Author: Rusher, John
Biography:
RUSHER, John (1752-1822: ancestry.co.uk)
He was baptised on 7 Aug. 1752 at Charlbury, Oxford, the second of ten children of John Rusher (1725-95), yeoman farmer, and his wife Jane Harris (1725-87), who had married on 9 July 1749 at St. Mary Magdalen, Oxford. His younger brother Philip Rusher (q.v.) also wrote verse and another younger brother, William Rusher (1759-1849), was a schoolmaster, bookseller, and printer. Nothing is known of his education. He became a grocer and linen-draper at Charlbury. In 1802 he announced the sale of his business and removed to Reading, Berkshire, where he traded as a bookseller and hosier. By 1805 he seems to have run into financial difficulty and underwent insolvency proceedings. At some stage, possibly in 1806, he moved back to Oxford and became the principal clerk at the newly established Oxford University and City Herald (OUCH) newspaper, a position he held for many years. He married Rose Tallot on 24 June 1781 at All Saints, Oxford. They had at least seven children, with several infant deaths. She died at Reading in Mar. 1803, possibly due to childbirth complications as a Richard Rusher was buried with her. He married Mary Kemp, a widow, on 15 May 1805 at St. Mary’s, Banbury, Oxfordshire. There was no further issue. He died on 1 Dec. 1822 and was buried on 6 Dec. at St. Martin’s, Oxford. His widow, Mary, died in 1829. The Collects of the Church of England (1790) was first advertised the previous year in the University Printer William Jackson’s Oxford Journal and was probably printed by him. (ancestry.co.uk 13 Apr. 2024; findmypast.co.uk 13 Apr. 2024; OJ 24 Jan. 1789, 23 Oct. 1802; OUCH 7 Dec. 1822, 3 Oct. 1829) AA