Jesse Russell Jr., came to Texas in 1833 along with Margaret and Jonathan Russell and Jonathan’s in-laws, the James Tippett family. They came seeking land. Affordable land. As unbelievable as it is now, knowing that the United States still had millions of acres of unsettled land in the early 1830s, the government had ceased to grant its public land as early as the 1820s for several reasons: the Indian barrier created by treaties; the “desert” of the Great Plains barrier; the financial panic of 1819; and the federal land policy. No longer could Americans move ever westward seeking free land. In fact the U.S. government had established not only a boundary for settlement, but the amount of public land available for purchase had shrunk to only 80 acres and at the astronomical cost of $1.25 an acre. With all of these restrictions in place is it surprising that our ancestors were drawn to the Mexican government’s offer of fifty times that amount of land for FREE. For a league and a labor of land [A league was 4428.4 acres and a labor was 177.1 acres], all an American citizen had to do was swear his loyalty to Mexico’s laws and religion.

Not only did the Mexican government open up the Texas borders to American settlers, but granted huge amounts of land to impresarios such as the Austins, DeWitt and others for the establishments of colonies. Although these men traveled mainly to Missouri and the Midwest recruiting families to settle in Texas, the majority of the people who came to Texas before and during the Republic of Texas came from Tennessee.

With this hoards of settlers flooding into Texas, it didn’t take the Mexican government long before they realized realize that they were outnumbered by these sons and grandsons of American Revolutionists, who weren’t so land hungry, that they were able to set-aside their soundly rooted belief in constitutional law. These Scots-Irish – Anglo-Celts weren’t exactly the type of citizens the Mexican government had hoped for. So, when Santa Anna threw out the Mexican constitution of 1824, which was based on the American Constitution, the Texians revolted. Of course, most of them had only been waiting for an excuse to rid Texas of “foreign rule”.

Our Russells managed to enter Texas during a the period when the Mexican government had repealed the law prohibiting immigration from the United States in 1833 which allowed the Russells and the Tippetts to cross the Sabine into Texas. They probably came by wagon train down the Trammell Trace from what is now Texarkana, settling in the Sabine District.

As was required by Mexican law, and in order to receive a land grant, Jesse, Jonathan and Margaret Russell, as well as Catherine Tippett, all appeared before an alcalde [the local Sabine District Mexican official], and gave their character depositions before Alcalde Samuel Thompson at the land office in San Augustine in September 1835. They swore to respect the laws and religion of Mexico, and were recognized as people of family and of good character. Jesse said he was a native of Kentucky, Margaret said she had been born in Virginia and Jonathan was born in Tennessee.

It seems Jesse may have fudged a little at his deposition, because he said he had a family of three when in fact the 1835 census of Texas does not list them with a child. Of course, it is possible that they lost their first child, but the Texans didn’t hesitate to lie to the Mexican government and to use any means possible to obtain free land. Some even went so far as to be baptized as Catholics, but in the main, most Texians felt that as unreasonable as the government was it deserved to have it’s laws broken.

Within a month of giving their character depositions, Jesse, Jonathan, Margaret and Catherine Tippet applied for Mexican land grants. [We do not know when James Russell or James Tippett died. James Russell was alive in February 1831 when Jesse Senior’s estate was being settled.] As heads of families they were entitled to a league and a labor, 4,605.5 acres of land. Only Jonathan’s land grant was “finished” before the Mexican land offices were closed in late October 1835. The original of Margaret and Jesse’s certificates are blank except for the official Mexican letterhead and the handwritten words “unfinished” on the bottom of the page, while the Mexican land officials completed Jonathan’s land grant document.

I’m sorry to say, but it doesn’t appear that the Russell family was in any way involved in the Texas Revolution. Most likely because they were living on the Sabine River well away from the action at San Antonio, Goliad and San Jacinto. Sadly, Jonathan and one of the Jesse Russells, we don’t know which Jesse this was, our ancestor, or Margaret’s son Jesse, were members of the East Texas Militia who forced the Cherokees and Caddos out of East Texas. At about the same time there was an arrest of a Jesse Russell and two other men for seriously beating another man. They all went to jail, but Jesse and one of the other men were finally released, while the third man was sent to prison for the offense. Again, we don’t know which Jesse Russell this involved.

The Republic of Texas, like all foundling governments was besieged with problems of governing itself and paying its expenses. One of the first acts of the newly elected legislature was to form the Texas General Land Office to handle the many petitions for land grants. Especially anxious were the people who had received Mexican land grants. They felt that they were entitled to their land, and appealed to the Republic to ratify their original Mexican Land Grants. However, at the same time there was so much land fraud being committed by land speculators who had flooded into the Republic that even the honest land commissioners didn’t know who was truly entitled to the land.

Jesse Russell appeared before the Board of Land Commissioners on Saturday 4th of February in Sabine County to certify that he, “Jesse Russell, Sr., appeared, took and subscribed to the oath prescribed by law, as a resident of Texas, along with his witnesses James Mason and Harris Vickers, that he was a resident citizen of Texas at the time of the Declaration of Independence, and that he had continued to be so to this day, that he was a married man at the time and the head of a family; in the said year 1834, which entitles him to receive one League and Labor of land in the said Republic. Margaret and Jonathan also made identical oaths before the Board of Land Commissioners at that same time. However, due to the land frauds being perpetrated by some of the land commissioners and their land speculating cohorts it wasn’t until 30 December 1841 that Jessee Russell Senior received a Land Certificate from the General Land Office that stated, “This is to certify that the within certificate has been duly recommended for patent, in accordance with an Act of Congress to detect fraudulent Land Certificates, and provide for the issuing of patents to legal claimants . . . . “

Jesse’s league and labor were located in McLennan County near present-day McGregor and Goolesby. Jonathan’s land was in Blanco County and Margaret’s was in Freestone County.

Although Jesse Russell did receive his land patent from the Republic of Texas, when Texas joined the Union and became just another state, he had to go through the whole process again, and have his land patent certified as clear and legal, which again was granted by the State of Texas in 1851, but it was four years after his death before he was granted clear title to the land in McLennan County by Texas Governor Pease.

In fact, Jesse was granted the same league and labor three times: First, from the Mexican Land Commissioners; Secondly from the Republic of Texas General Land Office; and third from the State of Texas General Land Office. It is doubtful that he ever saw the land. He certainly never lived on it. Remember, the area of his land grant in McLennan County was right on the Comanche Trail, and wasn’t settled until much later.

In addition to the land grant in McLennan County, Jesse applied for and received a headright grant of 360 acres in Panola County, Texas, as did Jonathan and Margaret Russell. It was on this land that Jesse resided until his death on 10th January 1847. Although Jesse died without a will, his wife Jane petitioned the Court to be appointed as administrix of his estate. There were more than 25 documents created during the settlement of his estate. The most interesting of which was the doctor’s bill for his medical care and his burial expenses, which included $5.50 for shrouding, and $3.50 for trimming and $.50 for lumber for Jesse’s coffin. From the amount of quinine prescribed by the doctor, it seems possible that Jesse died from malaria. Remember they were living at Grand Bluffs on the Sabine River. The same doctor had made several house calls after Jesse’s death to prescribe quinine to the children, namely Franky and the Negro slave.

Included in the estate documents was a very unsettling court record whereby Jane, after her marriage to Henry Harrison Hill, petitioned the court to allow her to give the young Negro boy who had become diseased and crippled, and was, according to Jane, “a dead expense to any person,” to any person who would take him. Later records show that Jane Hill provided good and clear title to both the Negro boy and to 160 acres of land in Panola County that she did not want to M. C. D. Robe (the doctor who had attended Jesse), for the sum of $20.00 for the boy and $90.00 for the land.

The probate records for Jesse’s estate was quite detailed, and included an inventory of their household goods, which for that time seemed quite prosperous. It is also interesting that H. H. Hill’s name appeared quite often as a witness, to appraise the goods in question, or when presenting bills to be settled by the Jane as administrator.

As detailed as the Panola County Court records were concerning the settlement of Jesse’s estate, not one word is mentioned concerning the McLennan County land grant. Presumably since they did not have clear title to the land from the Texas General Land Office there was no need to list the land as a part of his estate.

The one great mystery concerning the Russell family is the whereabouts of Jane Russell Hill’s will and probate records. Her will was recorded in Hunt County in June 1857, assigned a will packet number, and H. H. Hill was ordered to post a bond as administrator of her estate. However, there are no further records for her will administration in the Hunt County Clerk’s Office. We do think that it may be in the Hunt County District Court records if there was any dispute about the settlement of her estate. If and when we find her will packet we will post our findings on Wayne’s Stone website.

Sarah Jane Russell Stone, daughter of Jesse and Jane Russell died on 12 January 1867 in Comanche County and is buried at Oakwood Cemetery. Her inscription reads, “ Sarah J. wife of J. L. Stone, Born 2 July 1839, Died 12 January 1867.”

Sarah died without leaving a will, but her children were entitled to a portion of Jesse Russell’s survey. John Lock Stone petitioned the Comanche County Court to be appointed guardian of his and Sarah Jane’s children, James Raymond Stone, Melissa Ann Stone, Virginia Elizabeth Stone and Sarah Sylvestra Stone, so he could sell their share of the Jesse Russell Survey. He said he needed to sell their 550 acres of land on the 2nd November 1874. The court records show that John Lock sold the land for $1.021.00. Which computes to a little less than $2.00 an acre.

In September 1868, the two youngest of Jesse and Jane’s children, William T. and Margaret Russell sold their shares of their father’s estate to their brother-in-law, Green Berry Stone for $1000.00. Peggy Wilkey says there are records in the Comanche County Court concerning a lawsuit Green Berry and Sylvestra Frances (Russell) Stone filed concerning the disposition of Jesse’s land.

That is also a question that I for one would like to have answered. Since Jesse was granted 4602.05 acres of land, and his four children only received 550 acres each, which only account for 2.200 acres, what happened to the rest of the land??? Perhaps the answer to that question can be found in Jane Russell Hills’ probate records if we ever find them.

In addition to the lengthy records in Jesse’s estate, we are very lucky to have found almost as many and detailed records for Jane’s mother, Margaret Russell’s estate. When she died her daughter Henrietta was appointed administrator of her mother’s estate by the Panola County Probate Court.  However, Jane Russell Hill also asked to be appointed administrator instead of her sister, saying that she was much more experienced in the matters of estate settlements. Her petition was refused, but this document provided us with proof that Jane’s parents were James and Margaret Russell, as well as naming all of their other children.

Which brings us to another problem. All along I have assumed that Jesse Russell Sr., and James Russell, husband of Margaret were brothers. If so, then Jane and Jesse Russell were first cousins. If and when we can get some more detailed research done in Kentucky perhaps we’ll find the answer to that question as well as who their parents were, and what was their relationship to Obediah and Henrietta Russell.

Another question, Jonathan Russell consistently gave his birthplace as Tennessee. We know James was in Livingston County, Kentucky in 1799, 1800, 1801, 1804, and 1807. Where was he in Tennessee in 1802, and where was he?

Another question: Where were the Russell between January 1831 and 1833 when they arrived in Texas? Where did Jonathan and Emily Tippett marry? Did they stop in Louisiana or Arkansas? When and where did James Russell and James Tippett die?

As you can see, we answer one question, and another ten pops up.

The research on the Russell and Stone family is never ending, and is always interesting. Maybe at next year’s reunion I’ll have some answers to all these questions. Again, I promise to share any new discoveries or interesting stories, including this report with Wayne for posting on the Stone website.

As direct descendants of Jesse, Jane and their children, we are eligible to be members of the Sons and Daughters of the Republic of Texas. I have been a member since 1991, and have helped to form a chapter of the Children of the Republic of Texas named for Sarah Jane Russell Stone. I plan to file for supplemental memberships on my direct lineage to James, Elizabeth and John Lock Stone, as well as Margaret Russell.

I would like to thank everyone who has shared their research information on both the Russells and the Stones with me. I’ll be forever grateful.

Sherlene Rogers Baab