Home < 1907 Bios

Greene County IAGenWeb

1907 Past and Present Biographies

William Bussey

William Bussey, one of the well known agriculturists of this county, has an honorable record of a conscientious man, who by his upright life has won the confidence of all with whom he has come in contact. He was born in Yorkshire, England, March 13, 1832. His parents, William and Ellen (Stevenson) Bussey, were both natives of England and had three daughters and two sons: Elizabeth; Ann; Mary; George, who came to the United States two years after his brother and died in 1896; and William.

William Bussey was educated in England and spent part of his boyhood working in the fields of that country. When twenty-two years of age he became imbued with the idea that he must emigrate to America, where the opportunities of the agriculturist were larger than in England. He accordingly set sail for this country and spent two years in New York state on a farm. He then removed to Canada, where he remained for six years, returning to England for six months, but America still proved to be more attractive to him and he returned to its shores, going directly to Carroll cmmty, Illinois, where he lived for fifteen years. He subsequently removed to Greene county, Iowa, in the spring of 1869, having purchased one hundred and sixty acres in the previous fall. This land is located in what is now Bristol township. He has been able to add to his original purchase several times, first buying forty and later eighty acres. He has put much hard work into the improvement of his farm and added the business of stock-raising, in which he attained prominence in the county. On February 13, 1901, he retired to Jefferson, where he purchased the property on which he now lives. He has given his other property in town to his son.

Mr. Bussey has been twice married. His first wife was Sarah Ellsworth, who died in Illinois, leaving. one child, Charles, who passed away in infancy. His second wife was Olive Pratt, born in Illinois, February 13, 1848, and a daughter of a well known agriculturist and soldier who passed away in the Soldiers’ Home at Washington. This second union was blessed with one child, William L., who is a clerk in Gallup’s store in Jefferson.

Mr. Bussey has always been a staunch republican and has served that party in many offices as trustee, school director, justice of the peace and treasurer. He was among the first elected in Bristol. He belongs to the Masonic lodge, in which he has always taken an active part. From his boyhood he has been deeply interested in religious matters and has for years been associated with the Methodist Episcopal church, in which he is a trustee and steward. During his entire life he has been active in the work of the Sabbath school, believing that it is here that the moral and religious training of our young men is carried on. For five years he was a most popular superintendent of the Sabbath school at Mount Horeb. Owing to failing health at present he is not able to take as active a part in church work as he once did, but up to a year ago he never missed a Sunday when it was possible for him to attend. His church work has always been influential because he has practiced what he preached. His life has been that of an earnest and devout Christian, who has never boasted of having accomplished anything of himself, but who has always attributed his success to a higher Power who has worked through him. The world needs more Christian men like Mr. Bussey, who during his twenty years’ connection with Sunday school work has proved a strong factor in the moral development of his community.

Transcribed from "Past and Present of Greene County, Iowa Together With Biographical Sketches of Many of Its Prominent and Leading Citizens and Illustrious Dead,"
by E. B. Stillman assisted by an Advisory Board consisting of Paul E. Stillman, Gillum S. Toliver,
Benjamin F. Osborn, Mahlon Head, P. A. Smith and Lee B. Kinsey, Chicago: The S. J. Clarke Publishing Company, 1907.

Site Terms, Conditions & Disclaimer