Van Sickle Cemetery, Farmington

Syvilla (Younkin) Rush, also known as "Civilla," "Savilla" and "Sevilla," was born in 1821 near Kingwood, Turkeyfoot Township, Somerset County, PA, the daughter of "Yankee John" and Nancy (Hartzell) Younkin. Her husband, brother, brother-in-law, son and son-in-law all served in the Civil War. Her husband's Civil War grave marker is seen here.

Syvilla was the second wife of John K. Rush Sr. (1810-1889), son of William and Sarah (Kilpatrick) Rush. The Rushes were considered pioneer settlers of Somerset County, having migrated from New Jersey. John's uncle Jacob Rush Sr. is said to been a soldier in the Revolutionary War, and John's father settled in Turkeyfoot Township circa 1770 and helped to found the Jersey Baptist Church in about 1775. Their marriage was one of many between the Younkins and Rushes of southwestern Pennsylvania.

The couple was wed in about 1840, when she was 19 and he 30, with an age difference of 11 years between bride and groom. 

 

They went on to produce these 11 known children -- Candace "Candy" Minerd, Alexander Rush, James "Austin" Rush, Patrick Rush, Sarah J. Rush, Mary Frances Brougher, Margery Victoria Williams, Alice Matlick, Sarah "Cecilia" Haines, Lavina Richey and Martha Rush. 

John held an account at the John McMillan tannery in Listonville, and entries from the years 1844 to 1847 are recorded in the tannery's business ledger which is preserved today. The entries read as follow:

315 feet half price boards pr. J. Younkin at 50 cents, cost $1.57, 96 feet inch oak, cost 96 cents and 72 feet of lath at 24 cents, May 8, 1844 – a letter, cost 25 cents and boards for slay box, cost 25 cents, Aug. 11, 1845 – 6-6¼ crocks, cost 37½ cents, 1846 – ½ a bushel flaxceed, cost 50 cents, May 1, 1847.

Many years later, in November 1975, the names of Syvilla, John and Sarah Pinkerton were published in an article, headlined "The Family of Jacob Rush," in the Laurel Messenger newsletter of the Historical and Genealogical Society of Somerset County. In 2013, this webpage was created, and the following Memorial Day, John's grave was photographed by the founder of this website. Then on July 25, 2015, his grave was honored with a memorial wreath-laying during the annual Junghen/Younkin Reunion weekend.

Small Van Sickle Cemetery near Farmington, PA, where John's grave is tucked into the back corner, as photographed May 2014. Below: Younkin Reunion attendees place a wreath and pay respects at the grave, July 2015.

 

~ Son Alexander Rush ~

Son Alexander "Alex" Rush (1844-1917) was born on March 2 (or 3), 1844 in Somerset County, PA.

Alexander stood five feet, seven inches tall, and as an adult weighed 162 pounds. He had a light complexion, dark hair and grey eyes. A federal government official once wrote that he "is an honorable man and stands high in the community where he resides and has resided all his life..."

He married neighbor Mary Martha Workman (1842-1924) on July 14 (or Aug. 14), 1860, when he was age 18 and she 17. Father Quinn performed the nuptials near Farmington. Mary later recalled that "there was no one at my wedding that I know of and there was no church or Public Record kept at that time of marriages."

They had four known sons -- Jacob Ignatius Rush, John K. Rush II, Charles F. Rush and Simeon A. Rush -- and are thought to have raised much younger orphaned half-brothers, William Rush and Walter David Rush.

Sadly, son Jacob, who was born on May 10, 1861, did not survive childhood. As he neared his fourth birthday, the boy died on April 11, 1865. His passing was noted in the Uniontown Genius of Liberty, with this poem, adapted from an Irish melody originally penned by Thomas Moore:

He served in the Civil War as a member of the 14th Pennsylvania Cavalry, Company E, traveling to Pittsburgh to enlisting on June 12, 1864. While stationed at Winchester, VA in the winter of 1864, he claimed to have contracted hemorrhoids and rheumatism. He was discharged May 30, 1865 at Alexandria, VA.

Alexander jointly owned land with brother in law James Minerd Jr. near Farmington circa 1868. He purchased the farm outright in 1872, following the death of his sister Candace (Minerd’s wife). Neighbors Simon P. Hager and Ezra Thomas, who resided a half mile from Alexander's farm, often worked with him on their respective farms.

Circa 1880, when the census was taken, they lived on a farm in Wharton Township, Fayette County. When Alexander's step-mother Mary Rush died in 1884, he and his wife Mary took in his two much-younger half brothers to raise. When the young brothers were brought into their home, their names and birth dates were hand-written in the family Bible (printed by the Historical Publishing Company, 1884).

In December 1889, Alexander's elderly father resided in their home and died while there.

The 1890 special census of Civil War veterans shows him in Farmington and that he suffered from "piles" (hemorrhoids). He often complained to his friends of "rheumatism" and that he could not raise his arm above his head. He also groused about heart problems and shortness of breath. In about 1890, as a war veteran, he was granted a federal pension of $8 per month as compensation for his ailments. An examining physician noted that at age 62, Alexander "could not raise his arms above head or life anything above belt line; that at times he has no power in hands to hold a fork or anything; that the hand muscles give out completely; that the muscles of the back and legs are similarly affected."

In July 1895, Alexander's barn, partially filled with grain, was "blown down" when "a destructive wind and rain storm visited the southern end of the county... carrying destruction to crops and buildings," reported the Connellsville Courier. "It was most severe at Farmington, where a regular hurricane prevailed for over and hour." He dislocated his shoulder in December 1902, adding to his physical disabilities.

The 1910 federal census shows Alexander and Mary living next door to their married son Walter in Wharton Township. 

Alexander died at the age of 72, at home near Farmington, on Sept. 25, 1917. The cause was heart valve disease in addition to hardening of the arteries. The Connellsville Weekly Courier noted that he "was born and reared on the farm where he died" and that he "was a veteran of the Civil War." His remains were placed at rest in the Smithenberger ("Smithburger") Cemetery, believed to be today's Good Hope Lutheran Cemetery.

As a widow, Mary began to receive her late husband's pension payments. Lifelong friends Cecilia Smithberger and Elizabeth Workman provided support by signing an affidavit attesting to her knowledge that Mary had been lawfully married to the soldier.

But as her mental capabilities began to decline, she was unable to endorse the checks. At the time, noted her lawyer J.G. Carroll, "She lives in the country about 15 miles from Uniontown, has no safe or even trunk in which to keep papers, and all drawers, books, etc., have been searched. There has been no fire in the home." Her attorney made two trips to her home in a fruitless effort to find her pension certificate which otherwise would have eased the paperwork burden in dealing with the bureaucracy of the U.S. Bureau of Pensions.

Her children were in disagreement over how her affairs were to be handled. Some wanted a guardian appointed for her, while others did not. By 1924, the National Bank of Fayette County in Uniontown was named as her official guardian to manage her finances. 

She died on Easter morning, April 20, 1924, at the age of 82. After her death, her attorney continued to correspond with the pension commissioner, demanding back pay to cover costs of her funeral and burial, since her checks had still not been cashed. "What right do you have to take advantage of your own delay to avoid payment of this just claim?", he wrote.

Son John K. Rush II (1863-1905) was born on Aug. 12, 1863. He pursued higher education and "graduated from the State Normal school at Indiana, Pa., also of Poughkeepsie Business College, N.Y., and was engaged in teaching for several years in Wharton township," said the Uniontown Daily News Standard. He later "was employed as a writer for the Gresham Publishing company for about 12 years, working for it in Fayette county and later in New York and Ohio. He went to East Liverpool eight years ago and became secretary of the Globe Pottery company." On Nov. 21, 1895, at the age of 32, John married Sarah Katherine Lawrence of Salem, OH. The nuptials were held in Columbiana County, OH, officiated by Rev. B.F. Boyle. The Rushes had three sons -- Lawrence A. Rush, George B. Rush and Robert B. Rush. They were members of the Presbyterian Church in East Liverpool, and circa 1903 John was elected secretary of the East End China Company, later known as the Trenle China Co. The company, with three kilns, was incorporated with $50,000 in capital stock, and other officers included F.B. Lawrence, president G.A. and Edna Trenle and H.E. Murphy In May 1905, an article in the trade magazine Glass and Pottery World noted that "Mr. J.K. Rush, of the East End Pottery, who has been ill since January 1st, is not yet able to visit his plant." Sadly, he died at age 42 in East Liverpool. The funeral is believed to have been held there, officiated by Rev. E.M. McMinn, with pallbearers including R.T. Hall, Gus Treale, Harry Murphy, Harry Horwell, Thomas Milligan and George West. A lengthy obituary was published in the Daily News Standard. Now widowed with three sons under the age of nine, Sarah obtained employment as U.S. postmistress at Newell, Hancock County, WV, with her niece Mary assisting in the work. When the federal census was taken in 1910, she headed a household which included her three sons as well as sister Stella Lawrence (age 35) and niece Mary Lawrence (20). By 1930, Sarah had moved into the private sector and worked as an insurance agent in Newell. John was mentioned in the 1913 periodical, The Pottery & Glass Salesman, produced by the O'Gorman Publishing Company.

• Grandson Lawrence Alexander Rush (1897- ? ) was born in East Liverpool. He married Virginia Lavinia Moore (1900- ? ) on Oct. 17, 1921 in Hancock County. A native of Wetzel County, WV, she lived at Newell at the time of marriage. Rev. Bert R. Johnson of the Disciples of Christ Church officiated. They had at least three children -- Lawrence Rush, Catherine Rush and Jack Rush. Circa 1930, they dwelled with Lawrence's mother on Sixth Street in Newell. There, Lawrence made a living as manager of a general store. By 1940, he owned a grocery in Newell, and their daughter Catherine earned income working in the office of a local pottery. Their household in 1940 included 60-year-old aunt Catherine Moore and 28-year-old housekeeper Martha Smith.

• Grandson George B. Rush (1899- ? ) was born in Ohio.

• Grandson Robert B. Rush (1904- ? ) was born in East Liverpool. On Aug. 5, 1927, at age 23, he wed 22-year-old Louise Thompson (1905- ? ) of East Liverpool. The ceremony took place at Wheeling, Ohio County, WV, led by Rev. Charles H. Robinson of the United Presbyterian Church of Wheeling. They had at least two daughters, Judith Rush and Nancy Rush. In 1930, they made their home in Wheeling's Camp Hill Apartments, where Robert was an insurance underwriter. They remained in Wheeling until at least 1935, after which time they relocated to Massachusetts, settling in Longmeadow, Hampden County. There, circa 1940, Robert was employed in the office of a casualty insurance firm.

Son Charles Franklin Rush (1866-1935) was born on Feb. 24, 1866 in Farmington. In 1889, at the age of 23, he attended the funeral of his grandfather John K. Rush. He was a farmer as a young man, and married Odessa Milbert Hager (1871-1940), daughter of Samuel and Nancy M. (Carroll) Hager, all of Farmington. The marriage took place on Oct. 5, 1893, at 77 Mt. Vernon Avenue in Uniontown, when Charles was age 27 and Odessa 22. They had five children -- Edith Rishel, Margaret Spaw, Harold Rush, Samuel Rush and Charles Rush. Circa 1905, when named in the obituary of his brother John, Charles and family made their residence in Gibbon Glade. The family later resided at 90 Walnut Street in Uniontown. Charles was employed for many years as a caretaker at the White Swan Hotel, a prominent local landmark. Odessa "was a devout member of the Church of the Brethren and highly esteemed by a wide circle of friends and acquaintances," said a newspaper. Charles died "of a complication of diseases" at home at the age of 65 on June 4, 1931, reported the Uniontown Morning Herald. A short funeral service, led by Rev. C.C. Sollenberger, was held in the Rush home, followed by a longer one at the Bethel Church in Wharton Township. He was interred in the church cemetery.  Odessa outlived Charles by nine years. She went to live with her married daughter, Edith Rishel, on East National Pike (U.S. Route 40, the National Turnpike). An obituary in the Morning Herald said she was a "member of a prominent Fayette county family...." At the time of her passing, son Harold lived in Tucson, AZ; Harold in Uniontown; Charles in Detroit; and daughters Edith and Margaret in Uniontown.

Son Simeon A. Rush (1868- ? ) was born on March 28, 1868 near Farmington, Fayette County. By 1905, he had migrated to New York. At some point he moved to Brooklyn, Kings County, NY, where he worked in publishing with the American Historical Society. Circa 1918, he made his residence at 45 Jefferson Avenue in Brooklyn, and in 1920, he boarded in the home of Grace Newell on Lefferts Place. He was alive in 1931 and that year was named in his brother Walter's Uniontown Morning Herald obituary. As he monitored his mother's mental decline in about 1917-1918, and her inability endorse checks, he wrote an angry letter on American Historical Society stationery to the U.S. Bureau of Pensions in Washington, DC: 

As no payment on this pension has been made since August, 1917, I beg to be advised the cause of such delay. If due to the rebel administration we now have in Washington, or the strongly Germanized personell of the pension department as I have been informed, if for either or for other reasons I want to know why this damnable delay. Has the pension department become poisoned by the same damnable demoralization of inefficiency that seems to characterize every other branch of the Government service. As there can be absolutely no excuse for such delay I would like to know what sort of an explanation you can make. Such negligence in a department is contemptible to say the least. Unless I get the attention of the department on this claim without delay, I propose to find out where the trouble lies.

In a sharp rebuke -- as the nation plunged into World War I -- the pension commissioner wrote back to Simeon, enclosing "a report which may give you some idea of the magnitude of the work of this bureau. It is submitted that if you take the pains to acquaint yourself with the facts you must admit that your execration of the public service in this hour of stress is both wanton and unpatriotic." His whereabouts after 1931 are unknown.

~ Son James "Austin" Rush ~

He wed Lucinda Glass (1854-1943), a native of West Virginia whose father John Glass was an immigrant from Germany. Their nuptials took place in about 1873, when he was age 28 and she 19. 

They were the parents of seven known children -- William E. Rush, Alexander "Alec" Rush, Chauncey P. Rush, Ira Rush, Franklin "Frank" Rush, Benjamin Harrison Rush and James "Edward" Rush. 

Son William E. Rush (1874-1935) was born in December 1874. In 1900, he made a living in Pittsburgh as a carpenter. William was married to Lillian ( ? - ? ). He earned a living as a carpenter with the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad. The couple made a home in the mid-1930s at 230 Glen Caladh Street in the Hazelwood section of Pittsburgh. Burdened for two decades with diabetes and Raynaud's Disease -- numbness of the fingers and toes -- he developed gangrene. Death carried him away at the age of 61 on June 24, 1935. His remains were interred in Homestead Cemetery.

Son Alexander "Alec" Rush (1876-1956) was born on July 23, 1876, the month of our nation's centennial. He was a longtime house painter and contractor in Pittsburgh, but never married. In 1920, unmarried at age 44, he dwelled with his parents at 89 Flowers Avenue. He remained at this address for the balance of his years. In 1954, he was named in the Pittsburgh Press obituary of his brother Ira. For the final 13 months of his life, Alexander was a patient at Mayview State Hospital in South Fayette Township, Allegheny County. Burdened with heart disease, he suffered a heart attack at the age of 80 and died in Mayview on March 25, 1956. His remains were lowered into eternal repose in Homestead, Allegheny County.

Son Chauncey P. Rush (1878-1915) was born on Jan. 21, 1878. His birth was recorded in the family bible. Circa 1905, he married Lillian M. ( ? - ? ), a West Virginia native. The couple bore four known children -- Warren Wendel Rush, Paul Gilbert Rush, Virginia Martha Rush and Virgil A. Rush. Almost immediately, the Rushes relocated across the state line into West Virginia, establishing a residence in Clarksburg, Harrison County, WV. They moved into what the Clarksburg Daily Telegram called "their beautiful new home" on Rush Street in March 1912 and invited friends for a celebratory turkey dinner. Among the attendees were Mr. and Mrs. Isaac Kelly who provided music and singing. Chauncey was a member of the Knights of Pythias lodge. Then in 1915 their address was 99 Denham Street. Chauncey made a living as secretary-treasurer of the Clarksburg Transfer and Storage Company. As fate would have it, he was accepted for membership in the Modern Woodmen of America but never lived long enough to formally join. Tragedy descended upon the family when, one day in the spring of 1915, he and several employees were in the company's car barn on West Pike Street, moving tanks of gasoline from a wagon to inside the building. Without warning, one of the tanks exploded. Chauncey and driver Roscoe Hickman were badly burned, as were Glen E. Barrick, Pearl Davisson and Frank Jones. Chauncey's injuries included burns of the face, chest and arms, and the Fairmont West Virginian opined that he "may die." He was rushed to St. Mary's Hospital, where he in fact succumbed died two days later on April 11, 1915. Hickman joined him in death a few weeks later. The incident generated headlines in the Daily Telegram and a short story in the Pittsburgh Daily Post. Reported the Daily Telegram, "Mr. Rush was not a member of [the Woodmen], but would have been within a few hours after his fatal accident had it not occurred. He had been accepted for membership and for a life insurance policy of $3,000. This policy, unfortunately for his family, had not become valid." The widowed Lillian was left with four mouths to feed, ranging in age from nine years to infancy. She continued to live in their home as of 1919.

• Grandson Warren Wendel Rush (1906-1962) was born on June 24, 1906 in Clarksburg, Harrison County.

• Grandson Paul Gilbert Rush (1907-1989) was born on Feb. 1, 1907 in West Virginia.

• Granddaughter Virginia Martha Rush (1911-1972) was born in 1911.

• Grandson Virgil A. Rush (1911-1963) was born in 1911.

Son Ira Rush Sr. (1880-1954) was born on Feb. 4, 1880 in Farmington, Fayette County. Within two months of his birth, the family relocated to Hazelwood near Pittsburgh. In about 1900, he was joined in wedlock with Mary Bolitho (1881-1927), a Welsh immigrant who was the daughter of Thomas and Jane (Knight) Bolitho. Mary Jane had come to America in 1890 at the age of nine. Her maiden name also has been spelled "Blytho" - "Dolitho" - and "Volitho" over the years. The couple made their home on Blair Street in Pittsburgh in 1910, and Ira was employed as a railroad engineer by the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad in Hazelwood. They bore these known children -- Clarence Rush, Elmer Rush, Ruth Haug and Ira Rush Jr. Grief cascaded over the family when Mary Jane was stricken with cervical cancer. She suffered for about a year and died at home on May 9, 1927, at the age of 46. Funeral services were held at their home on 114 Glen Caladh Street. Interment was in South Side Cemetery, and a death notice appeared in the Pittsburgh Press. Ira outlived his wife by many years. Circa 1930, he dwelled in the home of his married daughter Ruth Haug and her husband Leroy. Within another year or two, he shared living space with his uncle Walter David Rush who was married to Mary Jane's sister Eva. When his uncle died, Ira then became quite fond of the widow.

On Sept. 16, 1935, while in  Wellsburg, WV, the 55-year-old Ira and 50-year-old Eva tied the knot. The nuptials were led by Christian Church pastor Rev. H.L. Wiggins. In reporting on this unusual story, the Pittsburgh Press said that "The rather complex difficulty of being one's cousin-in-law's sister-in-law's husband is being solved by Ira Rush, Hazelwood railroad enginess [sic], who made a triple threat of Mrs. Eva Rush in Wellsburg, W.Va., recently. The Rushes, who live at 5234 Gertrude St., started off their complicated kinship when Mrs. Rush's sister, Mary, married Ira, and swung into perplexity when Mrs. Rush herself married Ira's cousin, Walter. The two couples shared a double home in Hazelwood until death split them, first the one, then the other. Uncle Ira helped care for Mrs. Eva's three children and Aunt Eva mothered his quartet, and pretty soon affection intervened in a third stage." Ira was a longtime engineer with the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad. Circa 1942, they lived at 423 Flowers Avenue. In his later years, he relocated to Arcade, near Buffalo, NY. He died suddenly in Arcade at the age of 74 on July 18, 1954. His remains were returned to Pittsburgh for funeral services held in Hazelwood, with an obituary appearing in the Pittsburgh Press. Interment of the remains was in Jefferson Memorial Park. Eva outlived Ira by a baker's dozen years. During that period of time, she moved in with her married daughter Helen Shaw at 28-A Hawkins Village in Rankin, near Pittsburgh. When she contracted cancerous tumors in her colon, she was hospitalized in Homestead, and died there on July 1, 1967. A death notice in the Press said she was "wife of the late Ira Rush" and mother of Helen Shaw, Mildred Norris and stepmother of Ruth Haug. She was survived by a dozen grandchildren and 20 great-grandchildren. Burial was in Jefferson Memorial Park.

• Grandson Clarence W. Rush (1900-1943) was born on March 12, 1900 in Pittsburgh. He married Nellie Delahanty ( ? - ? ). They resided in Pittsburgh, where Clarence earned a living as an inspector with the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad. Stricken with a coronary occlusion, Clarence died on Nov. 14, 1943 at the age of 43. He was interred in Jefferson Memorial Park

• Grandson Elmer Rush (1902-1937) was born in about 1902. In June 1925, when he would have been age 23, he wedded Gladys Irene O'Donnell (1904- ? ), daughter of L.E. O'Donnell of Caladh Street, Hazelwood. The nuptials were held in the Hazelwood Christian Church. A story about the wedding in the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reported that Rev. W.M. Long, of the Charleroi Christian Church, and Rev. George Massey of the Hazelwood church, were co-officiants. "A gown of white georgette and a tulle veil were worn by the bride, who carried Killarney roses and lilies of the valley," said the Post-Gazette. "The maid of honor, Miss Ruth Rush, appeared in peach colored georgette and carried Ophelia roses.... The mother of the bride wore a steel-beaded grey Canton crepe gown and the mother of the bridegroom appeared in beaded navy blue georgette." The pair went on to produce at least two children, Elmer L. Rush and Frances L. Rush. Federal census records for 1930 show that Elmer worked as a fireman for a railroad. But in 1937, he was an inmate in the Allegheny County Jail and, suffering from "delirium tremens," died there on April 3, 1937, at the age of 35. Burial was in Homewood Cemetery. A brief death notice was printed in the Pittsburgh Press, stating that he was age 34 years.

Great-grandson Elmer L. Rush (1926- ? ) was born in about 1926.

Great-granddaughter Frances L. Rush (1928- ? ) was born in about 1928.

• Granddaughter Ruth Rush (1906- ? ) was born in about 1906. She married Leroy Haug ( ? - ? ). They were the parents of Betty Haug. Leroy was employed as a bank auditor in 1930, a position especially important in an era of widespread bank failures during the early years of the Great Depression. The federal census enumeration of 1930 shows Ruth and Leroy in Pittsburgh, on Tecumseh Street, next door to her brother Elmer and family. At that time, Ruth's widowed father lived under their roof. Ruth is known to have dwelled in Hazelwood in 1942.

Great-granddaughter Betty Haug (1925- ? ) was born in about 1925 in Pittsburgh.

• Grandson Ira Rush Jr. (1912-1942) was born on Jan. 12, 1912. At the age of 18, in 1930, he made his home with his double-aunt, widow Eva (Bolitho) Rush, on Lytle Street in the Hazelwood section of Pittsburgh. Ira once was referred to by the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette as an "all-around amateur athlete" of Hazelwood. Among other sports, he is known to have played softball for the S.A. O'Toole Club in 1934 -- the Hunzeker Radiators in 1935 -- the Mornnigside team in 1936 -- and the Young Men's Civic Club of the Hazelwood Community League in 1939. During the 1940 season, he joined the Ancient Order of Hibernians team of the Hazelwood league, playing second base and managed by William "Hump" Reagan. Ira was cited in the Pittsburgh Sun-Telegraph in 1934 for "fielding brilliantly at shortstop." In 1935, the Sun-Telegraph referred to him as "one of the best fielding shortstops in the city" who racked up 59-plus total bases with his hitting. During the 1939 season, his Civics are known to have matched up among others with an all-black team known as the Hazelwood Giants. He also was known for his tennis playing. During the winter of 1938, he played basketball for Freddie Crum's Pittsburgh Preps, competing at St. Joseph's Lyceum. In about 1939, when he was 27 years of age, he married Dorothy J. Burns ( ? - ? ). The couple bore a son, Clifford Thomas Rush. Ira was employed as a brakeman with the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad and was a member of the Brotherhood of Railway Trainmen. Their address in 1942 was 132 Flowers Avenue, but their marriage was not destined to endure. Tragically, in the morning hours of Feb. 20, 1942, Ira was killed in the B&O yards in Glenwood when caught between a locomotive engine and railroad cars. He was only age 30, and their son was only a month old. Interment was in Jefferson Memorial Park.

Great-grandson Clifford Thomas Rush (1942- ? ) was born in about Jan. 1942. He was only a month old when his father was killed at work.

Son Franklin "Frank" Rush (1886-1943) was born on Dec. 29, 1886 in Fayette County. He was employed as a Baltimore and Ohio Railroad stenographer in 1910, when he was age 22, and spent the rest of his career with the B&O as a clerk. He was married to Bessie Catherine "Happy" Roderick (Nov. 13, 1886-1972), a native of Georges Township, Fayette County and the daughter of Henry M. and Sophia (Hartman) Roderick. The couple did not reproduce. Their address in the early 1940s was 230 Glen Caladh Street, and they belonged to the Hazelwood Methodist Church. For the last six or seven years of his life, Franklin suffered from heart disease. He succumbed to death at the age of 56 on Dec. 13, 1943. His remains were transported to Smithfield, Fayette County for interment in Mount Moriah Baptist Church Cemetery. Bessie outlived her spouse by nearly three decades. She returned to Fairchance. At the end, as a patient in Uniontown Hospital, she passed into eternity at the age of 85 on April 7, 1972. Her funeral was co-officiated by Rev. Dr. Ray Burchell and Rev. Dr. Roy Burchell.

Son Benjamin Harrison Rush (1888-1930) was born on Dec. 7, 1888 in Fayette County, PA, a month after Benjamin Harrison had been elected President of the United States. In 1910, at the age of 21, Benjamin lived at home and worked as a clerk for the Montour Railroad Company in Pittsburgh. Then circa 1916, at age 27 or 28, Benjamin wedded Lucinda Bosworth (May 16, 1892-1926) of West Virginia and the daughter of David L. and Lenia A. (Hinerman) Bosworth. News of their marriage license was printed in the Pittsburgh Press. The couple made a home at 206 South Elizabeth Street. Sadly, in the spring of 1926, Lucinda was afflicted about two weeks after childbirth with an infection known as puerperal septicimia. When pneumonia developed as a secondary illness, her body gave out, and she died just a few weeks before her 34th birthday on April 23, 1926. Funeral services were held in the family home. A death notice in the Pittsburgh Daily Post asked that newspapers in Cameron and Moundsville, WV reprint the content. The widowed Benjamin survived for just four years more. He lived in 1930 as a lodger with the family of Albert W. and Lillian Noble at 126 Tecumseh Street in Pittsburgh, just a few households away from his brother Ira Rush, married niece Ruth Haug and married nephew Elmer Rush. At at that time, he continued to earn income working as a clerk and material supervisor for the Montour Railroad. The specter of death visited three days after Christmas 1930, when Benjamin came home from work and went to sleep. As he slumbered, he inhaled fumes from a "Flueless Wellsbaugh Gas Stove" in the house and became unconscious. That evening, he was discovered, and police from Hazelwood and employees of Duquesne Light Company tried to revive him. He was too far gone from carbon monoxide poisoning, and he died three hours later at 11 p.m. The news was published in the Press, under a prominent headline reading "First Aid Unit Loses Fight Against Fumes." The physician filling out the death certificate noted that the tragedy was probably accidental. The remains were buried in Homewood Cemetery.

Son James "Edward" Rush (1893-1963) was born on July 18, 1893 in Pittsburgh. Edward as an adult was of medium height and slender build, with brown eyes and hair. He was required to register for the military draft during World War I. He disclosed to the registration clerk that he was employed by the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad as a clerk at Glenwood. When the census was taken in 1920, he was age 26 and lived with his parents, and worked as a material clerk in a railroad office in Pittsburgh. Again in 1940, federal census records show the 46-year-old living with his elderly mother and 64-year-old bachelor brother Alexander in Pittsburgh. In 1940, his occupation was listed as laborer boss - steam railroad. Edward eventually was united in wedlock with Edna (McElroy) Malunney (Dec. 14, 1894-1947), daughter of Bernard and Laura (Lynn) McElroy of McKeesport. She had been married previously and brought one son to the second union, William Malunney. Heartbreak swept over the couple when Edna was diagnosed in about 1946 with cancer of her fallopian tubes. She suffered for a year and was admitted to Mercy Hospital, where she spent 100 days and died at the age of 52 on Aug. 10, 1947. A requiem high mass was held at St. Stephen's Church, with her remains lowered into eternal repose in Pittsburgh's Calvary Cemetery. A brief obituary was published in the Pittsburgh Sun-Telegraph. He was named in the 1954 Pittsburgh Press obituary of his brother Ira. Their home in the early 1960s was in his parents' old residence at 89 Flowers Avenue, Pittsburgh. At the age of 70, Edward suffered a heart attack and was admitted to Magee Womens Hospital in Pittsburgh, where he succumbed to death on Dec. 3, 1963. Burial was in Greenwood Cemetery in Sharpsburg near Pittsburgh.

~ Son Patrick Rush ~

Son Patrick Rush (1847-1889) was born in 1847. 

• Grandson Duane Rush (1896- ? ) was born in August 1896 in Pennsylvania.

• Step-granddaughter Helen Diller married (?) Miller. 

Daughter Sarah Savilla Haberman (1881-1922) was born on Oct. 4, 1880 (or 1881). She was named in part for her grandmother, Syvilla (Younkin) Rush. She resided in McKeesport and married steelworker George C. Haberman (1873- ? ) of Duquesne, near Pittsburgh. They were wed on April 29, 1897, when Sarah was age 16 and George 24, with Rev. W.W. MacMillan officiating. Because she was underage at the time, Sarah's mother had to provide her consent. They did not reproduce. Their home was at 1908 Jenny Lind Street in McKeesport. Circa 1910, the federal census shows them in McKeesport, having been married for 13 years, with George still working at the occupation of foreman at a steel mill. At the age of 37, Sarah began suffering from cancer of the uterus. It spread into her liver, stomach and intestines, and she suffered for three years with the illness. She died on June 6, 1922, at the age of 40. Burial was in the Versailles Cemetery, with Clyde E. Rush serving as the informant for her death certificate.

~ Daughter Sarah J. Rush ~

~ Daughter Mary Frances (Rush) Brougher ~

Son Smith "Fuller" Brougher, also known as "S.F." Brougher (1876-1937) was born on March 4, 1876. He lived on Coolspring Street in Uniontown. He married Delcie King, a daughter of Mary A. King, also of Coolspring Street. They did not reproduce, but adopted a daughter, Harriet Brougher. Fuller served on the board of the Calvary Methodist Protestant  Church in Uniontown and was treasurer of its Sunday School program. In July 1931, daughter Harriet spent a week in Waynesburg, Greene County, PA, attending the Young Peoples gathering of the Pittsburgh Conference of the Methodist Protestant Churches. Later that same month, they took a driving trip to the mountains of Keyser, WV, and "visited the scene of Mrs. Brougher's birthplace, near Antioch, W.Va., "said the Uniontown Morning Herald, "former home of Nancy Hanks, mother of Abraham Lincoln." At the age of 61, he suffered a stroke and died several days later, on June 17, 1937, without having responded to treatment. Rev. Alden J. Andel preached at the funeral service. In 1938, his widow Delcie donated funds for a memorial window in the church, dedicated that September. Delcie also was an active volunteer with the Auxiliary to the Uniontown Community Male Chorus, and enjoyed motoring to Thomas, WV to visit her aunt Alice Duncan.

~ Alice (Rush) Matlick ~

Daughter Alice Rush (1855-1948) was born on July 28, 1855 (or 1860).

In July 1881, unmarried but pregnant at age 26 (or 21), Alice went to the home of her father to prepare for the birth. Upon arriving, she met her five-month-old half-brother William for the first time. She remained there for several months and delivered a baby boy in September. To pass the time, she read the newspaper every day, and was taken with the ongoing story of the assassination of President Garfield, including how he lingered for several months after the shooting until his death.

At the age of 27, Alice wed 36-year-old widower Henry Clay Matlick Sr. (1850-1915) of South Union Township, Fayette County. A coal miner, he was the son of John and Lavina Matlick. The wedding took place in Farmington on Oct. 31, 1886, by the hand of justice of the peace George W. Hensel. On her marriage license application, she listed her parents as "John K. & S. Rush." 

He had one daughter to his earlier marriage, Buena Weimer. Alice also brought a son to the marriage, Charles Martin, born in about 1881.

The Matlicks resided in Brownfield near Uniontown, Fayette County until the late 1890s, when they relocated to West Virginia, settling in the Grant District of Preston County. 

They had eight more children of their own -- Henry Clay Matlick Jr., Harry Matlick, William Matlick, Clara Johnston, Emma Brownfield, Fern Collins and Daisy Mitchell.  In her pregnancy with her first child, Alice returned to her father's home in Farmington, where she was "confined." She and the baby were tended to by her step-mother Mary. 

When the federal censuses were enumerated in 1900 and 1910, they lived as farmers in Preston County. 

Henry died in 1915, at the age of 65. A year later, Alice's step-daughter Buena Weimer also passed. 

By 1917, Mary lived in Somerfield, Somerset County. In 1920, she was in Brownfield, near Uniontown, Fayette County, and made her home with her married son Henry Jr. She was a member of the Brownfield Methodist Church. 

Suffering from hardening of the arteries and heart failure, she passed away at the age of 88, on Nov. 11, 1948. The Uniontown Morning Herald noted that she was "highly esteemed" and was survived by 22 grandchildren, 37 great-grandchildren and three great-great grandchildren, as well as a nephew, Howard Brougher, of Uniontown. In a note, Alice's nephew J. Arthur Williams wrote to his sister Lulu Johnston in Pittsburgh, saying: "I am droping you a few lines to let you know that Aunt Alice died this morning and as far as I know she will be burried Sunday sometime. We are going up this evening. They brought her down to Gleason Funeral Home and are going to take her back up to Brownfield and she will be burried from Mitchell's place. Will write you a letter later."

Burial was in Mountain View Cemetery between Uniontown and Fairchance. Serving as her pallbearers were Harry Brownfield, William Collins, Robert Conn, Wallace Mitchell, Ray Mitchell and Samuel Shaffer. Her daughter Fern Collins was the informant for the official Pennsylvania Certificate of Death.

Son Charles Martin (1881- ? ) was born in September 1881 at the home of his grandfather John K. Rush Sr. Charles resided in Cumberland, Allegany County, MD circa 1939 and by 1948 was in Uniontown. By 1950, he lived in Fairchance.

Daughter Daisy Mae Matlick (1884-1952) was born in January 1884 in Fayette County. She married William E. Mitchell ( ? - ? ) on Sept. 14, 1902. They had at least three sons, Eugene Mitchell, Ray Mitchell and Wallace Mitchell. The family made their home in Brownfield. Daisy was a longtime member of the Brownfield Methodist Church, the Ladies Aid Society and Gladys Lodge of the Rebekahs. She and William celebrated their golden wedding anniversary on Sept. 14, 1952. Daisy passed away at the age of 68 on Dec. 2, 1952, in Uniontown Hospital. In an obituary, the Uniontown Morning Herald said she was "a well known resident of Brownfield" and was survived by nine grandchildren and one great-grandchild. 

• Grandson Eugene Mitchell married and lived in Akron, OH circa 1948, and traveled to Uniontown for his grandmother Matlick's funeral that year. 

• Grandson Ray Mitchell married and resided in Solomon Island, MD in the late 1940s, and also attended his grandmother's funeral in 1948.

• Grandson Wallace Mitchell lived in Uniontown.

Son James "William" Matlick (1888-1950) was born in about 1888. He was married twice. His first wife was Anna Collins. they had two known daughters -- Edna Piper and Minnie Nales. After Anna's death, he married again, to Minnie Booth. Circa 1948, they lived in Donora, Washington County and Wilkinsburg, near Pittsburgh. By 1950, they were in Charleroi, Washington County. William was a longtime railroader, employed as an engineer by the Pennsylvania Railroad. William died on Oct. 15, 1950, in Charleroi. Funeral arrangements were handled by the Daugherty Funeral Home of Trafford, PA.

Daughter Clara Matlick (1889- ? ) was born in December 1889 in Pennsylvania. She married Clarence Johnston. Their home in 1948 was Solomon Island, MD.

Daughter Emma Matlick married (?) Brownfield. They lived in Uniontown and had one known son, Charles Brownfield. Their son Charles lived on the Morgantown Road south of Uniontown in 1939.

Daughter Mary "Fern" Matlick (1896- ? ) was born in May 1896 in Brownfield. She wed Emmett E. Collins (1889-1953) and had at least three children -- William Collins, Margaret Conn and Thelma Schafer. They resided at 31 John Street in Uniontown, where Emmett was "a well known painting contractor," said the Uniontown Morning Herald. They were members of Calvary Methodist Church, where Emmett attended the Men's Bible Class. Sadly, Emmett died at home at the age of 64 on May 9, 1953. He was laid to rest in Mountain View Cemetery, following a funeral led by Rev. E.J. Keifer. Fern outlived her husband by many years. In March 1968, she and her son William, along with Sally Brougher and Eunice Jones, motored to Bruceton Mills to attend the funeral of Fern's nephew, Harold Matlick. Circa 1972, their married daughter Thelma Schafer resided in Stone Mountain, GA.

Son Henry Clay Matlick Jr. (1891-1948) was born in October 1892 in Brownfield, Fayette County or in Danville, Boone County, WV. As a youth he moved with his parents and siblings to Preston County, WV. On Dec. 27, 1913, living in Kaddell, WV, he wed 16-year-old Hazel M. Spiker ( ? - ? ). Rev. Jeremiah Thomas of the church of the Brethren performed the ceremony in Bruceton Mills, WV. They had four known children: William H. Matlick, Alma Matlick, Jack Matlick and Harold Matlick. In 1917, following the death of Henry's father, the Matlicks migrated back to Fayette County. The census of 1920 shows Henry, Hazel and son William together in a residence near Brownfield, along with Henry's aged, widowed mother and Hazel's 24-year-old single sister Nellie. In about 1935, Henry moved to Paterson, NJ. After suffering from a long illness, he died there on March 11, 1948, at the age of 56. He was laid to rest in Paterson. An obituary appeared in the Uniontown Morning Herald, noting that he was a "former Uniontown resident" and had "resided in Uniontown more than 18 years." Their son Harold lived in Bruceton Mills, WV. Hazel married again, to (?) Lupkins, and lived on Morgantown Street in Uniontown. Sadly, her son Harold, a resident of Bruceton Mills, died in March 1968.

Son Harry Matlick died young. Details are not known.

~ Daughter Sarah "Cecelia" (Rush) Haines ~

Daughter Sarah "Cecelia" Rush (or "Celia") Rush (1857-1939) was born on May 10, 1858 (or 1857). 

In about 1874, when she was age 16, she married 19-year-old Isaiah Eston Haines (1856-1940). 

They first lived on a farm in Wharton Township, Fayette County, and had 10 children -- Harry Haines, George Haines, Ola R. Caton, Mary M. Haines, Anna "Edith" Swift, Frederick C. Haines, Elva "Ruth" Talbert, Estella "Blanche" Minter and Cloyd Haines. Two of the offspring died in childhood. 

Over the years, the family moved back and forth across the state line, between Wharton Township and Clifton Mills in the Grant District of Preston County, WV. The federal census of 1880 shows them in Wharton, with their two eldest sons. 

Twenty years later, in 1900, they lived on a farm in Clifton Mills. During the decade between 1900 and 1910, they moved back to Wharton Township, residing on a farm along Guthrie Road. The 1920 and 1930 censuses list the Haineses back in Clifton Mills, along Clifton Road, near their son Cloyd. 

On March 12, 1926, Cecelia's name was printed in a Uniontown Morning Herald article about her dying brother Austin in Pittsburgh. 

Their nest was finally empty by 1930. 

Cecelia suffered from chronic heart disease and died of its effects on April 27, 1939, just two weeks shy of her 81st birthday. Her remains were returned to Uniontown for burial in Sylvan Heights Cemetery. Her son Harry, the informant on her death certificate, gave the name of Cecelia's father as "John K. Rush" but did not know the name of the mother. In an obituary, the Uniontown Morning Herald reported that "four children preceded her in death" and that she was survived by 24 grandchildren and 22 great-grandchildren. 

Isaiah only lived for another year after his wife's death. He passed away at the home of their son Cloyd in Clifton Mills, at age 85, on March 19, 1940. He joined Cecelia in eternal rest in Sylvan Heights Cemetery, following a funeral service held at the Bethel Church near Farmington.

Son Harry F. Haines (1878-1942) was born in 1878 in Wharton Township. He lived in Uniontown in 1939 and in Clifton Mills in 1940. He was married at least three times. His first bride, name unknown, died on May 4, 1905. After a year as a widower, at the age of 29, he wed 39-year-old divorcee Mary Belle Lowry ( ? - ? ), daughter of Isaiah and Mary (?) of Dunbar Township, Fayette County. They united themselves in marriage on Aug. 13, 1906, in Uniontown, just three months after her divorce was finalized. During his working career, he was a member of the Junior Order of United American Mechanics, a secret organization founded in response to competition for jobs from immigrants and other minorities. He apparently married again, to Catherine (?). Their home was at 451 Braddock Avenue in Uniontown. At the age of 64, apparently incurably ill, Harry ended his own life with a gunshot in the bathroom of their home. No farewell note was left behind. He was placed at rest in Sylvan Heights Cemetery, with an obituary in the Uniontown Morning Herald.

Son George W. Haines (1879-1938) was born in June 1879 in Wharton Township. He was a farm laborer circa 1900 and lived at home with his parents in Clifton Mills, WV. On Nov. 11, 1905, at Brandonville, Preston County, the 26-year-old George married 23-year-old Susie Sechler (1882-1937) of Preston County. They made their home in Uniontown, where George secured long-time employment with the H.C. Frick Coke Company. Circa 1938, their home was in the coal mining patch town of Continental No. 2, worked at the Palmer dock and "was widely known throughout the Fayette county mining industry," said the the Uniontown Morning Herald. They had seven children -- Oscar Haines, Charles Haines, Thomas Haines, George Haines, Martha Haines and Lorraine Haines. Susie died on Feb. 26, 1937, age 55. George passed 13 months later, "suddenly" at home, said the Morning Herald, on March 15, 1938. Burial was in the "family cemetery" following a funeral service at Walnut Hill Church, led by Rev. Harry Humbert. At the time, son Oscar was in Morgantown, WV; Charles in Texarkana, AR; Thomas and George at home; Russell in Quantico, VA as a member of the U.S. Marine Corps; daughter Martha was away receiving a nursing education at St. Francis Hospital in Pittsburgh; and Lorraine at home.

Daughter Ola R. Haines (1881-1963) was born in June 1881 in Wharton Township. She wed Robert Caton (1878-1943) and resided in Uniontown for the duration of their lives. They had nine children -- among those who lived to adulthood were Ruth Riefer, Mildred Lynch, Josephine Reese, R. Wallace Caton, Donald Caton and William "Bernard" Caton. Two others died young. For a quarter of a century, Robert worked as a carpenter for the Eggers Lumber Company in Uniontown. While at work on April 28, 1943, he suffered a heart attack, and died in Uniontown Hospital, at the age of 65. As an older widow, Ola made her home at 26 Coolspring Street in Uniontown. She died at age 82 in Uniontown Hospital on Nov. 20, 1963, just two days before the nation was plunged into grief with the assassination of President John F. Kennedy. Her funeral was held in the Edward E. Minerd Funeral Home, followed by interment in Park Place Cemetery. Her survivors included eight grandchildren and three great-grandchildren. Of their adult children circa 1943, Ruth, Mildred and Donald lived in Uniontown; Josephine Reese in Pittsburgh; Wallace in Bluefield, WV; and Bernard was in the West Indies serving with the U.S. Army during World War II.

Daughter Estella "Blanche" Haines (1884-1963) was born in 1884 in Wirsing, PA. Circa 1906, she lived in Bruceton Mills, Preston County. The 22-year-old Blanche wed 28-year-old Norris L. Minter (1876-1938), son of Reuben and Mary E. Minter. The wedding took place on April 12, 1906 at Uniontown, officiated by Rev. Earnest Anton Trabert. At the time, Norris was employed as a restaurateur  in Arendtsville, Adams County, PA, near Gettysburg. They had two daughters and a son. Their home during their married lives was Gettysburg. Norris died at home at the age of 62 on June 30, 1938. Burial was in Gettysburg. Blanche outlived her husband by 25 years, and lived at 159 East Middle Street in Gettysburg. She died in Anna Warner Hospital in Gettysburg on Nov. 28, 1963, just eight days after the death of her sister Ola Caton. 

Daughter Mary M. Haines (1890- ? ) was born in August 1890 in Wharton Township. Nothing more about her is known, and she is believed to have died in childhood during the 1890s.

Daughter Anna "Edith" Haines (1893- ? ) was born on March 8, 1893 in Wharton Township or in Clifton Mills. (Sources differ.) As a young woman, she migrated to Carpentertown, near Mt. Pleasant, Westmoreland County, PA. She wed George W. Swift (1889- ? ), a native of Adelaide, Fayette County. They were joined in matrimony on April 8, 1912, by Rev. S.B. Mace, in Westmoreland County, PA. They lived in 1938 in Clairton, PA. By 1940, their home was in Erie, Erie County, PA. In 1963, Edith made her home in Brownsville.

Son Frederick C. Haines (1898- ? ) was born in January 1898, the first of their children to be birthed in Preston County. Circa 1920, unmarried, he lived at home with his parents in Preston County and labored as a miner in a local coal mine.

Daughter Elva "Ruth" Haines (1900- ? ) was born in February 1900. As a girl, she attended the Wirsing School in the mountains of Wharton Township. She married Herman Talbert and made her home in Brownsville, Fayette County. Ruth attended a mother-daughter banquet at the Uniontown YMCA in September 1951 and was pictured with the group of attendees in the Morning Herald. In October 1958, she hosted a visit with her sister Blanche Minter of Gettysburg. In 1971, as plans were being made for an annual reunion of the Wirsing school, Ruth was among 116 alumni registered to attend. 

Son Cloyd Haines ( ? - ? ) lived in Clifton Mills. He wed Zelphia (?) on New Year's Day 1920. They resided near Farmington, and celebrated their golden wedding anniversary on Jan. 1, 1970, at the Wharton Grange Hall. During World War II, their son Frederick Charles Haines served on the U.S.S. Independent as a member of the U.S. Navy, and son Edwin P. Haines also was in the Navy aboard a destroyer in the South Pacific. The sons' photographs were printed in the Uniontown Morning Herald on April 5, 1945, headlined "Haines Brothers."

~ Daughter Lavina (Rush) Richey ~

Daughter Lavina Rush (1858- ? ) -- also spelled "Lavinia" -- was born in 1858, 1861 or 1862.

She was a teenager when her mother died in 1875. She then left the household and went to work near Uniontown as a servant in the home of superintendent Robert Paisley and his wife Kate and their children.

At the age of 29, Lavina married 37-year-old widower and laborer Malachi ("Melchi" or "Malchia") Richey (Oct. 1847-1933), also spelled "Ritchey," son of Hiram and Mary (Dawson) Richey. The ceremony was held on Aug. 25, 1887, in Connellsville, Fayette County, officiated by justice of the peace Richard Campbell. On her marriage license application, Lavina gave her age as 25 instead of 29 and disclosed her mother's name as "Isabella," a derivation or form of "Syvilla."

Malachi's earlier marriage to Lydia Myers (?) (1851- ? ) had produced a number of children. Among the known names were Emma Richey (born 1869), Charles G. Richey (1873), Mary A. Handford (1874), Franklin Richey (1877-1915), James Richey (1878), Caroline Richey (1880) and Sadie Pierce. Lydia is believed to have succumbed to death on June 11, 1884.

Census evidence hints that Lavina may have died within a few years of marriage, or divorced, and that Malachi wedded a third time circa 1891.

Malachi made news in the Connellsville Weekly Courier in April 1895 when he was "struck above the eye by a timber while at work upon the demolition of the Bryner house on Main street.... His forehead was badly cut, but he is able to be at work." Then in 1903, he and his son Charles along with R.S. Pierce and Charles and George Gray helped remove a mass of honey weighing 75 lbs. from a bee tree on Reidmore Road.

When the federal census enumeration of 1900 was made, Malachi was living under the roof of his son Charles in Connellsville. He was marked as age 52, married for the past nine years and earning a living as a coke drawer. The identity and location of his wife at that time is unknown. Their next-door neighbors were distant Younkin cousins Austin J. and Mary "Mollie" Elizabeth (Stillwagon) Firestone.

Now widowed, Malachi at age 72 boarded in the South Connellsville home of his younger brother and sister-in-law, James and Louisa Richey, as per the 1920 U.S. Census. He moved again during the 1920s into the South Connellsville residence of his nephew, Isaac Richey, and his wife Emma.

Malachi died in the Fayette County Home in Uniontown on April 12, 1933, from the effects of heart disease and arthritis. An obituary in the Connellsville Daily Courier said he was survived by his daughter Sadie Pierce in South Connellsville in addition to seven grandchildren. One source places his gravesite at Hill Grove Cemetery, and another at Chestnut Hill Cemetery in Connellsville.

He is not the same Malachi Richey (1820-1889) from Connellsville who married Nancy May (1824-1905), daughter of Leonard and Mary (Firestone) May, and served in the Civil War as a member of the 40th Pennsylvania Infantry, Company F. [Find-a-Grave]

~ Daughter Martha Rush ~

Daughter Martha Rush (1860- ? ) was born in March 1860. She has not yet been located on the federal census of 1870 and may have died young.

~ Sons from John K. Rush's Third Marriage ~

Walter David Rush (1884-1923) was born on Jan. 2, 1884, on the "old Herman place" about a mile from Farmington, Fayette County. Mrs. Romesburg, a local midwife, assisted in the delivery. When he was two months of age, his mother died, and he was taken into the home of his much older brother Alexander Rush to be raised. On March 9, 1895, his brother was officially appointed as his guardian by the Orphans' Court of Fayette County. Evidence suggests that Walter also may have been reared by another brother, Patrick Rush. Many years later, at his passing, his parents were listed on the official death certificate as "Patrick Rush" and "Emma Wortman." At the age of 25, on May 1, 1909, Walter married Eva Bolitho (1886-1967), an immigrant from Wales and the daughter of Thomas and Jane Bolitho of Hazelwood, near Pittsburgh. Their nuptials were held at Connellsville, officiated by justice of the peace W.P. Clark, and reported in the Connellsville Daily Courier. Eva had come to the United States in 1887 and was naturalized as a citizen in 1892. Walter and Eva had at least three children -- Wilbert David Rush, Helen "Ellen" Shaw and Mildred Nourse. The 1910 census, taken the year after they were married, shows them residing in Wharton Township, next door to Walter's parents. In 1920, the Rushes and Bolitho in-laws lived together under one roof at 116 Glen Caladh Street in Pittsburgh. That year, Walter was employed as a machinist in a tube company, and his father in law Thomas Bolitho as a watchman at a steel works. At some point Walter's nephew Ira, married to Eva's sister Mary, shared a residence in Hazelwood. Sadly, Walter contracted la grippe -- the flu-- and when pneumonia set in, he passed away at the age of 39 on April 5, 1923. His sister-in-law Mary Rush of 5040 Lytle Street in Pittsburgh signed the Pennsylvania certificate of death. Interment of the remains was in Homestead Cemetery. Eva outlived him by more than 40 years. She was listed as a widow in the census of 1930, making her home in an apartment on Lytle Street in Pittsburgh. At some point before 1930, Eva's brother-in-law and nephew-by-marriage, widower Ira Rush (1880-1954), moved into her portion of the residence. See Ira's entry elsewhere on this page.

• Grandson Wilbert David Rush (1913-1952) was born on March 18, 1913 in Pittsburgh. He worked as a longtime brakeman and later a freight conductor with the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad. As an adult, he resided at 924 Roselle Court in the Glen Hazel section of Pittsburgh. Wilbert served in the U.S. Armed Forces during World War II. He was married and divorced twice prior to 1947, with his second divorce granted on Aug. 30, 1946. On Feb. 8, 1947, in Allegheny County, the 33-year-old Wilbert wed his third wife, 34-year-old Helen (Stingle) Kinavey (1913- ? ), daughter of German/Austrian immigrants Medard and Theresa (Tegi) Stingle of Canonsburg, Washington County. She had been married and divorced once before, with the divorce approved on Feb. 19, 1944. At the time of marriage, Helen made her residence in Munhall and worked as a cleaner. Wilbert was the father of George Rush and Dolores Keller. The couple's home address in 1952 was 229 East Larkspur Street in Munhall. Sadly, at the age of 39, Wilbert suffered from a variety of ailments -- including kidney disease, pneumonia and a serious allergic reaction known as "anaphylactic shock" -- and died in Homestead Hospital on Oct. 31, 1952. Burial was in Jefferson Memorial Park in Pleasant Hills, and an obituary appeared in the Pittsburgh Press.

Great-grandson George Rush ( ? - ? )

Great-granddaughter Dolores Rush ( ? - ? ) married (?) Keller.

• Granddaughter Helen "Ellen" Rush wedded (?) Hinish ( ? - ? ). By 1967, she married again to (?) Shaw ( ? - ? ).

• Daughter Mildred Rush (1920-1970) was born on Feb. 28, 1920 in Pittsburgh. Circa 1938, she lived at 319 Johnston Avenue in Pittsburgh. At the age of 18, on June 22, 1938, she wed 24-year-old Victor Deforrest Nourse (1914- ? ), sometimes spelled "Norris," son of farmers Harrison R. "Harry" and Vera Marie (Follett) Nourse of Warsaw, NY. Victor was a veteran of World War II. He was employed as a janitor in Pittsburgh at the time of marriage, and resided at 5227 Second Avenue. On her marriage license application, Mildred gave her father's name as "Ira" and her mother's maiden name as "Eva Bolitho." The couple produced four offspring, among them Lee V. Nourse, Diane Thrush, Bruce Nourse and Lori Kirchmeyer. After initially dwelling in Pittsburgh, the Nourses appear to have migrated to upstate New York, making a residence in or near Delevan, Cattaraugus County. The family grieved when Mildred died at about the age of 49 or 50 in 1970. Her remains are in eternal sleep in Delevan Cemetery. Victor lived as a widower for another 12 years. He joined her in death in 1982.

Great-grandson Lee V. Nourse (1939-2019) was born on Aug. 17, 1939 in Pittsburgh. On Dec. 14, 1979, he was united in matrimony with Cathy Goff ( ? - ? ). The six children they bore were Shaun Nourse, Sherrel Meeder, Sharise Heenan, Shelly Nourse, Scott Gebel and Justin Nourse. Lee served in the U.S. Air Force, and then went on to a career in sales. In his free time, he was a Boy Scout leader and member of the Warsaw Fire Department, Kiwanis Club and Moose lodge. He also liked to hunt and camp and spend time at Rushford Lake. Their home in the 2010s was in Lamont, Wyoming County, NY. Lee passed away at home at the age of 79 on Jan. 12, 2019. Interment was in Delevan Cemetery, Cattaraugus County, NY.

Great-granddaughter Diane Nourse married William Thrush. They have lived in Brookville, PA.

Great-grandson Bruce Nouse wedded Linda and resides in Florence, KY.

Great-granddaughter Lori Nourse was joined in wedlock with Kent Kirchmeyer. In 2019, the couple were in Franklin, IN.