Gazlay Family History
 

FamilyWilliam H. Bush

Parents

FatherWilliam Bush, Jr. (ca. 1785 - )
MotherNelly _____ (ca. 1804 - 23 March 1899)

Personal Information

Record Created: 6 March 2014; Last Edited: 5 January 2024 
Person ID6517
NameWilliam H. Bush
GenderMale
Born 10 July 1833 in Town of Marbletown, Ulster County, New York1, 2, 3, 4, 5
Married 17 June 1855 in Town of Denning, Ulster County, New York to Catherine M. Bartholomew6, 7
Died 9 July 1863 in Fort Baker, Southeast, Washington DC1, 2, 3, 6, 8, 9, 10
Buried in Palentown Cemetery, Town of Rochester, Ulster County, New York2, 7

Biography

Civil War records indicate that William enlisted on 21 August 1862 at Cape Vincent, New York. He was mustered in as a private in Company C., First Battalion, known as the “Black River Artillery,” or the “Jefferson County Artillery.” His unit later became Company M, Tenth Artillery. William’s unit was assigned to garrison duty in the forts that formed the defense of Washington, D.C., specifically, on the southeast side of the Anacostia River. Civil War records list William H. Bush as having died of disease on 9 July 1863 at Fort Baker, Washington, D.C.8, 10

William’s granddaughter, Maude (Bush) Gazlay, understood William’s fate somewhat differently, based on recollections handed down to her: that William was wounded in the Civil war and spent his convalescence in Canada, and that his wife Catherine traveled to Canada to nurse him and bring him back to New York. Maude understood that they lived in Sundown (in the Town of Denning, Ulster County) in his final days.7

William’s death on 9 July 1863 is well documented in his wife Catherine’s pension application that includes affidavits from military officials. His parents are identified in a New York Town Clerk’s Register of men who served in the Civil War, Town of Olive, Ulster County, New York, as William Jr. and Nelly Bush, although the entry shows that he died in July 1865, not 1863. The same page in that register shows two of William and Nelly’s other sons, Henry W. and Alexander Philip, and the register indicates Marbletown as the place of birth for all three siblings. William’s residence is listed in the register as Denning (Town of Denning, Ulster County, New York). Catherine’s pension application gives her marriage to William as 17 June 1855 in Denning, which would explain his residence there.

William is buried in Palentown Cemetery, located in the northern corner of the Town of Rochester, New York. This cemetery was likely selected because his mother Nelly and three of his siblings were apparently living in or around Samsonville, Town of Olive, Ulster County, New York (per the 1860 US Census); the cemetery is about one mile from the center of Samsonville.

A few ambiguities and puzzling details emerge from the records. For example, William’s death year is variously given as 1862, 1863, 1864, and 1865, always with the same month and day. This is attributed to transcription errors and confusion as to William’s identity. In fact, a different William H. Bush in Ulster County is shown as having the same death date and place, although that person is shown as being in the 56th Civil War regiment. His parents are identified in other records as Isaac and Sally Bush, and he married, had a family, and died in 1893. Also, why did William enlist at Cape Vincent, which is in Jefferson County, New York, across the St. Lawrence River from Kingston, Canada? One record, a Civil War Muster Roll Extract, actually gives his birthplace as Canada. We think that his granddaughter Maude’s story about William’s convalescence in Canada may have some basis in fact. It could be that he lived briefly in Canada right before the Civil War, and then enlisted in nearby Cape Vincent. And Maude’s understanding of William living in Sundown (in the Town of Denning) may reflect his marriage there, as previously discussed.

Person/Family

Spouse 1FamilyCatherine M. Bartholomew
Born September 1838 in Ulster County, New York
Married 17 June 1855 in Town of Denning, Ulster County, New York to William H. Bush
Married 22 May 1871 to Cornelius Benjamin Burger
Died 26 April 1918 in Town of Rochester, Ulster County, New York
  
Children of William H. Bush and Catherine M. Bartholomew:
  
+1.FamilyWilliam Henry Bush
Born 5 September 1861
Married ca. 1881 to Effie Wood Latimer
Died 11 February 1924
  

Sources

  1. New York, U.S., Town Clerks’ Registers of Men Who Served in the Civil War, ca 1861-1865, Ulster County, Denning-Olive, Image 372 of 387, William H. Bush, born: 10 July 1833 in Marbletown [i.e., Town of Marbletown]; residence: Denning [i.e., Town of Denning]; rank: private; reg’t.: unk[nown]; when enlisted or mustered: 1862 [location not given]; enlisted for 3 years; place of enlistment: unknown; white; married; parents: William Jr. and Nellie Bush; farmer; died in hospital at Washington in July 1865 [sic, he died in 1863] from fever & ague. Buried at Rochester, Ulster Co., N.Y.
  2. Cemetery Inscriptions, Palentown Cemetery, Town of Rochester, Ulster County, New York; William H. Bush / Died July 9, 1863 / Aged 30 years / Farewell dear wife memory keeps / While in deaths arms my body keeps / Short was my stay with you below / Sooner or later all must go [from grave marker].
  3. Find a Grave (website). Palentown Cemetery, Palentown, Ulster County, New York, William H. Bush, born: 1834 in Denning, Ulster County, New York [sic, he may have lived in Denning, but another record gives his birthplace as Marbletown, Ulster County, New York]; died: 9 July 1864, District of Columbia [sic, he died on 9 July 1863 based on official Civil War records] (from record, which includes notes discussing three individuals named William H. Bush, all from Ulster County, NY, including several variations in his date of death, all taken from Town of Rochester Cemeteries, November 1989, by Friends of Historic Rochester, Ulster County, New York).
  4. U.S. Federal Census, 1850, New York, Ulster County, Town of Olive, Page No. 44, William Bush, Jr., 65, N.Y., farmer; Nelly Bush, 46, N.Y.; Alexr Bush, 19, N.Y., laborer; William H. Bush, 16, N.Y.; Cath Bush, 13, N.Y.; George Bush, 11, N.Y.; Mary Bush, 9, N.Y.; Henry Bush, 7, N.Y.; Mary Ann Bush, 3, N.Y.
  5. New York State Census, 1855, Ulster County, Town of Olive, Image 631 of 645, Nelly Bush, 50, Ulster Co., widow; child George Bush, 16, Ulster Co.; child Jane Bush, 14, Ulster Co.; child Henry Bush, 10, Ulster Co.; child Ann Bush, 8, Ulster Co.; child William Bush, 22, Ulster Co.
  6. U.S., Civil War Widow’s Pensions, 1861-1910 (available at fold3.com), William H. Bush. Twenty-seven pages of the application for pension by his wife, Catherine Bush (also named as Catherine M. Bartholomew and remarried as Catherine B. Burger), age 31 (as of 23 September 1863), and living in Kerhonkson, NY, per several included documents. Various documents and affidavits provide vital details, including his death, and marriage dates and places, and enlistment date and place [20 or 21 August 1862 at Cape Vincent, NY].
  7. Record of conversations with Maude (Bush) Gazlay during multiple visits 1968-1983; notes in possession of Lee Gazlay.
  8. New York State Military Museum and Veterans Research Center (website). 10th Regiment, New York Volunteer Artillery, entry for Bush, William H.
  9. New York, U.S., Civil War Muster Roll Abstracts, 1861-1900, William H. Bush, age 28, enlisted on 21 August 1861 at Cape Vincent for 3 years; mustered in 11 September 1861 as priv[ate] in company M., 10 “H” Arty [i.e., 10 Regiment, Heavy Artillery], originally company C, 1st battalion, Blk. Rv. Arty [Black River Artillery]; died: 9 July 1863 as a private in Ft. Baker, D.C. of “typhoid fever”; born in Canada [sic, the basis of this as his birthplace is unknown], age 28 [sic, this is probably his age at enlistment as stated earlier], occupation: farmer; eyes: gray; hair: brown; complexion: ruddy; 5 ft. 10 in. high; Cr. 20, Cong. Dist 5.
  10. History of Ulster County, New York, by Nathaniel Bartlett Sylvester, Philadelphia: Everts & Peck, 1880. Reprinted 1994.