Stephen Lush (1753 – April, 1825) was an American politician and lawyer from New York, and an officer during the American Revolutionary War.
Lush was born in New York City. [1] He attended King's College, earning a bachelor of arts in 1770 and a master's degree in 1773. [2] 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. [2] [3]
After the start of the American Revolutionary War, he was elected to the Albany Committee of Correspondence in 1776. [2] He served as a captain in the New York Volunteers in 1776, and then joined the Fifth New Jersey Regiment under Colonel Oliver Spencer, serving as acting judge advocate general in 1777. [1] He attained the rank of major, and served as the aide-de-camp of General George Clinton. [3] Clinton commanded Fort Montgomery, on the Hudson River; when the fort was taken by the British on October 6, 1777, Lush was captured. [1] 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. [4] After his release in 1778, Lush was appointed Clerk of the New York Court of Chancery. [2]
After the war, he moved to Albany and started a successful legal practice. [3] He was elected to the New York Assembly in 1792 and 1793, and then to the New York Senate in 1800, representing the eastern senate district until 1803. [1] He was elected again to the Assembly four more times, 1803 to 1806. [1] Lush owned slaves as late as 1819; at one time, he had five in his house. [2]
In 1781, he married Lydia Stringer (died 1841), the daughter of prominent physician Samuel Stringer. [1] [5] They had seven children: [6]
His son Samuel also became a lawyer and a member of the New York Assembly. [8]
After his death in April 1825, Lush was buried in Albany Rural Cemetery. [2]