Stephen Russell (1756 - 1817)

Born 7 Dec 1756 in Orange, Connecticut

Ancestors

Husband of Asenath (Peck) Russell — married 27 Sep 1781 in Orange, New Haven, Connecticut, United States

Descendants

Died 4 Jun 1817 at age 60 in Midford, Connecticut, United States

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Biography

Private Stephen Russell served with Lexington Alarm - April 1775, Connecticut Militia during the American Revolution.

Stephen Russell is a DAR Patriot Ancestor, A098532.

Stephen Russell was born on 7 December 1756 in Woodbridge, New Haven County, Connecticut.^[1][2]

Stephen Russell married Asenath Peck (born 19 Sep 1760 in Orange, New Haven, Connecticut) on 27 September 1781 in Orange, New Haven, Connecticut.^{[3] [4]}

He passed away and was buried on 4 Jun 1817 in Orange, New Haven County, Connecticut, United States of America.^[1][5][6]

Stephen Russell has been assigned a DAR Ancestor #: A098532 for his service as a private in the Revolutionary War. He served in companies commanded by Captains Charles Elsworth and George Markham:

• Stephen Russell served in the first battle of the Revolutionary War, the Lexington Alarm, fought in Massachusetts on April 19, 1775. British troops from Boston marched toward Lexington & Concord to seize the colonists' military supplies and arrest revolutionaries. In Concord, advancing British troops met resistance from the Minutemen. The record of Connecticut men who served shows Stephen Russell, then serving in Captain Charles Ellsworth's Company from the Town of East Windsor, responded to the Lexington Alarm.^[7]
• On September 6, 1781, British Brigadier General Benedict Arnold, a former Patriot officer already infamous for betraying the United States the previous year, added to his notoriety by ordering his British command to burn New London, Connecticut. Stephen Russell is listed In the muster list for Captain George Markham's company defending New London of September 11, 1781. ^[8]

His DAR entry is listed as "TREAT AS NEW ANCESTOR," signifying that "no application has been verified on this ancestor since the very early days of the society ... information on this ancestor and his or her descendants must be documented using current DAR standards." Their data indicates he was born 2-7-1756 in Woodbridge, Connecticut and died 6-4-1817 in Orange, Connecticut. Ruby Russell was accepted into the Daughters of the American Revolution on 8 Nov 1911 as member # 88781 based on her great great grandfather, Stephen Russel's service.^[9]

In the History of New Haven County, Connecticut, we are also told that this Stephen Russell, a soldier in the revolutionary war, and one of the early settlers of Amity (i.e., Woodbridge and Bethany) is identified as the father of the Chauncey Russell that married Lucinda Sperry^[10]:

”William C. Russell, born in Orange in 1835, is a son of William E., whose father, Chauncey, was a son of Stephen Russell, a soldier in the revolutionary war, and one of the early settlers of Amity (now Woodbridge and Bethany), and one of the most skillful mechanics of his day. Chauncey Russell married Lucinda, daughter of Job Sperry, of Sperry's Farms, whose father, Richard Sperry, supplied the regicides with food during their stay in the cave on West Rock^[11]. He a soldier and an officer in the war of the revolution. William E. Russell was a resident of Orange. He married Susan, daughter of Levi Parsons, of Derby. He raised a company for the war of 1812, but never engaged in active service. William C. Russell, although a resident of Orange, has been engaged in the meat business, in New Haven, for upward of 40 years, first in the retail, and for the last 15 years in the wholesale trade. He is also engaged in manufacturing at Tyler City; vice-president of the Peerless Attachment Company. He has always taken an active part in the affairs of tho town, and has been honored with nearly every office in the town. He is now selectman and justice of the peace. He was elected to the legislature in 1871. He married, in 1855, Mary J.. daughter of Dilazon Lyon, of Woodbridge. They have two daughters -Jennie G. and Jessie E.”

Sources

1. ↑ ^{1.0 1.1} Connecticut Headstone Inscriptions Vol 40, Orange Cemetery page 10 /218-1 (scanned copies available on Ancestry.com)
2. ↑ "Connecticut, Deaths, 1640-1955", database, FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:F76L-SWG : 11 June 2020), Stephen Russell, 1817.
3. ↑ Families of New Haven: Vol. VI, pg 1400, Peck Fam. 18 # 4 Joseph, viii Asenath with parents
4. ↑ Families of New Haven: Vol. VII, pg 1579, Russell Fam. 13 # 5 Daniel, v Stephen with parents
5. ↑ Personal communication - a Cascading Pedigree of Chauncey Russell and Lucinda Sperry prepared by S. McCreven - received May 12, 2015.
6. ↑ Find A Grave: Memorial #73304867
7. ↑ Record of service of Connecticut men in the I. War of the Revolution, II. War of 1812, III. Mexican War; by Connecticut. Adjutant-General's Office; Johnston, Henry Phelps, 1842-1923; Publication date 1889 PAGE 9 https://archive.org/details/waroftherevolution00recorich/page/n36
8. ↑ Record of service of Connecticut men in the I. War of the Revolution, II. War of 1812, III. Mexican War; by Connecticut. Adjutant-General's Office; Johnston, Henry Phelps, 1842-1923; Publication date 1889 PAGE 580 https://archive.org/details/waroftherevolution00recorich/page/580
9. ↑ Ruby Gladys (nee Russell) Dickerman's DAR Certificate Mmbr #: 88781 and Obituary
10. ↑ History of New Haven County, Connecticut, Volume 2 edited by John L. Rockey; New York; W.W. Preston & Company, 1892
11. ↑ The regicides of Charles I were the 59 Commissioners (judges) who sat in judgement at the trial of King Charles I and signed his death warrant in 1649. Three Commissioners, John Dixwell, Edward Whalley and William Goffe, fled Charles II’s retribution and were in New Haven, Connecticut, in 1661. They were sheltered by kindred spirits in the local population and are commemorated by three intersecting major avenues in New Haven.