Searching collections:
During October, Look! articles will focus on family history. This week, Bob Garrett looks at one family’s archival papers.
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In this 1858 portrait, Frederick Willard Bush (born in 1836) reads a letter (Click on image for a larger view.).
A family’s story can be told through the papers it leaves behind. Frederick and Cynthia Bush and their children provide one shining example. Today, this family’s letters and diaries constitute a special collection within the Archives of Michigan.
Meet the Family
Frederick Bush married Cynthia Willard in 1835. That same year, the couple moved from New York state to Jackson County, Michigan. They had five children, all of whom were boys. Frederick died in 1891, and Cynthia died in 1894.
The Bush’s oldest son, Frederick Willard, generally went by his middle name. Willard, who became a Congregationalist minister, was born in 1836. He married Laura Baker in 1860, and Willard and Laura had five children. Willard died in 1915.
The next three children died young. Henry Eli (1838-1839) perished as an infant. A second Henry Eli, born in 1840, died of typhoid fever in 1862. Edwin, the fourth son, was born in 1842. He enlisted in the Union Army and died during the Civil War.
The youngest son, Sumner Orlando Bush, was born in 1847. He first worked as a school teacher and then took over the Bush family farm. He married Vernellie Daley in 1877, and the two moved to Battle Creek in 1888. Sumner bought an interest in the Advance Thresher Company and was named its General Manager. Sumner and Vernellie had three children, and Sumner died in 1921.
Civil War soldier Edwin Bush, circa 1860 (Click on image for a larger view.)
The Bush Family Collection
The Bush Family Collection contains letters and other items dating from 1835 to 1933. This collection represents three generations, with materials from Frederick and Cynthia, their children and their grandchildren. There are also materials from Cynthia’s family, the Willards.
With nearly one hundred years of history, researchers will find much of interest. One of the earliest letters, dating from 1841, comments on the death of President William Henry Harrison. Among the later items is the World War I diary of soldier Charles Sumner Bush (son of Sumner and Vernellie Bush.). Then, there are the Civil War letters.
Fighting for the Union
Edwin Bush, Frederick and Cynthia’s fourth son, enlisted in the 17th Michigan Infantry on August 12, 1862. The next month, his regiment saw action at Antietam. In a letter of September 16, 1862, Edwin explains that he was not in the battle as he had “not caught up” with the rest of his company. Nonetheless, he makes some interesting observations on the aftermath:
Our wounded boys bear it well. Our regiment is praised on all sides for its daring, coolness, etc. We are taking prisoners nearly every day. We have got two wounded rebels with us. I help [sic] take care of them some last night.. The rebel dead and wounded are lying all over the battlefield.
To read the full letter click:
Letter from Edwin Bush on the Battle of Antietam
The last extant letter from Edwin is dated May 25, 1864. In it, he writes: “I think the enemy will make a desperate stand at this place, but I think Grant will dislodge them…” Shortly thereafter, he died from gunshot wounds incurred during the siege of Petersburg, Virginia.
To read this letter, click:
Last letter of Civil War soldier Edwin Bush
The Bush Family Papers also include letters from Edwin’s uncles, Frederick and Samuel Willard. They, too, served in the Civil War, and they fought in New York regiments. Frederick was stationed in Louisiana, and Samuel saw action in the east.
On July 30, 1863, Samuel Willard wrote his sister about the Battle of Gettysburg. “We lay supporting a battery under a heavy fire on the 3rd of July,” he wrote. “About 4 o’clock in the afternoon, the rebels made a charge on our center but we repulsed with great slaughter” (The “charge on our center” is an obvious reference to Picket’s charge.). Reflecting on the war, Samuel then writes:
The rebels are getting some discouraged. A great many of them give themselves up and say that they will not [fight] anymore. This war is going to make a many orphans and widows…
To read the full letter, click:
Letter from Samuel Willard on the Battle of Gettysburg
The Bush Family Collection includes no letters from Frederick Willard after February 1864, and his fate is unknown to Archives of Michigan staff. Samuel Willard did survive the war, and the collection includes an 1867 letter from him.
Conclusion
This is just a sampling of the treasures to be discovered in the Bush Family Collection. Those intrigued may visit the Archives of Michigan and discover those treasures themselves. Perhaps, too, some will be inspired to discover their own family’s treasures. It only takes a little digging!
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Articles on other family collections in the Archives of Michigan
A Soldier’s Story (article on the Crane family papers) by Nicole Garrett
“A Wartime Christmas” (first article on the Mary Pennington Collection) by Mary Zimmeth
“I Am” (second article on the Mary Pennington Collection) by Mary Zimmeth
