Steven Decatur Bugher ^{1 2}

   FamilySearch ID: K8NP-LJW.

  General Notes:

He was named after the famous United States navy office who won fame and glory at the Battle of Tripoli in February 16, 1804. ¹

  Noted events in his life were:

1. Book: ¹
Stephen Decatur Bugher, together with his three sisters and mother, returned to Fayette City in 1848 as a mere child. Here he grew up and went to school. His first teacher was his mother, who taught school before her marriage in the Little Redstone school district, in Washington Township, Fayette County, Pa, where she taught before her marriage. This school house was built in 1835 by her two brothers, William and Robert Farquhar, and her sister's husband, Samuel C. Griffith. This old school house still stands.

2. Book: ¹
This narrative was written by Stephen Boyd Bugher Jr. of Winston-Salem, N.C. who was born in 1925:

Stephen Decatur Bugher grew up in Fayette City, Penna. [following his father's death in Cincinnati.] Not much is known about his early years. He was drafted into the Union Army during the Civil War. He is said to never have carried a rifle and served as a scout. He literally got his hair parted by a Rebel bullet and kept his hair parted along the scar the rest of his life.

He went west with one of the railroads, working as a surveyor. I still have his instrument, and in fine working condition. While in the west he got to know Buffalo Bill and dad said that he could just barely remember the last time the Wild West Show came to Winston Salem, N.C. and Buffalo Bill came to visit his grandfather.

Stephen then came to Winston-Salem sometime after the Civil War and stayed there the remainder of his life. He married Elizabeth Ransom. He worked for the city of Salem, operating the water plant.

During these years, water was filtered in what was called a slow sand filter. When a coat of dirt built up on the filter, it was necessary to remove the top several inches of sand and dirt, was the sand, and replace it in the filter. Stephen worked to devise a way to wash the sand in place by reversing the flow of water at a high rate. He built several experimental filters and finally devised a system that seemed promising. His notebooks were purchased by Roberts Filter Mfg. Co. of Darby, Penna. Several years ago I visited them and they tried to find the books. Several older employees said they remembered them. One of the Roberts family said he would me to have them. Unfortunately, they were never found.

Among his talents, he was a trick shot artist and I have heard the story from several people that knew him that he would row out on Salem Lake and shoot fish when the would jump. I have a 22 rifle that belonged to him. He also liked to make furniture and there is a large high-backed rocker that he made, with broad flat arms and with acorns at the top of the side posts. The chair is so large because he was a large man and he made it to fit himself.

He and Aunt Betty, as his wife was called, took in a large number of children who were in need of a home for one reason or another. I talked to a lady who had lived with them as a child. I asked her if she had any idea how many there were. Her answer was always "no but there was always a table full." She said that some of these children only stayed for a short time, while others stayed for years, some with relatives that paid and some without. They all seemed to love Aunt Betty and Uncle Bugher. There was one child that they took in and made him their own. He was William R. Bugher, my grandfather.

Steven married Elizabeth Ransom in 1876.¹ (Elizabeth Ransom was born in , , NC ².)