descent on her mother's side of the family and also Native American (Powhatan tribe) on her father's side of the family. They moved to Kentucky where she was accepted and served as a mid-wife and nurse. Her husband was a Doctor of Medicine.

Her son, John A. Burk was killed in 1902 during the construction of the C&O Railroad. He was on the explosive crew. They had to drill deep holes and then drop dynamite down the holes to carve passages through the mountains for the railroad. One of the charges did not go off. They thought the dynamite was defective. John went to drill out the dynamite and it went off, killing him in the explosion. His mother, Melvina, roamed the orchards at Bonanza, Kentucky day and night because she was inconsolable after John's death. Melvina died about 2 years after John was killed in the explosion. from Helen Wells, June 22, 2002, personal interview with Mickey Jo McGlynn. Helen Wells was a daughter of Isaac (Ike) Burke, a brother to John A. Burk.

Three children not linked below: Ulysses Grant Burke 1875-1966, Find a Grave Memorial #37131994
Isaac Marion Burke 1862-1928 Find A Grave Memorial #34145297
Mary Alice Burke Wells 1882-1941 Find A Grave Memorial #7374069