Administrative Information

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Preferred Citation

George Rust, Jr. Papers, 1788, 1815-1858. Accession 24688. Personal papers collection. The Library of Virginia, Richmond, Virginia.

Acquisition Information

Purchased 2 November 1957.

Biographical Information

George Rust, Jr., was born 4 January 1788 in Virginia to George Rust (1760-1850) and Elizabeth Rust (ca. 1766-1844). He lived for a while in Prince George's County, Maryland for a few years and was one of the defenders of Baltimore, Maryland, during the War of 1812. He moved to Loudoun County, Virginia, and represented that county in the House of Delegates from 1819 to 1823. Rust was elected brigadier general of the Virginia militia by the Virginia legislature in January 1824. During the 1828 presidential election, he was an elector for Andrew Jackson and John C. Calhoun. Rust served as superintendent of the United States Armory at Harper's Ferry, (West) Virginia, from 1830 to 1837. Rust was a planter and a businessman, owning part interest in a shoe and hat store in Baltimore from 1840 to 1845, and became a partner in a bank in Baltimore in 1856. Rust built "Rocklands" in Loudoun County, and then purchased "Exeter" in the same county. He and his nephew Albert Rust (ca. 1818-1870) also purchased the plantation "Indian Town" in Lancaster County, Virginia, in 1856. Rust married Maria Clagett Marlow (1790-1863) 8 November 1809 in Prince George's County, and they had nine children. Rust died 18 September 1857 in Baltimore, and was buried in Union Cemetery in Leesburg, Virginia.

Scope and Content Information

Papers, 1788, 1815-1858, of George Rust, Jr. (1788-1857) of Loudoun County, Virginia, consisting of personal and business records containing accounts, advertisements, agreements, bonds, broadsides, calling cards, circular letters, correspondence, deeds, insurance policies, land patents, letters of introduction and recommendation, lists, petitions, powers of attorney, promissory notes, receipts, surveys, and tax records. Collection is divided into three series. Series I: Correspondence, 1815-1856. Series II: Business papers, 1811-1858. Series III: Business papers, 1788, 1815-1858.

Correspondence, 1815-1856, consists of letters to and from Rust and covers Virginia politics, national politics, turnpikes in Virginia, duelling, carriages, home furnishings, the Virginia militia, the United States Armory at Harper's Ferry, (West) Virginia, Rust's possible move to Louisiana, and personal and business matters. Of particular interest are letters from Armistead T. Mason to Rust concerning his carriage and home decor; a letter from James Pleasants to William S. Archer announcing Mason's death in a duel; letters congratulating Rust on being elected brigadier general in command of the 6th brigade of the Virginia militia; letters from Joseph Lewis and Edward Lucas concerning state and national politics; letters concerning Rust's considered move to Louisiana; letters to President Franklin Pierce recommending individuals for government positions; and letters from Albert Rust concerning their plantation "Indian Town" in Lancaster County, Virginia.

Business papers, 1811-1858, contain accounts, advertisements, bonds, broadsides, insurance policies, letters, lists, petitions, promissory notes, receipts, and tax records. Of particular interest: a letter from "Robison Cruso" to the mechanics at Harper's Ferry, (West) Virginia, concerning their work situation; accounts for supplies purchased for the United States Armory at Harper's Ferry; broadside from George Westinghouse and Company for farm equipment; insurance policy to Rust from Washington County Mutual Insurance Company; receipts for payment for stocks in the Alexandria, Loudoun, and Hampshire Railroad; list of slaves at Rust's plantation "Exeter" in Loudoun County; and petition from William Brannan to the Virginia legislature requesting a divorce.

Business papers, 1788, 1819-1858, consisting of accounts, advertisements, agreements, bonds, calling cards, circulars, deeds, land patents, lists, memorandums, notices, powers of attorney, promissory notes, receipts, surveys, and tax receipts. Of particular interest: land patent from Governor Edmund Randolph to Goldsmith Chandley for 500 acres in Monongalia County, (West) Virginia; power of attorney to Rust from the Leesburg Turnpike Company; 1820 deed for slaves; agreements for construction of buildings at the United States Armory at Harper's Ferry; list of salaries due workers; circular from Board of Public Works; agreements between Rust, Francis D. Dungan, and Thomas C. Watkins to open a shoe and hat business in Baltimore, Maryland; advertisement for sale of "Exeter" in Loudoun County; and papers concerning "Indian Town" in Lancaster County, Virginia, including deeds and lists of slaves.

Arrangement

Items are arranged chronologically within each series.

Organized into three series: Series I: Correspondence, 1815-1856. Series II: Buiness papers, 1811-1858. Series III: Business papers, 1788, 1819-1858.