Russell Was Not a Frontiersman
As though to confirm their adverse opinion of him, Russell never exhibited a single characteristic of the frontiersman. He never lived in a log cabin, or cleared a patch of ground to…
Russell’s Character
A contemporary of the Settles', Ray Allen Billington, a prominent historian of the American West at Northwestern University, had a different view of William H. Russell. Writing at the same time, Billington noted:…
Russell’s Reputation
Various writers recall that he was known, in the parlance of his day, as a plunger: a risk taker, a gambler, a speculator. An early observer of Russell's business ventures, some of…
Russell’s Pike’s Peak Venture
As one cons the history of Russell and Waddell and the record of their vast undertakings he is impressed again and again by the fact that many of their decisions,…
Russell Starts New Companies Instead of Paying Debts
Fortune favored them in 1855 and 1856, and their profits from freighting military supplies those two years amounted to about $300,000. That was the only period of unbroken prosperity they…
Russell, Majors, and Waddell’s Support of Slavery
From the very beginning of the vicious, bloody struggle to determine the status of Kansas as a free or slave state, Russell, Majors & Waddell, being slave owners in Missouri,…
Russell’s Status at 45
In March, 1857, Russell and Limrick, as trustees, sold the re-mainder of the tracts, 3,881 acres, to Waddell. After holding the lands for a short time Waddell sold them to…
Russell’s Freighting Expands
While Majors was expanding his freighting business in the latter 1840’s and early 1850’s Waddell and Russell were reaching out in various directions at Lexington and elsewhere. In 1850 Russell,…
Army Subcontracts Freighting
Probably at the suggestion of Q. M. Capt. L. C. Easton of Fort Leavenworth, the experiment of contract freighting of military supplies was made in 1848. On May 17 he…
Army Freighters to Santa Fe
When the war with Mexico broke out Col. S. W. Kearny was ordered to lead a small army of 1,701 officers and men on a forced march across the Great…
Russell’s First Freighting Venture
Not until the capture and annexation of New Mexico in 1846, however, were all barriers and handicaps [to the Santa Fe trade] entirely removed and the trade freed to pursue…
Russell’s House
In the meantime Russell increased his holdings in the Lexington First Addition Company until he owned 65 lots. Upon one of these at the corner of 12th and South street…
Russell as Postmaster
In 1840 Russell was appointed treasurer for Lafayette county to succeed his old employer James Aull. He was also appointed postmaster at Lexington by Pres. John Tyler on June 16,…
Russell’s First Business Failure
In 1838 he resigned his position at Aull’s, and in partnership with James S. Allen and William Early opened a retail store under the name of Allen, Russell & Company.…
Russell’s Retail Experience
At 19 years of age Russell appears to have been manager of the store [Aull's in Lexington, MO]. The extent of the firm’s business is seen in the fact that…