Dean, An interesting thought. According to Cyrus Edwards book: " His mother died of malaria and hardships in a railroad shack in the swamps between Lebanon Junction and Rolling Fork. He was left an orphan, [did not say what happened to his father].......... He served in the Union Army during the Civil War, was wounded and badly crippled for life." >From this I had wondered if his father worked for the railroad. Patrick may have worked for the railroad as a young man, but I don't think he did after the Civil War. Again according to Cyrus Edwards Patrick served as jailer sheriff, and representative to the legislature from Hart CO. Thanks Dean. Margaret On Tue, Jan 31, 2012 at 1:57 PM, dean hunt <[email protected]> wrote: > Margaret, > > I have no connections whatever to Patrick Rush, but I have a thought to > offer that "may' be of interest.  In the mid 1800s the Louisville & > Nashville Railroad used many workers of Irish descent to maintain and > rebuild much of the track.  Hugh Toohey of Barren County comes to mind. > > Just as today, back then employees had "dead head" privileges,  that is they > could ride free as unused space allowed.  Therefore the family could ride to > Bowling Green, attend Mass, then return that afternoon or evening. > > Not saying that is what happened, but food for thought. > > M. Dean Hunt > Louisville, KY > >