Samuel Lyon Russell (July 30, 1816 – September 27, 1891) was a Whig member of the United States of America (U.S.)

House of Representatives House of Representatives is the name of legislative bodies in many countries and sub-national entitles. In many countries, the House of Representatives is the lower house of a bicameral legislature, with the corresponding upper house often c ...

from

Pennsylvania Pennsylvania (; ( Pennsylvania Dutch: )), officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a state spanning the Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes regions of the United States. It borders Delaware to its southeast, ...

Formative years

Born in

Bedford, Pennsylvania Bedford is a borough and spa town in and the county seat of Bedford County in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania. It is located west of Harrisburg, the state capital, and east of Pittsburgh. Bedford's population was 2,861 at the 2020 census. His ...

on July 30, 1816, Samuel L. Russell was a son of

James McPherson Russell James McPherson Russell (November 10, 1786 – November 14, 1870) was a Whig member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Pennsylvania. Biography James M. Russell (father of Samuel Lyon Russell) was born in York, Pennsylvania. He moved wit ...

). He attended the common schools and Bedford Academy before graduating from

Washington College Washington College is a private liberal arts college in Chestertown, Maryland. Maryland granted Washington College its charter in 1782. George Washington supported the founding of the college by consenting to have the "College at Chester" name ...

Washington, Pennsylvania Washington is a city in and the county seat of Washington County, Pennsylvania. A part of the Greater Pittsburgh area in the southwestern part of the state, the city is home to Washington & Jefferson College and Pony League baseball. The populat ...

, in 1834. He then studied law, was admitted to the bar in 1837, and opened his legal practice in Bedford.

Legal and political career

An attorney with private practice experience, Russell subsequently served as prosecuting attorney for

Bedford County, Pennsylvania Bedford County is a county in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. As of the 2020 census, the population was 47,577. The county seat is Bedford. History In 1750 Robert MacRay, a Scots-Irish immigrant, opened the first trading post in Raystown (w ...

during the 1840s. He was then elected as a Whig to the

33rd United States Congress The 33rd United States Congress was a meeting of the legislative branch of the United States federal government, consisting of the United States Senate and the United States House of Representatives. It met in Washington, D.C. from March 4, 1853, ...

, but was not a candidate for renomination. After resuming the practice of law in Bedford, he became a

Republican Republican can refer to: Political ideology * An advocate of a republic, a type of government that is not a monarchy or dictatorship, and is usually associated with the rule of law. ** Republicanism, the ideology in support of republics or agains ...

upon the organization of that party in 1856. A member of the State constitutional convention in 1873, he was also a member of the town council and the school board.

Death and interment

Russell died in Bedford on September 27, 1891, and was interred in the Bedford Cemetery.

Sources

The Political Graveyard

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Russell, Samuel Lyon 1816 births 1891 deaths People from Bedford, Pennsylvania Pennsylvania Republicans Washington & Jefferson College alumni Pennsylvania lawyers Whig Party members of the United States House of Representatives from Pennsylvania 19th-century American legislators 19th-century American lawyers