From www.toptags.com/aama/bio/men/gwbush.htm
GEORGE WASHINGTON BUSH

George Washington Bush was born free in Pennsylvania about 1790, but little is known about his life before 1812 when he fought in the Battle of New Orleans under the command of Andrew Jackson. After his military stint, he worked for a French fur trader headquartered in St. Louis, and later for the Hudson's Bay Company in the 1820s. Along with his friend, Michael Simmons, Bush headed west in 1844 in a wagon train guided by Moses Harris. While on the trail, George and his wife Isabel cared for their five sons and children who had become orphaned on the trip.

 They reached Oregon territory in late fall, 1844. When the party arrived at The Dalles, Bush realized the racial discrimination he thought he had escaped in Missouri was alive and functioning in Oregon. Oregon was admitted to the Union with a Black exclusion law, which forbade Blacks to settle in the area. Because of the friends Bush had made among the French Canadian and Indians on his previous trips west, he and his companions were allowed to cross the Columbia River into Canadian territory and settle on what became known as Bush Prairie. However, because George was Black, he could not legally claim his land. In 1854, Michael Simmons was elected a legislator in the provisional government and attempted to change the anti-Black laws and to help Bush get his land. George was finally granted official title to his property by a special waiver from the U.S. Congress in 1855. He was not granted citizenship or the right to vote, although some legislators tried for this.

The Bush family was well-liked in the area, and they, in turn, cared for their neighbors. The early winters on the Sound were difficult for many, and the one in 1852 stands out. Grain had become low in supply and was becoming expensive. The Bush family had a lot of grain in storage for which George was offered a large sum of money. He declined, saying, "I'll just keep my grain to let my neighbors who have had failures have enough to live on and for seeding their fields in the spring. They have no money to pay your fancy prices and I don't intend to see them want for anything in my power to provide them with."

The Bush-Simmons party is credited by some as being one of the reasons the state of Washington is part of the United States. By having people from the U.S. settled north of the Columbia River, the American claim to the area was strengthened in later debates between Great Britain and the United States over the division of the Oregon Country. It was decided to be the 49th parallel, the current northern boundary of Washington. One of the Bush's sons, William Owen Bush, was a member of the first state legislature for Washington. William introduced the bill to the legislature that created what is now known as Washington State University, founded in 1890.

Georgre W. Bush died in 1863. His sons inherited his property, and carried on the family tradition of excellent farming skills and public service.