Russell, William (of MO)

Born: 1778-06-03 Frederick County, Virginia

Died: 1867-07-14 Saint Louis, Missouri

Flourished: 1835-12-17 Missouri

Employed as a deputy surveyor for the United States, Russell became a large landowner. In April 1815, Russell purchased approximately 300 acres of land in what became Alton, Illinois. In 1829, he donated ten acres to the state for the construction of the Illinois State Penitentiary.

Gazetteer of Madison County (Alton, IL: James T. Hair, 1866), 77-78, 81; Illinois Public Domain Land Tract Sales, Madison County, 23:287, 292, Illinois State Archives, Springfield, IL; Clarence Edwin Carter, comp., The Territorial Papers of the United States: The Territory of Louisiana-Missouri, 1806-1814 (Washington: Government Printing Office, 1949), 14:508-13; Gravestone, Bellefontaine Cemetery, St. Louis, MO.