Bio of Jeremiah RUSSELL (b.1809), Benton Co., MN USGENWEB NOTICE: In keeping with our policy of providing free information on the Internet, material may be freely used by non-commercial entities, as long as this message remains on all copied material, AND permission is obtained from the contributor of the file. These electronic pages may NOT be reproduced in any format for profit or presentation by other organizations. Persons or organizations desiring to use this material for non-commercial purposes, MUST obtain the written consent of the contributor, OR the legal representative of the submitter, and contact the listed USGenWeb archivist with proof of this consent. Made available to The USGenWeb Archives by: Jacquelyn Russell From Fifty Years in the Northwest by W. H. C. Folsom published by Pioneer Press Co. in 1888: " JEREMIAH RUSSELL was born in Eaton, Madison County, New York on February 2, 1809. He received a common school and academic education, and learned to set type in the office of the Chautauqua Gazette. He subsequently taught school and worked awhile in printing offices. Removing to Palmyra, he clerked in a store several years. In 1835 he came to Michigan, and thence to the Lake Superior country, where he superintended a copper mine for a couple of years, at Left Hand River, near the head of the lake. In 1837 he came to Fort Snelling, and in 1839 accompanied Frank Steele and others to St. Croix Falls, and engaged in building a saw mill. In 1840 he went to Pokegama mission as government farmer and blacksmith. About 1842, at the closing up of the Pokegama mission in consequence of Indian disturbances, he purchased the old Connor trading post and farm. In 1843, with Elam Greely, he went down the St. Croix and up the Mississippi and Rum Rivers in a birch canoe, exploring for pine timber. They found Rum River blockaded at one place a distance of three quarters of a mile, with drifts or rafts of trees, consolidated and held together by the roots of grasses and waterwillows, the accumulations apparently of ages. Around this raft they made a portage, and ascended a tributary of Rum River ro its source, thence down the Kanabes or Snake River to Pokegama. In 1848 Mr. Russell came to Crow Wing, Minnesota, as agent for Borup & Oakes (his father-in-laws name), Indian Traders and Fur Dealers In the summer of 1849 he established himself at a point two miles above Sauk Rapids, and opened up a farm of one hundred and thirty acres. At the end of four years he moved down the river and made a land claim on the west side, includidng the water power of Sauk Rapids. He owned an interest also in the water power on the east side. In 1854 he was one of the company that surveyed and platted the village of Sauk Rapids. He established the pioneer newspaper, The Sauk Rapids Frontiersman. Mr Russell for several years held the office of county auditor and treasurer, and in 1849 was elected to the territorial legistature. His name appears in the list of members, but he was present only at the opening sessions, and voted for but a single measure. He had told his constituents before his election he would not serve. At this time he was Democratic in politics but in later life voted the Republican ticket. Mr. Russell possessed a warm, generous nature, combined with integrity of character, which gained for him the love and esteem of his many friends. Ever ready to extend a willing hand to those in need, and , as far as lay in his power, to assist those in distress, he wil ever be remembered with kindly feelings by all who knew him. Though exposed to all the temptations and vicissitudes of an early settler's life, coming into contact with all kinds of social conditions, he never departed from the path of Christian rectitude, and those with whom he came in contact will ever remember him for his kind heartedness and gentlemanly bearing. September 20, 1843, he was united in marriage to Miss Sophia Oakes (daughter of the late Charles H. Oakes), who survives him. He was 34 years old. Seven children were born unto them, but only three are now alive. These are Mrs.(Mary) W. L. Nieman, Miss Julia A. and Mr. J. A. (Jeremiah)Russell. Mr. Russell died at his home in Sauk Rapids in 1885. Jeremiah's daughter Julia married Joseph Coates who served as a Sheriff in Sauk Rapids and as a Probate judge around 1878 to 1886. Another son in law, W. L. Nieman who married Mary Russell was Benton County Auditor in 1886. From A History of Minnesota, page 178, by William Watts Folwell: "In 1839 The Indian Bureau employed Jeremiah Russell , afterwards prominent in Minnesota affairs, as farmer to the station to teach the Indians how to clear land and cultivate."