ILLIAM D. BUSBEY, a retired farmer,
now a resident of Oakland Village, and
whose portrait is shown in this connection,
is a native of the Buckeye State, and was born in
Clarke County, Dec. 28, 1820. He is the son of
Hamilton and Sophia (Lewis) Busbey, natives of
Virginia, whence the former emigrated to Ohio in
1815, and farmed there until 1839. He then came
overland to this county with horse-teams, and locating in East Oakland Township, experienced all
the vicissitudes of pioneer life, and labored with his
neighbors to build up a comfortable homestead.
For several 3 years after he came here, he was obliged
to transport his farm produce by teams to Terre
Haute, Ind. He did not live to old age, but died
in his prime, Dec. 16, 1847. The mother died
in April, 1855.
The parental family included the following children: Thomas C., Susan M., Almira, Hamilton,
Hiatt, Ann, John, Samuel, Maria, Eveline, Washington, Henry C., and William D., our subject. Of
these, nine are still living. In 1882, there was a family reunion at Arcola, Douglas County, in which
eleven of the sons and daughters participated.
Two have since died. It was a memorable event,
both for the family and for the people who knew
them.
Our subject came to this county with his parents
in 1839, and remained under the home roof until
reaching his majority, in the meantime acquiring a
limited education in the district schools. He was
studious, however, and fond of his books, and fitting himself, for a teacher, followed this employment two years. In 1845, when twenty-four years
of age, he formed a matrimonial alliance with Miss
Letitia Black, who was a native of Indiana, born in
1824, and came to Illinois with her parents in 1828,
After becoming the mother of three children she
departed this life in the spring of 1855, and her remains were laid to rest in the cemetery at Oakland.
The children of this marriage were: Josiah H.,
now a resident of Oakland; Milton T., in Wyoming
Territory, and William L., who is engaged at farming in Oakland. Josiah H. Busbey entered the
army in 1863, and participated in many of the battles of the late war. He marched with Sherman
from Atlanta to the sea. and up through the Carolinas, and when the war was ended received his
honorable discharge, as one who had performed his
duties as a soldier in a brave and creditable manner.
Mr. Busbey was the second time married, Feb.
23, 1860, to Mrs. Margaret (Newman) Milholland,
widow of Allison Milholland, and daughter of Alexander and Margaret Newman. Her parents came
from Tennessee to this county when she was a child
of seven years, and located on a tract of land in
East Oakland Township, where they built up a
good home and spent the remainder of their lives.
Mrs. B. was born in Tennessee, Dec. 18, 1826, and
by her union with our subject became the mother
of three children, of whom only one, a son, Francis
M., survives. Eveline died in infancy, and Carlton
when about twelve years of age, in 1878.
Mr. Busbey, in about 1859, embarked in the harness business, which he followed for nearly thirty
years. During this time he lived on a farm of
eighty acres near the village of Oakland, where he
still resides, surrounded by all the comforts and
many of the luxuries of life. With his estimable
wife he is a member in good standing of the Cumberland Presbyterian Church, in which he has officiated as Elder since 1848. He was a great Sunday-school worker in his more active days. Politically, he votes the Republican ticket.
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