Russell Family Of Woburn, Massachusetts

"JOHN RUSSELL, Sen'r,^(*) was one of the earliest inhabitants of Woburn, Massachusetts, being a subscriber to the town orders drawn up for it at Charlestown, in 1640. He was one of the Selectmen several years in succession, and in 1644 was appointed on a highly respectable and important committee of seven for making distribution among the proprietors of the town 'of plow lands and swamps, and a particular division of the remote timber, according to justice and equity.' He is likewise named in the Town Records of the same year as a deacon of the church; and, at that time, was doubtless an Orthodox Congregationalist, both in practice and profession.

But afterwards, embracing the peculiarities of the Baptists, he was in the latter part of the year 1669, or, in the earlier part of 1670, admitted into the Baptist Church, of Boston, which then met for worship at Noddle's Island. Of this church he was soon after chosen an elder. For, in a letter from Edward Drinker, (a leading member of that church, and one of its founders,) directed to Mr. Clarke and his Baptist Church at Newport, and dated November 30, 1670, he takes the following notice of Mr. Russell: 'The Lord has given us another Elder, one John Russell, Sen'r, a gracious, wise and holy man, that lives at Woburn, where we have five brethren near that can meet with him; and they meet together first days, when they cannot come to us, and I hear there are some there looking that way with them.' Before this, probably in consequence of the change in his religious views, he had become remiss in his attendance upon public worship at Woburn, was wont to turn his back at the ministration of Infant Baptism, and refused to partake with the church there, of which he then was, or recently had been, both a member and an officer, in the Sacrament of the Lord's Supper.

Upon these charges and likewise for joining the Baptist Church in Boston, which had not been regularly gathered according to the laws of the Colony, and for accepting the eldership among them and exercising the authority of that office in excommunicating John Johnson, Sen'r, of Woburn, who had been admitted a member before him, he was summoned and tried before the Court of Quarter Sessions at Charlestown, December 19, 1671, and by that Court he was bound over to appear before the Court of Assistants at their next session. By the decision of this tribunal, which was then the Supreme Judicial Court, as well as the principal legislative body in the Colony, he was committed to prison, but shortly after released. For in a letter of William Hamlet, a Baptist brother, dated at Boston 14: 4 mo. (14 June) 1672, he is spoken of thus: 'I perceive you have heard, as if our brother Russell had died in prison. Through grace he is yet in the land of the living, and out of prison bonds; but is in a doubtful way as to the recovery of his outward health; but we ought to be quiet in the good will and pleasure of our God, who is only wise.'^(*)

"After the death of Elder Gould, first pastor of the Baptist Church in Boston, in October, 1675, Elder Miles, of Swansea, seems to have statedly ministered to it till 1679, when Mr. Russell was ordained to succeed Mr. Gould in Boston. It seems to have been long taken for granted that the person thus ordained as Elder Gould's successor in the pastoral office was John Russell, Sen'r, who had been an elder in the Baptist Church at Boston, almost from the time of his admission as a member. But the record of deaths at Woburn represent 'John Russell' to have deceased June 1, 1676; and that John Russell, Sen'r, is there intended, inspection of Woburn Record of Births, in which the births of the children of John Russell, Jun'r, are registered till January, 1678, does plainly show. The inference from these statements is, that Elder John Russell, Sen'r, died at Woburn, June 1, 1676. And this inference is confirmed by the date of his Will in the Probate Office, which is May 27, 1676, five days only before the date of the death referred to in Woburn Town Book. These facts show that John Russell, Jun'r, was the successor in the pastoral office at Boston."

"John Russell, Jun'r, was probably born either in England, before his father came to this country, or at Charlestown, where his father resided before Woburn was settled. He married Sarah Champney, (of Cambridge, it is presumed,) October 31, 1661; and like his father before him, was chosen repeatedly in Woburn, Sealer of Leather. He was admitted to the Baptist Church in Boston, a year or more before his father, being the fourth male person received into that church after it was constituted in 1665; and was always regarded by the other brethren as a very respectable and valuable member. In letters to that church from other churches and ministers of that denomination from abroad, as quoted in Backus' History of the Baptists, he is repeatedly mentioned with his father in their salutations, in terms of equal respect and affection. He was quite as obnoxious, too, as his father, to the civil authorities; and was presented with him to the Court of Quarter Sessions at the same time, December, 1671."^(*)

"John Russell, Jun'r, was ordained, as successor of Elder Gould, to the pastoral charge of the First Baptist Church in Boston, July 28, 1679. At the same time he removed his residence from Woburn to Boston, according to the historian of the Baptists, with whose statement on this point Woburn Records do well agree. For these, while they record the births of John Russell, Junior's children till January 1677-78, and his taxes in Woburn till December, 1679, the year of his removal to Boston, make no mention of him afterwards, though they record the death of his widow, Sarah, April 25, 1696; who, it seems, after the death of her husband, removed back from Boston to Woburn.

"At Boston, Elder Russell appears to have been a zealous and successful laborer in his sacred office; but he was not permitted to continue in it long, being taken away by death, December 21, 1680. Concerning him, Rev. Isaac Backus, the historian of the Baptists, observes: 'It is evident that the gifts and graces of Elder Russell were not small; and his memory is precious.'

"During the short period Elder Russell was in office he wrote a treatise in answer to some harsh reflections upon the Baptists contained in a then recent publication of the Rev. Dr. Increase Mather, asserting 'The Divine Right of Infant Baptism.' This answer was entitled, 'A Brief Narrative of some considerable passages concerning the First Gathering and Further Progress of a Church of Christ in Gospel Order, in Boston, in New England,' etc. It was dated from Boston the 20th of May, 1680; and being approved by his church, it was sent for publication to London, where a preface to it was written by seven noted Baptist ministers of that day.

"The descendants of John Russell, Sen'r, who continued in Woburn, seem not to have retained his peculiar sentiments as a Baptist, but to have been of the Congregational persuasion; and when the town was divided into two parishes in 1730, John Russell, his great-grandson, was the first clerk of the First Congregational Parish in Woburn, and also Parish Treasurer, and a Parish Assessor for several years in succession. But a granddaughter of Elder Russell, Sen'r, by his daughter, Mary Brooks, wife of Timothy Brooks, of Woburn, was married at Swansea to a gentleman by the name of Mason, by whom she had three sons, Job, Russell, and John Mason, all of whom were esteemed preachers of the Baptist denomination in their day.^(*)

"In reverting briefly to the civil prosecutions of the Baptists in Woburn, above cited, it cannot but be deeply regretted by all who venerate the memory of our pious ancestors, that they should have resorted to the measures they did in this matter. As we view it at this distant day, it would seem that sound policy, as well as consistency with their own professed principles, dictated a far more liberal course. For what had these men done, that they should be compelled to answer for their conduct before the judicial tribunals of the country, and there be admonished as evil doers, fined, and one of them eventually sentenced to imprisonment? . . . . The charge against them, which looks most like a civil misdemeanor, is that of turning their backs in God's house at the administration of infant baptism."

Mr. Sewall, in speaking of the persecutions of the Baptists, says: "And as to all the other charges for which the first Baptists of Woburn were presented to the Court, I am free to express my apprehensions, that there was more wrong done to them than by them." (p. 162.) "But while we cannot justify our ancestors in their proceedings against the early Baptists in Woburn, it behooves us in equity to moderate our censures, and to make all those allowances for them, which a due regard to their general character, and to the peculiar opinions and customs of those times demands." (p. 163.)

^(*)Extracted from Sewall's History of Woburn, Boston, 1868, p p. 157,158, 160, 161..

1. JOHN RUSSELL, Sen'r.1 The earliest notice of him appears as a subscriber to the town orders drawn up for it at Charlestown, Massachusetts, in 1640. When he came from England, does not appear. He died June 1, 1676. His first wife, Elizabeth, died December 16, 1644. His second wife was Elizabeth Baker, to whom he was married May 13, 1645, who died on the 17th January, 1689-90. He had two children.

2. i. JOHN RUSSELL, Jun'r,2 probably born in England. Ordained a Baptist minister at Boston, July 28, 1679. Died December 21, 1680. Married Sarah Champney, daughter of John Champney, of Cambridge, October 31, 1661. She died at Woburn, April 25, 1696. They had seven children. The following is the inscription on his gravestone, in King's Chapel Burial Ground, Boston:

"Memito te esse mortalium. Here lyeth buried ye body of John Russell, aged 40 years, departed this life December 22, 1680."

3. ii. MARY RUSSELL,2 who married Timothy Brooks, December 21, 1659, and had five children.

[2.] JOHN RUSSELL, Jun'r,2 born (???), died December 21, 1680; married Sarah Champney, October 31, 1661, and had the following children (Woburn Records):

4.    i. JOHN RUSSELL,3 born August 1, 1662; died July 26, 1717; married Elizabeth Palmer, December 21,
            1682, who died about 1723.
5.   ii. JOSEPH RUSSELL,3 born at Woburn, January 15, 1663-4; died at Boston, March 13, 1713-14.
     iii. SAMUEL RUSSELL,3 born February 3, 1667-8; died December 1, 1668.
      iv. SARAH RUSSELL,3 born February 10, 1670-1.
       v. ELIZABETH RUSSELL,3 born February 19, 1672-3; died June 5, 1743; married (???) Peirce.
      vi. JONATHAN RUSSELL,3 born August 6, 1675; died June 20, 1708. Lived in Woburn, where his will, dated
           May 7, 1708, was proved September 14, 1708. In this he mentions all his brothers and sisters in the
           same order as they appear in Sewall's Woburn (p. 636), which list we have followed; but he has the
           additional name of Ruth. The will also mentions "Mary, widow of my brother Samuel Russell";
           whereas Sewall says Samuel died December 1, 1668, having been born 3rd February of that year. The
           supposition of a clerical error in the date of his death affords a more probable explanation of this
           discrepancy than does the only other of which the case admits -- namely, that there was a second
           brother Samuel, of whose birth, marriage or death we have no account.
     vii. THOMAS RUSSELL,3 born January 5, 1677-8.
     viii. RUTH RUSSELL,3 born (???).

[3.] MARY,2 daughter of John Russell, Sen'r, married Timothy Brooks, December 21, 1659, who died at Billerica, September 15, 1680. (Woburn Records.) The names of five children are given, but it is said there were other daughters. The names given are:

        i. TIMOTHY BROOKS,3 born November 10, 1660; died in infancy.
       ii. TIMOTHY BROOKS,3 born October 9, 1661.
      iii. JOHN BROOKS,3 born October 16, 1662.
      iv. MARY BROOKS,3 born (???); died July 2, 1670.
       v. HEPSIBAH BROOKS,3 born 1673; married Pelatiah Mason, who was born in Rehoboth, Massachusetts, in
           1669. He was the son of Sampson and Mary Mason, the former having emigrated to America about the
           year 1649. He resided about seven years in Dorchester, Massachusetts, whence he removed to Rehoboth,
           where ten of his thirteen children were born. The Hon. Francis Baylies, in his History of Plymouth,
           says Sampson Mason was a dragoon in Oliver Cromwell's army, and it is believed that he
           was one of the famous "Ironsides Troop." Pelatiah Mason had many children, including three sons,
           Job, Russell and John, all of whom were esteemed preachers of the Baptist denomination in their day.

[4.] JOHN RUSSELL,3 (son of John2; of John, Sen'r,) born August 1, 1662; died July 26, 1717; married Elizabeth Palmer, December 21, 1682, who died about 1723. The Woburn Records say that "Widow Elizabeth Russell" is named in the Province Tax in 1723, but not in that of 1724. Their children were:

6.   i. JOHN RUSSELL,4 born September 20, 1683; married Joanna Winn, November 27, 1711. (Savage says he
       died at the age of ten months: Sewall, in his History of Woburn, that he married Joanna Winn.)
7.   ii. JOSEPH RUSSELL,4 born October 3, 1685; married Jane Kendall, November 3, 1712.
8.  iii. STEPHEN RUSSELL,4 born August 25, 1687; married Ruth (???).
9.  iv. ELIZABETH RUSSELL,4 born June 21, 1690; married --.
10.  v. SAMUEL RUSSELL,4 born July 16, 1692; married Rebekah (???).
      vi. SARAH RUSSELL,4 born October 15, 1694.
     vii. A son 4,_________ born August 19, 1697; died September 12, 1697.
    viii. RUTH RUSSELL,4 born January 16, 1699; married Samuel Eaton, March 20, 1722.
      ix. JONATHAN RUSSELL,4 born November 7, 1700
       x. MARY RUSSELL,4 born March 2, 1703; died November 27, 1709.
      xi. THOMAS RUSSELL,4, born June 26, 1705; date of death unknown.

[5.] JOSEPH RUSSELL,3 (son of John2; of John, Sen'r,) born in Woburn, January 15, 1663-4; died in Boston, March 13, 1713-14; married Mary (???), who died March 28, 1715. Her will was proved on the 12th April, 1715. (Woburn Records.) The following inscriptions in King's Chapel Burying Ground mark the graves of husband and wife:

"Here lyes buried ye body of Mr. Joseph Russell, aged 48 years, dec'd March ye 13, 1713."

"Here lyes ye body of Mrs. Mary Russell, wife of Mr. Joseph Russell, aged 46 years and 6 months, deceased March the 28th, 1715."

       i. JOSEPH RUSSELL,4 born December 12, 1687.^(*)
      ii. MARY RUSSELL,4 born (???).
      iii. ABIGAIL RUSSELL,4 born (???).
      iv. SARAH RUSSELL,4 born (???); married (???) Wakefield.
       v. ELIZABETH RUSSELL,4 born (???); married Joseph Hiller.
      vi. MEHITABEL RUSSELL.4
11.vii. THOMAS RUSSELL,4 born July 11, 1705; died September 1, 1760; married, 1. Elizabeth Condy. 2. Honora
            (Onner) Loud.
    viii. SKINNER RUSSELL,4 born (???); died in Boston, June 1752.
      ix. JONATHAN RUSSELL,4 born (???).^(*)

[6.] JOHN RUSSELL,4 (son of John3; of John Russell, Jun'r,2) born September 20, 1683; married Joanna Winn, November 27, 1711. (Woburn Records.) He was Town Clerk of Woburn 1739-1745. He was also chosen Clerk of the First Parish, March 3, 1731-2, and constantly re-chosen every year until March 1741-2. The date of his death does not appear in the Records.

^(*)While we are ignorant of the dates of the deaths of Joseph4 and Jonathan,4 sons of Joseph,3 of John,2 we know that both died before their brother Skinner,4 for Thomas,4 in his letter now printed, says in regard to Skinner's death, that he was his "only brother."

NOTE.--It has been found extremely difficult to trace the genealogy of the early Russell families of Woburn, for the reason that at the same time John Russell, Sen'r, and John Russell, Jun'r, and their children lived there, there was certainly one other family of Russell's, if not more, at the same time, also residents of Woburn. This has caused much confusion and greatly embarrassed genealogists, particularly as the names of John, Joseph, Jonathan, Thomas, Elizabeth and Sarah are found in different families. Our authorities for the genealogy of four generations, and the children of John4 of the Fifth, are Sewall's
History of Woburn, Savage's Genealogical Dictionary, and the Woburn Records, which the well-known genealogist, William B. Trask, has kindly examined for us.

       i. MARY RUSSELL,5 born October 3, 1712; died January 11, 1741-2; married Thomas Richardson, May 6,
            1735.
       ii. ELIZABETH RUSSELL,5 born December 18, 1714.
     iii. ANNE RUSSELL,5 born February 10, 1715-16; married John Coolidge, of Sherburne, May 29, 1739.
      iv. JOHN RUSSELL,5 born July 16, 1717.
      v. ABIGAIL RUSSELL,5 born September 22, 1719.
      vi. EDWARD RUSSELL,5 born April 7, 1722.
     vii. JAMES RUSSELL,5 born February 22, 1723-4.
    viii. DANIEL RUSSELL,5 born April 5, 1726.

[7.] JOSEPH RUSSELL,4 (son of John3; of John, Jun'r,2) born October 3, 1685; married Jane Kendall, November 3, 1712, and had four children. (Woburn Records.)

       i. JOSEPH RUSSELL,5 born September 22, 1713.
      ii. ABIGAIL RUSSELL,5 born July 1, 1717.
      iii. THOMAS RUSSELL,5 born November 13, 1719.
      iv. SARAH RUSSELL,5 born June 23, 1722.

[8.] STEPHEN RUSSELL,4 (son of John3; of John, Jun'r,2) born August 25, 1687; married Ruth (???), of Woburn, and had three children. (Woburn Records.)

       i. RUTH RUSSELL,5 born at Woburn, October 6, 1714.
      ii. STEPHEN RUSSELL,5 born May 12, 1717; died May 7, 1719.
     iii. MARY RUSSELL,5 born at Woburn, November 18, 1719.

[9.] ELIZABETH RUSSELL,4 (daughter of John3; of John, Jun'r,2) born June 21, 1690. (The Woburn Records give the marriages of two of this name, both of Woburn, One was married to Jonathan Jones, August 7, 1721; the other to Edward Knight, July 17, 1722. We are unable to determine which was the daughter of John Russell.3)

[10.] SAMUEL RUSSELL,4 (son of John3; of John, Jun'r,2) born July 16, 1692; married Rebekah Kendall, who died July 26, 1791, aged 96 1/2, a widow. (Woburn Records.) Their children were:

       i. REBECCA RUSSELL,5 born February 10, 1726-7; married Nathan Wyman, June 11, 1749.
       ii. SAMUEL RUSSELL,5 born January 5, 1728-9; died August 5, 1746.
     iii. JESSE RUSSELL,5 born July 5, 1731; married, first, Elizabeth Whipple, of Sutton; married, second, Huldah
            Reed, of Woburn, October 14, 1779, who died April 19, 1791; married, third, Mary Proctor, of Burlington,
            August 8, 1793. He died May 8, 1799.

[11.] THOMAS RUSSELL,4 (son of Joseph,3 son of John,2 and great-grandson of John Russell, Sen'r,)^(*) was born July 11, 1705; and died September 1, 1760. Married, first, Elizabeth Condy, who was born in (???). She was the daughter of Jeremiah Condy, and sister of the Rev. Jeremiah Condy; was well educated and possessed many graceful accomplishments for the period. She constructed curious pictures of filigree work, also wax flowers and fruit of rare beauty. Her embroidery was of an elegant order and attracted much attention, as did also a white Holland bed-spread of her handiwork. These memorials of her artistic ability were highly prized by the family, inasmuch as the fair one who made them had entered into rest.

While Boston was held by the British army and fleet in the war of the Revolution, certain soldiers were admitted to the house by an unfaithful domestic, and, reclining upon the quilt, ruined it by blood stains. They carried off the finest piece of Mrs. Russell's embroidery, into which she had wrought gold and silver threads. Lately, a white silk apron embroidered by her, 1710-1720, won by its merit the most prominent place amongst the embroidered articles in the present (1878) loan exhibition in aid of the Society of Decorative Art in New York. The sampler of Miss Elizabeth Russell, 1775-1776, the only daughter of Thomas Russell, is also worthy of inspection, and she, being named in memoriam of his first wife, consequently inherited several of the family relics, which are still preserved in the Drowne family.

^(*)The following letter from Thomas Russell has been kindly furnished us by Mr. Henry
T. Drowne, of New York. It was written by Mr. Russell to his son William, then thirteen
years old, who was the brother of Elizabeth, afterwards the wife of Dr. Solomon Drowne.
Skinner was a brother of Thomas. The "Tommy" alluded to was the oldest son of the
writer, and died in 1752.

BOSTON, June 4, 1752.
Thursday, 5 o'clock.
DEARE BILLY:

I rec'd your affectionate & dutiful letter by Mr. Locker to-day, & observe your tender
concern for me under my present Trouble. I hope I shall be supported & caryed through
to ye end.

Your brother John is quite well & abroad. Tommy has been and is still very bad, but
ever since yesterday morning is greatly revived and come to ye use of his reason, wch
gives us great Incouragement & hopes of his recovery, after so much danger and distressing
fear. I hope God will perfect his goodness & yt you will all meet together again &
rejoyce therin with each other. If Tommy shou'd recover & when things are all safe, I
purpose to see you & stay a little while in ye Country to refresh me.

I long to see you, my Deare, but you can't expect me yet. In ye meane time I hope
you will improve your self in learning as well as possible. Considering you have no
schoolmaster you must do as well as you are capable without.

I sent you word of your uncle Skinner's Death last Tuesday. I never knew ye loss of
any man in my life so much lamented. He was greatly beloved by all yt knew him. His
funeral was attended by an uncommon Number of persons at nine o'clock in the Evening
of ye same day he dyed. Ye loss of this Deare & only brother is extremely great,
but it is ye will of God. I must submit -- our Loss I doubt not but is his unspeakable
gaine.

                                         I am Deare Billy
For William Russell                                Yr Lov'g Father
      In Marlborough                                            THO: RUSSELL.
             at Mr. Lorings.
   ??mmy has been blind 6 days.

Savage, in his Genealogical Dictionary of New England, mentions the Rev. Jeremiah Condy (a graduate of Harvard College in 1726)^(*) as formerly "a distinguished minister of the First Baptist Church in Boston," and describes his ancestors as being enterprising men, several of whom had been captains in the naval service.

All Thomas Russell's children appear to have taken up their residence in Providence, while he remained in Boston, where he died. The following inscription marks his grave in King's Chapel Burying Ground, Boston:

"Here lies buried the body of Mr. Thomas Russell, who departed this life September ye 1st, 1760, aged 56 years."

12.   ii. JOSEPH RUSSELL,5 born October 2, 1732; died May 18, 1792; married, first, Mary Checkley, who was born
            January 4, 1735, died August 1770; married, second, Amey, step-daughter of Governor Stephen Hopkins,
            born September 7, 1748, died August 7, 1784; married, third, Ann Francis Lippitt, born 1748, died
            April 1, 1827.

iii. JEREMIAH CONDY RUSSELL,5 born (???); died August 30, 1759. It appears from family letters
in the possession of Mr. Henry T. Drowne, of New York, grandson of Dr. Solomon and Elizabeth (Russell) Drowne,
that Jeremiah Condy Russell was at Nantasket Roads, Boston Harbor, on the 5th December, 1757.

At this time Great Britain was at war with France, and Jeremiah wrote a letter to his worthy sire, then living in Boston, apprising him that he was engaged in the privateering business; or, in other words, sending out letters of marque to cruise against the French, a business in which the people of Providence, Newport, and Boston were largely engaged. From Nantasket he went to Halifax, and thence to Quebec. The latter city fell into the hands of the British forces under General Wolfe, in 1759; and it is probable that Jeremiah, with his vessel, was with the fleet before the city at the time, as he died there of small pox. The letter possesses so much interest that we give it entire. (*)

^(*) NANTASKET ROADS December 5, 1757.
MY DEAR AND HON'D FATHER:

I wrote you about five months ago giving you some account of the reasons of my leaving
the Jersies, but I this day saw Mrs. King at Nantasket, who told me she was sure you
hadn't recd it.

The country I was settled in grew in a very disturbed and dangerous situation, occasioned
by the Indians, as it was a Frontier Country; several people being killed very near
where I liv'd. The people removing made me very uneasy. At last I was seized with a
nervous Fever wch continued upwards of 3 months, wch time it pleased GOD to deprive me
of my Senses, and given over by the Doctors, when I grew better. Upon an Examination
of my affairs I found things wore a disagreeable aspect. I reflected upon it and thought I
had better appoint a Deputy, travel and try my Fortune, I accordingly went to Halifax.
Times dull at Halifax so concluded (won't it make you uneasy when I tell you) to buy part
of a Privateer, which I did, and agreed to go out in her as Owners Quartermaster, for wch
I am allowed as many shares as a first Lieutenant, exclusive of my shares of the Vessel as
one of the owners. I have nothing to do but take an account of the Quantity & Quality of
all Goods &c., taken in any Prize or Prizes for the Benefit of the rest of the owners; and
won't it shock you, Sir, to hear we have lain so long at Boston getting men, & never to
have waited upon so good a Father nor seen any of my Brothers or relations. What shall
I say for myself? I knew you had a particular aversion to Privateering as being a wicked
life, and so that I was afraid if I made myself known, you would endeavor to dissuade me
from it. I knew as I had engaged in the affair there was no going back till the cruize was
over.--You may readily imagine it must give me great uneasiness being so near you and
not see you. I do assure you it was owing to no disregard, for never had a child so kind a
Father; and you may say never had a Father so undutiful a child. Forgive me, dear Sir,
forgive me.--I may, perhaps, make my fortune in this cruize, and then neither of us will
regret the undertaking. I intend to write you immediately on our return to Halifax, and
if my Expectations are answered, I shall come back again to Boston and return to the
Jersies, and hope my future conduct will obliterate the remembrance of what has happened.

Mrs. King, good woman, discoursed a good deal with me. She told me how concerned
you were upon received acc't from the Governor of the manner of my leaving the Jersies.

poor Gentleman. I one night dream'd I saw him in his winding sheet and next morning
read in the newspaper an acc't of his being no more. How I was shock'd! Never was
there a more excellent man. I lov'd and Hon'd him.--the Theme is too dull to dwell upon.

My affectionate Regards to all my dear Brothers, and please to tell Billy I shall ever
love him the more for endeavouring to comfort you with respect to me as Mrs. King tells
me.--We sail tomorrow morning. God grant us a good cruize.

                        I am, believe me, Hon'd Sir your
                                  dutiful and most obedient son,
                                                     JEREMIAH CONDY RUSSELL.
Mr. Thomas Russell,
      Boston.

13.   iv. JOHN RUSSELL,5 born April 12, 1737 (O. S.); died July 8, 1813; married Martha Martin, at Bristol, R. I.,
            October 15, 1761. They had nine children.

v. WILLIAM RUSSELL,5 born September 12, 1739; died in Providence, unmarried, February 10, 1825. He and
            his brother Joseph were associated in business as merchants. They were extensively engaged in commerce,
            sending their ships to England and to the West Indies. The Providence Gazette of the period
            contains many of their advertisements. He was one of  the Trustees of Brown University, then Rhode Island
            College. During the war of the Revolution he was an officer in the Providence Cadets, a company which
            until recently kept up its organization and performed military duty. When General Lafayette visited
            Providence on the 23rd August, 1824, several officers, who had served with him in the war of the Revolution
            were present at the State House to pay their respects to him, among whom was Colonel Russell.
            From an account of the receiption of the General in the Providence Gazette, we make the following
            extract: "After his introduction to the Governor and members of the committee, who received him in
            the Senate chamber, he came below, and shook hands with a number of gentlemen. Among the rest, the
            venerable William Russell, now in his eighty-fifth year, was introduced to him. The General shook
            both the veteran's hands in a most affectionate manner, and in an annunciation that slightly marked a
            foreign accent, said he was extremely happy to take his old friend once more by the hand, as it recalled
            to his memory the delightful associations of his youth.

Mr. Russell appeared at first scarcely to comprehend the scene, but in a moment, as if the whole had rushed upon his recollection, he exclaimed in a voice broken by age, and still more subdued by feeling: 'Oh my dear Marquis, how happy I am to see you once more. I remember well the time when I served under you as a volunteer on Rhode Island!' The General was evidently touched, and on this, as on several other occasions, the tear started to his eye."

^(*) The Hon. Jonathan Russell was among the gentlemen who paid their respects to General Lafayette on this occasion. The writer, when a boy, witnessed the entrance of General Lafayette into Providence. All the uniformed military companies turned out on the occasion, and it was considered the finest display ever seen in the State. He also witnessed the reception at the State House alluded to. The writer also remembers when, in his boyhood, he often met this venerable man, then upwards of eighty years of age. In the latter part of his life he was in the habit of taking dinner once a week with his nephew, Captain William Russell. He died at the age of eighty-six, and was buried in St. John's churchyard, Providence, by the side of his brother Joseph. His thoughts had long been directed to that change which mortality fails not to bring to all; and hence it was that about six years before his death, he made with the Messrs. Tingley, stone-cutters, arrangements which he reduced to writing, in regard to gravestones, and which were faithfully observed.⁽⁺⁾

^(*)The following incident, occurring on the same occasion, may properly find a place here. Among the throng around the hotel whither the noble guest was escorted, were two of the Cooke branch of John Russell's descendants,--one, a lad of fifteen, the other, a boy of five years. The latter was so persistent to "shake his hand with Lafayette," that the elder's efforts to lead him away quietly were unavailing. Some one present, (very probably the venerable relative just mentioned,) kindly informed the Marquis that a little great-grandson of Governor Cooke could not be pacified without an interview, whereupon he at
once signified his assent, and laying his hand upon the child's head, bade the "little man," as he called him, grow up to be worthy of his great-grandfather, whose patriotism the Marquis warmly extolled.

                                                     PROVIDENCE, 7th November, 1819.
REV'D MR. CROCKER,

DEAR SIR:--Haveing on the 23d last Sepr turn'd the Corner of fourscore years, I am
not insensiable my departure to a better world is near at hand, for which event (God
knows) I have long wish'd. And have been and shall be, using the best endrs God may
please to endow me with, so that Death may not overtake me by surprise and unprepar'd.
Thank kind Heaven I have for many past months and at this present do enjoy fine health
and good spirits. Yet I cannot boast of tomorrow.--As to my religious sentiments, my
respected friend, I pin my faith on no man's sleeve. I follow no particular Creed. I make
one for myself, wch I trust will meet the acceptance of my God.

I possess a liberal mind, and love and respect all good men, of every denomination. I
am a Baptist from principle, However, not a stiff, rigid one. Thank heaven we live, in a
land of Civil and Religious liberty. And all the numerous [sects] profess to have in view
a future state of endless happiness, and permit me to say, is it not a folley for 'em to fall
out by the way.

My late never to be forgotten Brother Mr. Joseph Russell was 7 years older when he
took his departure than I then was. He and his large family were of your Society--and
in his day a piller of your Church. All his numerous of-spring are so also--as are most of
my other relatives. they are right--and I am right--if we from the heart realy think so.

Perhaps it may be tho't a little singular by some few of our Society that I should leave
behind me a request to have the Church funeral service, read over my Grave, when I am
no more. But Sir I do request it, provided there is no impropriety in its being done to
one of another Society. this you are a judge off, as it's respects myself it can do little, or
rather no Good. But as I shall leave behind me many relatives of your Society, it probably
will be Gratifying to 'em to have the Church fun'l service read over my Grave, and that
Sir is my motive for wishing it done--Accept Dear Sir my sincere, best wishes for your
health, present and future happiness.

                              Y'r Aff't friend & Obed't Serv't
                                                                   WM. RUSSELL.

14. vi. JONATHAN RUSSELL,5 born (???); married Abigail, daughter of James Russell,^(*) of Holliston, Massachusetts, January 5, 1769. They had five children.

Thomas Russell married for his second wife, Honora, or Onner Loud, by whom he had two children. His widow married Deacon Philip Freeman, who lived in Union street, Boston. After the death of the latter, Mrs. Freeman left Boston and became a resident in the family of her son-in-law, Dr. Solomon Drowne, at Mount Hygeia, North Foster, Rhode Island, in 1802, which was her home during the remainder of her life. She died at the age of eighty, and was buried in the family burial ground of Dr. Drowne, in Foster. She was a descendant of Elder William Brewster, of the Mayflower, and is described as a large, noble-looking woman.

^(*)James Russell belonged to a family living in Marblehead. He was related to the Hoopers and Duttons of that town, and was also related to Thomas Russell, a merchant of Charlestown distinguished as much by his liberality and patriotism as by his opulence.

15.  vii. ELIZABETH RUSSELL,5 born April 15, 1757; married Dr. Solomon Drowne, November 20, 1777, at Holliston,
            Massachusetts. He died February 5, 1834; she May 15, 1844; both at Foster, Rhode Island.
            They had nine children. (See DROWNE Genealogy, at the end of this volume, for the descendants of this
            branch of the Russell family.)
16. viii. THOMAS RUSSELL,5 born September 8, 1758; died February 19, 1801; married Ann, daughter of Charles
            Handy, of Newport, November 29, 1783. They had five children, among them Charles H. Russell, now
            (1879) residing in the city of New York.

Russell Genealogy - Bartlett, John Russell. Russell Genealogy. This book contains information of the descendants of John Russell of Woburn, Massachusetts. Bibliographic Information: Bartlett, John Russell. 1879. Pages 9-28.

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