Rush, Richard

Biography

Richard Rush, lawyer, diplomat and stateman, was the second son of celebrated physician Benjamin Rush and his wife Julia Stockton. Rush was educated at Princeton and began his law career in Pennsylvania, where in 1811 he was appointed state attorney general. He was Secretary of State under Monroe, and in 1817 was named minister to Great Britain. While there, he played a role in the negotiations which resulted in the Monroe Doctrine. Rush was Secretary of the Treasury under Adams, and ran unsuccessfully as vice-presidential candidate with John Quincy Adams in 1828. After the defeat, Rush resumed his private life for a time, but was later named minister to France by President Polk. On 29 August 1809 Rush was married to Catherine Murray, the cousin of William Vans Murray [1760-1803], a lawyer and legislator who is the subject of a portrait by Mather Brown now in the NGA [1940.1.1]. Murray studied law at the Middle Temple in London from 1784 - 1787; while in England, he married Charlotte Hughins. Upon his return to the US, Murray was elected to the Maryland State Legislature; he also served in the US Congress from 1791-1797. Murray was appointed Ambassador to the Netherlands by President John Adams, whom he had met in London. In 1798 Murray was named minister plenipotentiary to France, where 1800 he successfully negotiated a treaty with Napoleon. He returned to Maryland in 1801. Richard Rush and Catherine Murray ten children, five of which survived them, including their son, Benjamin Rush [1811-1877][Information from Dr. Ellen Miles' forthcoming systematic catalogue volume on American Paintings; seel also sources and references recorded on CMS]

Bibliography

1933

DAB, 1943, 8:231-234

1965

Leach, F.W.. "Rush Family of Pennsylvania." in Adamson, Jason. Rush Genealogy. Turlock, CA, 1965:11

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