Sir Thomas Rush (or Russhe) (by 1487 – June 1537), born in

Sudbourne Sudbourne is a village and civil parish in Suffolk, England, located approximately north of Orford, Suffolk, Orford. All Saints' Church dates from the 14th century but was much restored in 1879. It is a grade II* listed building. Between 964 ...

Suffolk Suffolk ( ) is a ceremonial county in the East of England and East Anglia. It is bordered by Norfolk to the north, the North Sea to the east, Essex to the south, and Cambridgeshire to the west. Ipswich is the largest settlement and the county ...

England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...

, was an English

sergeant-at-arms A serjeant-at-arms or sergeant-at-arms is an officer appointed by a deliberative body, usually a legislature, to keep order during its meetings. The word "serjeant" is derived from the Latin , which means "servant". Historically, serjeants-at-a ...

who served Henry VII and

Henry VIII Henry VIII (28 June 149128 January 1547) was King of England from 22 April 1509 until his death in 1547. Henry is known for his Wives of Henry VIII, six marriages and his efforts to have his first marriage (to Catherine of Aragon) annulled. ...

and was knighted by the latter at the

coronation A coronation ceremony marks the formal investiture of a monarch with regal power using a crown. In addition to the crowning, this ceremony may include the presentation of other items of regalia, and other rituals such as the taking of special v ...

Anne Boleyn Anne Boleyn (; 1501 or 1507 – 19 May 1536) was List of English royal consorts, Queen of England from 1533 to 1536, as the Wives of Henry VIII, second wife of King Henry VIII. The circumstances of her marriage and execution, by beheading ...

in 1533. He was also appointed

High Sheriff of Norfolk and Suffolk This is a list of Sheriffs of Norfolk and Suffolk. The Sheriff (since 1974 called High Sheriff) is the oldest secular office under the Crown and is appointed annually by the Crown. He was originally the principal law enforcement officer in the c ...

in 1533.

Career

Thomas Rush was a local politician in

Ipswich Ipswich () is a port town and Borough status in the United Kingdom, borough in Suffolk, England. It is the county town, and largest in Suffolk, followed by Lowestoft and Bury St Edmunds, and the third-largest population centre in East Anglia, ...

who had served Henry VII as well as his son

. He was a friend of

Cardinal Wolsey Thomas Wolsey ( ; – 29 November 1530) was an English statesman and Catholic cardinal. When Henry VIII became King of England in 1509, Wolsey became the king's almoner. Wolsey's affairs prospered and by 1514 he had become the controlling f ...

(Henry VIII's first

Lord Chancellor The Lord Chancellor, formally titled Lord High Chancellor of Great Britain, is a senior minister of the Crown within the Government of the United Kingdom. The lord chancellor is the minister of justice for England and Wales and the highest-ra ...

), survived the fallout from Wolsey's downfall, and attached himself to Wolsey's successor

Thomas Cromwell Thomas Cromwell (; – 28 July 1540) was an English statesman and lawyer who served as List of English chief ministers, chief minister to King Henry VIII from 1534 to 1540, when he was beheaded on orders of the king, who later blamed false cha ...

. He was one of the King's sergeants-at-arms, the forerunners of the

Yeomen of the Guard The King's Body Guard of the Yeomen of the Guard is a Sovereign's Bodyguard, bodyguard of the British monarch. The List of oldest military units and formations in continuous operation, oldest British military corps still in existence, it was ...

("Beefeaters");

Debrett's Knightage Debrett's () is a British professional coaching company and publisher and authority on etiquette and behaviour, founded in 1769 with the publication of the first edition of ''The New Peerage''. The company takes its name from its founder, John D ...

says that he was one of those made a "

Knight of the Bath The Most Honourable Order of the Bath is a British order of chivalry founded by King George I of Great Britain, George I on 18 May 1725. Recipients of the Order are usually senior British Armed Forces, military officers or senior Civil Service ...

" as part of the coronation ceremonies of Anne Boleyn.

Family

Sir Thomas married Anne Rivers, daughter of John Rivers of Ipswich and widow of

Thomas Alvard (1460-1504) Thomas Alvard (1460–1504) was a prominent merchant in Ipswich, Suffolk, England. Career Alvard exported dairy products, grain, tanned leather and woollen cloth. Family life Thomas married Anne, daughter of John River, with whom he had eight ...

. Together they had six children: Arthur, Thomas, Leonard, Anthony, John, and an unnamed daughter. Leonard and John did not survive infancy. Sir Thomas later married a woman named Christian, but produced no more children.

Legacy

Sir Thomas is interred in St. Stephen's Church in

, which no longer functions as a church. A popular misconception is that Sir Thomas' most famous name-bearing descendant is Dr.

Benjamin Rush Benjamin Rush (April 19, 1813) was an American revolutionary, a Founding Father of the United States and signatory to the U.S. Declaration of Independence, and a civic leader in Philadelphia, where he was a physician, politician, social refor ...

, signer of the

Declaration of Independence A declaration of independence is an assertion by a polity in a defined territory that it is independent and constitutes a state. Such places are usually declared from part or all of the territory of another state or failed state, or are breaka ...

in 1776. Dr. Rush is Sir Thomas' descendant through the latter's eponymous son. he Rush Family History of Northwest Jersey, compiled by Pearl Rush Cressman and Kaye N. Cressman, 1965/ref>

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Rush, Thomas 1480s births 1560 deaths People from Suffolk Knights of the Bath 16th-century English people High sheriffs of Norfolk High sheriffs of Suffolk Members of the Parliament of England (pre-1707) for Ipswich