Balthus / Baltis Rusk | Hamilton UGRR

What the records establish

Balthus Rusk, whose first name also appears as Baltis and in other variant spellings, appears in Fairfield Township, Butler County, by 1840 and in Springfield Township, Hamilton County, by 1850. Census records identify him as a farmer. In 1848, historical church material identifies him as an elder who joined Rev. Adrian Aten's newly organized Associate Reformed congregation in the Springfield/Springdale area. That congregation was explicitly abolitionist in character.

Evidence boundary: these records document Rusk's position inside an abolitionist church network. They do not by themselves prove that he operated an Underground Railroad station or personally conducted freedom seekers.

The 1847 B. B. Rusk deed

On March 1, 1847, John M. Cochran and Martha Jane Cochran conveyed to B. B. Rusk approximately 130 acres in Section 19, Township 3 of the Miami Purchase in Hamilton County, Ohio. The consideration appears as $1,950. This primary-source deed gives the project a specific antebellum property description to map.

Property caution: the deed alone does not establish that the tract overlapped the land later occupied by Spring Grove Cemetery. The legal description must be mapped and compared with historic property and cemetery boundaries before that claim can be made.

Explore the 1847 deed →

Why Siebert's Rev. Rusk matters

Wilbur H. Siebert's research note 4534 identifies a “Rev. Rusk” as an Associate Reformed preacher and Underground Railroad conductor. The note says his property was in what later became Spring Grove Cemetery, that he saw freedom seekers safely to the Stubbs family at West Elkton, and that he would go through Hamilton at night.

Balthus/Baltis is therefore a serious working candidate for Siebert's “Rev. Rusk.” He lived in the relevant region, held church office as an elder, and joined Rev. Adrian Aten's explicitly abolitionist Associate Reformed congregation. However, the records located so far identify Balthus as an elder and farmer, not as a licensed or ordained minister or preacher.

Current working interpretation: the identification is plausible but not proven. Siebert or his informant may have used “Rev.” imprecisely for a prominent church officer, or Siebert's Rev. Rusk may have been another member of the Rusk family. Until additional evidence resolves that question, the website treats Balthus/Baltis as a leading candidate rather than a confirmed identification.

Read Siebert 4534 →

What we are still trying to prove

The next steps are to map the 1847 tract, reconstruct the chain of title, compare the property with historic Spring Grove boundaries, trace Balthus's parents and adult male relatives, and search Associate Reformed ministerial records for a Rusk who was actually licensed or ordained to preach.

Source Basis

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Spring Grove land-purchase comparison

A contemporary 1869 history of Spring Grove Cemetery includes a chronological list of land acquisitions between 1845 and 1867. The list does not name B. B. Rusk or John M. Cochran as direct sellers to the cemetery. It records, among other purchases, approximately 132½ acres acquired from George Hill's widow and heirs in 1866.

This does not establish that the Hill tract was formerly Rusk's 130-acre property. A valid comparison requires the full legal descriptions, intervening deeds, and historical section boundaries. The cemetery history does not identify Balthus Rusk as Siebert's “Rev. Rusk.”

Read the cemetery source record →