Obadiah Bush
{{short description|American prospector and businessman}}
{{refimprove|date=October 2015}}
{{Infobox person
| name =
| image =
| image_size = 200px
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| birth_name = Obadiah Newcomb Bush
| birth_date = {{Birth date|1797|1|28}}
| birth_place = Penfield, New York, U.S.
| disappeared_date =
| disappeared_place =
| disappeared_status =
| death_date = {{Death date and age|1851|2|9|1797|1|28}}
| death_place = Cape Horn (sea)
| death_cause =
| resting_place = Buried at sea
| nationality =
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| education =
| alma_mater =
| occupation = Prospector, businessman
| years_active =
| employer =
| spouse = {{marriage|Harriet Smith|1821}}
| partner =
| children = 8, including James
| parents = Timothy Bush Jr.
Lydia Newcomb
| relatives = George H. W. Bush
(great-great-grandson)
George W. Bush
(great-great-great-grandson)
See Bush family
}}
Obadiah Newcomb Bush (January 28, 1797 – February 9, 1851) was an American prospector, businessman and ancestor of the Bush political family. He was the father of James Smith Bush, grandfather of business magnate Samuel Prescott Bush, great-grandfather of former U.S. Senator Prescott Bush, great-great-grandfather of former U.S. President George H. W. Bush, and great-great-great-grandfather of former Texas Governor and U.S. President George W. Bush and former Florida Governor Jeb Bush.
Early life
Obadiah Newcomb Bush was born on January 18, 1797, in Penfield, New York. His father, Timothy Bush Jr. (1766–1850), was a blacksmith; his mother was Lydia Newcomb (1763–1835). His paternal grandfather, Capt. Timothy Bush Sr. (1735–1815), was an American Revolution militia captain.{{cite web|last=Obrock|first=Paul E.|website=Obrock-Larson Genealogy|url=http://www.obrockgenealogy.com/8/12265.html|date=12 July 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150123200115/http://www.obrockgenealogy.com/8/12265.html|archive-date=23 January 2015|title=Captain Timothy Bush Sr.}}
Bush served in the War of 1812.{{cite book|last1=Aikman|first1=David|title=A Man of Faith: The Spiritual Journey of George W. Bush|date=2004|publisher=Thomas Nelson|location=Nashville, Tennessee |isbn=978-0-8499-1811-7 |oclc=54356660|page=17|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=1aguGZT2AOYC&q=%22Obadiah+Bush%22&pg=PA17}}
Career
Bush became a schoolmaster in Rochester, New York. He also served on a committee that nominated candidates for justice of the peace. He and his brother Henry, a manufacturer of stoves, were known abolitionists. He served as vice president of the American Anti-Slavery Society and supported the Underground Railroad.{{Cite web|title=American Anti-Slavery Society American Abolitionists and Antislavery Activists|url=http://www.americanabolitionists.com/american-anti-slavery-society.html|access-date=2021-02-19|website=www.americanabolitionists.com}} He petitioned the New York State Legislature to secede from the Union in a protest against slavery, after which The Rochester Daily Advertiser accused him of encouraging anarchy.{{fact|date=May 2017}} Abigail Bush was the wife of his brother Henry.
In 1849, he travelled to California "with the forty-niners during the gold rush".{{cite book|last1=Bush|first1=George W.|title=41: A Portrait of My Father|date=2014|publisher=Ebury Publishing|location=London|isbn=9780553447781|oclc=883645289|page=[https://archive.org/details/41portraitofmyfa0000bush/page/39 39]|quote=His great-great-grandfather Obadiah Bush had traveled west with the forty-niners during the Gold Rush.}}
Personal life and death
Bush married Harriet Smith (1800–1867) in Rochester, New York on November 8, 1821. They had seven children, among them James Smith Bush. Following his years as a schoolmaster in New York, Bush traveled to the West Coast. Seeking to relocate there permanently, he set out for the East Coast by sea to wrap up his affairs. Bush died some time en route in 1851, and was apparently buried at sea.{{cite book |last1=Aikman |first1=David |title=A Man of Faith: The Spiritual Journey of George W. Bush |date=2004 |publisher=W Publishing Group |location=Nashville, TN |isbn=9781418516390 |page=[https://archive.org/details/manoffaithspirit00aikm/page/17 17] |edition=1st |url=https://archive.org/details/manoffaithspirit00aikm|url-access=registration }}
Ancestry
{{ahnentafel
|collapsed=yes |align=center
|boxstyle_1=background-color: #fcc;
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|boxstyle_3=background-color: #ffc;
|boxstyle_4=background-color: #bfc;
|boxstyle_5=background-color: #9fe;
|1=1. Obadiah Newcomb Bush
|2=2. Timothy Bush Jr.
|3=3. Lydia Newcomb
|4=4. Timothy Bush Sr.
|5=5. Deborah House
|6=6. Daniel Newcomb
|7=7. Elizabeth May
|8=8. Richard Bush
|9=9. Mary Fairbanks
|10=10. John House
|11=11. Deborah Guild
|12=12. Obadiah Newcomb
|13=13. Abigail Curtis
|14=14. Deacon Hezakiah May
|15=15. Anne Stillman
|16=16. Samuel Bush
|17=17. Abigail Lee
|18=18. Jonathan Fairbanks
|19=19. Deborah Shepard
|20=20. Nathaniel House
|21=21. Hannah Davenport
|22=22. Israel Guild
|23=23. Sarah George
|24=24. Simon Newcomb
|25=25. Deborah
|26=26. Samuel Curtis
|27=27. Sarah Alexander
|28=28. Deacon John May III
|29=29. Prudence Bridge
|30=30. George Stillman
|31=31. Rebecca Smith
}}
References
- {{cite book|title=The Faith of George W. Bush|first=Stephen|last=Mansfield|publisher=Tarcher|year=2004|isbn=1-58542-378-5|url-access=registration|url=https://archive.org/details/faithofgeorgewbu00step}}
=Notes=
{{Reflist}}
{{Bush family}}
{{Authority control}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Bush, Obadiah Newcomb}}
Category:American gold prospectors
Category:American manufacturing businesspeople
Category:Businesspeople from New York (state)
Category:People who died at sea
Category:Underground Railroad people