Leslie Wead Russell (April 15, 1840 – February 3, 1903) was an American lawyer and politician.

Life

Russell was the son of Assemblyman John Leslie Russell (1805–1861) and Mary Sybil (Wead) Russell (ca. 1812–1870). He was educated at Canton Academy, and at age 16 began to teach school. Then he studied law at

Albany, New York Albany ( ) is the capital of the U.S. state of New York, also the seat and largest city of Albany County. Albany is on the west bank of the Hudson River, about south of its confluence with the Mohawk River, and about north of New York C ...

and

Milwaukee, Wisconsin Milwaukee ( ), officially the City of Milwaukee, is both the most populous and most densely populated city in the U.S. state of Wisconsin and the county seat of Milwaukee County, Wisconsin, Milwaukee County. With a population of 577,222 at th ...

. He was admitted to the bar in 1861, and commenced practice in Canton, NY. On October 19, 1864, he married Harriet Jane Lawrence (1843–1931), and they had six children two of whom died in infancy. Russell was a delegate to the

New York State Constitutional Convention The Constitution of the State of New York establishes the structure of the government of the State of New York, and enumerates the basic rights of the citizens of New York. Like most state constitutions in the United States, New York's constituti ...

of 1867. In 1869, he was elected District Attorney of St. Lawrence County, and County Judge in 1877. He was

New York Attorney General The attorney general of New York is the chief legal officer of the U.S. state of New York and head of the Department of Law of the state government. The office has been in existence in some form since 1626, under the Dutch colonial government o ...

from 1882 to 1883, elected at the

New York state election, 1881 The 1881 New York state election was held on November 8, 1881, to elect the Secretary of State, the State Comptroller, the Attorney General, the State Treasurer, the State Engineer and a judge of the New York Court of Appeals, as well as all ...

. Afterwards he resumed the practice of law at New York City. Russell was a delegate to the

1884 Events January–March * January 4 – The Fabian Society is founded in London. * January 5 – Gilbert and Sullivan's '' Princess Ida'' premières at the Savoy Theatre, London. * January 18 – Dr. William Price at ...

and

1900 Republican National Convention The 1900 Republican National Convention was held June 19 to June 21 in the Exposition Auditorium, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The Exposition Auditorium was located south of the University of Pennsylvania, and the later Convention Hall was constr ...

s. He was a member of the

52nd United States Congress The 52nd 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, 189 ...

and served until September 11, 1891, when he resigned to become a justice of the

New York State Supreme Court The Supreme Court of the State of New York is the trial-level court of general jurisdiction in the New York State Unified Court System. (Its Appellate Division is also the highest intermediate appellate court.) It is vested with unlimited civ ...

. He resigned from the bench on October 1, 1902. Russell was buried at the Evergreen Cemetery in Canton, N.Y. State Senator Charles H. Russell (1845–1912) was his first cousin. Rev.

Samuel Russell Samuel Russell (August 25, 1789 – May 5, 1862), was an American entrepreneur and trader, and founder of Russell & Company, the largest and most important American trading house in China from 1842 to its closing in 1891. Early life Russel ...

(1660–1731) was his great-great-great-grandfather.

Sources

''TO RUN FOR CONGRESS''
in NYT on July 30, 1890
''RUSSELL'S CHANCES IMPROVED''
in NYT on August 16, 1890
''LESLIE W. RUSSELL NOMINATED''
in NYT on August 14, 1891
''AFTER RUSSELL'S PLACE.; NEW COMPLICATIONS IN THE TWENTY-SECOND DISTRICT.''
in NYT on August 15, 1891
''Leslie W. Russell, Justice of the Supreme Court, Fourth Judicial District''
in NYT on May 16, 1897
''JUSTICE RUSSELL RESIGNS''
in NYT on October 3, 1902
''EX-JUSTICE RUSSELL DEAD''
in NYT on February 4, 1903

transcribed from ''Genealogical and Family History of Northern New York'' by

William Richard Cutter William Richard Cutter (August 17, 1847 – June 6, 1918) was an American historian, genealogist, and writer. Life Born in Woburn, Massachusetts on August 17, 1847, he was the son of Dr. Benjamin Cutter and Mary Whittemore Cutter. He attended ...

, at New York Roots
''MEMORIAL OF LESLIE W. RUSSELL''
Annual Reports and Charter, Constitution, By-laws, Names of Officers, Committees, Members, Etc., Etc., (Association of the Bar of the City of New York, 1905), pp 148–150.

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Russell, Leslie Wead 1840 births 1903 deaths New York Supreme Court Justices New York State Attorneys General People from Canton, New York Republican Party members of the United States House of Representatives from New York (state) 19th-century American politicians 19th-century American judges