Busey, Mathew W. (Wales)

Born: 1798-5-15 Shelby County, Kentucky

Died: 1852-12-13 Champaign County, Illinois

Flourished: Champaign County, Illinois

Busey moved with his family from Kentucky to Washington County, Indiana in 1810 where he learned the brick mason trade, eventually becoming a contractor and builder. In 1832, along with several other families from Shelby County, Kentucky, Busey purchased land from the U.S. government in newly created Champaign County, but did not relocate his family there until 1836. He, along with two others, donated the land for the county seat in 1833, establishing the town of Urbana where he would spend the remainder of his life. Busey, along with his brother Isaac, became Champaign County's largest land-holders and stock raisers, as well as operating successful contracting and building companies and a large lumber mill that sold its products as far afield as Chicago. An ardent Baptist and colonel in the Indiana and later Illinois state militias, Busey also served as county assessor, election judge and county court judge. Elected state representative from Champaign County from 1840-1844, Busey also played a large role in locating the University of Illinois' flagship campus in Urbana, as well as the passage of the Illinois Central Railroad route through Urbana. Busey served as the vice president of the second Illinois Democratic convention held in Ottawa in 1844, and as Champaign County representative to the third convention in Joliet in 1846.

Busey married Elizabeth Bush in 1821 and had 8 children.

Allison C. White, "Monuments to Their Skill: Urbana-Champaign Carpenters, Contractors and Builders, 1850-1900," Illinois Historical Journal 85 (Spring 1992): 37-46; J. O. Cunningham, "History of the 'Mattie' Busey Family," in A History of the Early Settlement of Champaign County, Ill. by J. O. Cunningham (Urbana: Champaign County Herald, 1876), 20-24; Newton Bateman and Paul Selby, eds., Historical Encyclopedia of Illinois and History of Champaign County, ed. by Joseph O. Cunningham (Chicago: Munsell, 1905), 669, 724, 757, 787-88, 884-85; John Wentworth, Congressional Reminiscences: Adams, Benton, Calhoun, Clay & Webster (Chicago: Fergus, 1882), 61, 63.