Blish - Blush

So, I’m taking a break from the Mallette side of my mother’s family to research the “Blish” side. I have learned that Blish and Blush were interchangeable many generations back contributing to mass confusion and adding to the need for a wall of post-it notes. I first run into the undecided spelling of the last name with Joseph Blish/Blush, Jr. (1762-1848). This interchanging of last names was detrimental in Joseph’s application for pension for his service during the Revolutionary War, his claim was rejected due to no service records being found - under the spelling of Blush. But, they are there under the spelling of Blish, a discovery made in 1902 by a family researcher writing a book on the “Blish” family. When reading his pension records, under the name Blush, I see that a contributing factor could quite possibly be due to penmanship, and probably just the family not being consistent.  I believe as the researcher in 1902 that this Joseph Blush is the same Joseph Blish that is great great grandfather to my  great grandmother Margarite Rose Blish Mallette Rash, my mother’s grandmother.  In the records at the National Archives that hold the original documents is the annotation of the researcher in 1902 and the records are now cross filed under Blish too.  Also within the pension records are two documents attesting to the service of Joseph, one from his daughter Almira and one from his son Oliver, another validation that these two Josephs are one in the same.  I have discovered two books on the family. Interestingly, one for each spelling of the name and both documented with various resources that are similar. So, when researching this line my suggestion is to try both spellings….Blish….Blush…happy hunting.