Grundy County IL Archives Biographies.....Galusha, Orson Bingham 1819 - 
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Author: History Grundy County 1882

Orson Bingham Galusha, P. O. Morris, was born December 2, 1819, in Shaftsbury, 
Bennington Co., Vt. His father, Jonas Galusha, Jr., lived at the time of the 
birth of the subject of this sketch on the estate of his father, Gov. Jonas 
Galusha, who was at that time serving his second term as Governor of the 
State. Orson was the youngest of three children, having one sister, Eloisa 
Electa, and one brother, Joseph Hinsdale. He lived upon his grandfather's 
estate, his father having charge of the several large farms into which it was 
divided, until sixteen years of age, in the meantime receiving such 
educational advantages as the district school afforded, and also was sent one 
year to Union Academy, in Bennington. At the age of fourteen, he united with 
the Baptist Church, and continued in the communion of this denomination until 
1844, when he united with the Congregational Church, in Grand Rapids, Mich., 
and is now a member of that church. In 1834, his father removed to Rochester, 
N. Y., where he lived four years, for the purpose, mainly, of giving his 
children better facilities for education, and at the same time have them at 
home, and here Orson was placed under the tuition of Chester Dewey, D. D., of 
the Rochester Collegiate Institute. He also taught one year under Prof. Nathan 
Brittan, his brother-in-law, in the Fitzhugh Street Seminary. Owing to the 
failing health of his mother, his father resolved to try a Western climate, in 
1839, and removed to a farm near Grand Rapids, Mich. Soon after the arrival of 
the family there, the mother died, and the father and brother returned to 
Rochester, while he remained in Michigan about fifteen years, during which 
time he occasionally taught school in winters, working upon the farm during 
summers. In this period, he served almost constantly, after attaining his 
majority, in the capacity of School Inspector and Township Clerk. March 9, 
1843, he was married to Mary J., third daughter of Judge Mitchell Hinsdale, of 
Kalamazoo, who is now living. In the year 1849, he exchanged his real estate 
in Michigan for a small farm in Grundy County, Ill., situated on the north 
line of the county, and two miles from Lisbon, Kendall County; he soon engaged 
in the nursery business, which carried on there until his removal to his 
present residence, where it was at once resumed. During his residence at 
Lisbon, the agitation of the plan for a system of agricultural colleges took 
place, and in this project he took a deep interest, frequently writing and 
talking upon the subject. When the plan was finally adopted by the Congress of 
the United States, he was the first man appointed by the Governor of Illinois 
as a member of the Board of Trustees, to take charge of the 480,000 acres of 
land which fell to the share of the State, and to found a college and to start 
it in operation. He was elected Recording Secretary of the board, which 
position he held until after the inauguration of the enterprise and the 
college was in successful operation, and remained a member of this board for 
the term of six years, and until the number of members of the board was 
considerably reduced, by act of Legislature. In 1864, he was elected a member 
of the State Board of Agriculture, and re-elected in 1866, holding the 
position for four years, during which time and for several years, both 
previous and afterward, he was Superintendent of the Horticultural Department 
at the State fairs. But the principal and most valuable public services 
rendered by Mr. Galusha were within the Illinois State Horticultural Society. 
This society was organized in Decatur in 1856, and Mr. Galusha elected 
Corresponding Secretary, which position he held till December, 1861, when he 
was elected to the Presidency of the society. He continued in the gratuitous 
service of the society, traveling thousands of miles annually as member of 
the "Ad-Interim Committee," collecting horticultural information for 
publication in the annual volume; was re-elected Corresponding and Recording 
Secretary in 1869, and has continued in this position until the present time, 
with the exception of one year, when he declined re-election, on account of 
severe illness at the time of the annual meeting. During these years, he has 
annually edited and published a volume of the transactions of the society, 
about 400 pages each. In 1868, he sold his farm on the county line and 
purchased where he now lives, three miles southeast from Morris, to which 
place he removed a large portion of his nursery stock, and continues in this 
business, gradually reducing it, however, and planting and raising fruits for 
market. This eighty-acre fruit farm is known as Evergreen Fruit Farm. Mr. and 
Mrs. Galusha have had two children - one a son, buried in Paris, Kent Co., 
Mich., who died at the age of four years; the other, a daughter, Nellie H., 
born October 4, 1849, and now the wife of Prof. W. H. Smith, of Peoria, Ill.

Additional Comments:
Source: History of Grundy County, Illinois. (1882) Chicago: O.L. Baskin & Co. 
Historical Publishers.

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