William Russell

Description

Following the Louisiana Purchase, Thomas Jefferson appointed Willam Russell (1778-1867) as deputy surveyor for the new American territorial government in 1804, replacing Antoine Soulard. Over time, Russell bought many of the lands he charted, including at what is now Tyson Research Center, and became a large landholder. He purchased approximately 300 acres of land in what is now Alton, Illinois, in April 1815, and donated ten acres to the state for the construction of the Illinois State Penitentiary in 1829. His daughter, Ann Russell, and her husband, Thomas Allen, inherited Russell’s properties and continued to accrue wealth on their investments and sales of his properties.1

William Russell was an enslaver. The enumeration of the 1840 US Census for St. Louis records twelve people enslaved by Russell, and the St. Louis city census of 1845 documents sixteen people. On October 1, 1847, Russell issued a reward for the capture of the Reed family, who had sought freedom from Russell. Russell’s orchard ledger also refers to enslaved people, including Washington Reed, John, and Robert, who helped procure and plant trees, and to whom Russell gifted each a tree.

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