WELCOME TO BushmanFamily.org!
Explore this site to learn About Us, discover activities you can participate in to honor the pioneer heritage of Martin and Elizabeth, and see what others are doing for your family!
🎉 Save the Date! 2027 Bushman Family Reunion 🎉
We’re thrilled to announce the next Bushman Family Reunion, coming July 28–30, 2027 (Wednesday–Friday), in Omaha, Nebraska!
Theme: Memorializing Bushmans Crossing the Plains
(Nauvoo – Highland Grove – Lehi)
Join us as we gather to honor our shared heritage and celebrate the journey of Martin & Elizabeth Degen Bushman and their descendants. There will be family history presentations, pioneer-themed activities, plenty of food, and time to reconnect with cousins from near and far.
📍 Location: Omaha, Nebraska
📅 Dates: July 28–30, 2027
👨👩👧👦 Hosted by: The Martin & Elizabeth Degen Bushman Family Organization
More details, registration info, and lodging options will be posted here as we get closer. For now, mark your calendars and spread the word!
A new Bushman family book is available for sale at bushmanfamily.org!
“The Life of Sariah Anna Smith Bushman (1873-1922)”
(Compiled by Krisi Church Summers)
Daughter of Jesse N. Smith & Janet M. Johnson,
and wife of Homer Bushman (son of John & Lois Bushman)
Sariah was known for her bravery and resilience. Despite struggling with poor health throughout her life, she made a profound impact through her work as a school teacher, her role as a mother of nine living children, and her entrepreneurial spirit. She and her husband, Homer, ran a home-based store in Joseph City and Snowflake, Arizona, that later expanded to two other towns. Her dedication extended to serving her community and leading the youth and children in the local congregations of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in Joseph City and Snowflake, Arizona. Her life, though cut short at the age of 49, was a testament of courage and faithfulness. Her legacy of good works left an indelible mark on her family.
This book contains heartfelt tributes and recollections written by her adult children in 1933. Additional photographs, tributes, newspaper articles, and journal entries are added to shed more light on Sariah’s life. In addition, a brief history of her husband, Homer F. Bushman is included.
This book aims to honor Sariah’s legacy by presenting her story anew for her descendants.
Use code FESTIVITY15 to get 15% through Friday Dec. 20th, 2024
BUSHMANS IN NAUVOO – VIDEO
It’s Martin Bushman’s birthday and we’re going to celebrate with the release of Krisi Church Summer’s newest film production, The Bushmans in Nauvoo!
The Bushmans in Nauvoo shows us the discoveries made about Martin and Elizabeth’s family’s time in Nauvoo, Illinois following on from Krisi’s earlier production, The Pennsylvania Bushmans. She ties all the research together beautifully with interviews, imagery, and music.
Please consider making a generous donation to the Martin and Elizabeth Degen Bushman Family Organization (use the Donate button above) as we honor Martin’s birthday this year.
Your donations on Martin’s and Elizabeth’s birthdays make productions like this one possible and let us watch it together, free of charge, and share it with everyone we know!
Watch the video with us HERE:
A new children's book! The Bushmans in Nauvoo, by Kim Bushman Aguilar and Brityn Willis Bennett is now available on bushmanfamily.org. It makes a super meaningful birthday gift! Don't wait too long. This sequel to The Bushmans Come to America continues Martin and Elizabeth's story starting with a thousand-mile trek from Pennsylvania to Nauvoo, IL. Although their time in Nauvoo was cut short they lived and worked alongside their friends to build a temple of God. This beautifully illustrated 8” x 10” 50-page book with maps, timelines, and notes is written to be enjoyed by both children and adults.
The Martin and Elizabeth Degen Bushman Family Organization invites YOU to help us
Celebrate April 1st,
the 221st Anniversary of the Birth of
Martin Bushman
by making a contribution to the projects of the family organization!
Your generous contribution will help fund projects such as:
· More childrens books and videos on our ancestors
· Children's coloring book of Bushman ancestors
· Website development
· Genealogical research on Bushmans and Degens in Europe
· Proposed family memorials in Lehi (like our bronze memorials in Lancaster, PA and Nauvoo)
· Statue of Elizabeth Degen Bushman
· Purchase of Farm in Nauvoo and Bushman home in Lehi
· A video of short stories for children about Bushman ancestors
· Upkeep of Trout Burying Ground aka Cedar Hill Cemetery, near Strasburg, Lancaster County, Pennsylvania
to get on the reunion email list
______________________________________________
Help us find our Cousins!!!
Which one of Martin & Elizabeth's children do you descend from?
CALLING ALL ARTIFACTS!
If you have any family artifacts you would like to share by photograph or by putting them in a museum, restored family home, or archives, contact us!