Notes From My Grandmother | Busby Lineage and Genealogy, Part 2

Somehow, much of my grandmother's hand written and (badly) typed notes and research wound up in my possession. Traveling from Chicago to Los Angeles and back to Chicago again. It sat, in the dark of my mother's closet, until my dad passed and my mom decided to begin her great purge. Knowing I had picked up the torch, the next generation to pursue the Greatest Hobby on Earth, the papers came to live with me. Unsure for many years on just what to do with them, I have decided to bring them out and share them with you - transcribed, of course - no one can read my grandmother's handwriting! But in her own words; mistakes, rambling sentences, and all. I think she will be pleased her work and her writing are once again out in the light.

The Name and Family of Busby

History: cont.

Of the family of the name early resident at London, Richard Bushebie or Busby married the widow Mary Fenton about the year 1582; Edward Busby, of Oxfordshire, married the widow Margaret Baldwin, of Gloucester, at London in 1660; Robert Busby, "Gentleman", was married in 1662 or 1663 to Grace, daughter of Sir Henry Cary; Christopher Busbee or Busby married Frances Williams in 1666; and William Busby, "Gentleman", a native of Loughborough, in the county of Leicester, was married at London in 1675 or 1676 to the widow Anne Tomlinson. While the records of these branches of the family are not complete, it is evident that they belonged to the landed and educated classes.

Nicholas Busby or Busbee appears in the "List of Persons who went to New England with William Andrews, of Ipswich, master of the John and Dorothy of Ipswich, and with William Andrews, his son, master of the Rose of Yarmouth", in the early seventeenth century. He was probably a native of Norwich, county Norfolk, and a weaver by trade. In 1637 the examination of Nicholas "Busbie" aged fifty years, was made at Norwich. At that time he stated that his wife Bridget was fifty-three years of age and that they had four children, Nicholas, John, Abraham, and Sarah. He also stated that he was "desirous to go to Boston, in New England, to inhabit". Nicholas Busby and his family were resident at Newbury, Mass., in October of the year 1637. He later removed to Watertown, in the same colony, and died in 1657.

His eldest son, Nicholas, died before him, leaving issue by his wife, previously the widow Martha (nee Cheney) Sadler, whom he married in 1652, of at least one son, named Joseph.

John Busby, the second son of the immigrant Nicholas, returned to England and was living at Norwich, county Norfolk, in the year 1661.

Abraham Busby or Busbey, the youngest son of the immigrant Nicholas, followed the trade of weaver and was married in 1659 to the widow Abigail (nee Compton) Briscoe. He had at least two children, Abigail and Elizabeth, born at Boston, and he may have had other progeny as well.

The first of the name to settle in the South were Ann Busby, who came over as a servant to Robert Bennett of Virginia, in 1635; Thomas Busby, who settled in Henrico County, Va., in 1637; Waller or Walter Busby, who settled in Northumberland Co, Va., in 1651; and Eliza Busby, of Northumberland Co, Va., in 1652. Nothing further is known concerning the immediate families or descendants of these early emigrants.

In 1682 one John Busby or Bushby, a Quaker, settled at Philadelphia, Pa. John left issue by his wife Marie of eight children, John, Edward, William, Richard, Nicholas, (no further record), Marie, Elizabeth, and Sarah, of whom the first died in 1699, leaving a share of his estate to his parents and the rest to his wife, Mary Taylor, whom he married in 1690.

William, the second son of the elder John of Philadelphia, married the widow Sarah Seary in 1685 and died in 1716, leaving only two children, John and Elizabeth Busby.

Edward, the second [third?] son of the elder John of Philadelphia, was married in 1796 [1696?] to Susanna Adams. His children were Mary, Edward, Joseph, Rebecca, and Mercy.

Richard Buzby, son of the elder John of Philadelphia, resided at Oxford in Philadelphia Co., Pa., and also owned one hundred acres of land at Dublin, Pa. He died in 1747, leaving five children, Thomas, Jane, Rebecca, Sara, and John Buzby or Busby; but the name of his wife is not available.

In general an energetic, courageous, progressive, and idealistic race, the Busbys in America have contributed largely to the growth and development of the nation.

Records of the Colonial forces in the Revolutionary War mention Robert Busby of Medford, Mass.; John Bushby or Bushbe, of Danvers, Mass.; Robert Bushby of Billerica, Mass.; William Busby, of New York; James Busby, of Virginia and Kentucky; John Busby, of Virginia; Robert Busby, of Virginia and Kentucky; Israel and John Busbey, of Penn.; and Benjamin, George, Israel, James, and John Busby, of Penn., of whom Israel and James are probably identical with the Busbeys mentioned above.

William, Richard, Robert, John, Edmund, Henry, Geoffrey, Thomas, Nicholas, Edward, Charles, George, James and Joseph are some of the names (masculine Christian) that are favored by the Busbys for their progeny.

.......... to be continued ..........

 ***editor's note: this is a transcript of research completed in 1982 based on information available at that time. I have not yet researched this family further, but suspect there is more information/clarification available to us today. I will follow up at a future date with fresh data. ***

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