GREENCASTLE– Oct. 3rd marked the 185th birthday of Franklin A. Bushey, a local soldier whose story is one of family and dedicated service to the military and the Pennsylvania community in which he lived. He was a devoted husband, a father of three children, a solider during the Civil War, a spokesman for Civil War veterans and a historian who strived to the preserve history and memory of the soldiers from Pennsylvania.
Franklin was the youngest of five children born to Michael Bushey Sr. and his wife, Frances. A farming family who lived in the Antrim Township in a home that once belonged to a Revolutionary War veteran named Col. Thomas Johnston, the Bushey’s prospered and were able to offer their children an opportunity to pursue a good education.
Franklin studied medicine at the University of Maryland School of Medicine and the College of Physicians and Surgeons where he graduated in March of 1861. Not long after receiving his doctorate, the 22-year-old Franklin enlisted in the military and joined the Third Pennsylvania Militia and the Union to in their fight against the Southern rebels in the Civil War. In December of 1862, three months later, Franklin joined the Fourth Pennsylvania Cavalry as a surgeon, where he would serve in the Battle of Gettysburg.
When the war ended, Franklin returned to Greencastle where he would set up his medical practice. It was at this time he would meet Mary Ellen Carl, who he would wed on Dec. 27, 1865. They would have their first two children soon after. Daughters Elise and Bertha were born in 1867 and 1869. In 1900, the couple would adopt a son named Lamont Bartle.
Franklin was not just a successful physician in Franklin County but was an active member of the community, especially when it came to helping war veterans and their families. One way he accomplished this was by being the head of the Franklin County U.S. Pension Examining Board where he would see to it that every soldier would be compensated for their service.
He was also a member and creator of the Grand Army of the Republic Chapter Post #438 where he served many roles. In 1885, when General Ulysses S. Grant died, Franklin wrote a Resolution of Respect for the GAR and spear-headed the re-internment of Corp. William H. Rihl, who had fallen in battle in 1862 and was influential in getting a monument of the corporal erected in his honor.
In his later years, Franklin would serve as a historian who spent his days preserving the history of Franklin County soldiers through his collecting of artifacts, historical articles and letters and through his writing for the local newspaper. He was also on several committees in Greencastle such as the Cedar Hill Cemetery Board of Managers and the Citizen National Bank, which he helped establish in 1901. His goal in life was to improve the lives of the citizens of Greencastle not just physically through his medical practice, but also intellectually and financially by his involvement in so many other local entities.
On January 27, 1915, Mary Ellen passed away at the age of 71 and Franklin’s daughter Elise, who was also widowed, returned home to Greencastle and lived with her grieving father. Franklin’s other daughter, Bertha, had married a physician and moved to Thurmont, Maryland, where she raised her own family.
Dr. Franklin Bushey died on June 16, 1924, at the age of 83. He left behind a long legacy of humanitarianism and dedication to not only his own family, but to the families of the men he fought beside and the neighbors to which he shared his life within Franklin County. His body was laid to rest next to his beloved wife, Mary Ellen, in Cedar Hill Cemetery.
