Susanna Lucas (c1626-1707)

The source page has these significant paragraphs: The Rushes were Separatists who supported Cromwell while in England and the cause of independence here in America. Capt. John Rush commanded a horse troop in the Puritan army under Cromwell. Family legend indicates that Cromwell judged him among his best officers and he was given the name "Old Trooper".

After the war John began farming and rearing a family. In about 1660 he became a Quaker, holding that persuasion throughout the Restoration, a harsh time for those who refused to conform to the Church of England. When William Penn opened his "holy experiment" for settlement, the Old Trooper, then age sixty three, sold all his holdings.

Like a second Noah, he and his wife, Susanna, gathered together their many grown children and grandchildren, and in 1683 boarded the ship, WELCOME, for America. They settled northeast of Philadelphia in the Quaker community of Byberry, founded by William Penn as sanctuary for this persecuted religious minority.

The number of Quakers grew rapidly and included many of the higher classes, including ministers of the Established Church, army officers and justices. Most notable were Robert Barclay and William Penn. In 1682 Penn created an asylum for this group in the colony of Pennsylvania and thousands of Quakers quickly settled there.

Rush arrived in Byberry just a year later. By 1697, however, the family had become Baptist. Their 500-acre farm in Byberry Township was located twelve miles up the Delaware River from Philadelphia on Poquessing Creek. This was to become the family home for the next five generations.