BUSHONG, Jacob, born 28 Oct 1823 in Reamstown, Lancaster, Pennsylvania; lost his mother at the age of six; attended local schools and graduated from a private school of higher education in 1837; entered his father’s distillery business as a clerk; moved with his father’s family to Reading, Berks, Pennsylvania in 1841; opened a distillery in conjunction with his father and brother Henry; converted the distillery into a paper mill in 1865 and ran it with his brother Henry; later sold the paper mill and opened a banking house with Henry called Bushong & Bro.; enjoyed a prosperous banking business until financial difficulties forced the bank to suspend payment and close down Nov 1877; had legal problems for at least ten years following the close of the bank due to claims by depositors; built and operated the Keystone Furnace, engaged in iron manufacturing, owned the Packerack, Reading, and Tulpehocken paper mills, owned extensive lands in Spring Township, played an instrumental role in the building of the Berks County Railroad and Wilmington & Northern Railroad, owned the Reading Scale and Machine Company, and had an interest in a flour mill in Birdsboro—all in conjunction with his brother Henry; sold his interests in the paper mills in 1878 and became treasurer of the Reading Paper Mills corporation, a position he held until his death; traveled to Europe in 1873; married Anna E. Markley, his first cousin, 11 Jun 1850; widowed in 1859; married Sarah M. Markley, Anna’s younger sister, about 1862; widowed again in 1872; married Lillie Roberts about 1875; father of at least three by his first wife, one by his second, and five by his third (of whom his son Robert Grey Bushong served a term in the United States House of Representatives); member of the Select Council in Reading; served as President of the Reading Board of Water Commissioners, 1865–1867; member of Christ Cathedral, a protestant Episcopalian church in Reading; died of valvular heart disease 24 Sep 1896 in Reading; interment in Charles Evans Cemetery in Reading.