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Showing both families — every line on the page. Pick a side to hide the other
family's ancestors; Earl, Kristin and their three children stay on either way.
Person · Francis Bush
The record
- HHomethe fan · what changed · open questions
- MMigrationbirths and deaths on a map, by decade
- TTimeline609 entries · 5 eras
- PPeople290 cards, by generationFrancis Bush
- LLines13 surname pages
The evidence
- DDocuments896 thumbnails, filterable
- SSourcesS1–S1207, with where each is cited
The findings
- How the wall came downProeger line
- The glass patentsProeger line
- How the Caffey half was closedCaffey line
- What the DNA saysits own page
- Four routesMigration
- The asymmetryLines
- Open questions20 questions
- Add to this recorda form, read by Earl
How to read this record
Every claim is tagged
Most family trees flatten everything into the same confident typeface. This one does not.
The three research tags below are the whole point of the exercise: they say what a document
proves, what the weight of evidence suggests, and what nobody has found yet. A fourth marks
what the family stated directly, where no document has been retrieved at all — it is kept
separate on purpose and is never quietly promoted to confirmed. A fifth, added on
13 September 2026, marks biological evidence: a DNA result is not a document, and it is not
testimony either. Two further labels mark where this page withholds information
rather than lacking it.
ConfirmedAttested by a document that was actually retrieved and read — a census sheet, a
government index, a grave marker, a family-written obituary.
ProbableStrongly supported but not nailed down: a user-contributed tree, a masked index field,
or a chain of consistent circumstances. Believable, not proven.
Not foundSearched for and not located. This is a statement about the search, not about the
person — the record may well exist somewhere unsearched.
Family testimonySupplied by the family and recorded on their word — no document has been retrieved for
it. Note the diamond rather than the dot: this is provenance, not proof, and it stands
apart from the three record tags above S24.
DNA evidenceBiological evidence consistent with a claim. It corroborates origins; it does
not by itself establish a person or a link. Note the bar rather than a dot or a diamond:
no DNA result on this page is ever counted as confirmed, because no document
was read for it S46.
Living — withheldThe person is living. By the privacy rule for this page, name and relationship are
shown, and at most a year the family has already published. Full dates of birth, ages,
places of residence and record identifiers are held back.
Research in progressA branch that is actively being worked on. The node exists in the structure so the
shape of the family is honest; the detail is simply not in yet.
Person · Francis Bush
Skip to sources ↧- Born
- 23 February 1750
- Died
- 1836
- Sources
- 4
Research status
Research status: PROBABLE — from compiled lineage books only: SAR application 27139
S498 and DAR Lineage Book no. 141325
S500, which calls Rachel Martin his second wife. No original record has been read, and nothing yet shows whether Lucy was Rachel's child or the first wife's
Evidence: SAR application 27139, DAR Lineage Book no. 141325, and a Francis Bush on a 1778 roll of the 2nd Virginia Regiment; a compiled chart in Ridge Runners (1978) names his first wife, Lucy Davis, and his parents, Philip Bush and Mary Bryan. Weak or missing: The 1778 roll is a name match only; nothing yet shows Lucy was the child of his second wife, Rachel, rather than his first. The Ridge Runners chart cites no sources and its dates (20 February; died about 1824) disagree with the lineage books (23 February; 1836). Not yet confirmed. Know more? Confirm or correct this →
Life in the order the records give it
Birth1750
Born
23 February 1750, Orange County, Virginia; died
1836, Clark County, Kentucky (lineage books). Married
Rachel Martin as his second wife; his first wife is not named here
Military1778
🆕 A
Francis Bush enlisted on 14 February 1778 for one year in Capt. William Taylor's company of the
2nd Virginia Regiment, and was present in September 1778
S649.
Probable confirm or correct → This is the first original record of service behind the lineage books, and he would have been 27. But a roll gives only a name, so the match rests on the name alone. A pension or bounty-land file would settle it. If you know more, use “Add to this record”. added 26 September 2026.
Death1978
🆕 A compiled ancestor chart in
Ridge Runners (1978) names his first wife,
Lucy Davis, born about 1750, married about 1770 in Orange County, died before 1794, and his parents,
Philip Bush and Mary Bryan S772 Probable confirm or correct →. What is weak: the chart cites no sources, and it gives his birth as 20 February and his death as about 1824, where the lineage books say 23 February and 1836. If Lucy Bush was born before 1794, Lucy Davis may be her mother rather than Rachel. added 26 September 2026.
Open questions what is probable, weak or missing — confirm or correct it
In the record
Generation 8 — Earl's earliest known
- S498U.S., Sons of the American Revolution Membership Applications — national no. 27139, James Marvin Hinkle, 1914. Ancestry record 315470. Image examined, read 25 September 2026. Probable A great-grandson's lineage: Colby Burris Quisenberry (1788–1870) and Lucy Bush (1790–1872), married 1810; Lucy the daughter of Francis Bush and Rachel Martin (his second wife); Francis Bush born 23 February 1750, Orange County, Virginia, died 1836, Clark County, a private in the 2nd Virginia. The supplemental line gives Colby's parents as James Quisenberry (1759–1830) and Jane Burris, married 1776. A compiled lineage of 1914, not a record, so the parents are probable. The cover sheet is record 315462.
- S500DAR Lineage Book, p. 101, no. 141325: Mrs. Electra Helm Withers. Ancestry record 3600439. Image examined, read 25 September 2026. Probable Descent through Joyce Duncan Quisenberry (1828–1911), wife of Joseph H. Withers, from Colby Burris Quisenberry and Lucy Bush; Francis Bush married second Rachel Martin (1767–1860), daughter of Lieut. John Martin and Rachel Pierce. It gives Jane Burris's birth as 1739, where the SAR application (S498) says 1759. Both are recorded.
- S649Revolutionary War roll — Capt. Wm. Taylor's Company, 2nd Virginia Regiment (Col. Christian Febiger), September 1778. Ancestry record 1671243. Image examined, read 25 September 2026. Probable No. 30, Francis Bush, enlisted 14 February 1778 for one year, present. A muster roll gives a name only; the match to the Francis Bush born 1750 in Orange County, Virginia, rests on the name.
- S772U.S., Family History Books — Ridge Runners, vol. 10 (1978), p. 83, ancestor chart. Ancestry record 4472897778. Image examined in the Stage 2 reading, September 2026. Probable Francis Bush, born 20 February 1750, Orange County, Virginia; died about 1824, Clark County, Kentucky; first wife Lucy Davis, born about 1750, married about 1770 in Orange County, died before 1794; parents Philip Bush and Mary Bryan; grandparents John Bush (died 1746) and Bridget. A compiled chart with no sources cited. Its birth day (the 20th) and death (about 1824) disagree with the lineage books (23 February, 1836); all of these are compiled. A Clark County will or probate record would settle it.
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