Prepared by Cara Gilgenbach, September 2005; Updated February 2019; Last Updated: August 2020

Inclusive Dates: 1895-1955
Extent: .33 cubic foot (1 document case)
Physical Location: 11th floor

Biographical Note: Dr. Raymond C. Rush (1875-1954) was born in Kirtland, Ohio on August 8, 1875. He graduated from the Cleveland Homeopathic Medical College where he earned his M.D. He later received an honorary degree from the Ohio State University. While recognized for his work as a physician, Rush gained wider prominence as a naturalist. His interests included conchology, botany, and local geology, among other things. According to a biographical note written by Ralph Dexter in The Nautilus, Rush "was not a mere amateur collector, but a serious student of zoology. He was well versed in scientific literature and knew many of the leading naturalists, especially conchologists, either personally or through correspondence" (vol. 68, no. 3, January 1955:103). One of Rush's closest friends and colleagues was Dr. Victor Sterki of the Carnegie Museum in Pittsburgh. Rush was a longtime resident of Hudson, Ohio, where in retirement he established the Tamaracks Nursery which specialized in propagation and introduction of evergreens and rare conifers. Rush donated his personal shell collection of over 3500 species and a number of books from his personal scientific library to Kent State University. He was a member of the American Microscopical Society, the Ohio Academy of Science, and the American Association for the Advancement of Science. He died at the age of 79 on June 23, 1954.

Scope and Content: This collection contains miscellaneous papers of Raymond C. Rush. The largest group of papers consists of correspondence written to Rush. The most common topic found in these letters is discussion of the exchange, identification, and collection of specimens of various plants and animals, especially mollusks. The name of the correspondent and the place from which the letter was written are included, if known. Also included in the collection are lists of specimens, observation notes on plants and animals, and biographical information on Rush. The materials date from 1895-1955, with the bulk of items dating from the 1920s and 1930s.

Box 1
Folder -- Contents

1. Biographical information on Rush, 1954; 1955; undated
2. Certificate: Summit County, Village of Hudson, election as Member of Council, November 14, 1935
3. Certificate: Acknowledgment of gifts of specimens to the Smithsonian Institution by Rush, 1898; 1900
4. Correspondence: Raymond C. Rush to Mr. Wescott [includes list of specimens], January 9, 1929
5. Correspondence: Raymond C. Rush to Mr. Chappel [includes an exchange list of mollusk specimens], March 5, 1932
6. Clippings: miscellaneous (on biological topics), undated
7. Ex libris [bookplate] of Raymond C. Rush, undated
8. Lists: "American Freshwater Mollusca" [typewritten; pages 4-8 only], undated
9. Lists: "Desiderata. sp. apparently not represented in my collection" and "Desiderata. sp. poorly represented in my coll..." [handwritten want lists by J. L.? Staid], January, 1929
10. Lists: "Hybrid black oaks known to 1925. Hardy in Ohio?" and "White oak hybrids which should be hardy in Ohio" [handwritten and typewritten versions of these lists compiled by Raymond C. Rush], [1925?]
11. Lists: "Land Shells from Mindoro Province, P.I." [two sets for sale by Pedro De Mesa, Calapan, Mindoro, Philippine Islands], [December, 1932]
12. Lists: [mollusks; typewritten list], undated
13. Log book [noting specimens collected; 550 entries], undated
14. Names and addresses [of other collectors?] [includes Victor Sterki], undated
15. Notes: "Am now able to augment the cone collection..." [handwritten notes by Raymond C. Rush], December 1937
16. Notes: "Notes for '95" [notebook with observations on birds and their nests], [1895]
17. Notes: [notebook containing observations on birds], [1896?]
18. Notes: "Notes on Amphi Inadrasi Hid" by "CMW", December 1916
19. Notes: on hybrid oak, [193?]

The following folders contain correspondence written to Raymond C. Rush (arranged chronologically):

20. 1897, June 19: True, [J. or T.] W. Smithsonian Institution, Washington, D.C.
21. 1898, August 17: Simpson, C. T. Smithsonian Institution, Washington, D.C.
22. 1900, January 3: Simpson, C. T. Smithsonian Institution, Washington, D.C.
23. 1909, August 20: Farrer, W. J. Chapel House, Bassenthwaite, Keswick [includes photograph of Farrer].
24. 1910, March: [de L'Eprev_?], J. France, [written in French].
25. 1911, January 26: Sterki, Victor. New Philadelphia, Ohio. [includes "Some Random Notes to the List of Summit Co. Mollusca" by Sterki] [photocopy].
26. 1911, September 20: Bownocker, J. A. Columbus, [Ohio].
27. 1912, March 13: Claff, William F. [no place]. [includes a handwritten chart of sub-order "Monotocardia"].
28. 1914, February 5: Sterki, Victor. New Philadelphia, Ohio.
29. 1914, March 23: Sterki, Victor. New Philadelphia, Ohio. [includes notes on mollusk specimens sent to Sterki by Rush] [photocopy].
30. 1917, January 29: Baker, Frank C. New York State College of Forestry at Syracuse University, Syracuse, New York.
31. 1917, April 13: Thompson, Lillian [Dyer?]. Cambridge, Massachusetts
32. 1917, April 24: Thompson, Lillian [Dyer?]. Cambridge, Massachusetts. [includes list of shells for exchange].
33. 1918, February 15: Holmes, J. H. Clearwater, Florida [dealer in marine shells, curios, etc.]
34. 1921, July 10: [Zetek?], James. Ancon, Canal Zone.
35. 1924, December 23-27: Sterki, Victor. New Philadelphia, Ohio. [photocopy]
36. 1925, May 15: Pilsbry, Henry A. Academy of Natural Sciences, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
37. 1925, September 11: Crane, Will E. Washington, D.C.
38. 1928, December 7: Reed, Fred M. Riverside, California.
39. 1929, January 19: Fulton, Hugh C. Ravenscourt Park, London, [England].
40. 1929, February 15: Gatliff, John H. Melbourne, Victoria, Australia.
41. 1932, March 10: Jackson, Ralph W. Cambridge, Maryland.
42. 1932, March 21: Parris, W. G. [Wirmingham?], Tennessee.
43. 1932, April 27: Staid, [J. L.?] Rheims Marne, France.
44. 1932, October 24: Parris, W. G. [Wirmingham?], Tennessee.
45. 1933, January 26: Shimek, B. Iowa City, Iowa.
46. 1933, February 20: Brooks, Stanley T. Carnegie Museum, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.
47. 1933, July: Harlow, William M. Syracuse, New York.
48. 1933, July 26: Brooks, Stanley T. Carnegie Museum, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.
49. 1933, October 6: Baker, Frank C. University of Illinois, Museum of Natural History, Urbana, Illinois.
50. 1933, November 7: Fuller, George D. University of Chicago, Department of Botany, Chicago, Illinois.
51. 1934, [January]: Gilbert, Charles "Chubby." Dorset, Vermont.
52. 1934, January 4: Brooks, Stanley T. Carnegie Museum, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.
53. 1934, August 25: Harlow, William M. Syracuse, New York.
54. 1934, November 23: Brooks, Stanley T. Carnegie Museum, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.
55. 1935, July 5: Fuller, Arthur B. Cleveland Museum of Natural History, Cleveland, Ohio.
56. 1935, July 10: Crane, Will E. Washington, D.C.
57. 1936, January 20: Chappel, R. H. Kensington, Maryland.
58. [no year], March 19: [de Pas, E?]. France.

Photograph

59. Dr. Rush inspecting his collection of mollusks donated to KSU; photograph taken for The Kent Stater: May 7, 1936