Cull Bush Jr was one of the sixteen known enslaved people held at the Bush-Holley House. He was the youngest child, and only son, of Cull Bush Sr and Patience, who were also enslaved by the Bush family.
Unlike his five older sisters, who were sent to work in other households once they were old enough, Cull Jr grows up in the Bush household with his mother. His father, who was freed just a year after Cull Jr was born, lived nearby and was likely a continued presence in his life.
Thanks to the Gradual Emancipation Acts, Cull Jr was freed when he turned 21 years old. He built a home next to his father’s in Cos Cob, just down the street from the house where his mother is still enslaved. In freedom, he married a woman named Cordelia, and together they had nine children. The descendants of these children continued to live in the area for generations to come. Some still live locally to this day.
