Asahel Bush
Encyclopedia
Asahel Bush was an American
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

 newspaper publisher and businessman in Salem, Oregon
Salem, Oregon
Salem is the capital of the U.S. state of Oregon, and the county seat of Marion County. It is located in the center of the Willamette Valley alongside the Willamette River, which runs north through the city. The river forms the boundary between Marion and Polk counties, and the city neighborhood...

. As publisher the Oregon Statesman newspaper, he moved the paper to Salem when the territorial capital moved to that city. A Massachusetts
Massachusetts
The Commonwealth of Massachusetts is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States of America. It is bordered by Rhode Island and Connecticut to the south, New York to the west, and Vermont and New Hampshire to the north; at its east lies the Atlantic Ocean. As of the 2010...

 native, Bush became the first official printer for the state of Oregon
Oregon
Oregon is a state in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States. It is located on the Pacific coast, with Washington to the north, California to the south, Nevada on the southeast and Idaho to the east. The Columbia and Snake rivers delineate much of Oregon's northern and eastern...

, and his estate is now a city park
Bush's Pasture Park
Bush's Pasture Park is a public park and botanical garden in Salem, Oregon, United States. It is also the site of the Asahel Bush House, which was placed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1974, and is now operated as the Bush House Museum.-Bush House Museum:The park and Italianate...

.

Early life

Asahel Bush was born in Westfield, Massachusetts
Westfield, Massachusetts
Westfield is a city in Hampden County, in the Pioneer Valley of western Massachusetts, United States. It is part of the Springfield, Massachusetts Metropolitan Statistical Area. The population was 41,094 at the 2010 census. The ZIP Code is 01085 for homes and businesses, 01086 for Westfield State...

, on June 4, 1824. His parents, Asahel Bush, Sr. and Sally Noble Bush, were of English descent. The younger Asahel attended public school and later Westfield Academy, then at the age of 17 moved to Saratoga Springs, New York
Saratoga Springs, New York
Saratoga Springs, also known as simply Saratoga, is a city in Saratoga County, New York, United States. The population was 26,586 at the 2010 census. The name reflects the presence of mineral springs in the area. While the word "Saratoga" is known to be a corruption of a Native American name, ...

 where he became an apprentice printer. Bush later worked for a newspaper before studying law. He passed the bar
Bar (law)
Bar in a legal context has three possible meanings: the division of a courtroom between its working and public areas; the process of qualifying to practice law; and the legal profession.-Courtroom division:...

 in 1850 in Massachusetts, but soon left for the Oregon Territory by ship, taking the Isthmus of Panama
Isthmus of Panama
The Isthmus of Panama, also historically known as the Isthmus of Darien, is the narrow strip of land that lies between the Caribbean Sea and the Pacific Ocean, linking North and South America. It contains the country of Panama and the Panama Canal...

 route.

Oregon

Bush arrived in Oregon
Oregon
Oregon is a state in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States. It is located on the Pacific coast, with Washington to the north, California to the south, Nevada on the southeast and Idaho to the east. The Columbia and Snake rivers delineate much of Oregon's northern and eastern...

 in late 1850 at Portland
Portland, Oregon
Portland is a city located in the Pacific Northwest, near the confluence of the Willamette and Columbia rivers in the U.S. state of Oregon. As of the 2010 Census, it had a population of 583,776, making it the 29th most populous city in the United States...

 and settled in Oregon City
Oregon City, Oregon
Oregon City was the first city in the United States west of the Rocky Mountains to be incorporated. It is the county seat of Clackamas County, Oregon...

. Once his printing press arrived, he started the Oregon Statesman newspaper in March 1851. In 1853, the capital
Oregon State Capitol
The Oregon State Capitol is the building housing the state legislature and the offices of the governor, secretary of state, and treasurer of the U.S. state of Oregon. It is located in the state capital, Salem. The current building, constructed from 1936 to 1938, and expanded in 1977, is the third...

 was moved to Salem and Bush moved the newspaper there as well, where it would later become the Salem Statesman Journal
Statesman Journal
The Statesman Journal is the major daily newspaper published in Salem, Oregon, United States. Founded in 1851, the Oregon Statesman later merged with the Capital Journal to form the current newspaper, the second-oldest in Oregon. The Statesman Journal is distributed in Salem, Keizer, and much of...

. At this time newspapers were partisan instruments used to further political parties. Bush’s use of his paper gave him the nickname of “Bushy Bush” and he often sparred with the rival party’s newspaper The Oregonian
The Oregonian
The Oregonian is the major daily newspaper in Portland, Oregon, owned by Advance Publications. It is the oldest continuously published newspaper on the U.S. west coast, founded as a weekly by Thomas J. Dryer on December 4, 1850...

edited by Thomas J. Dryer
Thomas J. Dryer
Thomas Jefferson Dryer was a newspaper publisher, Freemason, mountain climber, and politician in the Western United States.He was born on January 10, 1808, in Ulster County, New York. Dryer founded the Weekly Oregonian, which has survived as the daily Oregonian, and served as its publisher...

. Though he defended slavery, he supported the Union during the American Civil War
American Civil War
The American Civil War was a civil war fought in the United States of America. In response to the election of Abraham Lincoln as President of the United States, 11 southern slave states declared their secession from the United States and formed the Confederate States of America ; the other 25...

. In 1859, Bush become the first official printer for the state of Oregon. He left the newspaper business in 1863 when he sold the newspaper.

In 1867, Bush along with William S. Ladd
William S. Ladd
William Sargent Ladd was an American politician and businessman in Oregon. He twice served as Portland, Oregon’s mayor in the 1850s. A native of Vermont, he was a prominent figure in the early development of Portland, and co-founded the first bank in the state in 1859...

 founded the Ladd and Bush Bank in Salem. Ten years later Bush would buy out Ladd and become the sole proprietor of the financial institution. He remained active in politics and was a member of the state Democratic Party’s central committee, including time as the chairperson, and in 1892 was a delegate to the Democratic National Convention
Democratic National Convention
The Democratic National Convention is a series of presidential nominating conventions held every four years since 1832 by the United States Democratic Party. They have been administered by the Democratic National Committee since the 1852 national convention...

.

Later life and family

In 1854, Asahel Bush married Eugenia Zieber of Salem, with whom he would father four children Sally, Eugenia, Estelle, and Asahel III who would be known as A. N. Bush. Eugenia was the daughter of one of his printer employees, and she would die at the age of 30 in 1863. Bush served as a trustee of Willamette University
Willamette University
Willamette University is an American private institution of higher learning located in Salem, Oregon. Founded in 1842, it is the oldest university in the Western United States. Willamette is a member of the Annapolis Group of colleges, and is made up of an undergraduate College of Liberal Arts and...

 and as a regent to the University of Oregon
University of Oregon
-Colleges and schools:The University of Oregon is organized into eight schools and colleges—six professional schools and colleges, an Arts and Sciences College and an Honors College.- School of Architecture and Allied Arts :...

. Asahel Bush II died on December 23, 1913 at the age of 89 in Salem and was buried at Salem Pioneer Cemetery
Salem Pioneer Cemetery
Salem Pioneer Cemetery is a cemetery in Salem, Oregon, United States.-Overview:...

. His estate is now preserved as Bush's Pasture Park
Bush's Pasture Park
Bush's Pasture Park is a public park and botanical garden in Salem, Oregon, United States. It is also the site of the Asahel Bush House, which was placed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1974, and is now operated as the Bush House Museum.-Bush House Museum:The park and Italianate...

 and his home, Asahel Bush House, is on the National Register of Historic Places
National Register of Historic Places
The National Register of Historic Places is the United States government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures, and objects deemed worthy of preservation...

.

External links

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