Milley was one of the sixteen known enslaved people held at the Bush-Holley House. She was the second child of Cull Bush Sr and Patience, who were also enslaved by the Bush family. We know that Milley lived in the Bush household with her family until the age of 6. We also know that she is no longer there by the age of 16. Evidence shows that after the death of David Bush, the Bush family began to send Cull and Patience’s daughters out to serve in other households once they were old enough to work independently.
Milley was willed to David’s daughter, Charlotte, after his death, and would have served her, or had the money for her labor sent to Charlotte, until she was legally freed on her 21st birthday by the Gradual Emancipation Acts. Knowing this, we are unsure where Milley was living at age 21. Charlotte had married and started her own household in Stamford a few years before Miley turned 21. Records show that a Black woman was living in the Stamford house, but we cannot know if it was Milley. No records of her in freedom have been found.
