Captain Timothy Bush, the progenitor of this family in town, came to Norwich in the early days of its settlement (from what place is not known). He married Deborah House, and they had ten children (five of whom were born in Norwich), viz.,
- John Bush, married Abigail Marvin and had at least one son:
- Barzilla Bush.
- Timothy Bush.
- Fairbanks Bush.
- Alexander Bush.
- Bela Bush.
- Harry Bush.
- Nathaniel Bush.
- Mary Bush, who married Nathaniel Seaver.
- Lavina Bush, who married Doctor Hamilton of Lyme, New Hampshire.
Captain Bush appears as a voter in town in 1772, and March 9, 1799, he was chosen one of the board of five selectmen. He was prominent in town affairs till about the time he removed to the State of New York (about 1809), where, it is reported, he died in 1815. It is current with some persons that he ended his days here in Norwich and that he was buried in the old graveyard near the mouth of Pompanoosuc River, but no gravestone can be found to indicate his burial there.
When Captain Bush located in Norwich it was in the Pompanoosuc section of the town, where he became an extensive landowner.
He was one of the original proprietors of the town of Orange, Vermont, chartered by the state in August, 1781. His son, John, with Paul Brigham, Nathaniel Seaver, John Hibbard, Elihu White, and John White, were other Norwich men who were proprietors of that town, and his sons, Fairbanks and Timothy, Jr., were among the early settlers of the place, the former being elected selectman and also lister on the first organization of the town, March 9, 1796.
What follows will show how Captain Bush served his state in a military capacity. We are allowed to copy from a private letter the following information which the writer obtained from the Adjutant General’s office at Montpelier, Vt.:
“From a pay-roll of Captain Timothy Bush’s company in Colonel Joseph Marsh’s regiment, it appears that Timothy Bush served as a captain one month and twenty days from August 16, 1777, and received £5-1-8.
“Also, we find that Timothy Bush served as a captain four days in 1777 to assist the Strafford people in their retreat, and received £2-0-0.
“And under the direction of Major Whitcomb, January 21, 1780, it appears that Timothy Bush served as captain one month and twenty-five days, and received £15-6-8.
“Also under the direction of Colonel Peter Olcott at the time the enemy came to Royalton, October 16, 1780, Captain Timothy Bush served three days, and received £1-9-4.
“And from a pay-roll, Captain Timothy Bush’s Company of Militia, employed in guarding and scouting at Strafford at the time of the alarm at Newbury, under Colonel Olcott, served seven days, and received £2-1-4.
“And Timothy Bush served one day in 1781, and received £0-8-8.”