Busam Genealogy

This web site contains information to help those interested in Busam genealogy.  Here is a list of topics:

Busam Immigrants to the United States, pre-1900
Descendents of Josef Busam (b. 1723, Nussbach (Nußbach, Baden, Germany)) (courtesy of Beverly Zanon)
Descendents of another Joseph Busam (b. perhaps around 1760, Nussbach) (courtesy of Beverly Zanon)
Family Origins
Origin of name and pronunciation
Updating Information
Book I found useful
Additional Busam Immigrant Information

Page last updated 16-Jan-2005.

Busam Immigrants to the United States, pre-1900

This page contains a list of all known Busam Immigrants to the United States before 1900.  Along with each name is the person's birth, marriage, and death information - at least as much as is known.  For families that immigrated together, only one main entry is listed.  When available, contact information to descendents) is provided.

Being interested in genealogy and as owner of the busam.com domain name, I will keep this web page current.  Hopefully, it can be a starting place for descendents of Busam immigrants who want to trace their history.  See the section on "Updating Information" for how to send me information for this page.  Because of privacy concerns, this page only lists contact information for persons that have given me permission to list them.  Finally, the information contained herein is the best I have available but may contain errors.

Busam surnamed Immigrants pre-1900 (last updated August 2, 1999)
Alexander settled: Cincinnati, OH

contact:
(known but permission to reveal not yet received)

Bernhard born: Apr 18, 1842 Nussbach, Baden, Germany
parents: Ignatz Busam (b. 1801) and Agatha Konig (b. 1816)
grandparents: Martin Busam (b. 1769) and Elizabeth Schneider
great-grandfather: Josef Busam (b. 1723)
married: Caroline Benz, date/place unknown
died: Sep 27, 1882 Chicago, IL
immigrated: Jan 31, 1868 to NY on ship Cella from Havre
settled: Chicago
other: brothers Ignatz and Stephen also immigrated

contact:
Vincent A. Busam
15754 Adams Ridge
Los Gatos, CA 95033

http://www.busam.com
family genealogy: http://www.busam.com/MyBusamAncestors/

Cecelia born: Baden-Baden, Germany
settled: Springfield, OH
other: brother Joseph Francis also immigrated

contact: (none known)

Engelbert born: Nov 8, 1832 Sulzbach, parish of Lautenbach, Baden
married: c1861 Katherine Zimmerer (b. c1842 Baden)
died: Jan 11 1886, Cincinnati, OH
immigrated: 1860
settled: Cincinnati, OH
other: parents: Johannes Busam and Katharina Borsing (information from Mike Husman)

contact: (none known)

Francesca Wilhelmina born: Dec. 18, 1884 in Baden Baden, Germany
married: Christian Joseph Mack July 10, 1910 in Chicago, Illinois
died: Oct. 15, 1971, Chicago, IL
immigrated: 1907, aboard Compagnie Generale Transatlantique from Paris to NY
other: niece to Francis Xavier Busam and Wendell Busam

contact:
Beverly Jean Mack Zanon
email: currently inactive
family genealogy from B. Zanon 

Frank born: circa 1848, Baden
married: before 1875 Margaurette (Margaret) Cline (b. KY)
settled: Louisville, KY
died: Dec. 14, 1892, Louisville, KY
other: When a son of Frank died in 1940, his obituary asked Cincinnati, OH newspapers to copy suggesting relatives there (information from Mike Husman)

contact: (none known)

Francis Xavier, Sr. born: Mar 9, 1859, Nussbach, Baden, Germany
parents: Moritz Busam and Frances Huber
married: June 16, 1888, Helena Scheurer (b. Aug 15, 1864, Nussbach, Ger, d. Oct 1954)
settled: Frankfort, KY
died: Jan. 11, 1923, Frankfort, KY
other: Michael Busam & Mary Ann Kern also had a son named Francis Xavier Busam, b. NY,NY Jun16, 1845. Uncle of Francesca Wilhelmina.

contact:
Frank (& Ellie) Busam
4970 River Rd.
Perry, OH 44081

From Brad Rogers 11/27/2004 (email: brogers146 "at" hotmail "dot" com):
Busam Family expands to the Rogers genealogy when Francis X. Busam's daughter Chlotilda Elizabeth Busam married George Rogers.  I can be a contact for the Busam-Rogers side of  the family.

Henry Busam born: July 9,1860
died: Aug. 22,1912 in Chicago
emigrated circa 1879
father: LAWRENCE
mothers maiden name: SAUER
settled: Chicago, IL

contact:
Carol Busam
email: dlfty at indy dot rr dot com

Ignatz born: Jun 14, 1847 Nussbach, Baden, Germany
married: Victoria Meyer, 1876, Chicago
died: May 2, 1912
immigrated: probably 1872
settled: Chicago
other: brothers Bernhard and Stephen also immigrated

contact:
(known but permission to reveal not yet received)

John Gregory born: Nov 1816, Baden, Germany
married: before 1840, Mary Ann Mueller (b. Baden)
immigrated: before 1840
settled: Cincinnati, OH
died: Oct 6, 1890, Cincinnati, OH
other: information from Mike Husman

contact: (none known)

John Ignatz born: Feb. 21, 1832, Oberkirch, Baden
parents: Joseph Busam and Franziska Meyer
immigrated: before 1869
married: Dec. 24, 1869, Anna Sophia Bode (b. Indiana)
died: after 1883
settled: Bartholemew, Jackson Counties, IN until 1883, after then his whereabouts is not known
other: Brothers who immigrated are Leopold and Ludwig (Louis), information from Mike Husman

contact: (none known)

Joseph born: Jul 1827, Baden
married: Jan 1855 Reading, Hamilton County, OH, Helena Huber (b. Jun 13, 1832, Hesselbach, Baden)
died: Oct 19, 1878, St. Bernard, Hamilton County, Oh
married: Helena Huber
settled: just north of Cincinnati, OH in 1854
other: When Joseph Busam's son Joseph died in 1913, his obituary asked Louisville papers to copy (usually meaning relatives are in the area).  While no relationships have yet been identified, there was a Frank Busam family living there.

contact:
Michael C. Husman
4542 Cherry Tree Ln.
Eldersburg, MD 21784

Joseph C (aka Franz Joseph) born: Nov 12, 1833/34, Baden
married: three times, 1st unknown; 2nd to Lucy Marx, probably after 1871, Ohio; 3rd to Mrs. Louise Vieth, Jan 2, 1886 in St. Louis, MO.
settled: by 1859 in OH; 1870 and 1880s in Cincinnati, OH; after 1880s in St. Louis
died: Jan 12, 1902, St. Louis, MO
other: served in Union Army during Civil War - Co. M., 5th Regt. Ohio Vol. Calvary (information from Mike Husman)

contact: (none known)

Joseph Francis born: Baden-Baden
settled: Piqua, OH

other:
(known but permission to reveal not yet received)

Joseph settled: about 1900 Brooklyn, NY, then NJ

contact:
(known but permission to reveal not yet received)

Leopold born: Nov 11, 1836 Oberkirch, Baden, Germany
parents: Joseph Busam and Franziska Meyer
immigrated: Sep 12, 1853 on ship Elvira from Havre to NY
married Jun 27, 1865 Madisonville (now part of Cincinnati), OH to Susan Herr (b. Apr 1843 Bavaria)
settled: Cincinnati, OH area
died: Dec 15, 1922, Cincinnati, OH
other: Served in Union Army during Civil War 9th Ohio Infantry, brother of John Ignatz and Ludwig (Louis)

contact:
(known but permission to reveal not yet received)

Louis (Ludwig) born: Jun 16, 1847 Oberkirch, Baden, Germany
parents: Joseph Busam and Franziska Meyer
married: Sep. 3, 1883 (prob. Cincinnati, OH) to Annie B. Beulter (b. Berne, Switzerland)
immigrated: Sep 1865 on Ship "Atal..." Havre-London-NY
settled: Cincinnati, OH
died: Jul 1, 1922 Cincinnati, OH
other: brother of Leopold and John Ignatz

contact:
N. M. "Skip" Busam
5479 Bunker Hill Rd.
Milford, OH 45150
email: nmb at fuse dot net

Michael born: 1804, Baden, Germany
married: May 6, 1828, Mary Ann Kern, (b. 1801 Baden, d. May 8, 1893)
died: NY, NY Jan 8, 1852
immigrated: Sep 1829 (naturalized Apr 9, 1844)
settled: NY
other: son William (b. Mar 28, 1929 Latinger, Alsace) immigrated with them, William died Jacksonville, FL 1895.  Son Christian killed in Civil War.

contacts:
James C. Busam
248 Mockingbird Lane
Wake Forest, NC 27587-7623

Sister Emma Cecilia Busam, OSU
Mount Saint Joseph Archives
Ursuline Sisters
Maple Mount, KY 42356-9999
email:  emma at cpc dot brescia dot edu
genealogy information from Sister Emma

Michael born: Apr 1828, Baden
married: Fredericka Buel (b. 1831 France)
immigrated: before 1853
settled: Cincinnati, OH
died: Aug 22, 1869 Cincinnati, OH
other: information from Mike Husman

contact: (none known)

Moritz F (Morris/Maurice F.) born: Jan 31, 1861, Nussbach, Baden, Germany
parents: Morris Busam and Francis Hoover (Huber)
married: Freda Zink. (b. Apr 1864 Germany)
immigrated: Filby's Germans to America, Dec 1880-Apr 1881 show a Moritz Busam, age 20
settled: listed in Franklin Co., KY in 1900 & 1920 census
died: Jan 9 1922, Franklin County, KY
other: brother of Francis Xavier Busam and Wendell Busam (information from Mike Husman and Frank Busam), (per B. Zanon) also brother of Stephen Busam (b.1860) and also a brother, Stephen, and 2 sisters that remained in Germany.

contact: (none known)

Stephen born: Apr 2 1849 Nussbach, Baden, Germany)
married: Caroline (sic Victoria) Benz, Oct 29, 1884
died: Dec 7, 1887
immigrated: probably 1879
settled: Chicago, IL
other: brother of Bernhard and Ignatz

contact:
(known but permission to reveal not yet received)

Wendell born: Oct 23, 1862, Nussbach, Baden Germany
married: before 1889, Laura E. Duffey (b. 1856)
settled: in Franklin Co., KY 1900 & 1920 census
died: Oct 31, 1925, Franklin County, KY
other: brother to Frances Xavier and Moritz (information from Mike Husman and Frank Busam) Last name also spelled Busin.  Had one son, Wendell, Jr., unmarried. Uncle of Francesca Wilhelmina.

Note from Vince Busam:  Just a couple of miles south from Nussbach is a small country chapel called St. Wendelin.  I have visited it twice since it is very beautiful.  Perhaps this is the source of the name Wendell.

Here is a list of Busam Emigrants (Auswanderers) from the Generallandesarchiv in Karlsruhe, Baden, Germany.  This list was kindly provided by Beverly Zanon.  For all these emigrants, except one noted in the table, the destination was Nordamerika.  Also, all were marked with OG between the city and the year, except for two that had RA (noted in the table).  The meaning of the OG and RA codes is not known to me.  I have seen microfilm of a couple of handwritten Auswanderer lists from the Karlsruhe archives (some of which are below on this page) and unfortunately they don't give any information beyond that contained in the following table.  (Following table added 8-Feb-2004)

Emigrant #NameOriginYear
115770Busam, JosefButschbach, Stadt Oberkirch1868
154767Busam, JohannHaslach i.K. (?)1853
160884Busam, AntonHerztal, Nußbach, Stadt Oberkirch1869
160885Busam, BernhardHerztal, Nußbach, Stadt Oberkirch1867 (Vince's ancestor)
160886Busam, BernhardHerztal, Nußbach, Stadt Oberkirch1870
160887Busam, IgnatzHerztal, Nußbach, Stadt Oberkirch1872 (Vince's ancestor's brother)
160888Busam, LorenzHerztal, Nußbach, Stadt Oberkirch1854
160889Busam, StefanHerztal, Nußbach, Stadt Oberkirch1879 (Vince's ancestor's brother)
160928Busam, BernhardHerztal, Nußbach, Stadt Oberkirch1867
160929Busam, IgnazHerztal, Nußbach, Stadt Oberkirch1872
160947Busam, HeleneHesselbach, Butschbach, Stadt Oberkirch1875
197545Busam, EngelbertLautenbach1860
197546Busam, JosefLautenbach1854
203398Busam, StefanMaisenbühl, Bottenau, Stadt Oberkirch1879
226838Busam, Franz XaverNußbach, Stadt Oberkirch1880
226839Busam, HeinrichNußbach, Stadt Oberkirch1880
226840Busam, MoritzNußbach, Stadt Oberkirch1881
226980Busam, Franz XaverNußbach, Stadt Oberkirch1879
226981Busam, HeinrichNußbach, Stadt Oberkirch1879
226982Busam, MoritzNußbach, Stadt Oberkirch1881
231054Busam, FranzOberkirch1883
231055Busam, Franz JosefOberkirch1882
231056Busam, IgnatzOberkirch1853
231057Busam, KatharinaOberkirch1905 to Frankreich
231058Busam, LeopoldOberkirch1853
231059Busam, LudwigOberkirch1865
238325Busam, AntonOppenau1851
238326Busam, LeopoldOppenau1891
238444Busam, LeopoldOppenau1891
243281Busam, BernhardRammersweier, Stadt Offenburg1856
243282Busam, JosefRammersweier, Stadt Offenburg1876
243283Busam, MichaelRammersweier, Stadt Offenburg1855
281863Busam, Christian Ulm, Stadt Lichtenau, RA1880
281864Busam, JosefUlm, Stadt Lichtenau, RA1854
282350Busam, Franz JosefUlm, Stadt Renchen1873
286370Busam, AntonUrloffen, Gde. Appenweier1872
286801Busam, AntonUrloffen, Gde. Appenweier1872
304033Busam, BernhardZusenhofen, Stadt Oberkirch1864
304034Busam, JosefZusenhofen, Stadt Oberkirch1872
304035Busam, SebastianZusenhofen, Stadt Oberkirch1854
304036Busam, XaverZusenhofen, Stadt Oberkirch1865
304037Busam, XaverZusenhofen, Stadt Oberkirch1851
304160Busam, JosefZusenhofen, Stadt Oberkirch1872

Family Origins

The area around Oberkirch, Baden, Germany is loaded with Busams.  See my notes on my trips to the Oberkirch area to find my ancestor's origin (http://www.busam.com/MyBusamAncestors).  There are also a number of Busams from Baden-Baden which is just a little north of the Oberkirch area.  By the way, Oberkirch is just across the Rhine river from Strassbourg, France.  There are reports of Busams having emigrated from the Alsace area of France, but the reports I have are only from verbal history and I haven't heard of any records substantiating these reports.

An April 2002 report from another researcher says "You bet there are Busam's in the Offenburg area!!!  I have been going through the church records for Weingarten Cath. Church, and the Busam's were there for at least two hundred years, living in Rammersweier, Zell, Weierbach, and Fessenbach.  It is a real drag going through those church records because of the German script and the use of Latin, but you sorta get used to it."


Origin of name and pronunciation

When I was visiting my great-grandfather's birthplace and family home (still in the Busam family), I asked Anton Busam, the keeper of the family tree, the origin of the name Busam.  He said it was an ancient name and didn't know its origin.  I told him that several people had suggested to me that it might be French in origin but he dismissed that idea.  In Nussbach, they pronounce the name very much like boo-zam.  My family (and several others who have written me) pronounce it bosom.

In September 1998, I received an email:  "My name is Mathias Busam and I am from Germany. ...  And we of course pronounce it the same way like they do [refer to Nussbach pronunciation, above].   We Busams from Zell-Weierbach did research a lot as well but we found out the origin name came from SOUTH TIROL in the 16th century, nowadays a part of Italy, we found this in old catholic church books, at least that's what I have heard years ago while talking to a cousin who did the family research. I don't think we Busams have French roots, really."

Click here to see a map of the Oberkirch/Nussbach area (113kb).

Click here to see some pictures from Oberkirch (78kb).

Updating Information

Please mail or (if possible) email updated information to:

Vincent A. Busam
15754 Adams Ridge
Los Gatos, CA 95033

email:

Please try to put your information in the same format as seen in the above table (check especially the entry for Bernhard Busam), it will save me time updating the table, especially if I can just cut-and-paste from an email.  Please provide me with your contact information, including your email address and web page, if you have one.

I will not put your contact information on the web if you ask me not to. If you don't want your name on the web as a contact, please additionally let me know if you don't want me to give your name out to individuals that make specific requests about your ancestor or his family.  I will respect your privacy.

I will also put information you send me (with your permission) on the web, if it is in computer readable format, e.g. an email attachment or PC diskette.  (If you can put it in HTML page format, it will make things much easier for me.)  I will link it off your ancestor's information above, as I did for my information.  This will be a great way for genealogical information about Busam Immigrants and their decendents to be readily available to researchers.

Book I found useful

If I can you can-decipher Germanic Records by Edna M. Bentz
84 pages...8 1/2 x 11..spiral bound. Contains samples of German and Danish   script...with many examples of how it is actually written. Many examples of words as they appear in church records. A glossary of illnesses, occupations. A timeline with space to enter your ancestors. $16.50 plus 3.50 pstge & pkg. Add 1.28 sales tax if you are in California.
Edna M. Bentz
13139 Old West Avenue
San Diego, CA 92129-2406
619-484-1708

(Vince's note:  I ran across this book years ago and ordered a copy for myself.   I liked it so much I also bought a couple of other copies for good friends.   If you have access to someone who can read and translate old German records, you might not find this book of much help.  But if you have copies of old German records and are having trouble reading them, the information in this book might be just what you need.  It has pages of samples of various ways the letters of the alphabet were written.  It also has sections of words that are useful to know, such as relationship names, terminology and symbols, common abbreviations, etc.

Here is the name "Ignatz Busam" from the Nussbach church book for an 1841 baptism.  Can you decipher this to be Ignatz Busam?  IgnatzBusamName.gif (1989 bytes))

Additional Busam Immigrant Information

From Mike Husman’s genealogy researcher in Karlsruhe:

Busam emigration cases on file:

Joseph Busam, soldier, sneaked off in 1854, probably to America.
Johann Busam, unmarried, sneaked off in 1853.
Johann Busam has emigrated to America before 1853.
Ziriak Busam did not appear to the army in 1815.
Franz Busam, innkeeper, sneaked off to America in 1847.
Joseph Busam, day-labourer, and his family emigrate to North America in 1831.
Anton Busam emigrates to North America in 1852.
Bernhard Busam soldier, is absent in 1846 and 1854.
Franz Michael Busam, b. in 1827, absent soldier in 1849.
Joseph Busam deserted in 1854.
Sales Busam, b. in 1824, absent soldier in 1849.
Mathias Busam, b. in 1824, absend soldier in 1849.
Michael Busam and family emigrate to America in 1854.

Vince Busam’s research from Morman Church Family History Library microfilm:

Auswanderer Index (Emmigrant Index)

FHL Microfilm 1180095 (end of film)

This microfilm contains a typewritten list of names of people that left Germany in the 1800s. I believe these are all legal emmigrants. I didn’t read every entry, but I think I got most of the Busams. The numbers seem to represent the year. "vor" means before. Numbers in parenthesis may be the number of emmigrants. The town names are in italic. Here goes:

page 8 on -

Herzthal* Busam, Bernh vor 70; Busam, Ant (4) vor 69
Hesselbach b/Oberkirch* Busam-Huber, Hel vor 75
Rammersweier Busam, Jos vor 76
Ulm b/Oberkirch* Busam, Franz Jos vor 73

page 118 on -

Butschbach Busam, Jaj 68
Haslach Busam, Joh 53
Herztal* Busam, Bernh 67; Jg 72; Lor (2)54; Stef 79
Lautenbach* Busam, Engelb 60 (could be 50), Jos 54
Oberkirch* Busam, Franz 63, Jg, Leop 53; Ludw 65
                               (one set of notes also shows the following two names, another doesn’t)
                               Christ Jg Leop 49; Luwd 54
Oppenau Busam, Ant 51; leop 91
Ulm b/Oberkirch* Busam, Jos 54
Zusenhofen* Busam, Bernh(?) 64, Jos 72, Seb 54, H. ? (7)65, H (11)51

On an index card earlier on the microfilm was

Urloffen* Busam, Anton 1872

(Sorry if this is cryptic, but I tried to copy it as best I could read it. The microfilm was quite dark. All of the towns whose name I recognize are in the Oberkirch area - I have marked them with an asterisk. Also, some names appear to be duplicated between the two different lists.)

Extracts from Filby’s Series of Books "Germans to America" about the Busam family (from Mike Husman)

22 Jan 1866 Ship "Atalanta" fm Bremen to NY:
     BUSAM, Wilh 28 Shoemaker Baden
          Franziska 58
          Marianne 30
          Theresa 22
          Franziska 20
          Franz 15
          Juliane 4
          Franziska .09

25 Apr 1872 Ship "Helvetia" Havre to London to NY
     BUSAM, Anton 24 laborer Baden

12 Aug 1864 Ship "Frothingham" Havre to NY
     BUSAM, Anton 24 laborer Baden

24 Jan 1857 Ship "Wurtenburg" Havre to N. Orleans
     BUSAM, Bernard 45
          Johann 44
          Sophie 15
          George 14
          Monica 8
          Helena 6

12 Sep 1853 Ship "Elvira Owen" Havre to NY
     BUSAM, Leopold 16 Baden

.. Sep 1865 Ship "Atal…" Havre-London-NY
     BUSAM, Ludwig 18 farmer Baden

15 Aug 1854 Ship "Admiral" Havre to NY
     BUSAM, Joesph 27 farmer Baden
          Cecile 20 Baden

And I (Vince) found my great-grandfather:

31 Jan 1868 Ship "Cella" Havre and London to NY
     BUSSAM, Bernard 25 Farmer Baden (destination New York)
     (His name is Bernhard Busam, the age is correct and from Auswander records he left in 1867, so I am confident this is him.)