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CHARACTERS. 



Biographical Account of Dr. Ben- 

 jamin Rush, of Philadelphia; by 

 David Hosack, M.D. F.R.S. 8;c. 

 SiC. of New York. From Dr. 

 Thomson's Annals of Philosophy, 

 vol. viii. No. 2. 



DR. RUSH was born Dec. 24, 

 1745, on his father's estate, 

 about 12 miles from the city of 

 Philadelphia. His ancestors fol- 

 lowed William Penn from Eng- 

 land to Pennsylvania, in the year 

 1683. They chiefly belonged to 

 the society of Quakers, and were 

 all, as well as his ))arents, distin- 

 guished for the industry, the vir- 

 tue, and the piety, characteristic 

 of their sect. His grandfather, 

 James Rush, whose occupation 

 Avas that of a gunsmith, resided 

 on his estate near Philadelphia, 

 and died in the year 1/27. His 

 son John, the father of Dr. Rusli, 

 inherited both his trade and his 

 farm, and was eq\ially distinguish- 

 ed for his industry and ingeniiity. 

 He died while his son Benjamin 

 was yet young, but left him to 

 the care of an excellent and pious 

 mother, who took an active inte- 

 rest in his education and welfare. 



In SI letter which I had the plea- 

 sure to receive from Dr. Rush, 

 a short time before his death, and 

 which was written upon his return 

 from a visit to the tomb of his 

 ancestors, he thus expresses the 

 obligation he felt for the early 

 impressions of piety he had re- 

 ceived fiom his parents : — 



" I have acquired and received 

 nothing from the world which I 

 prize so highly as the religious 

 principles 1 inherited from them j 

 and I possess nothing that I value 

 so much as the innocence and pu- 

 rity of their characters." 



But this was not the only source 

 of that virtue and religion for 

 A\ liicli he was so eminently distin- 

 guished. His mother, as if in- 

 fluenced with a presentiment of 

 the future destinies of her son, 

 resolved to give him the advan- 

 tages of the best education which 

 our country then afforded. For 

 this jjurpose he was sent, at the 

 early age of eight or nine years, 

 to the W^est Nottingham Gram- 

 mar Scliool, and placed under the 

 care of his maternal uncle, the 

 Rev. Dr. Samuel Finley, an ex- 

 cellent 



