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[This biographical sketch of the life of Jacob Bushman, written by his brother, Martin Benjamin Bushman ca. 1915, was found written in the Temple Record Book of their father, Jacob Bushman, pp. 12-15 ( FHL # 673266, item 11). It is retyped here by Ann Laemmlen Lewis, May 2007. Spelling and punctuation from the original have been retained.]

A Short Biographical Sketch of Jacob Bushman (1830-1919)

by Martin B. Bushman, his brother

Plus a Reference from another source

Jacob Bushman was Born July 27 1830 in Bart Towenship Lancaster County Pennsylvaney. His parents was Martin Bushman and Elizabeth Degen Bushman his Father was of German desent and his Mother came from Switzerland he was the third child of a family of ten six boys and four girls he received a good & varring school education in his early days. his Father was a farmer by trade he spent his early life with him on the farm. at the age of twelve years he in connection with his parrents moved to Nauvoo in the state of illinois this journey was about one thousand miles and was done done by horse teams and was a very hard journey through a ruf country with a poor team. on arriving at Nauvoo they again went on a farm and joined their lot with the Mormon people in that city. He in connection with his Father ran the farm succusful and was getting along very nicly. They lived there four years when the enimies of the Mormon people got jelous of them and killed their Prophet and drove the saints from the state. he in connection with his Fathers family left their home and most everything in it and their grain standing in the field they put what few things they could put into a wagon and fled from their enimmies into the state of Iowa Their journey through that state was very hard on them it was very cold and the road was very mudy and the food was very scarce. he had two sisters die on that journey one on October 12.1846 he seen her laid in the cold grave without a cofffin one week later he had another sister die and was burried by the road side. the main cause of their death was the want of proper food and exposure in the cold wheather. after a tiresome journey of several months they arrived at the western part of Iowa. They stopped at a little place called Highland grove Ten miles from councel Bluf. They got some land and built a log cabin on it for the famly to live in. Jacob being the oldest of the children he then was sixeteen years old went to to the state of Misoura with his Father to find imployment so they could got some good and clothing for the famly that they had left on the fronteirs he stayed there most of the time for the next four years working hard to get an outfit to go to utah. he was always able to get imployment some times at very low wages it was at that time that he showed some of his good qualities that stayed with him through life. one was he was always reliable what ever he promised to do you could be shure it would be done. another was to always keep good company and never be seen in low down places. and to always live within his income. His parents in 1851 concluded to go to utah as they had by that time had got by his aid sufisent means to get their out fit for the journey he concluded to go also a man by the name of Henry Kerns imployed him to drive a ox team to utah. he was then twenty years old he drove that team of oxen the one thousand miles without any acident and was always on hand to do his share of camp duties. he was about five month on this journey. he got work in Salt Lake City for a few month then he got in with a company that was going to california he succeed in getting there all right and went to work to develope that country and build it up. he then went to sanbardeno where some of the Mormon people lived it was there that he first met Charlotte Turley who became his wife they where Married March 4^th 1857 in sanbardeno California. in the latter part of 1857 he returned to and made his home in Lehi where he continued to live for over 30 years he was one of Lehi most sucessful farmers he run the Saratoga Springs farm for John C. Nail for a number of years he held the office of City marchal and was a school trustee and also held church offices he was considered one of Lehi most reliable Citizen he always took a pride having good cows and a good team. in the year 1884 he was called on a mission to Arizona to help build up that state. he sold his property in Lehi and went with a good outfit to fill that mission he stayed there for fours and spent most of his means in trying to build up the country there. he was released to return to utah. he went to Fairview sanpete county utah and took up some land and started out a new to make a home. he has been a true pioneer and has helpted in the early settlement of five states namly illinois Iowa utah California and Arizona. he always done his full share of manuel labor in all the places he lived in every thing prospered with him in his new home at fairview he was regaing his former financial standing and every thing look bright before him. Just then the trial of his life came upon him that was the Death of his dear wife who had bore him Ten Children and had been his help and support in all his trials and labors in redeeming new countries and in building homes she was a faithful wife and a loving Mother and always worked hard to help her husband and to care for her children She like her husband had past through many tryals from her early childhood for the gospel sake. the loss of her was great to him but he felt that he might still do some good by kind and encourageing words to his chidren to help them along in the trials of life. he has filled a honrable mission to his native state while there he obtained much genology and he has spent much time in getting genology of his dead kindred he has spent time and money in doing work for the dead in the Temples and that labor gave him much joy in his declining years at the time this short sketch was writen he was eighty four years old. he is still quite active for that age and takes great pleasure in raising a nise garden he likes to meet old friends and to talk of times long past he has tryed to be faithful to God and all man kind. he died March 25, 1919 at Fairview Sanpete Co. Utah four years after this sketch was was written by his Brother Martin B Bushman at Lehi utah.

From David Cazier, autobiography, typescript, BYU, Pg. 1
I remember my brother Samuel suffered awful with the toothache. Nobody had anything to pull teeth, no doctor in our camp. Now at this time my father's family consisted of father and mother and Elizabeth, Samuel, myself, Charles and Rozana. Sometime in July or August we arrived at Council Bluffs. Here we camped two or three weeks waiting for counsel to know what to do. Finally President Brigham Young said "Stop here, build cabins and cut hay for our cattle and go down in Missoury and work and get what we could and not wait till next spring." So we moved into a grove of timber and working in a company put up several hundred tons of hay.

Now at this time my brother Benjamin, mother and myself took sick. Though I was not very bad, my mother died in a hay shed crying out for vegetables but there was none to be had. We had nothing but bread, bacon, beans and coffee. There being no coffins to be had my father and a neighbor cut one out of a solid log. There was no funeral services and no flowers. Oh, how forlorn she died a martyr for the truth. She was not the only one, there was scores died around Council Bluffs that winter. One of the leading causes was having no vegetables.

At this time, I think in August, the United States called for 500 men to go in the Mexican War, so my brother James and John enlisted and went leaving their families. When the hay was cut and stacked for the cattle and a cabin built, my father and Brother [Jacob]Bushman went down to Missoury and worked splitting rails for six bits a day and took corn and pork for their pay and sent the same up to the Bluffs. Us children would boil the corn on the cob and eat it. There was no fruit or vegetables of any kind. Now the winter was a hard one and thousands of cattle died having been used to corn and good hay. At this time my brother Benjamin went and worked on a steamboat and went as far as New Orleans. In the spring, not having what was termed a fit outfit of breadstuff, we had to stop in Iowa and take up a squatters claim and plough and raise wheat and corn which we did for four years.

Now as a boy, my time was spent in the field fishing, swimming, hunting the wild hen and wild fruits. There was no schools all this time. Now during this time all of the children was baptized except myself, and I wouldn't. I had no religion and took pride in being stubborn, but while my stubbornness may of stood in my way it has kept me out of many evils. Now as I have said my mother died in the fall of 1846, my father married a widow woman the next spring by the name of Margaret Ewen. She was very strict in her family discipline which made trouble for me which I will show later on. As I have said I didn't manifest much religion. I was anxious to be with the Church and go to the vales or rocky mountains.