A Phone Call Brings Surprising Information

When the phone rings after 9 p.m., I know it isn’t either of our children. They are already in bed.

Usually, it is someone checking on our health insurance, car warranty, or electric company. One night, about a year ago, I looked at the caller ID and saw a name. It was no one I recognized but I was curious and answered.

“Is this Linda Gail Clapper Williams?” a male voice asked.

Since he knew my maiden name, I answered in the affirmative. He was a genealogist calling to tell me I was a direct descendant of Benjamin Rush, who signed the Declaration of Independence.

I faintly remembered seeing a Rush in my family background. Telling him to hold, I did a hasty search of my unorganized ancestry file.

There it was in my third Great-Grandparents — Hannah Rush, born on July 17, 1812, in Clear Ridge and died on May 3, 1863, in Salemville. She is buried in the Salemville Cemetery. Hannah Rush married to Daniel Burger Kagarise on Nov. 12, 1835, in Woodbury Township.

My lineage came down through the Clappers. My great-great-grandfather, Samuel C. Clapper married Nancy R. Kagarise. Nancy’s father would have been my great-great-great-grandfather who married Hannah Rush. Hannah then became my great-great-great grandmother.

Knowing that Kagarise is a very common name in Morrisons Cove, I can only assume that many folks in that area are related to Benjamin Rush. Hannah and Daniel had 11 children allowing for most of the Kagarises in the Cove to have descended from them. I am certain that Kagarise and Kagerise would be the same family.

Benjamin Rush not only signed the Declaration of Independence, he was also the most well-known physician in 18th century America. He was a patriot, philosopher, author, lecturer, fervent evangelical politician, and dedicated social reformer. If you ever watched the movie, “John Adams” you will recall Dr. Rush inoculating the Adams children with small pox in order to save their lives.

He was the first man to believe that mental illness is a disease of the mind and not a possession of demons. His classic work, ”Observations and Inquiries upon the Diseases of the Mind,” was published in 1812 and was the first psychiatric textbook printed in the United States. I find it interesting that Hannah Rush, my ancestor, was born in 1812. She was born when her grandfather was publishing a book.

Rush died the next year after falling ill with tuberculosis.

Benjamin Rush grew up in the small town of Bybery, Pennsylvania, near Philadelphia. He was the fourth of seven children. His father, a farmer and gunsmith, died when Benjamin was just six and his mother supported the family by running a grocery store.

His mother was Susanna Hall and given the number of “Halls” in Morrisons Cove, I suspect there are more relationships to the Rush family.

Rush was very much opposed to slavery declaring it a scourge without a reckoning. It was through his friendship with Benjamin Franklin that he became a professor of chemistry at the College of Philadelphia.

Benjamin married Julia Stockton on Jan. 2, 1776, in Philadelphia so he would have been a newlywed when the Declaration was signed. They had 13 children but only nine survived their first year.

Hannah was the daughter of James, son of Benjamin and Julia. How and why did James Rush, who was also a well-known physician and author, end up in Clear Ridge when Hannah was born?

The genealogy statistics I have indicate that Hannah Rush Kagarise was buried in Salemville. The three cemeteries listed on line are Burger, Lyons and Salemville. I would assume (and you know what happens when you assume), that she would be buried in the Burger plots given that her husband was Daniel Burger Kagarise. However, when I asked for a listing of those buried in any of the three, she is not mentioned. Perhaps someone in that area could have a look see or we might try to get over that way when the weather is kinder.

The knowledgeable gentleman who called me with this information, alas is a mystery. I remember his name was John and we talked for more than an hour. However, I carelessly did not write his name. He said that he and his wife drove past our house every summer on their way to State College and he would call and stop over the fourth of July. That did not happen so I remain in debt to a stranger.

If any Covites have any more information on your ancestry that might relate back to Benjamin’s family, I would love to hear from you. I know for certain Leanna Calhoun would be the same lineage as me.