Lucian Rust (1820 - 1896)

Biography

Born 26 AUG 1820. Otselic, New York. ^[1]

Married

Husband Lucian Rust. Wife Sarah Davis. 13 JUN 1849. Girard, Pennsylvania. Note: His obituary says m. June 13, 1825 and gives the location; this year cannot be correct since he was born in 1820. The History of Ashland, Ohio says this marriage was in 1849.

Husband Lucian Rust. Wife Frances Ann Smith. 15 NOV 1857. Smith's Basin, New York. ^[2]

Husband Lucian Rust. Wife Janette A. Jackson. ABT 1861. Marysville, New York. ^[3] Note: Date based on birth of first child, but also given as 1861 in the History of Ashland, Ohio.

Notes

From the Rust Genealogy (1891), p. 439: "Mr. Rust was clerk in merchandising business from 1840 to 1849; from that time until the civil war he was a member of the firm of Becker & Rust, general railroad contractors and suffered a great loss by being compelled to leave a heavy contract on account of the war. He then engaged in the oil trade from 1861 to 1866 and again suffered loss. His next venture was in building iron bridges in which he was quite successful until 1873, when the bursting of the Jay Cooke bubble was the cause of a suspension of this business. Mr. Rust then secured a position as a clerk in the Treasury department at Washington, D.C., for two years. He resides at Ashland, Ohio."

From History of Ashland County, Ohio (1880): "Lucian Rust was born near Binghamton, New York, and received a common school education. He began the study of law with George A. Elliot, of Erie, Pennsylvania in 1842, but his health failing, he was obliged to give it up in 1843, when he went south, but in 1844 returned to Erie and began clerking in a book store and express office. In 1846-47-48 he was book-keeper for Williams & Wright, who were in the dry goods business, and was afterwards with A. King, wholesale grocer, and with Boyd, Cook & Co., contractors on the Lake Shore railroad. In 1850 he went into partnership with Albert Becker, under the firm name of Becker & Rust, general contractors, and constructed the railroad bridge across Walnut creek, on the Lake Shore railroad, in Pennsylvania; built the Akron branch of the Cleveland & Pittsburgh railroad, and commenced in 1853 the construction of the Hillsborough & Cincinnati railroad. In 1855 took the contract for laying the Nashville & Northwestern railroad in Tennessee, but suspended operations on account of the approach of war. He soon returned to Erie, and in 1861 built the Carbon Oil company's refinery. In 1864 he built the Dale oil works, in Franklin, Pennsylvania. In 1867 he moved to Loudonville, and has since been employed by the Brundage Iron Bridge company, and in 1871 built the iron bridge over the Kentucky river, at Cogar's Landing. In 1873 he was appointed clerk in the treasury department, under Commodore Douglas, and held that position until July, 1875, when he returned to Loudonville and engaged in the clothing business. In 1849 he married Sarah Davis, of Washington county, New York. She died in 1856. In 1857 he married Francis A. Smith, who died in 1859. In 1861 he married Jeanette A. Whitney, of Chautauqua county, New York. He is the father of five children, viz.: Lucian, deceased; Helen, deceased; Frances H.; Sarah J. and Lucian."

Census

1850 Erie, Pennsylvania. ^[4]

• Lucian Rust 27 M merchant b. NY
• Sarah Rust 24 F b. NY

1870 Loudonville, Ashland, Ohio. ^[5]

• Rust, E. L. 49 M W contractor of RR bridge $3700/600 b. NY
• Rust, Jinnett 35 F W kh NY
• Rust, Sarah 8 F W PA
• Rust, Ell 5 F W PA

1880 Loudonville, Ashland, Ohio. ^[6]

• Rust, Lucian Sr. W M 59 hd Mar clothing merchant NY CT CT
• Rust, Janette W F 45 wf Mar kh NY NY NY
• Rust, Sarah W F 18 d S schl PA NY NY
• Rust, Lucian Jr. W M 14 s S schl PA NY NY

Died 29 JAN 1896. Dunkirk, New York. ^[7]

Buried Erie Cemetery, Erie, Erie County, Pennsylvania. https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/124784180/lucian-rust

Sources

1. ↑ Source: #S69 p. 439
2. ↑ Source: #S69 p. 439
3. ↑ Source: #S69 p. 439
4. ↑ Source: #S12 west ward, p. 243B, taken Sept 3
5. ↑ Source: #S12 roll 1169, p. 631, sht 9, taken July 12, dw 69, fam 74
6. ↑ Source: #S12 roll 991, p. 52, sht 23A, ed 81, taken June 16, dw 201, fam 209
7. ↑ Source: #S7 obituary - The Buffalo Courier, Thursday, January 30, 1896, p. 3 Dunkirk Drift - Death of Lucien Rust -- His Remarkable Career. Vast Business Dealings. A Man of Extraordinary Ability in Handling Large Enterprises -- Dunkirk, Jan 29 (Special) - Lucien Rust died at 6 o'clock this morning in his 76th year after a long and painful illness. The deceased was born in Otselic, N. Y., August 26, 1820. He was the son of Stephen and Hannah (Scarritt) [sic] Rust of Litchfield and New Haven, Conn., and was in the eighth generation of descent from Henry Rust, who came from Hingham, Norfolk County, England, between 1633 and 1635, and settled in Hingham, Mass. Mr. Rust was three times married: in Girard, Pa., June 13, 1825 [sic], to Sarah, daughter of Gardner and Sarah (Webb) Davis, who died in Erie, Pa., December 15, 1856; at Smith's Basin, N.Y., November 15, 1857, to Frances Ann, daughter of Ezekiel and Catherine (Holmes) Smith, who died in Loudenville, O., May 7, 1859; and at Marysville, N. Y., to Janette A. Whitney, daughter of Isaac and Sally (Haskins) Jackson, who survives him. He is survived by three children: Miss Frances Helen Rust, Smith's Basin, N. Y.; Mrs. Walter S. Gaines (Sarah Janette), Cleveland, O.; Lucien Rust, Jr., Dunkirk, and three grandchildren, Janette, Walter and Virgil Gaines of Cleveland. One brother, Halbert Rust, is also living in Fairmont, Ky. Lucien Rust began business life when a young man as bookkeeper in Oliver Stafford's book store in Erie, Pa. Afterwards he entered the employ of the Wells-Fargo Express Company and carried the first express matter from Erie to Pittsburg. At the age of 29 he was a railroad contractor, the firm name being Rust & Becker. His work at this time was on the Lake Shore, between Harbor Creek and Swanville. He built the great bridge over Walnut Creek at Swanville. He afterwards built the road from Hudson to Akron. A short time before the late War he entered upon a heavy contract for the Tennessee & Northwestern, amounting to about $5,500,000, but the War stopped progress in this and caused him a loss. He then built the second oil refinery in Erie, Pa., and operated it for two years as one of the firm, Rust, Clark & Walker. He then sold out to the other members of the firm and built a large refinery in Franklin, Pa., in which he was engaged till in 1866 as superintendent and owner of one third of the stock. Leaving this, he was very successful as a builder of iron bridges till 1873, when occurred a suspension of this business. He then secured a position as clerk in the Treasury Department at Washington for two years. He then engaged in mercantile business in the clothing and boot and shoe lines until his health failed about 20 years ago. He had resided here about four years, his son Lucien having a position as engineer in the office of the Lake Shore & Michigan Southern. He made many firends in Dunkirk, although living the quiet life of an invalid. He was a member of the Masonic fraternity, having joined it in Erie, Pa., many years ago. He was a member of the First Universalist Church in Erie and assisted largely in its support for years. He was a man of fine intellect and of a kind, generous, and patient disposition and greatly esteemed by all. In his long illness through which he was carefully attended by his wife, he was always patient and cheerfully interested in passing events. The last wish which he expressed was that his son should go to Cleveland and bring his daughter, Mrs. Gaines, and his three young grandchildren to him. His son departed upon this errand but death came sooner than expected and the father passed from earth before the arrival of the children. The funeral will probably be held from the house Friday morning and the remains will be taken to Erie for burial.

• Source: S12 census record
• Source: S69 Albert D. Rust, Record of the Rust Family, Embracing the Descendants of Henry Rust, Who Came From England and Settled in Hingham, Mass., 1634-1635 (Waco, Texas: the Author, 1891)
• Source: S7 newspaper