Bushong Heritage For Sale  
More Lancaster County Photos
On eBay-Updated

   
Jacob                                Elwood

Here's the listing from eBay...

BUSHONG LINEAGE: Elwood and Jacob Bushong/ Henry Bushong and Irene L. Paxson/ Jacob Bushong and Margaret Hobson/ Henry Bushong and Sarah Gilbert/ Johannes John Bushong and Eve Dorothea Eckman/ Hans Philip Bushong and Anna Eva Hergard/ Hans John Bushong (IV) and Barbara/ Hanss John Boschung (III) and Anna Maria Boschung of Switzerland, (immigrated before 1719)/ Hans Boschung (II) and Anna Stocker/ Hans Boschung (I) and Anna Anneler/ Michael Studer-Boschung and Dichti Jaggi.

The back of the tintypes.

The price is very reasonable, especially for identified tintypes. If this is your Bushong branch, bring them home!

  Bushong Heritage For Sale SOLD  
Another 1860s Lancaster Photo Album
On eBay

Newly uncovered Lancaster Rakestraw-Bushong album.

Here is the ad from eBay...
1860s Album & Photos Bushong Rackstraw Family Underground Railroad, PA Quakers

Antique 1860s photo album and original CDV and tintype photos, a total of 24 original, period photographs (25 if you count the bible/album advertisement).

Several members of the Bushong / Rackstraw family from around Lancaster, PA. Quite a few are identified, and online research shows that several of them were members of the Underground Railroad. There are 10-11 ID's and several pages of unidentified gem tintypes towards the back of the album.

Album is about 5.5" tall and overall in very good antique condition, except for the pages have pulled away from the spine, causing damage to one page. The photos all look very nice in their pages, but it appears that the corners have been rounded by the original owners to help them fit into the page slots.
INCLUDED: shipping is by boxed insured Priority Mail.

Price $750
Auction ends: January 3, 2019 at 12:36PM
To go to eBay and see the listing, click here

Abraham Rakestraw and Lydia Bushong Rakestraw.

The album also has an identified photograph of Lydia Bushong Rakestraw... BUSHONG LINEAGE: Lydia Bushong (Rakestraw)/ Henry Bushong and Sarah Gilbert/ Johannes John Bushong and Eve Dorothea Eckman/ Hans Philip Bushong and Anna Eva Hergard/ Hans John Bushong (IV) and Barbara/ Hanss John Boschung (III) and Anna Maria Boschung of Switzerland, (immigrated before 1719)/ Hans Boschung (II) and Anna Stocker/ Hans Boschung (I) and Anna Anneler/ Michael Studer-Boschung and Dichti Jaggi. Until this photo marked Lydia Bushong Rakestraw was found, a photo in the Bushong Rakestraw photo collection,here, was being considered for Lydia. This based on its inclusion in the Abraham Rakestraw Daguerreotypes, her age, and resemblance to envisioned brother, Jacob, to compare the two photos, click here. But when this new identified photo of her was seen and compared with another family photo there is no doubt. Her daughter, Caroline Rakestraw (Carter), click to view, is the spitting image of her.

Elizabeth Walton Bushong 1st wife of John Bushong.		Caroline Bushong and son Henry Morrison		Henry Bushong -NOT Jacob

Update: This album sold. The winning bid was $750, so let's hope it was to someone in the Bushong, Rakestaw, or related families.

Also in an update for a different eBay auction, Mahalon Bushong's, portrait, discussed ^here, is still for sale.
Its current listing can be seen, ^here.


We are lucky these Pennsylvania Bushong photographs keep showing up! But it is too bad they left the family.

  A tip of the hat to Dawn Orcutt for sending this in! Thank you!

Our home "Casa Esperanza" on Ambergris Caye, Belize.

	A Freak of Nature Mr. Editor: On the 2nd day of August 1855, in Cass County, Texas, Mrs. Bushong, late of Pickens county, Alabama gave birth to a female child having two distinct heads and faces. The heads are united at the ears, only one ear being visible between them. The eyes are blue, stand wide open, and one pair are crossed. The neck is very short, the body well proportioned in length, but one third broader than usual across the chest. The heads are bare except a slight streak of hair across them from ear to ear. The child's birth was premature, supposed to have been caused by exposure in traveling to Texas. It was dead when born, and I presume may be seen at any time, at Dr. B. Y. Patterson's Cherokee settlement, Cass County, Texas (who has it preserved in alcohol) where I saw it myself, a few days ago.
	H. B. Hamilton Linden, Cass County, Texas Christian Advocate	The Texas State Times Austin, Texas Saturday, 29 September 1855 Page 2, Column 7

BUSHONG LINEAGE: Martin Bushong and Nancy Parker/ John A. Bushong and Susan Bushong/ Henry Bushong and Isabelle Summers/ Anthony Andrew Bushong/ Johann Nicholas Bushong and Anna Magdalena Schaffner (the immigrants)/ Hanss John Boschung (III) and Anna Maria Boschung of Switzerland, (immigrated before 1719)/ Hans Boschung (II) and Anna Stocker/ Hans Boschung (I) and Anna Anneler/ Michael Studer-Boschung and Dichti Jaggi.

Click to enlarge. For the full page, (marked), click here

"Henry Bushong, formerly of Lancaster city, in this State, was arrested a day or two since,
and turned over to the provost marshal of this city, and is now an inmate of Fort Mifflin.
Mr. Bushong was a captain in the famous Black Horse (Va.) Cavalry."
The Sun
Baltimore, Maryland
Friday, Nov. 20 1863

BUSHONG LINEAGE: Henry Bushong/ John Bushong and Annie E. Meyer/ Johannes John Bushong and Eve Dorethea Eckman/ Hans Philip and Anna Eva Hergard/ Hans and Barbara Bushong, the immigrants/ Hanss John Boschung (III) and Anna Maria Boschung of Switzerland, (immigrated before 1719)/ Hans Boschung (II) and Anna Stocker/ Hans Boschung (I) and Anna Anneler/ Michael Studer-Boschung and Dichti Jaggi.

The Entrance to Fort Mifflin, a Revolutionary War Fort, in Pennsylvania, turned into a prison during the Civil War.

Well known among the Lancaster Bushongs are the abolitionists who struggled against slavery as members of the Underground Railroad. They and others had become Quaker and with that were pacifists who would not fight. Still other Lancaster Bushongs fought in Pennsylvanian regiments. Not only did several of Henry's first cousins join Pennsylvania Regiments, but his own brother, Israel had signed up. Israel Bushong served in the 49th Pennsylvania Infantry then the US Navy, as an assistant surgeon. But there was only one Pennsylvanian Bushong who joined the Confederacy, and that was Henry Bushong, born July 21 1825 in Bird in Hand, Lancaster County Pennsylvania and died June 25, 1891. However, there is no evidence to suggest that Henry was anything but a Private in rank, and not a Captain. Also Henry fought in the 5th Virginia Cavalry, whereas a well known Black Horse Cavalry was the 4th Virginia Cavalry, who were from Fauquier County, Virginia. But 4th Cavalry often fought alongside of Henry's regiment. The 5th, part of the Army of Northern Virginia, fought under General Fitzhugh Lee, and beginning in 1862, Colonel Thomas L. Rosser, (later General).

With a little searching, this arrest information cast a little light on what happened. On the roll of Prisoners of War, November 17, 1863, Henry was jailed at Fort Mifflin, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The Provost Marshall in the 9th district Pennsylvania, arrested him as a spy at Lancaster, on November 16. When he was arrested Henry Bushong, apparently first claimed he was a Captain of the Black Horse Calvary, from Virginia. Later he admitted he was a Private in Company A of the 5th Regiment Virginia Calvary. Then on November 25, 1863 after spending over a week in the Fort Mifflin's prison, Henry was allowed to take the oath of Allegiance and released by orders of General Cadwalader. Henry had talked his way out of being shot as a spy. Obviously he convinced them he had innocent intentions, probably just wanting to visit his wife and family, who were still living in Upper Leacock. Or maybe he was deserting? But how did he end up fighting for Virginia?

One of Fort Mifflin's cells.

Maris Vernon Kerns, millwright from Lancaster County, Pennsylvania.

But the saga that ended up with Henry fighting against his home state and country, began with a business venture. It seems that sometime in 1857, Henry Bushong and John Groff Landis, who used his father's money, bought some acreage in the Ware District in Gloucester (pronounced glaw - ster), County, Virginia. In an 1859 tax assessment, Henry Bushong was assessed for Wareham and 1,700 acres of land six miles north of the court house. Then in 1860, Henry and John were assessed as partners for Wareham and about 2,000 acres also in the same area. The Landis family and Bushong intermarried at least a couple of times, so Henry and John are inevitably cousins. Regardless, Henry's and John's plan was to harvest the timber from their Virginia lands and for this they needed a mill. One of Pennsylvania's skilled millwrights was Maris Vernon Kerns from the Bart Township, also in Lancaster County. Maris, at thirty years old, had become accomplished in building mills and had already built several in the county. Henry and John told Maris of their plans which turned out to be a large steam powered combination grist and saw mill. They convinced him to lead the project and Maris accepted their offer. Fully committed to the project, Maris would move his family to Virginia, too, including his wife and their three small children.source GGSV

"A Serious Loss On the 12th ult. the large Steam Grist and Saw Mills, situated in Gloucester county, Va., about 50 miles below Richmond, and owned by Henry Bushong and John G. Landis, of Lancaster County, were totally consumed by fire, together with about $3000 worth of lumber. About two years ago these gentlemen purchased a tract of woodland containing some 1500 acres, on which they built these mills, at a cost of $30,000. Their total loss is estimated at upwards of $50,000, as there was no insurance on either the mills or lumber. The fire was the work of incendiaries, as it is supposed it was done by some of the creditors of the firm who sought this plan of revenging themselves." The Lebanon Advertiser, Illinois Wednesday, 17 April 1861 Page 2, Column 5 On April 12th their mill was burned down. The Illinois newspaper speculated it was done by creditors of Henry and John for revenge, but it seems counter-productive to destroy a money-making mill if they wanted to get paid. Still perhaps it is no coincidence that April 12th is the very day the Civil War started. On that day hostilities started with the bombardment by South Carolina Artillery of Fort Sumter, and the mill was burned down. So it is believable when it was later said to have been done by the Yankee's. Either way, less than a month later, possibly to get revenge, both Henry and Maris joined the Confederate Cavalry.

A 1912 map of Gloucester County, Virginia, Wareham was close to are marked Broadus, in the Ware District.

Major John William Puller, 1833-1863 of Company A, 5th Virginia Cavalry.

Yet throughout the war and before Gettysburg, Henry, Maris and the 5th Virginia, were often fighting Pennsylvanians. But 1863 must have been a tough year for the regiment. In March, Henry's neighbor and company commander, John W. Puller who had been promoted to Major, was killed at Kelly's Ford, Virginia.source Major Puller was shot through the chest and fell from his horse in front of Colonel Rosser.source Then between April 30 and May 6, 1863, in Spotsylvania County, Virginia, the 5th Cavalry fought in the Chancellorsville Campaign and the Battle of Chancellorsville, which was another major battle. At Chancellorsville, Henry's first cousin Private John B. Stauffer, also from Leacock, was killed defending the Union in the 122nd Regiment of the Pennsylvania Infantry.source Other fighting occurred but between June 30 and July 3, the 5th Cavalry fought on Pennsylvania soil at Gettysburg. The fighting was just 63 miles from Leacock Township, Henry's home and 72 miles from Maris' Bart Township. During the gruesome four day battle, the regiment suffered many casualties, with 58 killed, wounded, and missing, including four dead officers.source

He went to Bermuda.
From the Swope Family, 1689-1896
by Gilbert Ernest Swope, published 1896. ^{here (page 182)}

From Pennsylvania, Henry must have quietly traveled back to one of the southern ports, where a steady stream of fast-running ships known as the Blockade Runners were available. He booked passage on one and they would have skirted the Union Navy and carried him into the Caribbean, then known as the "offshore Confederacy." As a consequence of the naval blockade, the Bahamas, Cuba, and Bermuda, had all become major hubs for commerce with the south. Henry chose Bermuda where many were openly sympathetic to the rebel cause. There he would have found the streets swarming with Southerners and all the ports filled with ships flying Confederate flags. Henry could have blended right in. He had inevitably left his wife, Catherine and five surviving children in Lancaster, and all he had to do was wait out the war, which ended in April of 1865. By then he had probably been exiled in Bermuda for some sixteen months and Henry would have quickly sailed back to America on one of the now idled blockade runners.

The Routes and mileage for Blockade Runners. It was 674 miles from Wilmington, Delaware to Bermuda.

Maris Vernon Kerns, miller and millwright of Gloucester County, Virginia, formerly of Lancaster County, Pennsylvania.

But in Pennsylvania, Henry's treason was still fresh and he was not wanted there. Then again, his desertion would also be remembered down in Gloucester and he was not welcome there either. Choosing to stay in the south, while perhaps seeking the anonymity of a larger city, Henry moved to Norfolk, sometime before the 1870 Census, along with his family.here In 1870 Henry's occupation is listed as a merchant. Then for the 1880 Census,here he had moved to Philadelphia, which in the period, was still sympathetic to the Southern cause. The 55 year old gave his occupation as a sexton for a church. Down in Gloucester County, the men in the 5th Cavalry headed home. Among those returning were Samuel D. Puller, former neighbor to Henry and brother of Major Puller. Maris also survived and returned to Ware. He had spent time in a Union prison as a prisoner of war, and after being released and recovering, he went back to finish the war. One who did not join the fight was John G. Landis, Henry's partner in the destroyed mill. He was counted in Gloucester in 1870 Census.here From it we see, he had finally moved down. It would have been sometime after his son John Jr's, 1864 Pennsylvania birth. In 1870 John stated he was a mill owner, so he and Maris had obviously built another mill. Maris was also enumerated there in 1870 Census,here Maris had prospered and he listed his combined property and estate value at $2447, (compared with $200 in 1860). John Landis' combined property and personal estate value, in spite of losing the mill in 1861, had more than tripled to $7,905. Things were apparently going well in Gloucester County.

"Having advanced to my son Henry Bushong and my daughter Annie Gockley, what I consider their full shares and portions of my Estate, and, perhaps, more than their shares, I give them nothing in this will and do not allow them to receive anything more out of my Estate, but I direct my Executor to deliver to my daughter Anne, the lands I hold against her husband and to my son Henry the lands I hold against him.
Written January 12, 1869, and proven on the January 23, 1869.

Henry Bushong Henry Bushong, a native of Upper Leacock township, this county, died at his home, at No. 524 North 32nd Street, Philadelphia on Thursday, after an illness of several months, from heart failure aged 67[sic] years. The deceased was a brother of Dr. I. Bushong of this place and Isaac Bushong, Esq. of Upper Leacock. He made several visits to our town and was well known to a number of our citizens. Funeral services will be held at the home of the deceased this evening at 8 o'clock, and tomorrow (Sunday) morning, the remains will be brought to Bird-in-Hand on the mail train, and taken thence to Heller's Church for burial, about 10 o'clock A.M. The New Holland Clarion Saturday, 27 June 1891 Page 1, Column 5 Henry Bushong's body arrived in Bird in Hand on Sunday, and that day, he was buried in the Salem Heller Cemetery. Henry's funerary record is on FindaGrave.here It might be noticed that his obituary said little about him, except that he was "well known to a number of our citizens." It seems likely that "well known" is in reference to his treason of some thirty years before. But after years of estrangement from his family and Lancaster County, in death all was forgiven. Henry was reunited with his mother, his father, and over sixty other Bushongs, as well as his community, in the Salem-Heller's Cemetery.

Henry Bushong's tombstone in the Salem Heller's Cemetery. Photo by MiaBeth compliments of FindaGrave. ©2018 all rights reserved.

The Ablandschen Boschung Crest.
Generated to match the original. Click to enlarge.

Boschung Crest from Swiss Archives.

The reason there is no Boschung coat of arms has been discussed before on Bushong United. To read click here. We even voted on a faux Swiss coat of arms here. It is still true there would be no coat of arms for Boschung. But recently, I spotted a Boschung Family Crest dated 1836 from Abländschen, Bern, Switzerland. The Bushong/Boschung ancestral family came from Oberwil and Boltigen, both in the Simmen Valley, which is close by. According to Google, Oberwil is just 17.5 miles, (28.2 km) from Ablandschen. The Boschung family in the Ablandschen area predates the Studer-Boschung family, so there is not much of a chance they are the same line as the Colonial Bushong family. Nevertheless it is about as close as Bushongs can get to their own correct Family Crest.

From the Swiss archive, the only crest images available are not very large scans, so I created the larger one at the top using a coat of arms generator. The description of the crest and its symbols provided by the generator are: "Blazon Sanguine, chief dexter estoile argent, chief sinister crescent vertical argent, base dexter flower or, base sinister trefoil or." There are crests for other surnames in the Swiss Bern State Archives too, click here, (under Familienwappen). Two of those crests are for Jaggi, and Stocker, families that intermarried with the Boschungs. The crests for Jaggi and Stocker are from the villages that the Boschung's ancestors with those surnames came from, so there is actually a chance they are correct for Bushong/Boschungs.

From Lenk, the Jaggi family crest from Swiss Archives.

The Stocker crest from Zweisimmen from Swiss Archives

The book the crests came from.

The oldest Anneler crest, created 1546.

The Anneler surname also has family crests, and they also married into the Boschung family. One of the Anneler crests is from the 16th century too. But the crests come from a different town than Anna Anneler is thought to have come from. They were farther away from Oberwil, the Boschung's home, so it is not certain if they are Anna Anneler's line. But they could be.

Johann Nicholas Boschung and Anna Magdalena Schaffner marry October 15, 1715,
Waldfischbach, Germany

 For your Bushong originals collection!

Cover from Oberwil Parish's book.

The new page is available from the Featured Column on the right, the Published Articles page, or by clicking, here

As sources go, it doesn't get any more original!

  They can be found in the Featured Articles column on the right or in the Published Articles' page, here.

  A New Article 
The Original Bushong
In America

Available in the Featured Articles column, (on the right), the Published Articles page or by clicking here

More Bushong Heritage for all!

1731 the Britannia Oath of Allegiance
click to enlarge

It can be found in the Featured Articles column on the right, and later in the Articles page, or by clicking here

The first chapter in Bushong History is now available!

Michel Studer to Dichtila Jaggi January 1598, in the Boltigen Church, in Switzerland.

Click to enlarge. For uncropped image click here

Clarence Rothrock, Mary's son, before his death in 1899. Clarence is using a unique large format "view camera," that possibly used five-by-seven inch sheet film.

Still, in its own right, it's a wonderful portrait, and could perhaps represent everyone's ideal of a Classic Granny. It's the type of portrait we all want in our family's tree. Mary's photo was taken by her grandnephew, Harry R. Lapp, 1894-1970, probably when he was still a teenager, and it is thought to have been featured in a number of national magazines and newspapers. Young Harry, inevitably became interested in photography early on, from his older cousin, Clarence Rothrock. Cousin Clarence was Mary's youngest son, and his interest in photography at an early age, is proven in a photo of him, with what appears to be a homemade camera. Tragically in 1899, at just fifteen years old, Clarence drowned at a family picnic. It's altogether possible that when Harry was a little older, his great aunt Mary gave him the camera. Maybe it was the very camera he used it to take Mary's photo? But more to the point... just as Mary's descendants, would have found her portrait in their cousins' photo albums and collections, so it is with us. As such, if we want to find our old family photographs, we need to look to our cousins. As an example, a year or so ago, I received a bunch of wonderful original and old family photos from a second cousin. My grandfather was one of seven children, and he would have received more or less an equal part of his parent's photos. Yet, his grandniece, had dozens of priceless (to Bushongs) original photos. Many I'd never even seen and one actually helped identify two 1860s photos that had been a puzzle for over 35 years! My cousin had a lot of Bushong photos and her family hadn't been named Bushong for three generations. I'm not alone, and I often communicate with Bushong descendants, who find new photos and more often than not, they are from cousins. That is the point, our cousins have the family photographs. The family photographs from grand, great and great great grandparents, were given to (or pilfered by) their children who aside from our direct lines, are our some kind of great, uncles and aunts. Our family's photo collections and albums were broken up and scattered to the children. The more generations back and the more children, the more scattered they are. Then they were inevitably passed down and are now in the hands of our cousins and they may have no idea who the old photos are of. Our second third and forth cousins have the photos.