Bush Family Collection, 1835-1933
1.25 Cubic Feet
The collection represents three generations of the Bush family in Michigan. The arrangement reflects this, as it moves from the oldest generation to the youngest.
The first folder provides genealogical information on the Bush and Willard families (The Willard family was the family of Cynthia Melissa Willard Bush.). There are also two clippings from the Battle Creek newspaper containing biographical information on Sumner Orlando Bush and his son, Charles Sumner Bush. The next folders contain letters of Frederick Eli and Cynthia Melissa (Willard) Bush. This includes correspondence with the Bush sons, Bush family members, Willard family members, and friends.
Materials documenting Frederick Willard, Edwin Alvarez, Henry Eli, and Sumner Orlando follow the letters of the Bush parents (Frederick and Cynthia). The bulk of these are correspondence. The letters are grouped in folders according to recipient and arranged in order from the eldest son (Frederick Willard) to the youngest (Sumner). A tintype of Frederick Willard Bush (1858) is also included, (Box 2, Folder 1). The collection then moves to the next generation. Papers of Charles Sumner Bush, son of Sumner, are present toward the end.
Common subjects include family news (e.g., births, deaths, marriages, new jobs, college graduations), business and financial concerns (e.g., mortgages, family farms, insurance, possible career paths), current events (e.g., elections, slavery, the Civil War), health, the weather, and crop conditions. There are also reflections on spiritual concerns and on living life as a Christian.
The collection includes letters that the Bush sons and several others wrote while attending college. Frederick Willard, Henry and Sumner Bush all attended Olivet College and wrote of their experiences there. Willard also attended Marietta College in Marietta, Ohio. The brothers received letters from friends and relatives in other colleges. The collection also contains a folder of letters to Frederick and Cynthia Bush from an Olivet College student identified as “Amanda.” (The precise nature of Amanda’s relationship to the Bushes is unclear. The letters do indicate that the family partially funded her scholarship to Olivet.) The college letters describe student life (e.g., classes, rooming conditions, and teachers).
The materials of four soldiers might be of interest to military researchers. Frederick and Samuel Willard (brothers to Cynthia Melissa Willard Bush) and Edwin Bush served in the Civil War, while Charles Sumner Bush served in World War I.
Frederick Willard was stationed in Louisiana during the Civil War. In his letters, he describes troop movements and morale and relates some general thoughts on the war (He describes Copperheads as “traitors” and writes of “defending our beloved country from slavery, disunion and tyranny.”). He also discusses the local environments, and in one letter (February 10, 1864), he describes the affects of the war on Louisiana. There are also two pre-War letters from Frederick. One is dated 1841 and the other is dated 1859. In the 1841 letter, he discusses a recent move and reflects on the recent death of President William Henry Harrison. In the 1859 letter, he reflects on the death of his sister, Lucena.
Samuel Willard enlisted sometime in 1862. He saw action at Gettysburg in July 1863. Afterward, he suffered poor health and seems to have been hospitalized for the remainder of the war. He stayed in hospitals in Annapolis, Maryland; Louisville, Kentucky; and Madison, Indiana. In his letters, Samuel relates war news (the 1864 surrender of Fort Sumter, for example), and discusses troop movements and morale. He often comments on the hospitals in which he stayed. In one letter (July 30, 1863), he describes his experience at the Battle of Gettysburg. In another (October 30, 1863), he mentions a funeral for Confederate prisoners. There is also one post-War letter, dated 1867. In it, Samuel describes the weather and discusses some family news.
Edwin Bush enlisted in Company E, 17th Michigan Infantry on August 12, 1862. He saw action at Antietam and at Mississippi, Tennessee, and Kentucky. His unit returned east in 1864. Edwin was shot during the siege of Petersburg, Virginia and died of his wounds on June 18, 1864. In his letters, Edwin describes marches, guard duty, troop morale, the food and various aspects of Army life. He comments on battles and on other troops and some officers (including Generals McClellan and Burnside). He mentions war news and other current events (e.g., Congressional elections).
Charles Sumner Bush, son of Sumner Orlando and Vernellie Daley Bush, was a World War I veteran. Bush, who enlisted at Camp Custer on November 26, 1917, served in the Motor Transport Corps 373, and was promoted to sergeant within a few weeks of enlisting (December 3, 1917). In April, he was transferred to the American Mission Reserve Mallet, American Expeditionary Force. He served overseas in France from February 27, 1918 to June 19, 1919. Bush mustered out of the service on June 25, 1919. His papers contain a black and white photograph of Mrs. Sarah (Rector) Hyslop, whom Charles Sumner married in 1923. The diary, kept by Charles Sumner Bush in 1918, documents his battlefield experiences in France, soldier camps, traveling in Army truck convoys, the weather and terrain, local reaction to American troops, and the Spanish flu epidemic. Also included is a copy of Special Orders No. 50 dating December 3, 1918. This order is signed by Frank O. Robinson, 1st Lt., MTC, USA, Comdg” and lists battles in which Robinson’s unit engaged. While individual names are not listed in the order, it appears that Bush engaged in the 1918 battles outlined by Lieutenant Robinson (e.g., Second Battle of the Somme, Second Battle of the Marne, Third Battle of the Somme, etc.)
The collection ends with a folder of ephemera and a computer disk. The ephemera date from the 19th century and include leaflets and some unidentified handwritten financial information. The disk contains electronic copies of seven transcriptions of letters in this collection. (Printed copies of these transcriptions are filed in the collection with their respective original letters.)