The Bush Home-place is located in Alfonso near the northern boundary of Lancaster County. It is on present day route 600 just over a mile north of Lebanon Baptist Church. The property was referred to as Centerville on the 1923 death certificate of Robert Early Bush and the 1941 Will of his son, Urbane Alexander Bush. Later documents call the farm Centerview.
The property appears to have first come to the Bush family in the spring of 1845 when Walter Powell and Jane his wife from Fairfax County sold 140 acres of "land lying being situate in the County of Lancaster known & called by the name of 'Centerville'" to Urbane Bush (1819-1859) for $125. In 1850 Urbane purchased an adjoining tract of land from the widow of Thomas Dunaway to enlarge the farm.
When William Sidney Bush died in 1896 he was buried behind the home. When Robert Early Bush wrote his will in 1923 he instructed that he should be buried beside his son, the plot covered in cement at least six inches thick and that a stone costing "about six hundred dollars" be placed in memory of him and his son. I believe these are the only two people buried in that particular spot on the farm. Other claims on Find-A-Grave for burials here after 1923 seem dubious since the site was covered in concrete, and Grandmama who grew up here never spoke of any burials other than her grandfather and uncle.
Family lore does tell of a possible second burial site on the farm with unmarked graves. The site is also mentioned in the book In Remembrance Gravestone Inscriptions and Burials of Lancaster County Virginia. Among family these were thought be graves from the 1800s or earlier.
After the death of John Elbert Bush in 1951 his land holdings containing over 280 acres were offered for auction. The original parcel including the house and outbuildings was listed as 85 acres. The land was bought by the Forrester family and is still in their possession today. Members of their family live in the house.
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Sources:
- Find-A-Grave
- In Remembrance Gravestone Inscriptions and Burials of Lancaster County Virginia, Margaret Lester Hill & Clyde H. Ratcliffe, 2002
- Lancaster County Deed Book 41, pg. 146.
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Curabitur mattis purus ornare augue finibus, sed tempus ex eleifend. Maecenas vitae volutpat diam. Curabitur sollicitudin porttitor nisi. Nulla rutrum facilisis quam, sed bibendum magna consectetur sit amet. Fusce nulla turpis, efficitur eu tempus eu, accumsan malesuada sem. Morbi vestibulum libero et metus porttitor, vel ultrices lorem facilisis. Donec maximus ultrices ex ac tincidunt. Praesent vel enim laoreet, pharetra massa feugiat, iaculis neque. Nunc volutpat, nibh a laoreet venenatis, sem augue sodales nunc, eu commodo quam nisi vitae nunc. Nullam tristique placerat quam quis ornare.
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Curabitur mattis purus ornare augue finibus, sed tempus ex eleifend. Maecenas vitae volutpat diam. Curabitur sollicitudin porttitor nisi. Nulla rutrum facilisis quam, sed bibendum magna consectetur sit amet. Fusce nulla turpis, efficitur eu tempus eu, accumsan malesuada sem. Morbi vestibulum libero et metus porttitor, vel ultrices lorem facilisis. Donec maximus ultrices ex ac tincidunt. Praesent vel enim laoreet, pharetra massa feugiat, iaculis neque. Nunc volutpat, nibh a laoreet venenatis, sem augue sodales nunc, eu commodo quam nisi vitae nunc. Nullam tristique placerat quam quis ornare.
Future 3:
Curabitur mattis purus ornare augue finibus, sed tempus ex eleifend. Maecenas vitae volutpat diam. Curabitur sollicitudin porttitor nisi. Nulla rutrum facilisis quam, sed bibendum magna consectetur sit amet. Fusce nulla turpis, efficitur eu tempus eu, accumsan malesuada sem. Morbi vestibulum libero et metus porttitor, vel ultrices lorem facilisis. Donec maximus ultrices ex ac tincidunt. Praesent vel enim laoreet, pharetra massa feugiat, iaculis neque. Nunc volutpat, nibh a laoreet venenatis, sem augue sodales nunc, eu commodo quam nisi vitae nunc. Nullam tristique placerat quam quis ornare.
