Russel, James

James Joseph Russell, born in Pennsylvania in 1754, was the youngest of Robert and Hannah Russell’s nine children. James married Sarah Osborne in Loudoun County right before the outbreak of the Revolutionary War in April 1775. Together, they had six children, all born in Loudoun County. Russell served as a sergeant in the 13th Virginia Regiment during the Revolution. He married his second wife, Ann Heath, in Loudoun County in June 1803. Together they had twelve children. 

Around the time of his second marriage, Russell began buying up multiple parcels of land in and around the areas of Waterford and Loudoun Heights. He purchased at least 130 acres from Ferdinando Fairfax in 1806. All the land Russell held in the region provided ample space to erect a still; this could explain his appearance in the Mason family manuscript account book, which records his being paid for whiskey he had sold to Mary Thomson Mason.  

Russell died in December 1831 in Loudoun County and directed in his will that his estate be maintained properly throughout the duration of his wife Ann’s life. He stipulated that his various holdings should be sold if neglected, or if Ann were to remarry. No enslaved people were listed in an inventory of Russell’s estate upon his death, but notable holdings included “4 stands of bees” and an “old brown horse” affectionately named “Ned.” 

by Pat McBride