Rush L. Fisette

RUSH L. FISETTE. - There are few men whose lives are crowned with the honor and respect which is universally accorded to Rush L. Fisette, who has long resided at Rosedale, Kansas, where he is accorded recognition as one of the ablest lawyers in this section of the state. With him success in life has been reached by sterling qualities of mind and a heart true to every manly principle. He has never deviated from what his judgment indicated to be right and honorable between his fellow men and himself. He has never swerved from the path of duty, and he has every reason to enjoy the consciousness of having gained for himself by his honorable, straightforward career the confidence and respect of the entire community in which he lives. He has attained a foremost position at the Kansas bar and as a result of his fair and honorable methods is accorded the unalloyed confidence and esteem of his fellow men.

Rush L. Fisette was born in the state of Illinois, in 1866, and is a son of Peter B. and Emma (Crouch) Fisette. The father was born in the Dominion of Canada, in 1829, of French parentage, and as a youth he was destined for the priesthood, an uncle having taken it upon himself to supply the funds for his religious education. The young Peter did not like his uncle's plans for him, however, and, following his own inclinations, he left the institution in which he was studying and went to Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, where he began to learn the profession of dentistry. After acquiring considerable skill in that connection he began to travel as a dentist and it was during his wanderings that he met his future wife in Illinois. This marriage was prolific of one son, Rush L., the immediate subject of this review. Peter B. Fisette was summoned to the life eternal in 1872, at the age of forty-three years, and his cherished and devoted wife, who still survives him, now resides in the home of Rush L., her only son.

A child of but six years of age at the time of his father's death, Rush L. Fisette received but meager educational training in his youth. When twelve years of age he began to work out as a farm hand in Illinois, in this way helping to support his widowed mother. He continued to be identified with farming operations, in the capacity of employe, for a number of years, and when he had saved two hundred and fifty dollars his employer made it optional with him to go into partnership with him in raising cattle or to use it as a school fund. He chose the latter prerogative and thereafter attended a normal school, in which he was later graduated. He began to teach school in Fulton county and some years later he came to Kansas City, Kansas, where he entered the employ of an express company. He was still ardently desirous for a good education and for a number of years was enrolled as a student in a night school. He was later matriculated in a law school at Kansas City, in which he graduated, with honors, in 1897, duly receiving his degree of Bachelor of Laws. He still continued in the employ of the express company but later, when conditions necessitated a reduction of his salary, he resigned and turned his attention to the practice of law. He removed to Rosedale, Kansas, where he opened offices and hung out his shingle as a lawyer. In very short order he succeeded in building up a large and representative clientage, which has gradually increased in extent and importance, so that Mr. Fisette is today acknowledged one of the busiest and most successful attorneys in this part of the country. He is a well fortified counselor and has figured in some of the most important litigations in the state and federal courts. His well equipped offices are located at 1609 Kansas City avenue.

In the year 1904 was recorded the marriage of Mr. Fisette to Miss Minnie Matney, who was born in Wyandotte county, Kansas, and who is a daughter of the late John R. Matney. Mr. Matney was one of the oldest pioneer citizens of Kansas City and Wyandotte county at the time of his demise, in January, 1911, and he was long one of the leaders in various matters tending to promote the general welfare of his home community. Elsewhere in this volume will be found a sketch dedicated to his career, so that further data at this point are not deemed essential. Mr. and Mrs. Fisette have no children. They are popular factors in connection with the best social activities of Rosedale.

Mr. Fisette is not an active participant in public affairs, as his constantly increasing law practice demands his entire time and attention. He is connected with a number of professional and fraternal organizations of representative character and in all matters affecting the general welfare his loyalty and public spirit have ever been of the most insistent order.