The daughter of Joy Franks and Sampson Mears, Tabitha was the oldest of three known children. Her father and uncle, German-born merchants, were involved in the Caribbean trade, traveling frequently between Jamaica, London, and the American colonies. Tabitha’s sister, Grace, was born in Spanish Town, Jamaica and her brother, Judah, in London. Tabitha’s birthplace remains unknown, however, by 1753 she had married Prague-born Matthias Bush and was living in Philadelphia. The couple had fourteen children, including Elkali and Solomon, who, as a lieutenant colonel, achieved the highest rank of any Jew serving in the Continental Army. According to a letter of commendation from the Supreme Executive Council of Pennsylvanian 1779:

…it appears that Major Bush has, on many occasions, distinguished himself in the public service, especially in the winter of 1776, when the service was critical and hazardous… in the month of September, 1777, acting as Deputy Adjutant General, he was dangerously wounded in a skirmish between the militia and the advance of the British Army, his thigh being broken and he brought off with great difficulty; that being carried to his father’s house, on Chestnut Hill, and incapable of being moved, he fell into the hands of the British Army, when it moved up to Whitemarsh, Pennsylvania in December, 1777 and was imprisoned. Colonel Bush was ultimately released in exchange for British prisoners held by the Continental forces.