Rash Family Papers, 1891-2014 (bulk: 1900s-1960s)
Collection held by the Filson Historical Society, Louisville, Kentucky
Creator: Rash family
Title: Papers, 1891-2014 (bulk: 1900s-1960s)
Rights: For more information regarding literary and copyright interest for this collection, contact the Collections Department at gro.l1777440531aciro1777440531tsihn1777440531oslif1777440531@hcra1777440531eser1777440531.
Size of Collection: 3 cubic feet
Location Number: Mss. A R224
Finding aid created by: Lynn Pohl
Date finding aid created: 12 March 2026
Date finding aid last updated: 12 March 2026
Scope and Content Note
The collection consists of the papers of Maj. Gen. Dillman “Dill” Rash (1907-1998) and his family members, who lived in Hopkins County and Louisville, Kentucky. Materials include correspondence, mining company and military records, financial and legal papers, and newspaper and magazine clippings, most dating from the first half of the twentieth century.
Family members represented in the collection include Dillman Rash’s grandfather James Rhea Rash (1853-1952), his parents Col. Frank Dillman Rash (1873-1946) and Susan Elizabeth Atkinson Rash (1880-1956), Susan’s parents George C. Atkinson (1852-1933) and Fannie Miller Atkinson (1856-1940), Dillman’s wife Nancy Batson Rash (1910-1984), Nancy’s father Judge Homer W. Batson (1874-1953), and Dillman and Nancy’s daughters Elizabeth “Peggy” Rash Brown (1932-2024), Marianne Rash Wood (1933-2024), and Nancy Rash Fabbri (1940-1995).
Folders 1-22 hold the correspondence of Atkinson family members, Frank Rash, Dillman Rash and his family during his time in Europe during World War II, and Dillman and Nancy Rash’s daughter Peggy Rash Brown. Most of the letters are ones exchanged between family members. Frank and Dillman Rash’s correspondence also includes letters from friends, military officials, and work associates.
Folders 23-26 hold the military records of Frank and Dillman Rash, including U.S. Army correspondence, special orders, certificates, and publications.
Folders 37-58 hold financial, legal, school, and miscellaneous papers of Rash and Batson family members.
Folders 59-66 consist of newspaper and magazine clippings relating to Rash family members.
Related collections
Rash family photographs, ca. 1860s-1990s [025PC40]
Dillman Rash buttons [2025.25.01-.02]
Dillman Rash papers, 1888-1979 [Mss. A R222]
Biographical Note
Dillman “Dill” Rash (1907-1998) was born in Earlington, Hopkins County, Kentucky, to Susan Elizabeth Atkinson Rash (1880-1956) and Col. Frank Dillman Rash (1873-1946).
Susan Rash was born in Earlington to George C. Atkinson (1852-1933) of Burlington County, New Jersey, and Fannie Miller Atkinson (1856-1940) of Trigg County, Kentucky. George joined his brother John B. Atkinson at the St. Bernard Mining Company in Earlington. Susan Rash graduated from Swarthmore College in 1901 and was active in the Colonial Dames, the Louisville Country Club, and the Woman’s Club.
Frank Rash was the son of James Rhea Rash (1853-1952) and Louise Dillman Rash (1853-1899) of Madisonville, Kentucky. James’s second wife was Georgia Jones Rash (1871-1970). Frank graduated from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in 1901 and joined the engineering department of the St. Bernard Mining Company; he was the company’s president before it was sold to West Kentucky Coal Company in 1924. He was active in industrial legislation, serving as the first vice president of the Kentucky Manufacturers’ and Shippers’ Association and the second president of the Kentucky Mining Institute of Mining Engineers. In 1940, he was appointed by President Franklin Roosevelt to head Kentucky’s Selective Service System.
In 1924, Frank Rash and his family moved to Louisville, where Dillman Rash graduated from Male High School and went on to receive his degree in economics from Princeton in 1930. Upon graduation Dillman returned to Louisville, where he worked for J.J.B. Hilliard & Son as an investment banker.
During World War II, Dillman Rash entered the federal service in January 1941 as an officer with the Kentucky National Guard in the 38th Division. He was promoted to lieutenant colonel while serving as an instructor at the Command and General Staff School in Fort Leavenworth, Kansas. He advanced rapidly due to his leadership and was assigned to the G-4 (supply) section of the Headquarters, European Theater of Operations in Germany. He received the Bronze Star and the French Medaille de Reconnaissance before leaving active duty in 1946.
Dillman joined the 100th Airborne Division in 1949 and was promoted to major general and division commander in 1959, making him the top Army Reserve officer in Kentucky. During the Berlin crisis in 1961, Rash returned to active duty to command a training center at Fort Chaffee, Arkansas. By the end of that year his unit had trained 30,000 soldiers. That earned Dillman a citation from President Kennedy and the Legion of Merit, the second-highest award given to peacetime soldiers. He retired in 1964.
Dillman Rash served on the boards of many corporations, including Brown-Forman Corp., Capital Holdings, Commonwealth Life Insurance, and First Kentucky National Corp. He was one of several business and community figures tapped in 1961 for a special mayor’s committee to work behind the scenes to promote racial desegregation in downtown Louisville. He assisted with getting hotels, movie theaters, and restaurants desegregated voluntarily.
Dillman Rash was married to Nancy Phillips Batson (1910-1984), the daughter of Judge Homer W. Batson (1874-1953) and Mary Welch Batson (1876-1949). Dillman and Nancy had three daughters: Elizabeth “Peggy” Rash Brown (1932-2024), Marianne Rash Wood (1933-2024), and Nancy Rash Fabbri (1940-1995). Peggy graduated from Louisville Collegiate School and Swarthmore College. She married Ralph Sawyer Brown of Massachusetts in 1953. Marianne graduated from Louisville Collegiate School and Vassar College. She married William Owen Roberts Wood Jr. in 1959. Nancy graduated from Louisville Collegiate School and Radcliffe College. She married Remo Fabbri Jr. of Norristown, Pennsylvania, in 1962.
Folder/Item/Box List
Box 1
Correspondence of Atkinson and Rash family members
Folder 1: Correspondence of George Atkinson, 1909-1910
Folder 2: Correspondence of Atkinson family, 1916-1917
Folder 3: Correspondence of Atkinson family, 1918-1922
Folder 4: Correspondence of Atkinson family, 1923
Folder 5: Correspondence from George Atkinson to Fannie Atkinson, 1925-1926
Folder 6: Correspondence of Frank Rash, 1909-1945
Folder 7: Condolences and memorials after the death of Frank Rash, 1946
Folder 8: Correspondence of Dillman Rash and Nancy Batson Rash, ca. 1910s-1930s
Folder 9: Princeton College correspondence of Dillman Rash, 1925-1930
Folder 10: V-mail from Dillman Rash to family and friends, ca. 1944-1945
Folder 11: Postcards from Dillman Rash to family, 1944-1945
Folder 12: Correspondence and will of James R. Rash, 1924-1952
Folder 13: Correspondence of Batson and Rash family members, 1942-1951
Folder 14: Correspondence from Homer Batson re: transfer of bonds and shares, 1947-1951
Folder 15: Correspondence of Rash family, 1948, 1959-1961
Folder 16: Correspondence from and relating to Peggy Rash Brown, 1950-1952
Folder 17: Correspondence from Peggy Rash Brown and Ralph Brown, ca. 1953-1962
Folder 18: Correspondence to Dillman and Nancy Rash after the death of Susan Rash, 1956
Folder 19: Correspondence from friends to Dillman Rash (includes photographs), 1941-1977
Folder 20: Correspondence of Dillman Rash, 1985 and undated
Folder 21: Invitations, cards, and birthday poems, ca. 1910s-1960s and undated
Folder 22: Letter of Wood family, 2014
Military records of Frank Rash and Dillman Rash
Folder 23: Fort Leavenworth publications and miscellaneous papers, 1933 and 1941-1943
Folder 24: Military records of Frank Rash and Dillman Rash, 1924-1940
Folder 25: Military records of Frank Rash and Dillman Rash, 1941-1943
Folder 26: Military records of Dillman Rash, 1944
Folder 27: Military records of Dillman Rash, 1945
Folder 28: Military records of Dillman Rash, 1946-1949
Folder 29: Military records of Dillman Rash, 1950-1951
Folder 30: Military records of Dillman Rash, 1952-1956
Folder 31: Military records of Dillman Rash, 1957-1960
Box 2
Military records of Dillman Rash (continued)
Folder 32: Military records of Dillman Rash, 1961-1962
Folder 33: Military records of Dillman Rash, 1963-1968, 1971
Folder 34: World War II maps of France, early 1940s
Folder 35: Military and World War II newsletters and publications, 1942-1953
Folder 36: Military and World War II booklets and Army officer’s notebook, 1941-1945
Miscellaneous papers of Rash and Batson family members
Folder 37: Miscellaneous papers relating to James Rash and Louise Dillman Rash, 1891-1903, 1950
Folder 38: Account book of Frank Rash, 1912
Folder 39: Mining industry and miscellaneous papers relating to Frank Rash, 1913-1946, 1957
Folder 40: Bible, undated
Folder 41: Loose papers kept in Bible (includes photographs and botanical specimen), ca. 1910s-1920s
Folder 42: Male High School and miscellaneous papers of Dillman Rash (includes photographs), ca. 1921-1926
Folder 43: Account book of Dillman Rash, ca. 1922-1938
Folder 44: Loose papers kept in account book of Dillman Rash, 1928-1930
Folder 45: Maps and ephemera from England kept by Dillman Rash, ca. 1944-1945
Folder 46: Publications from England kept by Dillman Rash, ca. 1944-1945
Folder 47: Booklets and ephemera from Europe kept by Dillman Rash, ca. 1944-1945
Folder 48: Switzerland maps and ephemera kept by Dillman Rash, 1945
Box 3
Miscellaneous papers of Rash and Batson family members (continued)
Folder 49: Miscellaneous papers of Elizabeth “Peggy” Rash, ca. 1941-1954
Folder 50: Fort Leavenworth post school report cards of Marianne Rash, 1942-1943
Folder 51: Miscellaneous papers of Nancy Rash, 1948-1962
Folder 52: Financial papers of Homer and Mary Batson, ca. 1942-1955
Folder 53: Wills and statement of assets of Homer and Mary Batson, 1945-1946
Folder 54: Legal papers of Rash family members, 1934-1964
Folder 55: Certificates of Dillman Rash and Nancy Batson Rash, 1954-1963
Folder 56: Widow of the Month Club material, 1958
Folder 57: Miscellaneous papers of Dillman Rash, ca. 1930s-1960s
Folder 58: Miscellaneous papers of Rash family members, ca. 1950s-1970s
Newspaper clippings and magazine articles
Folder 59: Newspaper clippings relating to Susan Atkinson Rash and Georgia Rash, 1926-1970
Folder 60: Newspaper clippings relating to James R. Rash and Frank Rash, ca. 1936-1952
Folder 61: Newspaper clippings relating to Dillman Rash, ca. 1925-1930
Folder 62: Newspaper clippings relating to Dillman Rash, ca. 1940s-1950s
Folder 63: Newspaper clippings relating to Dillman Rash, ca. 1960s, 1998
Folder 64: Magazine and newsletter articles relating to Dillman Rash, 1948-1962
Folder 65: Newspaper clippings relating to Nancy Batson Rash and Rash family, 1930-1966
Folder 66: Newspaper clippings relating to Peggy, Marianne, and Nancy Rash, ca. 1948-1962
Subject Headings
For details on how the below subjects appear in this collection, search the subject in the manuscript database at https://filsonhistorical.org/collections/manuscript-database/.
Atkinson, Fannie Miller, 1856-1940.
Atkinson, George C., 1852-1933.
Batson, Homer W., 1874-1953.
Batson, Mary Welch, 1876-1949.
Brown, Elizabeth Rash, 1932-2024.
Christmas.
Fabbri, Nancy Rash, 1940-1995.
Household employees – Kentucky.
Kentucky Derby.
Louisville Collegiate School (Louisville, Ky.)
Male High School (Louisville, Ky.)
Masonic Widows and Orphans home (Louisville, Ky.)
Princeton University.
Race relations – Kentucky – Louisville.
Rash, Dillman, 1907-1998.
Rash, Frank Dillman, 1873-1946.
Rash, Georgia Jones, 1871-1970.
Rash, James Rhea, 1853-1952.
Rash, Nancy Batson, 1910-1984.
Rash, Susan Elizabeth Atkinson, 1880-1956.
Rowe, Marianne Rash Wood, 1933-2024.
St. Bernard Mining Company (Earlington, Ky.)
Swarthmore College.
United States. Army.
Women – Education.
World War, 1939-1945.