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Section 17.F
Richard of Madeira

At the end of section 17.A we identified Crean BRUSH [Ir12] as having had three sons, John, James and Crean. Richard[Ir29] of Madeira and James[Ir32] 'the jeweller'(section 17.E) were brothers and were probably sons of Rev James BRUSH [Ir14]. The AHB tree shows Richard as born 7.5.1783 but this is completely out of line with the other listed children and would be incompatible with the bequest in 1777 and 1791 marriage mentioned below. Maybe 7 May 1753?

The 1777 will of 'the infamous' Crean BRUSH [Ir ](section 37) names his cousin Richard BRUSH, merchant, of Madeira as a beneficiary.

The published index to marriages reported in the Hibernian magazine(1)records the marriage on the island of Madeira of 'Rhd' BRUSH, merchant. The date shown is October 1791 which may be the date of the marriage or may be the later date of the magazine report.  It adds two superb and unusual pieces of detail.  First, that his wife Margaret ROGERS of London had a fortune of over £20,000. And secondly that Rhd was "bro to Mr.,of S.Andrews St".

'Mr.,of S.Andrews St' is without doubt James [Ir32] 'the jeweller' of 7 St Andrew's Street, Dublin (discussed in section 17.E) who traded not just as a jeweller and watchmaker but also as a dealer in Madeira wine.

The following extract from the Papers of Thomas Jefferson(2) is an unusual piece of historical anecdote.  John Pintard was the American Consul in Madeira.  (Although not directly relevant here, the American consul in Surinam around this time was an Ebenezer Brush.)

The Boston Magazine [ref?] reported Richard Brush died in Boston aged 52 in 1804, which puts his birth date as 1751 or 52, close to the previously suggested 1753 date. It looks like 52,...BUT….another death record clearly shows him as age 32. Which would throw everything out. A birth date of 1771/2 makes a 1791 marriage tight, fits badly with being a son of Rev James and could make him a son of James snr the Jeweller and brother of his son James. The source for this (found in Ancestry) is headed "Massachusetts, U.S., Town and Vital Records, 1620-1988". However page 1 of the record identifies it as "Compiled in 1859 from Misc Sources, arranged Alphabetically" and the references column appears to identify the source of the information as being "Weekly Mag". So it could well be a miss-transcription. But his burial is also recorded in the records of Trinity Church Boston on 1 September 1804 and the transcript published by the Colonial Society also shows his age as 32. The dates are difficult to reconcile. Could there be two Richards- father and son?

Richard's will, made in Massachusets leaves all his estate to his executor and friend Antonio Martins, merchant of Madeira but also now resident in Boston.

The (transcribed) will within the probate record

The certification of the will, within the probate record

Whether he has no family, or whether he is making an easily applied will which will only impact the limited assets travelling with him is unknown. Probably the latter. In the grant of probate, specific reference is made to him having assets in the county of Suffolk, Massachusets. It is unlikely that that the Madeira or English authorities would take any notice of a Massachusets Probate.

The grant of probate

The Probate court for Suffolk County Massachusetts directed that an inventory should be taken, as described in a surprising source : Town House: Architecture and Material Life in the Early American City, 1780-1830 by Bernard L. Herman:

According to a profile in geni.com (and elsewhere) a James Aplan Brush (or Santiago BRUSH in Spanish) was born in Madeira in 1786 the son of Richard A Brush and Margaret Roger. This date is not of course compatible with the 1791 marriage of Richard and Margaret, nor with a birth date for Richard of 1772. There is certainly a Brush family which does move to South America (section xx, )and this is an interesting link back via Madeira to Ireland. https://www.semana.com//nacion/articulo/en-busca-sangre-azul/20876-3 However James Aplan Brush is also referred to as being Scotitsh and as having served in the Napoleonic wars. He wrote a diary about his involvement in Mexican wars which has been published as part of a serious historical work. His diary does not seem to say anything about himself but the author of the book includes a section with biographical details. She says he was born in 1780 near Glasgow, in the parish of Kirkintilloch, Dunbartonshire, Scotland. As I understand Spanish naming convention this would indicate that Aplan was his father's name and Brush his mother's name. Could it be that his mother remarried after his birth while he was still young.

and here is a wildcard idea. The AHB tree shos Rev James Brush marrying a Sarah Aplin in 1737. Its cnot a verycommon name.

Gender: Male Birth: 1786 Madeira, Portugal Death: December 21, 1873 (86-87) Bogotá, Bogota, Colombia Place of Burial: Los Mártires, Bogotá, Bogotá, Colombia Immediate Family: Son of Richard A. Brush and Margaret Roger Husband of María Teresa Dominguez del Castillo Father of Teresa Brush Dominguez and Maria Victoria Brush y Dominguez Half brother of James Laing; Ann Laing; William Laing and Richard Laing

I'm not sure I find the marriage to Richard Laing particularly convincing.

(1) back to text    Farrar, Henry. Irish Marriages: Being an Index to the Marriages in Walker's Hibernian Magazine, 1771 to 1812. London, England: Phillimore & Co., 1897.

(2) back to text    Volume 25 : 1 January -10 May1793

Next Section Chapter 17.G: xxx