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John Russell (abt. 1608 - 1695)

John Russell
Born about in Stoke, Staffordshire, Englandmap
Son of [father unknown] and [mother unknown]
[sibling(s) unknown]
Husband of — married before 1645 in Massachusetts Bay Colonymap [uncertain]
Descendants descendants
Died at about age 86 in Dartmouth, Bristol, Massachusetts Bay Colonymap
Profile last modified | Created 13 Dec 2010
This page has been accessed 5,107 times.
There are disproven, disputed, or competing theories about this person's parents. See the text for details.
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John Russell is currently protected by the Puritan Great Migration Project for reasons described in the narrative.
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Contents

Biography

Origins

  • Birth: 1608, England
  • Death: 13 Feb 1694/5, Dartmouth, Bristol County, Massachusetts[1]

Marriage

  • Husband: John Russell
  • Wife: Dorothy Crowder
  • Marriage date: 29 AUG 1637 Place: Saint Peter's Church,Staffordshire, England[2]

Children

  1. Mary
  2. John, d. in Dartmouth 3:20:1695/6[3]
  3. Jonathan, d. Dartmouth 15 Dec 1723[3]
  4. Dorothy, d. Marshfield 13 Jan 1657/8[3] "Dorothy Russell The daughter of John Russell was Buried The .13. of January 1657"[4]
  5. Joseph Russell, b. 6 May 1650; d. 11 Dec 1739[3]

Positions

He was constable at Marshfield in Massachusetts Bay Colony as early as 1642/3. On Feb. 12, 1643, he received a grant of land, "..all the marsh and meadow which lieth between the marsh of Josiah Winslow and Kenelm Winslow".

At Plymouth Court on March 5, 1644, he applied to be made a freeman of the colony, and at the June 5, 1644, court he was made a freeman.

Several years between 1665 and 1683, John was a representative to the General Court at Plymouth.

Old Dartmouth Property

In the 17th century, Old Dartmouth included Acushnet (New Bedford), Fairhaven (Sconticut), Dartmouth (Apponegansett) and Westport (Acoaxet), and was in Plymouth Colony. With wide swaths of land cut by the rivers and inlets of Buzzards Bay, the settlements were far apart. The openness and lack of a town center or church attracted religious dissidents, Baptists and Quakers, who then bought some land and settled here to freely practice their religions

In a deed dated March 9, 1664, John purchased a 3,200 acre tract of land in Ponagansett, Plymouth Colony, from "old comer" Myles Standish [1]. In 1652, Captain Standish was one of 34 settlers from Plymouth who had purchased a large section of Old Dartmouth from the Indian Chief Massasoit.

Although each of their shares consisted of more than 2,000 acres, only 10 of them or their families actually settled in the town around 1660.

One of them was John Russell. He built a house that was used as a garrison and a refuge for settlers during King Phillip's War, "one of the bloodiest conflicts in our nation’s history".[5]

In 1675, twenty-three years after the original land purchase from Chief Massasoit, there were still only 37 dwellings in the wilderness called “Old Dartmouth”.

Probate

Inventory, John Russell, late of Dartmouth, decd, taken 21 Feb 1694/5. Amount £186. 08. 00, attested to by John Russell.

Will of John Russell "of Dartmouth in the County of Bristoll in New England in America" dated 19 Jn 1687/8. Named: eldest son John; son Jonathan Russell; grandson Jonathan Russell, son of Jonathan; grandson John Russell, son of son Joseph Russell; Cattle and horses to be divided ... equally among all my grandchildren. Will entered 2 April 1695.[6]

Research Notes

Disambiguation

Caution: Two John Russells married to Dorothy with son John.

The other John Russell married 1) to Phebe Collins, and 2) to Dorothy (Unknown) Smith, widow of Henry Smith. He immigrated to Cambridge 1635, Wethersfield by 1655, Hadley by 1661, and he died on May 8, 1680 at Hadley. Son, John Jr., married 1) Mary Talcott, 2) Rebecca Newberry, 3) Phebe (Gregson) Whiting[7]

Disputed Origins

He has been claimed to be son of Ralph Russell of Pontipool, Wales, who worked in the Iron Works at Braintree and Taunton, but 1904 research could not confirm this.[8] Alleged mother Ann Arnold, seems to be a case of mistaken identity. She was the wife of William Russell, not Ralph.

PGM Adjunct Status

While the earliest record of him in New England is 1642, the PGM project protects him because he has been confused with an earlier PGM immigrant by the same name.

Sources

  1. NEHGS, Vital Records of Dartmouth, Massachusetts, to the Year 1850 (Boston, MA: NEHGS, 1930), Vol. 3 p. 60.
  2. Bishop's Transcript, SLC # 873645 item 2, indicates the following: John RUSSELL & Dorothea CROWDER : 11 SEP 1637. However, the actual parish register records both Christian names in Latin : Johannes & Dorothea. The English equivalents are John & Dorothy. Furthermore, the actual date of marriage taken from the register is 29 AUG 1637. The name of the church is called Saint Peter's Church. This information was furnished by letter from the Staffordshire Record Office on 9 JUL 1991 (see letter attached to family group record).
  3. 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 NEHGR58
  4. "The Vital Records of Marshfield, Mass." The Mayflower Descendant 2:5
  5. https://www.southcoasttoday.com/special/20181128/why-site-of-former-dartmouth-home-landed-on-national-register-of-historic-places.
  6. "Abstracts from the First Book of Bristol County Probate Records." New England Historical and Genealogical Register 63:77 (1909) Link at AmericanAncestors ($)
  7. Anderson, Robert C., "John Russell." Featured name Great Migration 1634-1635, (Vol 6, R-S Pages 134-39). (Online database accessed 8 March 2015. AmericanAncestors.org. New England Historic Genealogical Society, 2012.)
  8. Barrett Beard Russell, “The Descendants of John Russell of Dartmouth, Mass.” NEHGR 58(1904):364

See also:

  • Russell, Barrett Beard "The Descendants of John Russell of Dartmouth, Mass." New England Historical and Genealogical Register 58:364+ (1904) Link at AmericanAncestors ($)
  • "Find a Grave", database, Find A Grave: Memorial #147851866 (accessed 8 August 2023), Memorial page for John Russell (1597-8 May 1680), citing Old Hadley Cemetery, Hadley, Hampshire County, Massachusetts, USA; Maintained by Linda Mac (contributor 47062703), (no marker).
  • Ancestral File Number: 31G7-G0
  • Roser, Susan E. Mayflower Deeds and Probates: From the Files of George Ernest Bowman at the Massachusetts Society of Mayflower Descendants. Baltimore, MD: Genealogical Publishing Company, Inc., 1994.
  • Jackson, Ron V., Accelerated Indexing Systems, comp.. Massachusetts Census, 1790-1890. Compiled and digitized by Mr. Jackson and AIS from microfilmed schedules of the U.S. Federal Decennial Census, territorial/state censuses, and/or census substitutes.
  • Torrey’s New England Marriages Prior to 1700. (Online database. AmericanAncestors.org. New England Historic Genealogical Society, 2008.) Originally published as: New England Marriages Prior to 1700. (Boston, Mass.: New England Historic Genealogical Society, 2015.) "RUSSELL, John1 (1608-1695) & Dorothy ____ (-1687, Dartmouth); by 1645; Marshfield/Dartmouth {Briggs (1953) 12; TAG 24:7; Reg. 57:281; 58:364, 63:77, 95:172; Sanborn Anc. 74; MD 2:5; Cornell 393; Crapo 156+, 847; Winthrop-Babcock 426; Howland (1919) 14}"
  • Briggs (1953) 12; Aldridge, Bertha Bortle Beal, The Briggs Genealogy, Including the Ancestors and Descendants of Ichabod White Briggs 1609 to 1953; also Other Line Descendants of His Immigrant Ancestor John Briggs, b. 1609, York, England and Some of the Descendants of Ichabod White (Victor, N.Y., 1953) p. 12:: Information: John Cornell (1637-1704) m. 1669, Mary Russell b. 1645 d/o John and Dorothy Russell, who were in Marshfield, Mass, as early as 1642/43
  • https://www.americanancestors.org/DB283/i/11818/7/134830735 TAG 24:7; "John Lapham Family". (1948) John b. c. 1608; d. 13 Feb 1694/5; m. Dorothy ____ (d. 18 Dec 1687); J & D in Marshfield as early as 1642/3. 20 Mar 1661 bought land of Miles Standish and moved to Dartmouth. No proof son of Ralph; Ch: Mary b. 1645, Joseph b. 6 May 1650, John b. 1653, Jonathan b. c. 1655, Dorothy b. Marshfield 13 Jan 1657/8
  • Reg. 57:281[n/a]; 58:364 [see above], 63:77,[probate see above] 95:172 [minor];
  • MD 2:5; "The Vital Records of Marshfield, Mass The Mayflower Descendant 2:5 "Dorothy Russell The daughter of John Russell was Buried The .13. of January 1657"
  • Sanborn Anc. 74
  • Cornell 393
  • Crapo 156+, 847
  • Winthrop-Babcock 426
  • Howland (1919) 14




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Comments: 9

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Should he be changed to just Puritan Great Migration, rather than Adjunct? If he married in Dartmouth in 1637, he would be PGM.

Thoughts?

posted by S (Hill) Willson
Thank you, Sharon.

Link to the Great Migration article isn't loading for me right now, but I assume that article would support this change.

posted by GeneJ X
The marriage location applied to a different couple. The earliest he was known in New England was 1642-3 per NEHGR 58:364.

The person profiled by Anderson is not this John Russell.

Adjunct will remain in place

posted by S (Hill) Willson
Hey There,

This profile is showing up on a Suggestion 586 - Linked to a merged Memorial ID for Find A Grave report. The new Find A Grave memorial is #147851866.

I didn't want to fix the link because this profile is PPP. Just wanted to let you know.

Thanks, Sheila

posted by Sheila Tidwell
It was a different John Russell who was reportedly son of Ann Arnold and William Russell (not Ralph). Disconnecting
posted by Anne B
I have a question about John Russell having two half brothers who are also named John Russell. I'm wondering if a previous merge may have cause confusion?
posted by V (Eddy) Combs
John I’ve cleaned up This profile and marked the parents as uncertain (for the time being). Concur that we should detach if there’s no post-1904 research about his origins.

We need to confirm that the John Russell who married Dorothy Crowder in 1637 was the same man as John Russell of Dartmouth. If yes, then we need to change her LNAB from Cotton back to Crowder.

posted by Jillaine Smith
I don't see any documentation for his parentage, except for internet fluff. If anybody has primary source documentation for his origin, please add it to the profile. Otherwise, his parents should be detached.

Furthermore, the marriage information in the profile doesn't match the marriage information and wife's name.

posted by [Living Schmeeckle]
Russell-3837 and Russell-551 appear to represent the same person because: Both are showing as Joseph Russells father when I merge his profile. Dob and dod need to be checked. Thanks Maria Maxwell Arborist
posted by Maria Maxwell

R  >  Russell  >  John Russell

Categories: Puritan Great Migration Adjunct