Yolo County Biography
Judge Edwin Rice Bush
Judge Edwin Rice Bush of Woodland, was born in Copiah County, Mississippi, October 17, 1846, son of Dr. J. P. Bush, a pioneer of California of 1849. The latter commenced practicing his profession in San Francisco about 1851 or 1852, and so continued most of the remainder of his life, but died at Woodland, at the age of seventy-six years.
At the age of nine years the subject of this sketch removed with his brothers and sisters to Western Massachusetts to attend school, and then the subject of this sketch attended for several years Sand Lake Collegiate Institute, in New York State, situated ten miles east of Albany; he also attended school at Geneseo, Livingston County, in said State. After attending for a term the law department of the University of Michigan at Ann Arbor, he entered the office of the Hon. Scott Lord, at Geneseo, New York. Judge Lord at the time of his death was one of the most prominent attorneys in the United States, and was at one time the law partner of Hon. Roscoe Coukling, at Utica, and was elected to Congress from that Congressional district. Judge Bush remained in Judge Lord’s office about two years, and then, after studying in other offices a short time, went to the University of Virginia, at Charlottesville, Albemarle County, in said State, and graduated in the law department in June, 1869. In August, that year, he came to California and sojourned in San Francisco until the spring of 1870, when he came to Woodland, where he has since resided. Here he entered into partnership, for the purpose of practicing law, with C. S. Frost, which business relation was broken by the election of Mr. Bush to the office of County Judge. Shortly after his arrival at Woodland he was elected to the office of Public Administrator for two terms. In the fall of 1875 he was elected to the office of County Judge, as above mentioned, and assumed the duties of that office on the first day of January following, holding that position for four years. At the close of his term, under the new State constitution the county and district courts were consolidated, and named the Superior Court; and at the first election thereafter Mr. Bush was chosen the Superior Judge and served a term of five years. Since that time he has been engaged in the private practice of the law.
Politically Judge Bush is a Democrat. He has belonged to Pythian Lodge No. 43, K. of P. for several years.
The Judge was married, June 14, 1876, to Mary J. Yerby, a native of California, and they have three sons. (Page 300)
A Memorial & Biographical History of Northern California: Chicago : The Lewis Publishing Company, 1891
Transcribed by Janice Giachino, January, 2007 Pages 289-310
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