Ebenezer Russell (December 26, 1747 – December 5, 1836) was an American politician from

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States New York may also refer to: Film and television * '' ...

Early life

He was born on December 26, 1747, in Branford,

New Haven County, Connecticut New Haven County is a county in the south central part of the U.S. state of Connecticut. As of the 2020 census, the population was 864,835, making it the third-most populous county in Connecticut. Two of the state's top 5 largest cities, New ...

. He was the son of Mary (

née A birth name is the name of a person given upon birth. The term may be applied to the surname, the given name, or the entire name. Where births are required to be officially registered, the entire name entered onto a birth certificate or birth re ...

Barker) Russell (b. 1710) and John Russell (1710–1751).

Career

He fought as a

private Private or privates may refer to: Music * " In Private", by Dusty Springfield from the 1990 album ''Reputation'' * Private (band), a Denmark-based band * "Private" (Ryōko Hirosue song), from the 1999 album ''Private'', written and also recorde ...

in the

American Revolutionary War The American Revolutionary War (April 19, 1775 – September 3, 1783), also known as the Revolutionary War or American War of Independence, was a major war of the American Revolution. Widely considered as the war that secured the independence of t ...

. He was County Treasurer, first of Charlotte County, then of Washington County, for about forty years. Russell was a member of the

New York State Assembly The New York State Assembly is the lower house of the New York State Legislature, with the New York State Senate being the upper house. There are 150 seats in the Assembly. Assembly members serve two-year terms without term limits. The Assem ...

( Charlotte Co.) in 1777–78; and a member of the

New York State Senate The New York State Senate is the upper house of the New York State Legislature; the New York State Assembly is its lower house. Its members are elected to two-year terms; there are no term limits. There are 63 seats in the Senate. Partisan com ...

(Eastern D.) from 1778 to 1782, sitting in the

2nd A second is the base unit of time in the International System of Units (SI). Second, Seconds or 2nd may also refer to: Mathematics * 2 (number), as an ordinal (also written as ''2nd'' or ''2d'') * Second of arc, an angular measurement unit ...

3rd Third or 3rd may refer to: Numbers * 3rd, the ordinal form of the cardinal number 3 * , a fraction of one third * Second#Sexagesimal divisions of calendar time and day, 1⁄60 of a ''second'', or 1⁄3600 of a ''minute'' Places * 3rd Street (d ...

, 4th and

5th New York State Legislature The 5th New York State Legislature, consisting of the New York State Senate and the New York State Assembly, met from October 10, 1781, to April 14, 1782, during the fifth year of George Clinton's governorship, at Poughkeepsie. Background Un ...

s. He was a member of the

Council of Appointment The Council of Appointment (sometimes also Council of Appointments) was a body of the Government of New York that existed from 1777 to 1822. History Under the New York Constitution of 1777, the Council of Appointment consisted of the Governor of Ne ...

in 1778–79 and 1780–81. He was again a member of the State Assembly in

1784 Events January–March * January 6 – Treaty of Constantinople: The Ottoman Empire agrees to Russia's annexation of the Crimea. * January 14 – The Congress of the United States ratifies the Treaty of Paris with Great Brit ...

. During this term, the Legislature changed the name of Charlotte County to Washington County. He was again a member of the State Senate from 1784 to 1788, sitting in the

8th 8 (eight) is the natural number following 7 and preceding 9. In mathematics 8 is: * a composite number, its proper divisors being , , and . It is twice 4 or four times 2. * a power of two, being 2 (two cubed), and is the first number of t ...

9th 9 (nine) is the natural number following and preceding . Evolution of the Arabic digit In the beginning, various Indians wrote a digit 9 similar in shape to the modern closing question mark without the bottom dot. The Kshatrapa, Andhra and ...

10th 10 (ten) is the even natural number following 9 and preceding 11. Ten is the base of the decimal numeral system, by far the most common system of denoting numbers in both spoken and written language. It is the first double-digit number. The rea ...

and

11th New York State Legislature The 11th New York State Legislature, consisting of the New York State Senate and the New York State Assembly, met from January 9 to March 22, 1788, during the eleventh year of George Clinton (vice president), George Clinton's Governor of New Yor ...

s. He was again a member of the Council of Appointment in 1784–85 and 1787. On November 12, 1784, he was appointed, and on April 13, 1787, re-appointed as a Regent of the

University of the State of New York The University of the State of New York (USNY, ) is the state of New York (state), New York's governmental umbrella organization for both public and private institutions in New York State. The "university" is not an educational institution: it i ...

. He was First Judge of the Washington County Court from 1788 to 1800. In December 1794, he ran on the Federalist ticket for Congress in the Saratoga–Washington district, but was defeated by Democratic-Republican

John Williams John Towner Williams (born February 8, 1932)Nylund, Rob (15 November 2022)Classic Connection review ''WBOI'' ("For the second time this year, the Fort Wayne Philharmonic honored American composer, conductor, and arranger John Williams, who wa ...

. When the first political parties were formed, Russell joined the

Federalist Party The Federalist Party was a Conservatism in the United States, conservative political party which was the first political party in the United States. As such, under Alexander Hamilton, it dominated the national government from 1789 to 1801. De ...

. He was again a member of the State Senate from 1796 to 1803, sitting in the

19th 19 (nineteen) is the natural number following 18 and preceding 20. It is a prime number. Mathematics 19 is the eighth prime number, and forms a sexy prime with 13, a twin prime with 17, and a cousin prime with 23. It is the third full re ...

, 20th, 21st, 22nd, 23rd, 24th, 25th and

26th New York State Legislature The 26th New York State Legislature, consisting of the New York State Senate and the New York State Assembly, met from January 25 to April 6, 1803, during the 2nd year of George Clinton's second tenure as Governor of New York, in Albany. B ...

s; and was again a member of the Council of Appointment in 1796. He was again a member of the State Assembly in 1812–13. In 1813, he resigned from the Board of Regents of USNY.

Personal life

On September 13, 1769, he married Elizabeth Stork (1747–1832), the daughter of Capt. Moses Stork. Together, they had several children, including: * William Russell (1771–1853), who married Submit Foskitt Willson (1767–1849). * John Russell (1772–1842), who studied medicine before becoming a member of the

U.S. House of Representatives The United States House of Representatives, often referred to as the House of Representatives, the U.S. House, or simply the House, is the lower chamber of the United States Congress, with the Senate being the upper chamber. Together they ...

. He was married to Elizabeth Williams (1769–1838), daughter of Rensselaer Williams. He died on December 5, 1836, in

Salem, New York Salem is a town in eastern Washington County, New York, United States. It is part of the Glens Falls Metropolitan Statistical Area. The town population was 2,702 at the 2000 census. The town of Salem contains a hamlet also named Salem, formerly ...

;''The Plaindealer''
(Vol. I, No. 3; December 17, 1836; pg. 47) and was buried at the Revolutionary Cemetery there.

Descendants

Through his son John, he was the grandfather of Catharine Ann Russell (1805–1875) who married

Samuel Nelson Samuel Nelson (November 10, 1792 – December 13, 1873) was an American attorney and appointed as judge of New York State courts. He was appointed as a Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States, serving from 1845 to 1872. He concu ...

(1792–1873), an

Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States An associate justice of the Supreme Court of the United States is any member of the Supreme Court of the United States other than the chief justice of the United States. The number of associate justices is eight, as set by the Judiciary Act of 18 ...

. They were the parents of four children, including Judge Rensselaer Russell Nelson (1826–1904).

Sources

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Russell, Ebenezer 1747 births 1836 deaths People from Branford, Connecticut People from Washington County, New York New York (state) state senators Members of the New York State Assembly New York (state) Federalists New York (state) state court judges People from Salem, New York