Where is Samuel Russell from? Who were his parents?
Posted: 30 Jan 2005 23:13
Samuel Russell is one of the big question marks in my family history.
I have not yet been able to identify with certainty Samuel Russell's parents. My cousin Maynard Jalbert has spent long hours looking into this question too.
Recently however, I have come across a couple of pieces of information that have led me to suspect that Samuel moved to New Brunswick from the area of the upper Kennebec River valley, near Moscow, in Somerset County, Maine.
The evidence: Sam was a lumberman who moved from the Kennebec valley to New Brunswick -- probably the Baie des Chaleurs region -- in about 1825. When he moved to the upper St.John River valley sometime in the 1850s, he settled in exactly the same place -- now St.John Plantation -- as a number of American lumbermen who moved to the upper St.John in the early days, between 1810 and 1820, from Moscow, in Somerset County, Maine. These men included Jesse Wheelock and Barnabas Hannawell; Nathan and John Baker and Walter Powers were also from Moscow, and settled a bit downstream from today's St.John. These American lumbermen, all from around Moscow, settled along the upper St.John to ply their trade. Moreover, we know that John Baker spent several years in the Baie des Chaleurs area working in the lumber business before he returned to settle on the St.John. It seems certain that there was a network of lumbermen connecting Moscow and the upper Kennebec River valley with both the upper St.John River and the Baie des Chaleurs region.
Given these facts, it seems likely that Sam also came from that area around the upper Kennebec River valley, perhaps from around Moscow, Maine, and was part of that network of lumbermen.
I've looked at some of the Russell families in the area, but without luck. The one Samuel I found, it turns out, remained in the Moscow area, married and had kids.
For more information on the Russell info I've found, go to http://www.upperstjohn.com/russell/samuelrussell.htm
If you've got any info on Samuel Russell, I'd love to hear from you!
I have not yet been able to identify with certainty Samuel Russell's parents. My cousin Maynard Jalbert has spent long hours looking into this question too.
Recently however, I have come across a couple of pieces of information that have led me to suspect that Samuel moved to New Brunswick from the area of the upper Kennebec River valley, near Moscow, in Somerset County, Maine.
The evidence: Sam was a lumberman who moved from the Kennebec valley to New Brunswick -- probably the Baie des Chaleurs region -- in about 1825. When he moved to the upper St.John River valley sometime in the 1850s, he settled in exactly the same place -- now St.John Plantation -- as a number of American lumbermen who moved to the upper St.John in the early days, between 1810 and 1820, from Moscow, in Somerset County, Maine. These men included Jesse Wheelock and Barnabas Hannawell; Nathan and John Baker and Walter Powers were also from Moscow, and settled a bit downstream from today's St.John. These American lumbermen, all from around Moscow, settled along the upper St.John to ply their trade. Moreover, we know that John Baker spent several years in the Baie des Chaleurs area working in the lumber business before he returned to settle on the St.John. It seems certain that there was a network of lumbermen connecting Moscow and the upper Kennebec River valley with both the upper St.John River and the Baie des Chaleurs region.
Given these facts, it seems likely that Sam also came from that area around the upper Kennebec River valley, perhaps from around Moscow, Maine, and was part of that network of lumbermen.
I've looked at some of the Russell families in the area, but without luck. The one Samuel I found, it turns out, remained in the Moscow area, married and had kids.
For more information on the Russell info I've found, go to http://www.upperstjohn.com/russell/samuelrussell.htm
If you've got any info on Samuel Russell, I'd love to hear from you!