BRUSH, Avery
BRUSH, BIRCHARD, MORELAND, SPAANUM
Posted By: Gordon Felland (email)
Date: 6/27/2009 at 20:46:32
Avery Brush, president of the Osage National Bank and thus having much to do with the business development of Mitchell county, is honored and respected by all, not alone by reason of the success which he has achieved, but also owing to the straightforward business methods which he has ever followed.
He was born near Danbury, Connecticut, on the 8th of January, 1845, a son of Albert and Julia (Birchard) Brush. The father was a native of the Empire state, born May 5, 1811, and his death occurred April 22, 1880. He was both a farmer and merchant, carrying on business at Brewster, Putnam county, New York, in which state he spent his entire life. His wife, who was born in New York, August 28, 1809, passed away on the 15th of May, 1881. The Brush family is of English descent and was established on American soil at an early period in the history of the new world, three brothers coming to the colonies and settling at Huntington, Long Island. They were progenitors of the different branches of the family now scattered so extensively over the western states.
Avery Brush pursued his education in the east, attending the Amenia Seminary, and his early training was that of the farmbred boy. He remained upon the old homestead until 1866 and in 1868 he became the secretary of the Borden Condensed Milk Company at Brewster, New York, occupying that position until 1869. In 1867 he had paid a visit to Osage, Iowa, but returned to his home and it was after this that he occupied the secretaryship of the Borden Condensed Milk Company. Later he came west to visit his brother, who owned a mill on the river, but the mill had been taken away by the flood and the ice, and a portion of the dam had been destroyed. Mr. Brush then spent a year in putting things back into shape.
On the 1st of December, 1869, he again made his way to Iowa, being a passenger on the first train run over the Illinois Central Railroad. He entered the employ of the Osage National Bank as assistant cashier on the 17th of January, 1870. His capability and fidelity led to hisretention in that position until January, 1881, when he was advanced to the position of cashier. In 1891 he was elected president of the bank and he still so continues. Through forty-seven years connection with the institution he has contributed in marked measure to its successful management and conduct. There is no phase of the business with which he is not familiar and he has ever carefully and wisely safeguarded the interests of depositors and stockholders, thus making the bank a strong financial institution. He is also a member of the firm of Brush Brothers, who owned a sawmill and warehouses on the siding, and thus he became a factor in the industrial and commercial development of the community.
On the 7th of June, 1876, Mr. Brush was united in marriage to Miss Delia Moreland, who was born in Colesburg, Iowa, in October, 1857, and passed away in 1908, at the age of fifty-one years. Her death was deeply regretted by many friends as well as by her immediate family. She had become the mother of five children: Joseph M., who is conducting a cannery at Graton, California; Julia, the wife of Karl J. Johnson, of Osage; Birchard, who is assistant cashier of the Osage National Bank; Laura, the wife of Carl H. Spaanum; and Avery J., who lives in Osage.
Mr. Brush is a member of the Methodist Episcopal church, in which he has served as a trustee for years. He has been a generous supporter of the church, active in its work, and has done everything in his power to advance its interests. His aid and influence have always been given on the side of righteousness, truth, reform and progress. There has been nothing spectacular in his career, which is that of a substantial business man who has devoted his attention almost entirely to his banking interests, but the worth of his character is widely acknowledged and he has ever enjoyed the confidence and goodwill of his fellowmen.
Source: History of Mitchell and Worth Counties, Iowa, 1918, Vol. II, page 70.
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NOTE: Avery Brush died in 1923. See his obituary page on the Obits Message Board.
Mitchell Biographies maintained by Sharyl Ferrall.
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