Stephen Lush (1753 – April, 1825) was an American politician and lawyer from

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States New York may also refer to: Film and television * '' ...

, and an officer during the

American Revolutionary War The American Revolutionary War (April 19, 1775 – September 3, 1783), also known as the Revolutionary War or American War of Independence, was a major war of the American Revolution. Widely considered as the war that secured the independence of t ...

Early life

Lush was born in

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

.. He attended King's College, earning a bachelor of arts in 1770 and a master's degree in 1773.. He was admitted to the bar in 1774, at the age of twenty-one, and moved to Albany to practice law and live with his brother, Richard..

Career

After the start of the

, he was elected to the Albany

Committee of Correspondence The committees of correspondence were, prior to the outbreak of the American Revolutionary War, a collection of American political organizations that sought to coordinate opposition to British Parliament and, later, support for American independe ...

in 1776. He served as a captain in the

New York Volunteers The New York Volunteers, also known as the New York Companies and 1st Dutchess County Company, was a British Loyalist Provincial regiment, which served with the British Army, during American Revolutionary War. Eventually, the New York Volunteer ...

in 1776, and then joined the Fifth New Jersey Regiment under Colonel Oliver Spencer, serving as acting judge advocate general in 1777. He attained the rank of major, and served as the aide-de-camp of General George Clinton. Clinton commanded Fort Montgomery, on the

Hudson River The Hudson River is a river that flows from north to south primarily through eastern New York. It originates in the Adirondack Mountains of Upstate New York and flows southward through the Hudson Valley to the New York Harbor between N ...

; when the fort was taken by the British on October 6, 1777, Lush was captured. He was held prisoner for nearly a year, when he was used as bait in a proposed exchange of three prisoners; Clinton agreed without hesitation, unaware that one of the other American prisoners was actually a valuable British spy. After his release in 1778, Lush was appointed Clerk of the

New York Court of Chancery The New York Court of Chancery was the highest court in the State of New York from 1701 to 1847. History The New York Court of Chancery was established during the British colonial administration on August 28, 1701, with the colonial governor actin ...

Post-Revolutionary War

After the war, he moved to Albany and started a successful legal practice. He was elected to the

New York Assembly The New York State Assembly is the lower house of the New York State Legislature, with the New York State Senate being the upper house. There are 150 seats in the Assembly. Assembly members serve two-year terms without term limits in the United ...

in 1792 and 1793, and then to the

New York Senate The New York State Senate is the upper house of the New York State Legislature; the New York State Assembly is its lower house. Its members are elected to two-year terms; there are no term limits. There are 63 seats in the Senate. Partisan compo ...

in 1800, representing the eastern senate district until 1803. He was elected again to the Assembly four more times, 1803 to 1806. Lush owned slaves as late as 1819; at one time, he had five in his house.

Personal life

In 1781, he married Lydia Stringer (died 1841), the daughter of prominent physician Samuel Stringer. They had seven children: * Samuel Lush (1782–1782), who died in infancy *

Samuel Stringer Lush Samuel Stringer Lush (1783 – June 21, 1841) was an American lawyer and politician from Albany, New York. He was the son of Stephen Lush, a veteran of the American Revolutionary War who was also a lawyer and member of the New York Legislature. ...

(1783–1841) * William Lush (1785–1846) * Mary Lush * Rachel Lush * Gertrude Lush (c. 1797–1874), who married Robert James, the son of

William James William James (January 11, 1842 – August 26, 1910) was an American philosopher, historian, and psychologist, and the first educator to offer a psychology course in the United States. James is considered to be a leading thinker of the lat ...

of Albany, one of the wealthiest people in the United States in the early 19th century. * Richard Lush (1798–1828). His son

Samuel Samuel ''Šəmūʾēl'', Tiberian: ''Šămūʾēl''; ar, شموئيل or صموئيل '; el, Σαμουήλ ''Samouḗl''; la, Samūēl is a figure who, in the narratives of the Hebrew Bible, plays a key role in the transition from the bibl ...

also became a lawyer and a member of the New York Assembly. After his death in April 1825, Lush was buried in

Albany Rural Cemetery The Albany Rural Cemetery was established October 7, 1844, in Colonie, New York, United States, just outside the city of Albany, New York. It is renowned as one of the most beautiful, pastoral cemeteries in the U.S., at over . Many historical Am ...

References

;Notes ;Sources * . * . * . * . Reprinted from ''

The New York Genealogical and Biographical Record ''The New York Genealogical and Biographical Record'' is a scholarly publication devoted to the interests of American genealogy and biography. It is published on a quarterly basis by The New York Genealogical and Biographical Society. History Sin ...

''. * . {{DEFAULTSORT:Lush, Stephen 1753 births 1825 deaths New York (state) state senators Members of the New York State Assembly Continental Army officers from New York (state) New York (state) lawyers Columbia College (New York) alumni Politicians from Albany, New York Burials at Albany Rural Cemetery American Revolutionary War prisoners of war held by Great Britain Lawyers from Albany, New York American slave owners People from colonial New York 19th-century American lawyers