Search

Includes a few medical statements and receipts, along with two volumes of household accounts maintained by Benjamin Rush, one in conjunction with his wife. Along with general expenses and accounting information, the account books feature the employment records for Rush family staff and servants, often containing comments on the character and notable aspects of the employment history of each employee.

Present are Benjamin Rush's sworn statement regarding a certificate for Dickinson College, a patent for a tract of land Rush purchased in 1795, along with a certificate of attendance Rush signed for one of his students at the College of Philadelphia Medical School.

The majority of the 136 letters in the series were composed by Benjamin Rush, and letters he wrote to Julia during the 1793 yellow fever epidemic in Philadelphia form a substantial part of the series. Main topics in the letters include Rush family matters, medical treatments for a wide variety of medical issues, American politics, and the country's relations with European nations. Other topics include mental illness and its treatment, the medical department in the Continental Army, the impact of epidemics upon commerce internationally, reading habits, parenting, and capital punishment.