William Burdett arrived in Virginia in1615 when only sixteen years old and in1624 was listed as a servant in the household of the Accomack commander. Burdett became a commissioner and a vestryman and in 1639 and 1641 represented the area in the House of Burgesses at Jamestown. In the 1640s he took care of the cattle inherited by William Shrimpton from Lady Dale's estate on the Eastern Shore. Although he patented 1,550 acres of land, the records indicate that he was deeply in debt at the time of his death in 1643.

From Nugent's "Cavaliers and Pioneers, Vol. I," pg. 363:
William Burdett accumulated vast acreage in both Northampton and Accomack Counties. He was deceased by 1657, according to a deed drawn up by John Custis on Oct. 8, 1657 in Northampton Co., for 200 acres of land "adjoining William Burdett, deceased". Thomas Burdett in 1658 in Northampton Co. VA acquired by conveyance 1050 acres of land "by virtue of rights of a patent granted unto his father, William Burdett, conveying the same quantity and by him deserted."