Jonathan Russell

Full Name: Jonathan Russell
Date of birth: September 7, 1824
Date of death: October 6, 1898

Terms of Service
Biographical Notes
Committee Information

Terms of Service top

Chamber	District	Dates of Service	Legislatures	Party	City/County	Counties in District
H	10	Jan 14, 1873 - Jan 13, 1874	13th ⁽¹⁾	Democrat	Webster / Wood	Hopkins, Hunt, Wood
S	6	Nov 5, 1855 - Nov 7, 1859	6th ⁽⁵⁾ 7th ⁽²⁾ ⁽³⁾ ⁽⁴⁾		Webster / Wood	Upshur, Wood
H	17	Nov 6, 1851 - Nov 7, 1853	4th ⁽⁶⁾		Webster / Wood	Henderson, Van Zandt

(1) Webster was an early commercial center of Wood County. When the railroads went to nearby Winnsboro, most business left Webster and the town began a slow decline. In 1881 the post office closed; by 1960 there was no longer even a church or school. Handbook of Texas Online.
(2) Listed in "Senators holding over: Democrats." Civilian and Gazette. Weekly. (Galveston, Texas), 9/8/1857, p. 2, crediting Dolph Briscoe Center for American History. Portal to Texas History (University of North Texas Libraries).
(3) 7th Legislature - Roll of Senators (holdover Senator), 11/2/1857, pp. 1, 4. Senate Journal.
(4) 7th Legislature - Listed in "large cadre of returning senators," p. 276. The Texas Senate: Volume I, Republic to Civil War, 1836-1861, 1990.
(5) 6th Legislature, Regular Session - Roll of Senators elected since the last adjournment presented their credentials, and being qualified, took their seats, 11/5/1855, p. 2. Senate Journal.
(6) Jonathan Russell unseated John Brown in election contest 11/6/1851. Members of the Texas Congress 1836-1845; Members of the Texas Legislature 1846-2004, 2005.

Terms of Service top

House District 10
Jan 14, 1873 - Jan 13, 1874
Legislatures: 13th ⁽¹⁾
Party: Democrat
Home City/County: Webster / Wood
Counties in district: Hopkins, Hunt, Wood

Senate District 6
Nov 5, 1855 - Nov 7, 1859
Legislatures: 6th ⁽⁵⁾ 7th ⁽²⁾ ⁽³⁾ ⁽⁴⁾
Home City/County: Webster / Wood
Counties in district: Upshur, Wood

House District 17
Nov 6, 1851 - Nov 7, 1853
Legislatures: 4th ⁽⁶⁾
Home City/County: Webster / Wood
Counties in district: Henderson, Van Zandt

Biographical Information top

Biographical Sketches

Biographical sketch, "Some Snapshots of Early Settler[s]," by Lou Mallory, Chairperson, Wood County Historical Commission, 8/4/2007. Captain Jonathan Russell born September 1824 in Marion County, Alabama, died October 1897. Hawkins-Holly Lake Gazette (Wood County, Texas), 2007.

Military Service Notes

Confederate States Army, Captain, 22nd Texas Volunteers, Company B. Biographical sketch, Captain Jonathan Russell, p. 140. Born 9/7/1824, died 10/6/1898, married to Frankie Perry Russell, chosen as member of the Texas Constitutional Convention, buried in Sand Springs Cemetery. Wood County Historical Society. Wood County, 1850-1900, Herman F. Benthul, editor, 1976. Portal to Texas History (University of North Texas Libraries).

Other Resources

Thomas Jefferson Russell Judge, birth date 8/24/1857, death date 8/23/1924. Father Jonathan Russell Capt. (1824-1898), first marriage to Bramela Carpenter Bennett Russell (1830-1874), second marriage to Franklin Perry Delilah Stribling (1853-1922). Leuty & Humphreys Family Tree. Ancestry.com.
Mentioned in Volume III, history of Wood County, p. 1332, settled 4 miles south of Winnsboro in 1836. East Texas: Its History and Its Makers, 1940.
Jonathan Russell, birth date 9/7/1824, death date 10/6/1898, burial in Sand Springs Cemetery, Mineola, Wood County, with Frankie Perry Russell. Find a Grave.
Delegate to Constitutional Convention of 1875, pp. 249-251. Patrick G. Williams, "Of Rutabagas and Redeemers: Rethinking the Texas Constitution of 1876," The Southwestern Historical Quarterly, Volume 106, Number 2, October 2002, pp. 231-253, crediting Texas State Historical Association. Portal to Texas History (University of North Texas Libraries).
Mentioned in profile of son Jonathan Russell, Mayor of Mineola 1930-1934. Bruner, Ora Pritchett. Mineola and its Mayors, 1976, pp. 163-169 (including photo of Mayor Russell's home in Mineola). Portal to Texas History (University of North Texas Libraries).
Obituary (Hopkins Co. Echo), Winnsboro Weekly News, 9/11/1924, p. 7, crediting Mineola Memorial Library. Thomas Jefferson Russell, born 1857 in Webster, Wood County; death date 8/23/1924. Thomas Jefferson Russell "was elected to the legislature in 1910 and served one term." "Mr. Russell passed away at 7:40 a.m. August 23, 1924. He would have been 67 years of age August 24, and was buried on his birthday." "His parents were Jonathan Russell and Bamry Carpenter Russell, his mother having died when he was sixteen years old. His father Jonathan Russell, served as a captain in the Civil War, and later served a noble record in the legislature." Relatives: Jonathan Russell - father; Thomas Jefferson Russell - son.
Portal to Texas History (University of North Texas Libraries).
Delegate to Constitutional Convention of 1875. Russell, J. on poll tax as prerequisite to voting, p. 173; on occupation tax, p. 302; on taxation of railroads, p. 317, Debates in the Texas Constitutional Convention of 1875, published by The University of Texas, Austin, 1930. Texas Constitutions Digitization Project (Tarlton Law Library, The University of Texas at Austin), 2009.
Delegate to Constitutional Convention, 1875. Included in Journal of the Constitutional Convention of the State of Texas: Begun and Held at the City of Austin Texas. Constitutional Convention (1875). Galveston : Printed for the Convention at the "News" Office, 1875, pp. 3-4. Texas Constitutions Digitization Project (Tarlton Law Library, The University of Texas at Austin), 2009.

Photographs

Photograph. Jonathan Russell, 13th Legislature, DeGolyer Library, SMU, Lawrence T. Jones III Texas Photographs
Photograph. Jonathan Russell, 13th Legislature, State Preservation Board
Photograph. Jonathan Russell, Constitutional Convention of 1875 Composite Photo. From the collection of the Texas State Library and Archives Commisison.

Composite Photographs on Display in the Capitol

13th session composite photo of Senate and House members (Ground floor elevator vestibule, east wall. GW.V3). State Preservation Board.
13th session composite photo of Senate and House members (Ground floor elevator vestibule, east wall. GW.V3). State Preservation Board.
Pictorial Monogram of the State Government of Texas 1873 (DeGolyer Library, SMU, Lawrence T. Jones III Collection). DeGolyer Library, SMU, Lawrence T. Jones III Texas Photographs.

Committee Information top

13th R.S. - 1873 Claims and Accounts Education Federal Relations (Chair) Privileges and Elections Rules State Affairs
7th R.S. - 1857 Engrossed Bills (Chair) Private Land Claims Privileges and Elections Public Debt Roads, Bridges and Ferries Tax Laws and Payment of Taxes Upon Real Estate
6th R.S. - 1855 Engrossed Bills Militia Penitentiary Private Land Claims No. 2 Public Lands State Affairs
4th R.S. - 1851 Claims and Accounts (Vice Chair) Enumeration Post Routes

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