Russell Sturgis (August 27, 1750 – September 7, 1826) was a

Boston Boston is the capital and most populous city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Massachusetts in the United States. The city serves as the cultural and Financial centre, financial center of New England, a region of the Northeas ...

merchant in the China trade.

Background

Sturgis was the second son of Thomas Sturgis Jr. (1722-1785), and Sarah Paine, of

Barnstable, Massachusetts Barnstable ( ) is a List of municipalities in Massachusetts, town in the U.S. state of Massachusetts and the county seat of Barnstable County, Massachusetts, Barnstable County. Barnstable is the largest community, both in land area and population ...

. He married Elizabeth Perkins (1756-1843), daughter of James Perkins (d. 1773), on November 11, 1773. Her grandfather was the Boston merchant and fur trader Thomas Handasyd Peck, under whom Sturgis apprenticed at age sixteen. Sturgis then worked as a hatter and

furrier Fur clothing is clothing made from the preserved skins of mammals. Fur is one of the oldest forms of clothing and is thought to have been widely used by people for at least 120,000 years. The term 'fur' is often used to refer to a specific item ...

. Sturgis served as lieutenant of the Boston regiment of the

Massachusetts militia This is a list of militia units of the Colony and later Commonwealth of Massachusetts. * Ancient and Honorable Artillery Company of Massachusetts (1638) * Cogswell's Regiment of Militia (April 19, 1775) * Woodbridge's Regiment of Militia (April ...

in August and September 1778, and from 1787-1792 served under John Johnston as first lieutenant in Boston. Sturgis's brothers-in-law, James Perkins (1761-1822) and

Thomas Handasyd Perkins Colonel Thomas Handasyd Perkins, also known as T. H. Perkins (December 15, 1764 – January 11, 1854), was an American merchant, slave trader, smuggler and philanthropist from a wealthy Boston Brahmin family. Starting with bequests from his grand ...

(1765-1854), were notable China traders. In 1795 Sturgis joined them in ownership of a new ship, the ''Grand Turk'', which was sent to Canton in March 1796. When the Perkins brothers opened a branch office in Canton in 1803, Sturgis invested substantially, and three of Sturgis's sons—Henry Sturgis (1790-1819), who died in Macao; George Washington Sturgis (1793-1826), who was in Canton between 1810 and 1823; and James Perkins Sturgis (1791-1851), who arrived in 1809 and died on his voyage home—subsequently voyaged to China. In 1818, all three were involved in the

opium trade Opium (also known as poppy tears, or Lachryma papaveris) is the dried latex obtained from the seed capsules of the opium poppy ''Papaver somniferum''. Approximately 12 percent of opium is made up of the analgesic alkaloid morphine, which is ...

as partners in the firm of James P. Sturgis and Company. Sturgis was also active in Boston public affairs. From 1790-1796 he was a

fire warden Firefighting is a profession aimed at controlling and extinguishing fire. A person who engages in firefighting is known as a firefighter or fireman. Firefighters typically undergo a high degree of technical training. This involves structural fir ...

; in 1792 he was elected to a committee to assess a

smallpox Smallpox was an infectious disease caused by Variola virus (often called Smallpox virus), which belongs to the genus '' Orthopoxvirus''. The last naturally occurring case was diagnosed in October 1977, and the World Health Organization (W ...

outbreak; and he served as Boston selectman from 1796-1797 and 1799-1802. He represented Boston in the Massachusetts state senate in 1801, and ran unsuccessfully as the Republican candidate for state senator in 1805. Several portraits of Sturgis survive, including three by

Gilbert Stuart Gilbert Stuart ( Stewart; December 3, 1755 – July 9, 1828) was an American painter born in the Colony of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations, Rhode Island Colony who is widely considered one of America's foremost portraitists. His best-k ...

, painted circa 1806 and in 1822. These portraits are currently in the Memorial Art Gallery of the

University of Rochester The University of Rochester is a private university, private research university in Rochester, New York, United States. It was founded in 1850 and moved into its current campus, next to the Genesee River in 1930. With approximately 30,000 full ...

, the

Worcester Art Museum The Worcester Art Museum houses over 38,000 works of art dating from antiquity to the present day and representing cultures from all over the world. The museum opened in 1898 in Worcester, Massachusetts. Its holdings include Roman mosaics, Europe ...

, and the

Cape Ann Museum Cape Ann Museum is an art and historical museum located in Gloucester, Massachusetts. Its collection and programming focuses on the artists and art colonies of Cape Ann, including thRocky Neck Art Colonyand the Folly Cove Designers. The museum's ...

, respectively.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Sturgis, Russell 1750 births 18th-century American merchants Businesspeople from Boston Massachusetts militiamen in the American Revolution 1826 deaths Sturgis family

Background

See also

References