Eli Bush (1741)

Born 20 May 1741 in Enfield, Hartford, Connecticut

Ancestors

Husband of Roxanna (Terry) Bush — married 10 Feb 1796 in Enfield, Hartford, Connecticut, United States

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Biography

Eli Bush, son of Joshua Bush and Experience French^[1] was born 20 May 1741 in Enfield. ^[2] At the time of his birth, Enfield was part of Massachusetts. Enfield became a part of Connecticut in 1749. See Enfield History.

Research Notes

This needs to be reviewed.

Possibly Eli married first, in 1796, in Enfield Conn., to Roxanna Terry. They had one child, Roxanna Terry (Bush) Woodruff Strong, b. 1798 in Sangerfield, New York. Roxanna (the mother) died in 1798. Eli married second, about 1799, to Esther Campbell. Eli and Esther raised 11 children in New York, Records show that Roxanna and Agnes (Eliza Agnes Bush, a daughter of Eli and Esther) were sisters (or half-sisters), which helps to validate that Eli had two wives. Problem is that there seem to be multiple Eli Bush individuals. Eli Bush would seem to have been born in 1770, and Eli Bush was born in 1741. Records show Roxanna being born in 1759, and Esther b. about 1780. That's almost a 40 year spread if we go with the 1741 date for Eli. Looking for more sources to clear this all up before considering a merge of the two Elis. --Scott Prentice

Birth and ancestors: ^[3] Pages 24 and 25 list his line back to Jonathan Bush d. 1739 at age 80, a first settler through:

2. son Jonathan d. 1746 m. Rachel Kibbe

3. son Joshua b. 1712 m. Experience French

4. son Eli b. 1741 -- notes Eli and brother Jonathan emigrated to New York

Probably married Jemima Killam before 1769 due to birth of daughter Lusina. Marriage record for Eli and Jemima has no date, but is in Enfleld, CT: ^[4]

• Birth of daughter Lusina 18 Mar 1769 in Enfield CT listing wife as Jemima: ^[5]

Sources

1. ↑ Hinman, Royal Ralph. A catalogue of the names of the early Puritan settlers of the colony of Connecticut : with the time of their arrival in the country and colony. Hartford: Case Tiffany, 1852 (https://archive.org/details/catalogueofnames010hinm/page/442/mode/2up)
2. ↑ "Connecticut Births and Christenings, 1649-1906," FamilySearch database, Eli Bush, 20 May 1741; [Link]
3. ↑ The History of Enfield, Connecticut Volume 1.
4. ↑ "Connecticut, Vital Records, Prior to 1850," database, FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:QPQC-Z3N6 : 15 April 2022), Eli Bush in entry for Jemima Killam, ; citing Marriage, Enfield, Hartford, Connecticut, United States, Compiled by Lucius A. and Lucius B. Barbour, housed at State Library, Hartford, Connecticut; FHL microfilm 008272237.
5. ↑ "Connecticut Births and Christenings, 1649-1906", database, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:F77X-YHZ : 7 January 2020), Eli Bush in entry for Lusina Bush, 1769.

See also:

• Allen, Francis Olcott. The History of Enfield, Connecticut Volume 1. Lancaster, PA The Wickersham Printing Co., 1900. p. 25 traces Eli 1741's ancestry back to Jonathan b. 1650 and notes that 'both of which (Eli and Jonathan) emigrated to the state of New York'. Note that both Eli and Jonathan married Killam girls. (https://www.google.com/books/edition/The_History_of_Enfield_Connecticut/byBEAQAAMAAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1)