Russell, Jacob

Born: 1800-10-19 Middletown, Connecticut

Died: 1860-04-07 Chicago, Illinois

Flourished: Chicago, Illinois

Russell was a Chicago hotelier and local politician. He arrived in Chicago in the early 1830s. An Episcopalian, Russell took part in the organization of St. James' Episcopal Church in 1834. In the autumn of 1836, Russell took charge of the Lake House Hotel. In December 1837, Russell left the Lake House to take charge of the City Hotel, which later became known as the Sherman House. A supporter of the Whig Party, when Zachary Taylor won the presidency in 1848, the Taylor administration appointed Russell collector of customs for the Port of Chicago, a position he held until 1853. In 1850, Russell was living in Chicago's First Ward with his wife and six children and owned real estate valued at $5,000. After his term as collector ended, Russell was president of the Garden City Institute, established in 1853 as an institution of learning.

A. T. Andreas, History of Chicago (Chicago: A. T. Andreas, 1884), 1:220, 244, 334, 634, 635; A. T. Andreas, History of Chicago (Chicago: A. T. Andreas, 1885), 2:385, 502; Register of all Officers and Agents, Civil, Military, and Naval, in the Service of the United States, on the Thirtieth September, 1849 (Washington, DC: Gideon, 1849), 107; Register of all Officers and Agents, Civil, Military, and Naval, in the Service of the United States, on the Thirtieth September, 1851 (Washington, DC: Gideon, 1851), 110; Register of Officers and Agents, Civil, Military, and Naval, in the Service of the United States, on the Thirtieth September, 1853 (Washington, DC: Robert Armstrong, 1853), 125; A Biographical Directory of the United States Customs Service 1771-1989 (Washington, DC: United States Custom Service, March 1986), 2:440; U.S. Census Office, Seventh Census of the United States (1850), Ward 1, Chicago, Cook County, IL, 131.