Ohio History Journal

ASA S. BUSHNELL.*     REV. J. W. ATWOOD. Asa S. Bushnell was born in Rome, New York, September 16, 1834, and died in Columbus, Ohio, January 15, 1904.

He came of a family long and honorably identified with the history and life of New England, which included in its membership Horace Bushnell of Hartford, one of the most forceful and original thinkers that America has pro- duced, its greatest theologian with the exception of Jonathan Ed- wards, a great citizen and a pro- found scholar. The family settled in Con- necticut and Governor Bushnell's grandfather, Jason Bushnell, was a soldier in the war for American

Independence. His father emigrated first to Rome in New York State where his son Asa was born, and when the boy was only eleven years old, following the "Star of Empire" westward in its course," the family moved once more, this time to Cin- cinnati, and a little later to Oberlin, where Daniel Bushnell died. At the early age of sixteen Asa Bushnell came to Spring- *Governor Asa Bushnell became a life member of the Ohio State Archaeological and Historical Society some years before he was elected Governor. He always took great interest in the purposes and work of the Society and especially during his four years of governorship did he render the Society enthusiastic aid. He visited many of the points of his- toric and archaeological interest in the state and frequently in his ad- dresses paid fitting tribute to the memorable events that occurred in Ohio's past.-EDITOR.   (282)

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field, with whose life and interests he was to be identified

throughout the remaining years of his life. Without fortune

of his own but with the rich equipment of his New England

ancestry, he began his business career as a clerk in one of the

stores of the town. When still a boy of nineteen he became a

book-keeper in another business establishment, where he re-

mained until 1857, when for a short period he was employed in

the office of the Warder, Brokaw and Child Company, manu-

facturers of mowers and reapers. In this year he married Miss

Ellen Ludlow of Springfield, and for some years was asso-

ciated in business with his father-in-law, Mr. John Ludlow, who

was the pioneer druggist of Springfield.

About 1867 Mr. Bushnell again connected himself with the

great manufacturing firm with which all his future business

career was to be identified. His keen business ability, his energy,

his perfect integrity, were all valuable elements in the develop-

ment of the great industry of which he became the president in

1886, the name of the firm becoming the Warder, Bushnell &

Glessner Company.

In the trying and tragic days of the great Civil War his

patriotism and love of country drew him away from his business

career, and raising a company of volunteers of which he became

the captain, he served in the Shenandoah Valley campaign of

1864. Active in brain, varied in his interests, he could not

confine himself simply to a business career, no matter how suc-

cessful and engrossing it might be. He began to take a deep

interest in political affairs. He was a shrewd, capable worker

here, and his wide acquaintance with men, his genial and af-

fectionate nature, his hospitality and his generosity made him a

man of power throughout the state. In 1885 he was chairman

of the Republican State Executive Committee and conducted the

campaign which resulted in the election of Hon. Joseph B. For-

aker as Governor, and in the choice of a Republican legislature

that re-elected to the United States Senate the Hon. John Sher-

man. In 1887, he was nominated by acclamation in the Republi-

can State Convention for Lieutenant Governor, but he refused

the nomination. In 1889 and again in 1891 he declined to be-

come a candidate for the nomination for Governor. He was re-

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peatedly urged to become a candidate for Congress in his dis-

trict, but he declined them all, though on one occasion his nom-

ination and election were assured, had he been willing to accept.

He was Quarter Master General for four years on the staff

of Governor Foraker.

In 1896 he was elected to succeed President McKinley as

Governor of the State and was re-elected to the same office in

1898. His term of office was noteworthy for the admirable bus-

iness management of state affairs. Thoroughly trained as a bus-

iness man, accustomed to dealing with large enterprises in a

successful manner, he conducted the business of the state with

ability, economy, and unflagging industry. There was not the

slightest breath of scandal ever heard concerning his adminis-

tration. During his term of office the addition to the State House

was built.

He was responsive to all calls made upon him, giving gen-

erously of his wealth and his strength to almost every demand

made upon him. At the expiration of his second term as Gov-

ernor, he returned to his home in Springfield, a private citizen.

From this time forward he was thoroughly identified with his

home city. He was its foremost citizen, held in honor and af-

fectionate esteem by all its residents. He was a man of great

public spirit and he gave the same attention to all matters that

concerned the civic life that he gave to his own affairs. As

the head of a great manufacturing establishment, he had ac-

cumulated large wealth. When he was freed from the active

management of the company of which he had been the presi-

dent, he turned with ardor to new industries which he hoped

would be of great benefit to the city which he loved. At the

time of his death he was deeply interested in the construction of

interurban railroads which would connect Springfield with neigh-

boring towns and cities.

He was president of the First National Bank of Springfield.

He gave generously to every enterprise, public or private, that

appealed to him. He was a communicant and vestryman of Christ

Church (Protestant Episcopal). He was a member of the Ma-

sonic Order, of the Grand Army of the Republic, and of the

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Loyal Legion. He was also a member of the Society of Colonial

Wars and of the Sons of the Revolution.

Perhaps the two most distinguishing traits of Governor

Bushnell's character were his democratic spirit and his cheer-

ful optimism. He was the most approachable of men, simple and

cordial in all his relations. He had a warm heart and a sympa-

thetic understanding that made him treat with respect and con-

sideration every man and woman with whom he came in con-

tact. The essential dignity of humanity was no unmeaning phrase

in his creed. He was not deeply influenced by considerations of

wealth, learning or political or social influence. His courtesy

to all, regardless of their position in life, was perfect. He was

especially drawn to those who were among the vast number

under his employ. He was just and kind in all his dealings

with them and in the days of strife between labor and capital, no

serious difficulty ever arose between Governor Bushnell and his

men. As he walked the streets of Springfield, as throughout

the state he came into contact with his fellowmen, they all

recognized him gladly and received his friendly greeting.

He was a man of faith and hope. He believed in his fellow-

men. He loved his state and was proud of being a citizen of

it. There was a certain childlikeness in his nature that made him

richly enjoy life in all its aspects. He did not have in his

early life the advantages of a higher education, but he loved to

read and so acquired a considerable store of information later in

life.

His family life was of great interest and charm. In Spring-

field he built the stately house which was his home for so many

years. There he loved to dispense a kindly and gracious hospi-

tality to the many friends who sought his door. In the near

neighborhood lived his three married children, two daughters

and one son. With his grandchildren growing up about him and

with the devoted companionship of his wife, to whom he was

joined in perfect sympathy of interests, he never seemed to be

growing old.

He was a man of soldierly and handsome bearing, courte-

ous in his manner, with sparkling eyes and quick movements.

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In January of the present year he came to Columbus to at-

tend the Inauguration of Governor Herrick. At the close of the

Inaugural Exercises, he entered his carriage to return to Spring-

field, but before he reached the railroad station in Columbus,

he was stricken with apoplexy. He was removed to one of the

city hospitals, where he died four days later, surrounded by his

family, and amid the sympathy and grief of the whole city of

which he had been a beloved and honored resident for the four

years of his administration as Governor of Ohio.

The funeral took place in Springfield on Monday, January

18. It was a notable assemblage of men and women from all

parts of the state and even beyond its boundaries that gathered

in Springfield that day to show love and respect to his memory.

The state was represented by its highest officials. There were

the representatives of both the state and the national legislatures.

His comrades in the G. A. R., in the Loyal Legion, in the Ma-

sonic Order, his associates in business, his faithful workmen,

men and women of every rank and condition in society brought

together by a common affection and a common grief. It was

estimated that ten thousand people passed through the doors of

Christ Church, to look for the last time upon the motionless form

of their friend who lay cold and unresponsive, his face chiselled

in the sharp definition of death. The funeral services finished,

the body was carried through the streets of the city lined by the

thousands of reverent and grief-stricken citizens, and laid to its

final resting place in the beautiful Springfield cemetery.

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