Richard Rush
A Register of His Papers in the Library of Congress
Prepared by Nan Thompson Ernst
Manuscript Division,
Library of Congress
Washington, D.C.
2000
Contact information:
http://lcweb.loc.gov/rr/mss/address.html
Finding aid encoded by Library of Congress Manuscript Division,
2006
Finding aid URL: http://hdl.loc.gov/loc.mss/eadmss.ms006051
Title: Papers of Richard Rush
Span Dates: 1805-1852
ID No.: MSS38554
Creator:
Rush, Richard,
1780-1859
Extent: 60 items;
1 containers plus 1 oversize;
.2 linear feet
Language: Collection material in
English
Repository:
Manuscript Division, Library of
Congress,
Washington, D.C.
Abstract: Lawyer and statesman.
Correspondence, diary, notes, writings, and engraved portraits relating
primarily to Rush’s duties as attorney general, secretary of state, minister to
Great Britain, and secretary of the treasury, and legal documents concerning a
loan from the Netherlands he arranged to finance the Chesapeake & Ohio
Canal Company in and near the District of Columbia.
The following terms have been used to index the description of this
collection in the Library's online catalog. They are grouped by name of person
or organization, by subject or location, and by occupation and listed
alphabetically therein.
Names:
Rush,
Richard, 1780-1859
Binns,
John, 1772-1860--Correspondence
Coxe,
Richard S. (Richard Smith), 1792-1865--Correspondence
Gallatin,
Albert, 1761-1849--Correspondence
Hallett,
Benjamin Franklin, 1797-1862--Correspondence
Hiester,
Joseph, 1752-1832--Correspondence
Mercer,
Charles Fenton, 1778-1858--Correspondence
Miranda,
Francisco de, 1750-1816
Russell,
Jonathan, 1771-1832--Correspondence
Walker,
Robert J. (Robert John), 1801-1869--Correspondence
Chesapeake and Ohio Canal Company
United
States. Dept. of Justice
United
States. Dept. of State
United
States. Dept. of Treasury
Subjects:
Canals--Washington
(D.C.)
Diplomatic and consular
service, American
Loans, Foreign
Cuba--History--1810-1898
Great Britain--Foreign
relations--Cuba
Great Britain--Foreign
relations--United States
Netherlands--Foreign
relations--United States
United States--Foreign
relations--Great Britain.
United States--Foreign
relations--Netherlands
United States--Politics
and government--1817-1825
Occupations:
Diplomats
Lawyers
Statesmen
Provenance: The papers of Richard Rush, lawyer, statesman, and diplomat, were
primarily purchased by the Library of Congress, 1906-1997. Copies of Rush’s
letters were given to the Library by Mrs. Robert Woods Bliss in 1954 and Stuart
A. Goldman in 1988.
Processing History:The papers of Richard Rush were arranged in 1972. Additional material
was added to the collection in 1977, 1983, and 2000 when a finding aid was
created.
Copyright Status:The status of copyright in the unpublished writings of Richard Rush is
governed by the Copyright Law of the United States (Title 17, U.S.C.).
Preferred Citation:Researchers wishing to cite this collection should include the
following information: Container number, Richard Rush Papers, Manuscript
Division, Library of Congress, Washington, D.C.
| Date |
Event |
| 1780, Aug. 29 |
Born, Philadelphia, Pa. |
| 1797 |
Graduated, College of New Jersey (now Princeton University),
Princeton, N.J.
|
| 1800 |
Admitted to the Philadelphia, Pa., bar |
| 1809 |
Married Catherine Eliza Murray |
| 1811 |
Comptroller, United States Treasury |
| 1814-1817 |
U.S. attorney general |
| 1817 |
U.S. secretary of state |
| 1817-1825 |
U.S. minister to Great Britain |
| 1825-1828 |
U.S. secretary of the treasury |
| 1836-1838 |
U.S. agent in Great Britain to secure Smithson bequest which
established the Smithsonian Institution in Washington, D.C.
|
| 1847-1849 |
U.S. minister to France |
| 1859, July 30 |
Died, Philadelphia, Pa. |
The papers of Richard Rush (1780-1859) span the years 1805-1852.
Correspondence comprising the bulk of the collection dates from 1809 to 1852.
It primarily concerns Rush’s duties as United States attorney general,
secretary of state, minister to Great Britain, secretary of the treasury, and
as an agent negotiating loans from the Netherlands to finance the Chesapeake
& Ohio Canal Company in and near the District of Columbia. A letter dated
1816 from Rush to his mother, Julia Rush, concerning his father, Benjamin Rush
is the only family item in the collection. Correspondents include John Binns,
Richard S. Coxe, Albert Gallatin, Benjamin Franklin Hallett, Joseph Hiester,
Charles Fenton Mercer, Jonathan Russell, and Robert J. Walker.
Also included in the collection is a diary, 1829, concerning Rush’s
trip to England and the Netherlands. Diary notes include his record of a
conversation in 1805 with the Venezuelan general Francisco de Miranda during a
visit to Philadelphia, and notes from 1821 concern Rush’s experiences as United
States minister to Great Britain. An essay in draft form entitled “Cuba,” 1823,
concerns Rush’s opposition to the possible transfer of Cuba to Great Britain.
Notes on the Bible complete his writings.
A comprehensive edition of Rush’s papers in numerous repositories is
available on twenty-six reels of microfilm prepared by Scholarly Resources.
This collection is arranged alphabetically by type of material.
| Container |
Contents |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| BOX 1
|
Correspondence,
1809-1852
|
|
(2
folders)
|
|
| BOX 1
|
Diary, “England and Holland,”
1829
|
|
| BOX 1
|
Diary notes |
|
| BOX 1
|
1805, “General Miranda”
|
|
| BOX 1
|
1821, miscellaneous
|
|
| BOX 1
|
Financial and legal documents, loan
from the Netherlands to finance the Chesapeake & Ohio Canal Co.,
1828-1829
See also
Oversize |
|
| BOX 1
|
Portraits, engraved,
n.d.
|
|
| BOX 1
|
Writings |
|
| BOX 1
|
"Cuba,"
1823
|
|
| BOX 1
|
Notes on the Bible,
n.d.
|
|
| BOX OV 1
|
Financial and legal
documents, list of funded debt certificates, Daniel Crommelin & Sons,
Amsterdam, Netherlands,
1829
|
|
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