Page:Appletons' Cyclopædia of American Biography (1900, volume 5).djvu/377

Rh '''RUSH. Christopher'''. A. M. E. Zion bishop. b. t in Craven county. N. C.. in 1777: d. in New York city. 16 July. 1. He was a full-blomled African. and born a sla 0. lie \vent to New York in 1795. ‘ and was subsequently freed. and licensed to preach in the Methodist. Episcopal clmrch in 1515. He was ordained a. superintendent or bishop in 1525. \ lie was largely instrumental in the separation of the colored from the white branch of the Met hud- ist church. and his address before Bishop l-Inoch ‘ George ﬁnally carried the measure. and be was thus a founder of what is now the African Methodist. Episco nal Zion church. At that time the African MethOt ists numbered only 100. but. Bishop Rush lived to see it. a comparatively large and ﬂourish- ing organization. He published a history of his denomination.

'''RUSH. William'''. sculptor. b. in Philadelphia. Pa.. 4 July. 1756: d. there. 17 Jan.. 1533. In his youth he was apprenticed to Edward Cutbush, a. carver. and he ﬁrst became known as a maker of ﬁgure-heads for ships. Especially noticeable among his ship-carvings were the ﬁgures “ Genius of the l'nited States" and " Nature " for the frigates “ United States " and "Constellation." and busts and ﬁgures of Voltaire. Rousseau. Benjamin Frank- lin. William Penn. and others. for various vessels. The ﬁgure of the “Indian Trader “ for the ship “ \Villiam Penn " excited great admiration in Lon- don. The carvers there sketched it and took casts of the head. Another ﬁgure. that of a. river-god. carved for the ship " Ganges." won the admiration of the Ilindoos. who came in numerous boats to reverence this image. But he did not conﬁne himself to ﬁgure-heads. although he never worked in marble. but always in wood or clay. In 1512 be exhibited. at the Pennsylvania academy. ﬁgures of ‘- Exhortation." " Praise." and cherubim. and hosts of Linnalus. William Bartram. and Rev. Henry M. Mnhlenberg. lle, executed also statues of “ Win- ter." “ Agriculture." a ﬁgure of Christ on the cross. which last two were destroyed by ﬁre. several por- trait-busts. including Gen. Lafayette (1524). and «It her works. IIis best-known statue is that of Washington (1514). which was bought by the city of Philadelphi. . Mr. Rush served in the Revolu- tionary army. and was a member of the councils of his native city for more than a quarter of a. century.

'''RUSK. Jeremiah McLain'''. governor of Wis- consin. b. in Morgan county. tho. 17 June. 1530: d. in Viroqua. Wis., 21 Nov.. 1593. He divided his time bet ween fa rm- work and winter study till he at- tained hismajority, and in 1553 re- moved to Wiscon- in agriculture in ernon county. tional army iul5b‘2. was commissioned major of the 25th Wisconsin regi- ment. rose to the rank of lieutenant- colonel. and served with Gen. William T. Sherman from the siege of Vicks- burg till the close of the war. In 1865 he received the brcvet of brigadier-gcneml of which have been permanently useful. He invented volunteers for meritorious service at the battle of cinto. and became commander of the Salkehatchie. lie was elected bank comptroller of Wisconsin in 1566. which post he held till 1570. was chosen to congress as a Republican in the lat- ter year. served three terms. and as chairman of the connnittee on pensions performed important services in readjusting the pension rates. He declined the appointment of charge d'aﬁaires in Paraguay and L ruguay. and that of chief of the bureau of engra\ing and printing. which were oﬁered him by President Garﬁeld. Since 1552 he had been governor of Wisconsin, having been elected for three successive terms. In 1555 Gen. Rusk was an unsuccessful candidate for the Republican nomination for president. and was secretary of the department of agriculture in President lIar- rison's administ ration.

'''RUSK. Thomas Jefferson'''. senator. b. in (‘am- den). 5. C.. 5 Aug.. 1502-: d. in Nacogdoches. Tex., 2‘.) J ul_\. 1556. He received an academic education. practised law with success in Georgia. and in the early part of 1535 removed to Texas. Ile then identified himself with the history of that republic. “as a. member of the convention that declared its independence in March. 1536. was its ﬁrst secre- tary of war. participated in the battle of San Ja- armv after Gen. Samuel Houston was wounded, continuing to hold that oﬁice till the organization of the con- stitutional govemment in October. 1536. He was again chosen secretary of war. but resigned after a few months' service. subsequently commanded several expeditions against the Italians. and was a member of the legislature. He was a justice of the supreme court in 152k —'42. president of the conven- tion that consummated the annexation of Texas to the United States in 1545. and upon its admission to the Union was chosen L'. S. senator as a. Demo- crat. serving in 1546—56. He had been re-elected to a third term. but in a ﬁt of insanity. caused by domestic misfortune. he committed suicide. Dur- ing his senatorial service he was chairman of the committee on the post-oﬁice. and was interested to a. large extent in the overland mail and the wagon- road to the Paciﬁc.

'''RUSS. Horace P.''', inventor. b. in 1521: b. in Halifax. N. S.. 31 Dec" 1563. Ile invented the pavement that bears his name. It consists of granite blocks. and was laid in Broadway. New York city. but, proved impracticable on account of its being too slippery. Subsequently he turned his attention to metallurgical projects. and for some time prior to his death was engaged in gold-min- ing in Nova Svotia.

'''RUSS. John Denison'''. physician. b. in (‘hebacco (now Essex). Mass. 1 Sept“ 1501: (l. in I’ompton. N. J.. 1 March. 1551. He was graduated at Yale in 1523. and in the medical department in 1525. After spending a. year abroad in bus ital practice. he settled in New York city. but in. one. 1527. he went with a cargo of supplies to aid the Greeks in He entered the Na- I their struggle for independence. He remained. superintending the development of a hospital service in Greece. for several years. but the failure of his health compelled his return. and he entered again upon practice in New York city. Dr. Russ became interested at once in the condition of the poor that were suﬁcring from ophthalmia in the city hospi- tals. and at his own cost, in March. 1532. made the ﬁrst attempt in the United States for the instruc- tion of the blind. Ile was appointed superintend- ent of the newly chartered New York institution for the blind in the same year. and in this oﬁice introduced many methods of teaching. some of which have been permanently useful. He invented the phonetic alphabet. which consists of forty-one