Biblical Quotes on Ancestry

“Honor your father and your mother, so that you may live long in the land the Lord your God is giving you.” ~ Exodus 20:12
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“Remember the days of old; consider the generations long past. Ask your father and he will tell you, your elders, and they will explain to you.” ~ Deuteronomy 32:7
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“Listen to me, you who pursue righteousness and who seek the Lord: Look to the rock from which you were cut, and to the quarry from which you were hewn; look to Abraham your father, and to Sarah, who gave you birth. When I called him he was but one, and I blessed him and made him many.” ~ Isaiah 51:1,2
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“Ask the former generations and find out what their fathers learned. . .” ~ Job 8:8
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“Let this be written for a future generation, that a people not yet created may praise the Lord.” ~ Psalm 102:18
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“Tell it to your children and let your children tell it to their children, and their children to the next generation.” ~ Joel 1:3
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“A record of the genealogy of Jesus Christ the son of David, the son of Abraham. . . Thus there were fourteen generations in all from Abraham to David, fourteen from David to the exile to Babylon, and fourteen from the exile to the Christ.” ~ Matthew 1: 1, 17
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Theirs are the patriarchs, and from them is traced the human ancestry of Christ, who is God over all, forever praised! Amen. ~ Romans 9:5
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“Honor your father and mother –which is the first commandment with a promise—that it may go well with you and you may enjoy long life on the earth." ~ Ephesians 6:2-3

Family Saints

The Ancient Ones

By Judith Wilson.

Used by permission.

It was embarrassing when your own parent got

Up on Wednesday night and testified.

But it was worse when some of the

Real ancient saints got up and cried

Or shouted or waved their hankerchiefs.

We pretended we didn’t hear what those ancient,

Glowing saints said, but we heard . . . and later

The Holy Spirit called their praises of Jesus back

To our remembrance.

It was their steadfast witness. . .

Their genuine spirits of praise . . .

Their lives which were above reproach

That made their words stick . . .to

Later be remembered in times of trial. . .

Need . . . or discouragement.

They were special . . .

And I miss

Hearing from God’s saints

Whom Your light

Had shone through.

~~ <> @ <> ~~

This poem reminded me of Great-Aunt Minnie. She was an “Amen” sister in the “Hallulejah Chorus” at Eldon Church of the Nazarene. We greatly miss her. For a little while.

Church Records and Christian History

Recently, our church cleared out some closets. The matter of what to do with old church documents such as address directories, baby dedication records, baptismal records, board minutes, old Sunday church bulletins, death records, membership transfer records, old newsletters, and so forth came up for discussion. To my knowledge, the collection hasn’t been cataloged since our 50th anniversary celebration several years ago and boxes, photograph scrapbooks, and filing cabinets have been stashed away in various available cubbyholes in our church.

Grandview Church of the Nazarene

These papers are not only important to document our church family history, but are also important to family historians/genealogists as well as to Christian university students and seminarians for various research papers and projects. American civic vital records only go so far back, so then, one may find information on ancestors in church records if they still exist.

David has always been interested in Christian history since his student days at Mid-America Nazarene University in Olathe, KS., particularly the Reformation period. I only became recently interested in church history when we began to homeschool our son in his fifth grade year of elementary school. We looked for a Christian-based history curriculum beginning in our home states since we live close to many important US history sites we could visit on field trips to supplement the curriculum. Not finding any, I began my own little research project which has since "blossomed” into a bigger project than I realized, namely, a timeline of Missouri and Kansas Christian history and two family history-related blogs, this one and the History Nut. 

Some time ago, David and I went to a genealogy lecture at our local Genealogy library. Angela N. Stiffler, former director of William Jewell University's Partee Center at Liberty, MO. was one speaker and the other was Barbara Bueller, herself a Lutheran. Both spoke of the importance of Christian and family research in Missouri which has been gleaned from church, ministerial, and district accounts. Since that time, I’ve gotten acquainted with Nancy Erhlich, a Heartland Presbyterian Church Historian and Stan Ingersol, the Nazarene Archivist. They all say the same, either keep your collection together (some churches now have a heritage room), transcribe it into a church history book (send a copy to your local genealogy library) or donate it to your local denominational archivist before you toss the records in the trash bin. Paper copies are best as technology changes way too fast. Family historians will thank you.

A Transcribed Example of Church Minutes:
Lulbegrud Primitive Baptist Church Minutes: 1793-1804. 

Example: a copy of my husband's church membership transfer document. Click on image to enlarge if you wish to view details.

More Repositories and Archives: 
Allen County, Indiana Public Genealogy Library Bible Records 
Bible Records Online

Primitive Baptist Library, Carthage, Illinois. Head Librarian: Eld. Robert Webb.

Compiled by Dolores J. Rush. Updated: 2/17/2020

The Rock House

I heard my father-in-law say that the rock house was large enough to drive a team and wagon into. It is a huge round stone, like a bowling ball, perched on top of a hill. It is approximately 60 feet in length and about 25 feet high with a small “lookout” cave on top which has no connection to the cave below.

Several of the RUSH ancestors have carved their names on the formation and their signatures can be clearly seen. It is rumored to have been the home of one Jim Henry, an Osage Indian who lived in the area outside of present-day Tuscumbia, MO from whom the township was named for. He is said to have painted his handprint on the side of the rock to indicate his home ownership. When we visited the site, I saw a carved out hand indentation about waist high inside of the mouth of the bottom cave.

In 1846, Louis WINTERS emigrated from Prussia to Butler County, Pennsylvania. Then around 1865, he and his family moved to Miller County, MO. They lived in the cave for a time while they built their new home. Perhaps this is where the legend comes from that the WINTERS are part Indian, for David has found no evidence of an Native American bloodline in his research.

Louis' first wife was a Mary Saline Ralston and his second was Margaret Loveall whom he married in Missouri. Between the two wives, he had about ten children altogether. 

The rock formation is on private land, about one-half mile east of Hwy 17, so one must have permission of the landowners to visit the site. (Township 41N, Range 13W, Section 18.)

More to Read:

1.) Home of Indian Jim Henry Illustration. "Osage Indians" Judge Jenkins's History of Miller County, Missouri Through The Civil War. By Clyde Lee Jenkins. Tuscumbia, MO; 1971. Part 1, Ch. 10. Repository: Miller County, MO. Historical Society Museum website., Tuscumbia, MO.
2.) Miller County, MO Historian, Peggy Smith Hake's Rock House article with a photo. 
3.) Place Names Of Six South Central Counties of Missouri. Frank Weber. M.A. thesis., University of Missouri-Columbia, 1938. Repository: State Historical Society of Mo.

4.) His daughter - Amelia Regenia (Winters) Rush (1856-1942) MO. Death Certificate #40567

5.) His son - Samuel Winters (c. 1856?-1938) MO. Death Certificate #32784

6.) His son - Alrick David Winters (1865-1946), Missouri Death Certificate #24365

7.) His son - Wesley Frederick Winters (1875-1948) MO. Death Certificate #33544

8.) Louis Winters' Findagrave Memorial #83755007

Article written by Dolores J. Rush, updated: 10/15/2022. 

Housewife Cookery

Growing up, I learned to cook by following the recipes in my mother’s red and white checkered Better Homes and Gardens Cookbook. That’s not to say I didn’t deviate from the written directions from time to time and experiment, which often ended in disaster, but for the most part, I did learn to cook basic dishes. After my husband and I got  engaged in the cafeteria  at Venture's while I was on break from my cashier’s job (romantic, huh? At least it wasn't in a laundry mat like my sister or next to an irrigation well pump like my parents! 😉), I asked for and received an updated version of mom’s cookbook the Christmas before our wedding day.

When my sisters and I were still in the learning stage, mom bought us a 1963 version of the Better Homes and Gardens Junior Cook Book which I still have. It had cool recipes like floats, cinnamon toast, party sandwiches, picnic some-mores, red hot applesauce, candy-topped cake, macaroni and cheese, Peter Rabbit salad, and many other yummies popular at that time.

In my high school years, both my grandmothers turned me onto family history. As my grandparents relayed the stories of their families, I became very interested in their stories, not just the facts of their births, deaths, and marriages, but how they lived their lives. It reminded me much of the stories of “Little House on the Prairie” by Laura Ingalls Wilder which I read as a child. I learned that my maternal great-grandmother, Tacy BERRY cooked for my great-grandfather Alfred ULLOM’s café & Farmer’s Home Motel in Coffeyville, Kansas and that he married her two weeks before the Dalton Raid on the Banks there in 1892. This was Alfred’s second marriage and Tacy shouldered the responsibilities of his first family of seven children plus they went on to have seven more. The youngest of this second family, Laura, purchased a 1928 cookbook called Anyone Can Bake by the Royal Baking Powder Co, NY on November 19th from Miss R. H. RUSSELL in her junior year of high school. She went on to institutional cooking.

My maternal grandmother married the youngest son of Alford and Tacy  during the American depression. Cash was scarce and when a magazine salesman came through their neighborhood selling subscriptions to the Household Magazine with a cookbook as a premium, she traded a chicken for The Household Searchlight Recipe Book (1939) which she used for many years. They lived in a two room house on a Oklahoma farm. She cooked on a huge gas range and borrowed a three-legged table which she stood in a corner for them to eat at. My mother was born during the thirties and she said she can remember the dirt storms which blew through. My grandmother would put damp sheets over her bed at night and stuff rags in all the cracks to keep the dust at bay, but still it sifted in. Like the people in John Steinbeck’s novel, The Grapes of Wrath, my grandparents left the farm for awhile and traveled to Washington State to pick cherries, living with relatives for a time until the rains came to settle the dust.

My paternal grandmother, Grandma Gladys, was in service in a household when she met my grandfather. She was a Sunday School teacher for many years and loved to give to missions. In order to give, she raised money by making wedding cakes, adorning her cakes with molded ceramic decorations she made herself. Later, having slip, molds, the paints, and a kiln came in handy as Vacation Bible School craft-time rolled around each summer and for Christmas gifts. She taught my mother ceramics and in turn, my mother taught the craft for many years. My dad’s youngest sister taught home economic classes.

This grandmother, for my sweet sixteenth birthday, began my hope chest (barrel of despair) with gold-banded china. She also, for several Christmas’ thereafter, gave me three cookbooks = Heart of the Home Recipes: Favorites from Capper’s Weekly (1980); Country Cooking from the Women of the Pleasant Prairie Church of God (1986); and Country Cookin’, Vol. II, also from the Pleasant Prairie Church of God (1995) as her legacy. Many of her favorite recipes are enclosed in these cookbooks, especially the latter two.

When David and I married, my dad gave us our first set of stainless steel pots and pans; my mother, our first set of stainless steel mixing bowls and David’s grandmother, Marie RUSH, gave us a rolling pin and a cast-iron skillet. She said when they married, she didn’t know how to boil water, much less cook a whole meal. Grandpa must have had a cast-iron stomach to endure her cooking until she got better. I’m going to share many of her handwritten recipes in this blog. Their oldest son, David’s dad, upon joining the Army, was assigned the job of cook. His maternal great-grandfather, James RUSH, also cooked in the field hospital at Springfield during the Civil War.

David's maternal Grandmother, Bertha CARRENDER, crocheted a beautiful lacy tablecloth for our wedding gift. After she passed away, we received her stoneware cookie jar when the family divided up her possessions.I nostalgically treasure my inheritance of housewife cookery.

More to Read:
Cookbooks

Written by Dolores J. Rush

Odd Bits of RUSH Trivia

Did You Know? There is a RUSH Hill and a RUSHville, MO. and also, a RUSH Center & RUSH County, KS.? Dr. Marcus Whitman (1802-1847), a missionary to the Indians in Oregon, was born in RUSHville, NY. There is a RUSH River in Virginia & a RUSH Creek in Missouri!
There is a famous signer of the Declaration of Independence, one Dr. Benjamin RUSH, however, my husband cannot find a link with our RUSH family to old Ben. And did you know that there is a RUSH Chapel United Methodist church in northern Missouri? My husband plans on being buried in the RUSH Chapel cemetery, the one located on RUSH Road in Mary’s Home, south of the Mo. capital, where many of his ancestors have already been laid to rest.

RUSH is even found in the Bible as RUSH, RUSHed, RUSHes, and RUSHing (37 times). And according to my computer dictionary, “RUSH” means = haste, reeds, dash, attack. My husband believes the American RUSH surname is derived from the Gaelic (Irish) “O’Luachrua” which means bullRUSHes or reeds.
There is also a RUSH Medical College, Chicago, IL. and a town named RUSHbrook chartered in Logan County, IL in 1834. It is a ghost town now. There is a RUSH Street in Osawatomie, KS. and a TV commercial featured RUSHCard.com
I looked in my atlas and found all these other RUSH related place names: RUSHville, IL; RUSH County and RUSHville, IN; RUSH City, RUSH River, RUSHford Village, RUSHford, and RUSHmore, MN; RUSHville, NE; RUSHville, OH; RUSH Springs, OK; RUSHton, TN; and RUSHmere, VA.
The head detective on the TV show "Cold Case" is named Lily RUSH.

In 2011, this poem was on my paternal aunt & uncle’s Christmas card. I couldn’t resist adding it to this collection of other RUSH’s. ;)

Christmas Hush
By Kay L. Halliwill.

May the quietness of Christmas,
The calm and holy hush
Of that first advent season,
Still our Christmas RUSH.

May our memories of the manger
Reassure us, ease the stress
Of troubled hearts in troubled times
With His peace and quietness.

If you know of any other bits of RUSH Trivia, such as how the RUSH band got its name, we’d love to hear it. RUSH it into the comments below.

Illustration by Mary Engelbreit.

A girlfriend found this Valentine for me at a church rummage sale!

Family Interviews

Having trouble coming up with questions to ask during family interviews? There are a couple of resources one can use to pick your relative’s brains for facts about their family to move forward in your research.

One is a little spiral book called “Mom Share Your Life With Me.” By Kathleen Lashier. PO Box 821, Marshalltown, IA 50158. @ 1993. It’s a one-memory-question-a-day (365) book. There is also another book in the series called “Dad, Share Your Life With Me.” I found my unused Mom book at a thrift store, so it might be available online.  (check out my google library link)

If you are/were a homeschooler like we were, our support group passed around a list of questions that we could use to jumpstart our young student’s daily journaling (creative writing practice). Teacher mama or Principal Daddy would photocopy the questions, cut the questions into strips, then place them into a decorated jar. If the pre-teen/teenager was stumped for a subject to write about on a particular day, (s)he withdrew one question to write about. The following sample questions can be reworded to your particular need and most can be used as a beginning point to document your family history.

Journaling Jar Questions

1. Are there any family heirlooms in your possession? What are they?
2. Describe a favorite childhood friend and something you did with her or him.
3. Describe family traditions you remember from your childhood.
4. Did you go to Sunday school? What did you do there?
5. Did you have a close relationship with any of your grandparents? Tell about it.
6. Did you participate in any summer camps or mission trips?
7. Did you receive your education somewhere other than public school?
8. Do you regularly attend weekly church services? Where? Are you a member?
9. Do you know where any family members are buried?
10. Tell about ancestors you know about--names, dates, history etc.
11. Tell about any conditions surrounding your birth that you are aware of. Tell any interesting stories about your beginnings, how your name was chosen, etc.
12. Tell about your mother, characteristics, talents, temperament, family stories, and her role.
13. Tell a courtship story about your parents, how they met, etc.
14. Tell family stories about your Dad. What was his role in your home?
15. Were there any events national, global or local that changed your life?
16. Were you baptised or dedicated as an infant? If so, where and by whom?
17. What is the spiritual heritage you've inherited from your ancestors?
18. Have you ever stood up for what you believe, even when it was very hard? Tell about it.
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I love Mary Engelbreit's art work. She is a St. Louis, MO. artist and have several books of hers as well as many of her collectibles like cards, coffee mugs, fabric, stationary, rubber stamps, teacups, tins, and so forth. Most of the items I find junking at thrift stores, garage sales, and at flea markets. David recently unearthed a 1993 book for me she illustrated called “A Mother’s Journal: A Collection of Family Memories.” It’s a fill-in-the-blank scrapbook with many questions to jog mom’s brain cells, help her organize her collection of family memories, and to present to her descendants. There are even pages for photographs.

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Zerelda “Ruth” & Archie Truman Rush, Sr.

Zeralda “Ruth” Rush was born on 24 June, 1908 in Jim Henry township, Miller County, MO, to Ephraim “Ephie” David (1869-1942) and Alice Isabelle “Belle” Bittle (1877-1951) Rush. She was the eighth child of twelve and a younger sister to Ishmael L. Rush with whom she was very close. Theirs was a musical family. Ruth played a horn and I.L. played a fiddle.

Archie Truman Rush, Sr. was born to Albert “Lee” (1879-1981)and Minnie Catherine Sullens (1900-1951) Rush on 9 September, 1905 in Jim Henry Township also. He was their 3rd child of ten children.

They, third cousins, married on 28 August 1926 in St. Louis, MO. Together they had one child, Archie Trueman Rush, Jr., born 12 July, 1927. “Junior” begat three grandchildren with his wife, Jewell Mae Vernon (1927-1992).

Ruth and Archie farmed a piece of land off Rush Road in Jim Henry Twp., Eugene, MO. I’ve heard stories that Ruth was a dead aim and could shoot squirrels from her front porch for the supper-pot. As far as hobbies go, she was a quilter, crocheted doilies to sell for pocket money and could write very good poetry (see the sample below)..

She was a member of the Eldon, MO. Church of the Nazarene.

Archie died on 22 January 1993. Ruth died 11 October 1999, tragically in a car accident beside her big brother, Ishmael. Her funeral service was held at the Phillips Funeral Home in Eldon. Her pastor, Rev. Jerry Frye officiated. All were buried in the Rush Chapel Cemetery in Jim Henry, between Mary’s Home and Tuscumbia, MO.

The Poor Old Beggar
By Ruth Rush.

The night was cold and dreary, the rain was coming down,
The poor old ragged beggar lie silently on the ground.
His clothes were worn and shabby, his hair was all unkempt,
His body tired and weary; for nights he hadn’t slept.

No one seemed to love him; he had tried but all in vain
To find a place of shelter, but everywhere the same.
The finest homes he hunted, and asked for a bite to eat,
Always “No” for an answer; was made to walk the streets.

He came to a humble dwelling, the steps were tumbled down.
He knocked upon the door and this is what he found:
A smile from the nicest lady with music in her words,
The most hearty welcome that he had ever heard.

“Madam, I hate to bother, but please, just a bite or two,
I’m so weak and hungry; I know not what to do;
I know you must be busy." “Hush,” said the lady fair,
Dinner just now is ready, with you I’ll gladly share.”

He thanked her very kindly as he sat with trembling hands,
He thought she was the nicest that lived throughout the land,
He kept his eyes upon her and watched her all the time.
“What makes her so different?” was the thought that crossed his mind.

She finished up the dinner and showed him where to sit,
She bowed her head in reverence as her hands together clasped.
The meal was not the finest, but was eaten with great delight
By the lady who had fixed it, and the beggar at the right.

She began to talk of Jesus and His love for everyone,
How He died upon the cross, and her heart to Him was won.
The beggar sat in silence and listened to her words
His heart beat fast and heavy; that Name somewhere he’d heard.

“The name again,” he asked her, “Jesus, did you say?”
I thank you for your kindness, I must now be on my way.”
“Just a minute, Mister beggar, I’ve a Book here on the stand.
Take it with you, please sir, and read it when you can.

“Here’s a coat I’ll give you; it will help to keep you warm.
Then I want you to pray, sir, for God to keep you from all harm.”
He bowed his head and thanked her, his eyes were filled with tears;
He thought: “I’m just a beggar, I wonder why she cares?”

The door was closed behind him, the lady knelt in prayer;
“Father, I’ve done my best, Save him out there somewhere.”
The beggar walked in haste, no one did he see,
His eyes toward the ground, his thoughts—eternity.

His mind began to wonder, the sun was sinking low;
He turned into the park, no other place to go.
He slept upon a bench and shivered from the cold;
“God keep you from all harm” rang out so clear and bold.

The nights were spent in misery, the days were sadder still;
He roamed the streets and highways and climbed the rugged hills.
He opened up his bundle he’d carried for many miles,
And found his mother’s picture with the happiest little smile.

He looked into her face, then clasped it to his breast;
“I’ll open up the Book and read it while I rest.”
He scanned through its pages, read how Christ had died,
How they spat upon His face and stabbed Him in the side.

He read within its pages, He died for all mankind;
“I’ll prepare for you a home and will come for you some time.”
His heart was oh, so hungry, as he went upon his way.
He heard the sweetest music and listened while they prayed.

He looked his trousers over, he felt his bearded face,
His hair was long and stringy, he seemed quite out of place.
The preacher took his text, and talked on Love Divine,
How everyone must meet the Christ out there some time.

The beggar sat and listened, he knew it was for him.
He staggered to the altar, God saved him from all sin.
The beggar rose with victory, his hands were lifted high,
His heart was overflowing, his face was toward the sky.

The people grouped around him and listened while he told,
How for years he’d been a beggar and slept out in the cold.
His mother’s name was mentioned, how she prayed and talked to God,
How his heart was hungry to walk the path she’d trod.

Today he is a preacher, he never knows defeat,
Because of God and mother and the lady down the street.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ 
A Lovely Couple
By Zerelda Ruth Rush.

There's the sweetest little couple
A' living on the hill.
To everyone, she's Aunt Cora,
And he is Uncle Bill.

When you near that little cottage
Where this humble couple dwells;
And you view their smiling faces,
Your heart begins to swell.

They make you feel so welcome
From the richest to the poor;
The stranger on the highway,
Or the beggar at the door.

To each it is a pleasure
To lay aside their hat;
And sit for hours and hours
Together with them chat.

We think it is a treat
When he gets you by the arm;
And shows you all his pets
That he has there on the farm.

He has them trained most perfect
They understand somehow;
The hen knows when to cackle
And the cat when to meow.

Old Boss, she knows the minute
When feeding time is near;
But keeps right on a grazing
As if she didn't hear. . .

Bill coming down the path.
The buckets swinging high;
Or hear him gently calling
As he comes passing by.

She hears him say, "Come on, Boss,
Or I'll not feed you now;
If you don't mind, I'll trade you off
And get another cow."

She smiles and switched her tail
And continues with her chew;
She isn't worried a bit.
She knew he would come to . . .

Drive her to the stall,
And pet her on the head
And say, "Now, Boss, you know,
I haven't meant a word I said."

The old red rooster looking on,
Was standing by the barn;
Bill's loving on all his pets, 
He waits patiently to be fed corn.

Nearby, you hear Cora laugh a little bit,
Then she gives a little sigh.
Her mother-love shines like gold.
For those who just came by.

She hasn't time for all the pets
Just one to her is a thrill;
The one she married years ago
And that is Uncle Bill.