Crawford Co., AR - Biographies - John F. Bushmiaer

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SOURCE: History of Benton, Washington, Carroll, Madison, Crawford,
Franklin, and Sebastian Counties, Arkansas. Chicago: The Goodspeed 
Publishing Co., 1889.
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John F. Bushmiaer, farmer, was born in Prussia in 1832, and is a son of Henry 
and Margaret (Schnuky) Bushmiaer, also natives of Prussia. The father served in 
the Prussian army when quite young, being present at the battle of Waterloo and 
the capture of Paris. Some years after he became a government official. In 
October, 1847, he started with his family for the United States, and in the 
spring of 1848 landed at Van Buren, Ark., and soon after settled two miles south 
of the present site of Alma, where he died in 1849 and the mother in 1884. Both 
were members of the German Lutheran Church. John F., was the third of a family 
of five children, and while in the old country attended a common and graded 
school between the ages of seven and fourteen. He accompanied his parents to 
Crawford County, and is one of its oldest German pioneer citizens, as at the 
time of his arrival Van Buren was but a hamlet. The county seat had just been 
moved from the mouth of the Mulberry to Van Buren, and Sebastian was still a 
part of Crawford County. There are but few living here now who remember those 
days, and among those few is Mr. Bushmiaer. He being the oldest son, at the time 
of his father's death was left to care for the family. At the commencement of 
the war he joined Company C, of Col, Chas. A. Carroll's regiment of cavalry, and 
operated throughout the entire war in Missouri, Arkansas, Louisiana, Indian 
Territory and Texas, being in nearly all [p.1130] the engagements, and never 
being captured or wounded. The company was disbanded on Trinity River, in Texas. 
In 1868 Mr. Bushmiaer married Mrs. Caroline Smith, widow, whose maiden name was 
Winckly, a native of Virginia; she died, leaving three children. In 1883 he was 
married to Mrs. Catherine Ramsdan, a widow, and the sister of his first wife. 
Since 1849 Mr. Bushmiaer has lived upon the farm his father cleared, and he now 
has in all 340 acres of good land. He is an industrious farmer and stock raiser, 
and one of the well-to-do citizens of the township. He is an enterprising man, 
and has given his children all available educational opportunities. He is a 
Democrat, and cast his first presidential vote for Buchanan in 1856. He has been 
a member of the Alma Masonic Lodge since its organization, and is identified 
with the Lutheran Church. Mrs. Bushmiaer is a Baptist.