Ottumwa tri-weekly courier., 1912-08-20
UNITED after
HALF A CENTURY
TWO BROTHERS AND SISTER MET
At AGENCY HOMECOMING AFT
Err YEARS OF SEARCHING.
From Fridays Daily.

at-
A search of over half century end.
ed yesterday at the Agency hornecorn.
ing, when J. N. Rush Of Los Angeles
and Mrs r. e. Huffman Of Monmouth,
ILL.,, met their brother, E. 8. Rush OF
Agency after a search Of many years.
The family came to Iowa in the early
forttes, and after living In various
places in the state finally settled n
Agency. IN the spring Of 1850, j. N.
Rush, then boy II years old started
out from Agency to seek his fortune.
He babe goodby to his parents ana
eleven brothers and sisters and started
west called by the lure Of the gold
rush to California. The journey over
land was long and perilous, and frought
with many hardships, but the plucky
lad at last reached the goal ne set out
for and worked and endured with the
rest OF the men on Suffers creek. he
was always thinking he would SEND
word home when the opportunity
came, but in that early day 1t was
very hard to get word back to the east,
and the years rolled on, and the fam-
lily at home lost all hope Of ever see.
ing their boy again. They did not,
however, stop sending word, and ask
ing everybody who returned from Cali
for1ia If they had ever heard OF d boy
by the name of Rush. No news ever
came, the family scattered and moved
to different parts OF the country, and
at least every member Of the Rusn
family had left Agency. The father
and mother died and also some OF the
children. Letters sent were returned.
some Of them after long years from
the dead letter office. Finally E. >.
Rush returned to Agency to live. At
the same time there came call to
the boy that left home so many years
ago, the boy now grown to manhood
and slipping down the shady side OF
life.
He longed to be back IN good old
Iowa, and attending the Iowa picnic,
that is held every year in Los An
geles, on February %, at Washington
Park, he registered as J. N. Rush OF
Agency, Iowa. While waiting at the
registry another man came UP and see.
ing the name Of Rush, he paused and
studied The pair exchanged greet
ings; they talked for few minutes
and then the words fairly stumbled
over each other In the conversation
that followed. The man was from Iowa,
from Agency, and knew man there
by the name Of E. s. Rush; had talked
to him just before starting west; had
known him long time, and knew OF
the brother that had gone away 50
many years ago. AS they talked J. n.
Rush knew he had at last found the
one thing to make him happy, and a
letter was Immediately sent to the
brother in Agency. The answer came.
The words Of love, of family news, and
the invitation to come back, worked
like magic, and j. N. Rush began max
ing preparations for the trip. He
planned to come back to the big home
coming at Agency. August Is and yes
terday he was there, and there was a
sister also, little girl when the big
brother left the home, and she came
from her home In Monmouth, III. The
three, all that is left Of the family OF
twelve children. were together on the
old familiar sod; they talked and
laughed, and patted each others naads,
and cried a little, but were the hap
piest of all the large crowd yesterday.