General Notes

[coosa1.ged]
Baron Dekalb Rushing, second child of Malachi and Teletha (Dykes) Rushing
was born 20 July 1828 in Montgomery. (It is thought that he was probably
named after Johann DeKalb, a German soldier who won distinction in the
American Revolutionary War. Johann DeKalb added Baron to his original
name, calling himself Baron Johann DeKalb. He came to America with
Marquis de Lafayette in 1777 and the Continental Congress appointed him a
major general.)
When Baron Dekalb was a young boy hunting in the woods one day, he
heard the cry of a child. The girl was about eleven years old and was
thought to be Creek Indian. His parents raised her and called her Sirena.
She was thought to have been born circa 1828 in Alabama.
Baron DeKalb and Sirena were married 31 January 1847 by John Park,
Justice of Peace. They lived in Pike County, AL in 1850, in Coffee
County, AL in 1860 and in Crenshaw County, AL in 1870 according to Census
Reports for those years. Baron DeKalb was a blacksmith and was elected
Justice of Peace, Coffee County, and was commissioned 6 April 1859.
He was a sergeant in Company A, 33 Alabama Infantry Regiment of the
Confederate States during the Civil War. He enlisted at Elba 22 Feb 1862
and was in Captain Kimmey’s Company. (Many of the Rushing sons carry the
Kimmey, believed to have come from the army officer’s name.) Baron was
honorably discharged in 1863 due to a disease of the lungs.
Baron Dekalb moved to Walton County, Florida 7 January 1872. He
applied for a Soldier's Pension 29 September 1902. On the applications he
stated, "I have been a sufferer from Rheumatism for fifteen years and
since the first of January 1902, I have been wholly unable to perform
manual labor of any kind, being confined to by bed the most of the time
and have only been able at times to get about with the assistance of
crutches and sticks; that about three years ago I dislocated my ankle,
besides have been a sufferer from liver and kidney complaints and on
account of said diseases am rendered wholly unable to gain a livelihood
by manual labor." The Physician's Affidavit was signed by Dr. J. F. King.
The pension was approved to pay from 1 July 1909 at the rate of $150.00
per annum, Pension Certificate #1725.
It was told that Baron DeKalb died while sitting on the front porch
in a rocking chair. He fell from his chair on his open pocket knife and
it closed, cutting the skin between his thumb and index finger.
Much of the research on Baron DeKalb Rushing and his family was done
by Anita Rushing Mitchell of Panama City, Florida. (1)
"Rushing" Through the Generations, by Peggy Rushing Sims
Rushing Baron   D.     1st Sergeant    3/11/62 Elba AL 33 at enlist. Born
Montgomery Co AL. Disability discharge 7/25/1862 signed by M.C. Kimney
Commanding Officer CO A. Reason for discharge: hepatized lungs from
frequent bouts of pneumonia.
Baron Dekalb Rushing, second child of Malachi and Teletha (Dykes) Rushing
was born 20 July 1828 in Dublin, Montgomery Co., AL. It is thought that
he was probably named after Johann DeKalb, a German soldier who won
distinction in the American Revolutionary War. Johann DeKalb added Baron
to his original name, calling himself Baron Johann DeKalb. He came to
America with Marquis de Lafayette in 1777 and the Continental Congress
appointed him a major general.
There are two family stories about Baron Dekalb's wife, Sirena. When
Baron Dekalb was a young boy hunting in the woods one day, he heard the
cry of a child. The girl was about eleven years old and was thought to be
Creek Indian. His parents raised her and called her Sirena. The other
story is that Serena was a Creek Indian left with the Rushing family
because the girl's parents were being marched to Oklahoma and did not
think Serena would survive.  Hence, they left her with Baron Dekalb's a
family, who agreeably in Christian spirit raised and cared for her. One
famil