Yolo-Calaveras-Solano County CA Archives Biographies.....Russell, Francis E. 
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Joy Fisher sdgenweb@yahoo.com December 9, 2005, 7:03 pm

Author: Tom Gregory

FRANCIS E. RUSSELL

    The migration of the Russell family from the Atlantic seaboard to the shores
of the Pacific was brought about through the discovery of gold in the west.
Neither the original immigrant nor his descendants had cause to regret the
apparently accidental circumstance that led to his removal to a region far
distant from the home of his boyhood and the scene of the labors of his
ancestors through the generations of their identification with American
development. Himself a native of Canada, Francis E. Russell was in all else save
birth a typical citizen of the United States and exemplified particularly the
traits characteristic of New Englanders, where he was reared in Vermont. An
uneventful term as a school teacher in the Green Mountain region came to an end
shortly after he had heard of the discovery of gold in California and the news
caused him to abandon all further thoughts of pedagogical work in the east. The
call of the west had come to him and he was eager to try his fortune in that
then unknown country.

   With a party from New England, the majority of whom were like himself eager,
enthusiastic and rugged young men, Francis E. Russell sailed from Boston in the
fall of 1849, on the sailing vessel Herculean, bound for San Francisco around
Cape Horn. The voyage was long and contained not a few thrilling experiences,
for at times there was great danger of shipwreck, but a safe ending at last
rewarded the crew and passengers, who, on May 3, 1850, sailed through the Golden
Gate into the harbor of San Francisco. The majority of the immigrants, Mr.
Russell among them, hastened to the mines, and for a time he sought for gold in
Calaveras county, but he was not sufficiently successful to care to continue in
the occupation, so he turned his attention to the freighting business and
engaged in teaming between Stockton and Sonora. When he became interested in
ranching he settled on a large tract of leased land in Green valley near Suisun,
Solano county. Next he bought land near Vacaville and engaged in raising grain
and broom corn.

    An identification with Yolo county beginning in 1858 and continuing until
his death, February 24, 1907, laid the foundation of Mr. Russell's prosperity.
He purchased six hundred and seventy acres of unimproved land on Putah creek,
six miles west of Davis, and this continued to be his home throughout life.
Diversified farming, particularly the raising of grain and the handling of
stock, brought the ranch to a high state of productiveness under his able
supervision. Near the house he planted a large number of black walnut trees,
which he afterward grafted to English walnuts, and these now bear enormous crops
of this popular nut. In addition he started an almond orchard and there is now
on the ranch a tract of twenty acres devoted to this profitable product. Some
years before his death he retired from all active business and turned the
management of the ranch over to his eldest son, William O. The younger son,
Frank E., has for years been a resident of Alameda, where his mother is now
residing, and two daughters, Mrs. Ellen Enos and Mrs. Mary Love, make their home
in Sacramento. One daughter, Mrs. Maud Henle, passed away near Davis, Cal., in
May, 1907. Mr. Russell was a Mason of the Knight Templar degree, while his wife
was a member of the Eastern Star.

    Mrs. Russell bore the maiden name of Lucy Ogburn, and was born near
Corsicana, Texas, the daughter of Dr. John C. Ogburn. The latter was born in
Virginia, and was a second cousin of Gen. J. C. Fremont, the pathfinder. He
moved to Corsicana, Texas, where he practiced medicine and became well known. He
married there Mary Love, a native of Tennessee, and in 1849 came to California
by pack mules and engaged in the produce trade between San Francisco and
Portland. In 1852 he returned to Texas, the next year bringing his family across
the plains by means of ox-teams and wagons via El Paso and Yuma. They suffered
many hardships, among them the experience at a place near Santa Cruz, where the
Indians stampeded their work cattle, and had it not been for the loan of cattle
from a beef train the band would have suffered even greater inconvenience. As it
was, those of the party who were able walked most of the way into Los Angeles,
where they remained one year. The subsequent year was spent in San Luis Obispo
county, where Dr. Ogburn taught the first school, and then located in Vacaville,
where he followed farming for a short time. Their last days were spent near
Woodland, where the parents both passed away. Mrs. Russell is spending the
latter years of her life in Alameda, tenderly cared for by her son and enjoying
all the comforts of life.


Additional Comments:
Extracted from

HISTORY OF YOLO COUNTY CALIFORNIA
WITH
Biographical Sketches
OF
The Leading Men and Women of the County Who Have Been Identified With Its Growth
and Development From the Early Days to the Present

HISTORY BY
TOM GREGORY
AND OTHER WELL KNOWN WRITERS
ILLUSTRATED COMPLETE IN ONE VOLUME

HISTORIC RECORD COMPANY
LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA [1913]

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