William
Rush
Born about in England
Son of [father unknown] and [mother unknown]
[sibling(s) unknown]
[spouse(s) unknown]
Descendants 
Father of
William Rush II
Died before
before about age 74
in Westmorland County, Virginia
Profile last modified
| Created 1 Apr 2016
This page has been accessed 2,217 times.
Contents |
Biography
In 1635, the immigrant William Rush arrived in America at age 20, aboard the ship Matthew of London.
A "young man of Dutch descent, whom Sir Thomas Luntsford brought over with Thomas Terrell, John and Lawrence Washington and others." Originally the Rush family were English Quakers.[1]
William Rush I, II, III, IV
- Following is my working conjecture of the four generations, based on how dates and other information from various sources might fit together (see Research Notes, below for how I got here). ~ Liz Shifflett, April 1, 2016
- William Rush (1615-1689 91/2), immigrant, arrived 1635, age 20, aboard the Mathew [left infant son in England[2]]. Acquired lands on the Machodeck river in Westmoreland County, Virginia, in 1644, as evidenced by deeds found at Montross, Westmorland County.[1]
- William Rush (c1635-1691/2), transported in 1650 by Sir Thomas Huntsford, Bnt., [joining his father[2]]. Married Ann Grey (b after 1639). Their children: William, Elizabeth (m Jossua Hudson), and Mary (m Philip Peyton). Married Dorothy (widow of Christopher Thomas) in 1686.
- William Rush (c1660-1707) m Elizabeth Perry
- William Rush (before 1687 - not a minor when his father died)
- Benjamin Rush (after 1687 - division of father's property indicated another son, but not named, indicating he was a minor), married Amy, widow of James Elkins
- William Rush (before 1687-1735) married Mary; moved to what became Orange County, Virginia, where he died.
Anne Grey
- Wife of William Rush prior to 1658 and mother of Elizabeth, m Jossua Hudson, and Ann, m Philip Peyton.
- Anne was the daughter of Francis Grey by his wife Alice Moreman, who were married in 1638 and moved to Virginia (from Maryland) in 1647.[1]
- If Anne was born in 1639 and married at 16 (fairly common for the time and place), marriage to William Rush would have been 1655.
Dorothy
- Probably the wife of the same William Rush who married Anne Grey, after Anne passed away, although the Milams of Virginia site has her as marrying that William's father.[3] Apparently no Rush children either way.
- In 1686, William married Dorothy, the widow of Christopher Thomas. Dorothy was shown as William's widow in January 1691/2 court records. Her next husband was William Bennett.[3]
Research Notes
- I had originally estimated a 1625 birth year guess based on his marriage in 1686 to Dorothy (widow of Christopher Thomas), who was William's widow in January 1691/2 court records. (Dorothy's next husband was William Bennett.)[3]
However, his son's birth year is estimated (in WikiTree) as 1630, based on a 1658 deed of land to him by his father-in-law Francis Grey. And that profile shows him (husband of Ann Grey) to be the same William Rush who married (2) Dorothy, widow of Christopher Thomas.
From the Owsley Family Historical Society (OFHS), citing the following "lease and release of land recorded in Westmoreland County Deed Book 8-2, p. 145-147", we have three known generations of William Rush in Virginia:[4]
- "William Rush of Washington Parish, Westmoreland Co., Va. to Rev. David Stuart, of St. Paul’s Parish, Stafford Co., Va., being 100 acres purchased from Robert Howson by William Rush, the grandfather of the above mentioned grantor and lesser, and granted by deed of gift to William Rush his son, the father of the above grantor, as by deed bearing date the 22 July 1689, relation thereunto being had, may more at large appear, and now descended by inheritance to William Rush, the grantor thereof, the grandson to the above William Rush, the first purchaser hereof, the which tract was re-patented and granted to William Rush the first purchaser aforesaid the 10th January, 1704."
The Milams of Virginia also has this entry, headed 25 JUL 1733 WILLS AND DEEDS, page 223 – 224, and another following, 26 JUL 1733 WILLS AND DEEDS, page 224, in which Mary, wife of William Rush {IV}, relinquishes her dower rights.[3]
- this site attributes Willam m Mary as {III} & born-died before 1687-1735 in Orange County, Virginia. That site shows the following generations:[1]
- William b 1615 (m Ann, born 1639, in 1655)
- William b 1666 (m Elizabeth) d 1707 (later in site shows b 1659-60)
- William b before 1687 (m Mary) d 1735
The OFHS site also notes:
- "Two men named William Rush are known to have come to America in the first half of the 17th-century. The first William Rush arrived in 1635 aboard the Matthew when he was 20 years old. The second William Rush was transported in 1650 by Sir Thomas Huntsford, Bnt. It seems likely that one of these men was the father of...William Rush [who married] married Anne, daughter of Francis Gray."
Text on the WikiTree profile page for William m Anne Grey (Rush-700) appears to combine the the William Rushes that the Milams of Virginia website refers to separately as {I} {II} and {III}.
William Rush b 1615 (arrived 1635 aboard the Mathew) {OFHS; needs better}
William Rush married by 20 November 1658 to Anne Grey {deed}; still married 7 June 1667 {date of her father's will}
- William Rush b 1637-9; m Anne 7/21/1652; died 1707[1]{needs better}
William Rush, Attorney for Mr. Thomas Davis and his wife Ann, Oct. 1663 {court record} Milams site attributes as {II} & includes related entries - 1654, a Captain Thomas Davis gave 100 acres of land to William Rush (apparently same land Mr Davis now selling by way of William). Captain Davis rec'd 1651/2 600 acres in Northumberland Co. for transporting 12 persons.
William Rush died by Jan. 1691/2 {court record} Milams site attributes as {I}
- 27 JAN 1691/92 ORDER BOOK, page 46. On petition of Dorothy Rush (relic of William Rush {I}, and earlier relic of Christopher Thomas)....ordered that William Horton and John Pratt do lay out and divide the land of William Rush {I} together with housing and orchard, etc.... now in possession {lease} of Charles Ashton
William Rush gives land Jan 3, 1673/4 to Jossua Hudson:{deed}
- "for natural love and affection I bear unto my daughter Elizabeth....as also a marriadge contracted and solemnized betweene Jossua Hudson of Upper Machoteck and my said daughter....100 acres. Same 100 acres that Francis Gray, deceased, in consideration of natural affection he bore unto his daughter Anne did give unto William Rush, husband unto Anne...."
- Note: Milams attributes to {II} (who married Ann Grey), but the text reads more like it should be {III}, who married Elizabeth. (Dates make that unlikely, though. Marriage contract in 1673, if daughter was 18, would call for birth in 1655.)
- OFHS site also shows William m Ann as father of Elizabeth m Hudson.
William Rush died before 26 Jan. 1708/9, relic Elizabeth {probate/inventory} Milams site attributes as {III} and shows activity by William Rush after that as {II}, who isn't attributed as having a will or a reference in a deed as "dec'd"; this page has death in 1707 for the William m Ann Grey[1] (Milams site has William m Grey as {II})
William Rush of Washington Parish, Westmoreland Co., in 1678 gave 200 acres to Philip Payton, husband of William's daughter Mary Rush. {deed} Milams site attributes to {II}
Wiliam Rush, son and heir of William Rush, deceased... (land purchased from Robert Howson on 12 Jan 1664/5) {22 July 1689, grant} Milams site attributes to {II} and {III}
- William Rush deceased early 1691 (Milams site, attributing to {II})
Conclusion? Distilling the information from the different sites, I think the following might be a possibility. ~ Noland-165 01:10, 1 April 2016 (EDT)
- William Rush (1615-1689 91/2), immigrant, arrived 1635, age 20, aboard the Mathew (left infant son in England[5]). Acquired lands on the Machodeck river in Westmoreland County, Virginia, in 1644, as evidenced by deeds found at Montross, Westmorland County.[1]
- William Rush (c1635-1691/2), transported in 1650 by Sir Thomas Huntsford, Bnt., joining his father. Married Ann Grey (b after 1639). Had William, Elizabeth (m Jossua Hudson), and Mary (m Philip Peyton). Married Dorothy (widow of Christopher Thomas) in 1686.
- William Rush (c1660-1707) m Elizabeth Perry
- William Rush (before 1687-1735) married Mary
Sources
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 1.5 1.6 William Rush, compiled by Nancy Werner (original link gone 27 April 2023; updated link to Wayback Machine 2018 capture).
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 sheer speculation on my part - Noland-165
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 William Rush Chronology, Milams in Virginia
- ↑ from this site, the Owsley Family Historical Society (OFHS)
- ↑ sheer speculation on my part - Noland-165
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I haven't kept up with Wiki. My research is my own on Gedmatch. / Concerning Francis Rushe. This is Sir Francis Rushe (Ruishe) in Ireland, born about 1575. His Great Grandfather was the infamous Sir Thomas Russhe. His Father was Anthony Rushe, Understanding Anthony Rushe (Doctor of Divinity). takes days of reading. When young, he was one of the wealthiest men in England. Deeply involve in Magdalen College, and also Canterbury Cathedral, and Chichester Cathedral and Parishes. He was also a member of Parliament together with Wingfield, (Anthony's father Arthur, his Father in law Cutler, and his grandfather Sir Thomas were also members of Parliament. (oh yes, he was also Queen Elizabeth's personal pastor.) The basic problem is that my mind is too small to get all of the bits and pieces at this level into the proper positions. You can only start to gather this info with the paid level of Gedmatch, and even then, it is very frustrating. And YESS!! what you said about the Dr. Vampire Benjamin Rush is correct. There is Zero evidence linking him to William. There is also Zero evidence linking him to Sir Thomas Russhe. It is all just generated by Americans with fantasies of being related to a Knight. Don't worry Liz, if you lie awake at night wishing you had a Royal descent from King Edward 1st, the chance is about 99% that you do. Francis Gray did not get 1000 Acres gifted to him by being born a lowly son of a Stable Boy. ;-) hahaha. If I am correct, and right now I am not easily dissuaded, the Rushes are descended from one of the strongest families in the history of Brittany (France) and England. That is why Francis Gray was so glad to have his daughter marry William. This would also be how Sir Thomas Russhe just sort of shuffled his way into the court of Henry VII. You don't just walk in off of the street and do that. There is further evidence, that would likely be scoffed at, but the name development, from the present goes something like, Rush > Rushe > Russhe > Le Russhe > Le Rous > LeRoux > (LeRoux, originally of Brittany France. (Most Likely the Cousins of the Alans, and descended from the Dukes of Brittany) (The accepted by Burke's Peerage descent of LeRoux to Le Rous is from Turchil LeRoux, who was knighted by William the Conqueror at the Battle of Hastings.) Most likely, Francis Gray had a bit of an inkling about who his daughter was marrying. (And I am most certain, he knew his daughter was not marrying "Swamp Grass".) This is all going to take some explaining. The real head scratching will start when I send you the Chr. 2 Triangulated group. Have a pleasant day, and don't let me get you weirded out. hahaha Randolph (And to be continued)
I'm not weirded out, it's just that the relationships you propose appear to lack reliable sources (online trees are not considered reliable - even WikiTree, although it's better than most & you can check each profile on a relationship trail for actual sources). Like I said before, it's good to marry DNA with a solid paper trail.
Cheers, Liz
P.S. I can't tell, but seems that Rushe-14 may be the correct profile for the Sir Francis Rushe you speak of, but he's not connected to parents/grandparents. I couldn't find a probable profile for a father named Anthony (or for a grandfather named Thomas) to see if there were reliable sources for them. Rushe-14 does have good sources, although it cites Stirnet for his father (Arthur) - I've never figured out if Stirnet has good sources or not (login required).
What happened is that my line wandered off somewhere around the Benjamin Rush Jr. point.They show back up in Pennsylvania, with a couple of generations missing. They moved up into the Mennonite region of Pennsylvania (near Lancaster County) and intermarried with the Mennonites.The wild part about the William Rush group is that on Chr. 2 there is a fairly large segment survived.Without that, I could have never made the tie-in. It is way larger than average, considering the timeof geographical separation is about 300 years between my line and the rest of the triangulated group.All of my initial "Deep" research leads me to believe we are descended from a son of Anthony Rushe, DD, who was a brother of Sir Francis Rushe (Ruishe), who was quite a famous Governor in Ireland. (and a bit of a naughty boy???) (This last bit about the Anthony Rushe descent can not be proven totally yet.) It is interesting to note, that with a quick comparison with your father's DNA, I found names thatare associated with the descendants of Sir Francis Rushe (Barrett and Burke), and a few namesassociated with the Pennsylvania Mennonite-Rushe marriages. All of these matches are matches tome as well. The Barrett and Burke names also come up with matches from a descendant of WilliamBeaumaris Rush in England, and Annete in Australia, who is a descendant from Samuel Rush (Vinegar Rushes) which are widely believed to be Anthony Rushe Descent Lines. (With 300 years separation between your father and I, it is not surprising that we match very, very weakly. The matches become very hit and miss at that point.
You can put in my Y-DNA with the R-Z156 and my name. That info can be verified by other researchers.I will get the data organized on the Chr. 2 matches in the next week or so. It is a bit large, consideringa minimum is about 70 Gedmatch Kits. OOOHH!!I don't know if the Swann brothers still have their Tree up on Ancestry, and I will have to check. Same forCeilon Aspensen.Also something I found totally crazy. Did you know we are related to Rush Limbaugh?? Yess he is directdescendant of Hudson Rush. (or Rush Hudson, I forget), and his family has always carried some form of thename through each generation.The other historic cousin (recently deceased) who is an Icon in modern pop folklore??? Owsley "Bear" Stanley.The Owsley family are descended directly from the Rushes. He was the electronic genius behind the "Sound"of the Grateful Dead. He more famously was the Genius Chemist behind the explosion of the use of LSD inthe California Pop culture of the 1960s. (My line also had two genius-level electronics experts, so maybe thereis something genetic there???
Oh yes, and about my Y-DNA, It does not match anyone claiming to be a descendant of "Captain John orDr. Benjamin Rush.So I will get the info into a presentable form.Randolph
I see on your profile that you entered your DNA kit info. For WikiTree to propagate your info to the tree, you need to connect to the tree. That's the beauty of WikiTree - it marries DNA and paper trails.
Is the Owsley you're related to the 16th Gov. of Kentucky? https://www.wikitree.com/wiki/Owsley-58 He married the sister of my 4x-gr-grand.
Also, this William Rush and the Dr. Benjamin Rush who was a signer of the Declaration of Independence are not blood related, at least not that WikiTree can find (and not to my knowledge either), so it makes sense that your DNA wouldn't match (but I'm not sure who Captain John is). I'm not sure who you meant by Francis Rushe/Rushie, but I found a possible & I'm not related to him (Rushe-14 - no blood relationship found). I'm not related to Rush Limbaugh, and neither is this William Rush (at least in WikiTree, they're not).
If you haven't found it yet, the best website for this branch of Rushes is http://www.milaminvirginia.com/rush_family.html
Cheers, Liz
If anyone is interested, I have had my Y-DNA done and have R-Z156 haplogroup. Randolph Rush on FTDNA The best working kit that I have on Gedmatch is QD5553473 (FTDNA) Thank you, / Randolph Edward Rush If someone would care to have me upload an orderly readout of the triangulated Chr. 2, I would be glad to. ;-)
Cheers, Liz
P.S. My Dad is a Rush descendant, but he's a Noland. See Noland-166. We both show up in the DNA section (au) for Benjamin Rush Jr. (1718-1801) - just Dad is in the section for Benjamin Rush Sr (1686-1766). He drops off the next generation up. The two remaining DNA folks in the DNA section drop off in the next generation (son of this William). If I recall, WikiTree only propagates au matches 5 generations out.
edit... or should I have said "au contributors"?
edited by Liz (Noland) Shifflett