Urbane Bush Bush

Satisfactory evidence was this adduced in Court to prove that Sally Dozier, the wife of Thomas Dozier, Mary Haynie, the wife of James Haynie, Thomsey R. Thomas, Harriott Alfred, Robert Alfred, Urbane Bush, James Bush, Naomi Bush and Elizabeth Y. Bush are the only heirs at law of Thomas Bell a Sergeant in the revolutionary war.
19 May 1834, Lancaster County Order Book 1834

Elizabeth died sometime before this 1834 court order and Urbane's father remarried to Thomsey Thomas at some point afterwards. Thomsey was the widow of George Thomas and the sister of Urbane's mother. It is unknown if the Bush children actually received any Revolutionary War pension benefits.

In May of 1840 Urbane and his father Thomas witnessed a deed of sale for land to his aunt, Mollie Bush. The 75 acre tract was described as bordering the land of Thomas Bush and others.

In 1841 Urbane's name first appeared in the Lancaster County personal property tax record. He was listed again each year through 1850 - the end of the available records. He was shown as owning a horse each year. By 1850 he owned three slaves. Most years he paid the tax for owning a "common watch" and a "wooden clock." In 1849 and 1850 he was recorded as owning a two wheeled pleasure carriage valued at $20.

In May of 1845 Urbane purchased 140 acres "land lying being situate in the County of Lancaster known & called by the name of 'Centerville'" from Walter Powell and his wife Jane from Fairfax County. Urbane paid $125. In 1850 Urbane purchased an adjoining tract of land from the widow of Thomas Dunaway to enlarge the farm. This property remained in the Bush family for over 100 years and became known in the family as the Bush Home-place.

Urbane married Nancy Ann Haynie on January 20th, 1847 in Richmond County. She was the daughter of Hiram Haynie and Rebbecca Rogers.

Urbane and Nancy A. appear together on the 1850 census along with 2 year old Robert E. Bush. He works as a carpenter and has real estate valued at $900. His wife is marked as being unable to read or write. Urbane was a slave holder and appears on the 1850 slave schedule. He owned a 30 year old female, 12 year old male, 8 year old female and 10 month old female. Also in 1850 Urbane Bush is listed on the Agricultural Schedule. No acreage is mentioned, but it does show that he owned a horse, a milking cow, four work oxen, 2 other cattle and 10 hogs. His livestock was valued at $165. His farm produced twenty bushels of Irish potatoes and twenty bushels of sweet potatoes as well as 100 pounds of butter. The value of animals slaughtered in the past year was $86.

In 1859 Mollie Bush died in Lancaster County with no will and no children. Profits from the sale of her 75 acre estate were divided between Urbane and his siblings as well as several members of the Routt family. Urbane and 17 others signed a deed of sale and each received $5 from Samuel Downing. The purchaser of the property was James Bush, Urbane's brother.

Urbane Bush shows up in the Mortality Schedule attached to the 1860 census. It shows that he was "accidentally shot" and died in September of 1859, 11 days after the injury. It does not say who accidentally shot him or if he did it himself. The Bush Family Bible gives his date of death as September the 8th. His exact burial location is unknown, but it is probably somewhere on the property of the Bush Home-place.

Urbane was able to write a will between the time of his accident and death. He left his estate to his wife Ann until their son Robert turned 21. He instructed his administrator to pay his debts, and if not enough was left for his wife to live on, to sell the "small" slaves. He also suggested that for the comfort of his family it may be possible to buy Guano and raise wheat for the payment of his debts. He also instructed his administrator to attend to "groceries and all such things for the use of my family." The will was signed September 6th, 1859 and probated on September 19th.

In November 1859 an inventory and appraisal of Urbane's estate was made by E.E. Dunaway, Abner Riveer and Thomas Rice. The inventory listed five slaves by name and valued them all at $2,375. Other items listed included a rifle valued at $12, a double barrel shotgun valued at $5, books, a family bible and a wheat thresher valued at $75. Urbane's chest of carpentry tools was valued at $50, a lot of timber and a lot of shingles were also counted. Food stores counted were 175 bushels of wheat, 45 barrels of corn, 20 bushels of sweet potatoes and six bushels of irish potatoes. Livestock included a yoke of oxen, four cows, two calves, one horse, ten hogs, a sow with pigs and four shoats.