The Case of Mistaken Identity and Murder: The Story of Jacob and Samuel Bushong

If you would visit Grand View Cemetery in Carrollton, Ohio, you will find the grave of the cemetery’s only Revolutionary War Veteran.  Underneath an impressive marble slab lies the body of a man who fought for this nation’s independence and blazed a trail into the frontier; building a solid foundation for his family and the newly formed village in which they lived. However, the name etched into the weathered marble headstone is not the name of the man buried beneath it.

Upon discovering the burial place for this Veteran of Independence, you will read will read carved into the tarnished marble: “Samuel Bushong Died 1829 Fought Under Baron Steuben in the Revolutionary War.” Not only is that the wrong name but also the wrong service record. The name of the true Revolutionary patriot is not Samuel Bushong, but his father Jacob Bushong.

In all of the early histories of Carrollton and Carroll County, the same oft-repeated mistake is made, and therefore, built upon and recognized as fact.  In the Carrollton Centennial published by the Free Press Standard it states, “Samuel Bushong – A native of Hesse Darmstadt, Germany; came to America with Baron Steuben and fought for the colonies in the Revolutionary War; he died here in 1835 and was buried in “the honors of war”; his unmarked grave is near that of Peter Bohart. He built the two story log house still standing east of Robert’s Park, in 1820.” This simple paragraph was repeated in many subsequent histories causing the truth to fall between the cracks. How and why this occurred is not clear, but it is finally time to right this wrong, and to do this all of the facts need to be looked at.  Since this is the story of two men it is only proper that both of their stories be told.

The Man of the Tavern, Who Built a Town - Peter Bohart

Peter Bohart (1777-1825)

In 1809, a German immigrant, moved from Washington County, Pennsylvania to a small cross road in the new state of Ohio.  He soon built a two story log tavern at the cross roads of the Steubenville to Canton and New Lisbon to Cadiz pikes.  In the following years he slowly acquired land and on October 4, 1815 he platted the village of Centerville, Ohio.  His name was Peter Bohart. 

Bohart’s dream of a town started with the profitability of the whiskey and distillery business in the “West.” He recognized that as a result of the proximity of the village two basic needs had to be met. First, since the nearest market was thirty miles away, over rough terrain and sometimes impassable roads, marred with dangers, a market had to be established to sell the local goods and products of the area. The second need was a tavern and lodging for the weary travelers along the pikes.  Thus with his German grit and his sense of pioneering he went to work at meeting both needs for the area.