John Edward Bush (1856–1916) was the co-founder of the

Mosaic Templars of America The Mosaic Templars of America was a black fraternal order founded by John E. Bush (Mosaic Templars of America), John E. Bush and Chester W. Keatts, two former slaves, in Little Rock, Arkansas, in 1883.Davis, Ryan. "A Cultural Icon Rises From the As ...

. Bush was born a slave in

Moscow, Tennessee Moscow ( ) is a city in Fayette County, Tennessee, United States. The population was 556 at the 2010 census, up from 422 at the 2000 census. The town was named after a Cherokee Chief osgo meaning "Town between 2 rivers." North Fork and Wolf Rive ...

in 1856. Shortly after the outbreak of the

U.S. Civil War The American Civil War (April 12, 1861 – May 26, 1865; also known by other names) was a civil war in the United States. It was fought between the Union ("the North") and the Confederacy ("the South"), the latter formed by states th ...

, when large numbers of slaves were sent South to escape the advance of the

Union Army During the American Civil War, the Union Army, also known as the Federal Army and the Northern Army, referring to the United States Army, was the land force that fought to preserve the Union (American Civil War), Union of the collective U.S. st ...

, young Bush and his mother were taken to

Arkansas Arkansas ( ) is a landlocked state in the South Central United States. It is bordered by Missouri to the north, Tennessee and Mississippi to the east, Louisiana to the south, and Texas and Oklahoma to the west. Its name is from the Osage ...

. He grew up in a one-room cottage and was one of 12 children. His mother was a nurse and spent comparatively little time at home. Food was uncertain, and the children largely put to their wits to get enough. His mother struggled to give her children an education, but Bush ultimately received relatively little formal schooling. As soon as he was able to do work and until he was fifteen, he was apprenticed to a brick-maker. He learned this trade and then went to teaching school in the country districts. It was while he was a teacher there and elsewhere that he obtained most of his book knowledge. It was while he was still a teacher in the country schools that he made his first great business venture. He bought a lot for $150, promising to pay for it in installments of $10 per month. Worried that he might lose his investment if something prevented him from making the payments, Bush scrimped and saved to pay the property off in six months, when he was 19 years old. Soon after, he built a house on the property and got married. By this time he had become a teacher in the Capitol Hill School, but he lost his job immediately after he was married. He worked for a time in Hot Springs, then returned in 1884 to run for county clerk. He was unsuccessful, possibly because of

election fraud Electoral fraud, sometimes referred to as election manipulation, voter fraud or vote rigging, involves illegal interference with the process of an election, either by increasing the vote share of a favored candidate, depressing the vote share of ...

. He was compelled to go back as a school teacher into the country again. After this he was appointed railway postal clerk. He was in the mail service about ten years. At this time he began actively trading in real estate. Bush lost his position in the mail service when

Grover Cleveland Stephen Grover Cleveland (March 18, 1837June 24, 1908) was an American lawyer and politician who served as the 22nd and 24th president of the United States from 1885 to 1889 and from 1893 to 1897. Cleveland is the only president in American ...

was elected president and went back to teaching school again. At the time of his discharge he was superintendent of mails at Little Rock. After this he returned to the profession of teaching and taught for several years until under President Benjamin Harrison he was appointed Receiver of the United States General Land Office. In association with Chester W. Keatts, Bush organized a mutual benefit and benevolent organization, known as the Mosaic Templars of America. Bush was a significant landowner in the city of Little Rock and its suburbs.

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