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My HTML Toolbox: | Russell Family Genealogy Abraham Russell was born September 24, 1836 at County Donegal, Ireland, the son of Alexander and Esther (Hutchinson) Russell. Among the family legends is one that Abraham's father was a Presbyterian minister who secretly harbored Jesuit priests and as a result was thrown into prison where he died. Then the mother fled with her family to a ship bound for America in 1838 when Abraham was 2 years old and died during the voyage, with burial at sea. The remainder of the family landed in Canada. Abraham and his three brothers were placed in a Catholic orphanage in Canada's Quebec Province and that is how they came to be reared as Catholics. (His brothers, Thomas and Isaac settled in Perry, Iowa with later larger prosperous farmland Abraham Russell probably migrated from Canada to the United States during the 1850's but the exact date is not known. (Records show that when he applied for U.S. citizenship on October 13, 1886, at the Guthrie County District Court (Stuart, Iowa?), he was able to satisfy the court that "he had been a resident of the U.S. for a period of more than five years, and taht he was a resident of the U.S. for more than three years previous to arriving at the age of 21 years". Since he was born in 1836, this would indicate that he became a resident of the U.S. in 1854 or earlier. On the other hand, in the 1905 census conducted by the State of Iowa, he reported that he had been living in the U.S. for 56 years which would indicate that he came to the U.S. in 1859. The earlier date of 1854 is more probable. According to the same census, he reported that he had been living in Iowa for 50 years, although records of his first marriage in 1862 would indicate that he had actually lived in Iowa at least 53 years.) Abraham Russell was apparently a colorful man, given perhaps to spinning tales, for among his descendants there are an unusual number of interesting stories about his background and early life. Some of these legends are inconsistent while others are touched upone in his obituary (see pg 9). His death certificate, on file at the Guthrie County courthouse, gives his date of birth and the names of his parents. The information was supplied by his son Samuel. There is no mention in his obituary of Civil War service but there is a strong family tradition that he was wounded in battle, captured and spent time in a prison camp. His right arm was permanently crippled as the result of a bullet wound, it is said. He became a sympathizer with the South, and bitterly resented the parody, "John Brown's Body" - and never allowed it to be referred to in his presence. According to one group of family legends, he served in the Confederate army, and according to another he served in the Union army. He probably served in neither since he was in Polk County, Iowa as early as July 2, 1862 - at the time of his first marriage. However, in the same 1905 census (mentioned on the earlier page) he reported that he had served in Company 43, Regiment 1, of the State of Mississippi. A search of Confederate army records, on file at the National Archives in Washington, D.C., reveals no unit by this name nor any record for an Abraham Russell who left the Confederate army as early as 1862. All of the Union army service records are on file at the National Archives also, and they consist of the original enlistment papers which show the date and place of birth and place of enlistment and muster rolls which trace a soldier's career inthe army, and his discharge papers. A search of all the Union army records for soldiers named A., Abe, Abram and Abraham Russell disclosed none who were born in Ireland on or about September 24, 1836, and none who left the army, through capture or discharge, as early as July 2, 1862, the date of his first marriage in Iowa. Also on file at the National Archives, ar the pension applications and where pensions ar granted, with certificates and related papers. There is no evidence that Abraham Russell ever attempted to obtain a pension, although if wounded, he certainly would have been entitled to one. Nevertheless, it is conceivable that he served in some Confederate unit whose records have been lost, and that he was wounded and captured during one of the early battles of the war and when parolled went west to Iowa since he had no roots in the South. However, in none of the federal censuses which attempted to list Union army veterans, did Abraham Russell report that he was a vet. Abraham Russell married, first, Anna Fines, July 2, 1862 at Des Moines, Polk County, Iowa. She was born about December 12, 1844. There is no record of her parents names. They had three children. (see Page 6) Anna Fines died June 12, 1866 at age 21 years, 6 mo. at home in Des Moines, Iowa and is buried in Woodland cemetery there. According to the Iowa State Department of History and Archives at Des Moines their marriage is recorded in the early marriage records of Polk County. The Iowa State Dept. of History and Archives has a compilation of Woodland cemetery gravestone inscriptions also, and among these is this inscription: - Anna Russell Wife of Abraham Died June 12, 1866 Age 21yrs. 6 mos. According to his obituary (see Pg 9) "after he had grown to manhood he went to Chicago about the time of the Chicago fire, and from there he went to New Orleans and several other places, and later bought and operated the Red Head Coal Mines at Des Moines." (He may have travelled about the country, and lived in Chicago and New Orleans for a time, but this is probably before the Civil War. The reference to the Chicago fire seems certainly erroneous since that disaster occurred October 8, 1871 - long after Abraham Russell settled in Iowa, and there is no evidence that he left Iowa for any extended period of time after coming to Des Moines in the early 1860's. Regarding the reference to the Red Head coal mines, there is record that a Wesley Redhead organized a coal company in November 1864 and began the first systematic mining. In August 1865 he and another group of other prominent men organized the Des Moines Coal Company and opened up a slope north of town on the west side of the Des Moines river. This was operated a number of years until the pocket became exhausted. In January of 1873 having bought out the interests of the other members of the firm, he began prospecting on his land west of the South Park near the south end of the West Seventh Street bridge. On June 2, 1873 a bed of coal was reached, and the Black Diamond mine was at once sunk and equipped with the best machinery available, and employment at the mine quickly rose to 40 men. In 1867 when the Chicago, Rock Island and Pacific railroad was built to Des Moines, the coal company was producing one or two cars a day, but by 1876 a 20 car load supply a day was being furnished, and 150 men were employed. The name of the company was changed in 1874 to the Pioneer Coal Company and the mine was give the same name. Mr. Redhead continued to own the company into the 1880's. It is possible that Abraham Russell worked as a miner for Mr. Redhead during part of this period and it is even conceivable that he was of Mr. Redhead's partners - but, he never "bought and operated the mines." The 1871 city directory of Des Moines contains a listing for a man named A. Russell, occupation miner, residing at West Front, North of School. This man may or may not have been our Abraham Russell. He is not listed in the 1860 census for Polk County, but in the 1870 census of Valley Township, Polk County, Abraham Russell and his son Samuel, age six, were living with a John Dooley and family. Mr. Dooley is listed as a brickmaker and owning property. Abraham Russell was listed as a brickmaker, also owning property. So, perhaps they were partners. In the same house were 10 other young men listed as "works on brickyard", but only one other - a John Karney - owned any real estate - - so maybe he was a third partner. Abraham Russell's other 2 children - Annie & Mary - were not listed in this census. Perhaps they were staying with relatives in another county. According to his obituary (Pg 9), Abraham Russell and Mary Alice (Kennefic) Keenan, a widow, were married at Des Moines in 1874. No record was found of this marriage in Polk County marriage records. Mary Alice (Kennefic) Keenan was born April 17, 1846 at Leeds, Ontario Province, Canada, the daughter of William and Margaret (Cronin) Kennefic. She was first married to John Keenan before 1868 - place of marriage unknown. He was born 1845 in New York - town unknown - the son of James and Mary Keenan. He died between 1871 and 1874 - place of death and burial unknown. They (James and Mary) had 2 children. (see page 6) (Abraham Russell and Mary Alice (Kennefic) Keenan had 8 children, and adopted one-see page 7) The obituary states "from Des Moines the family moved to Newton, where Mr. Russell started the first brickyard. Later he sold the business there, and went to Adel, and finally settled at Stuart, Iowa where they resided for 40 years, coming there about the time the town was laid out." (We don't know exactly when Mr. Russell and his family came to Stuart, but there is a copy of a fire insurance policy dated January 22, 1876 covering his residence, saloon, contents and stock at Stuart, so he was certainly there by that date. Apparently the family spent less than a year in either Newton or Adel) When a census was conducted in 1880, Abraham Russell was listed as "keeping a boarding house". Twenty-one boarders were listed, and all but one were men and included 8 railroad brakemen, 2 day laborers, a brick mason, stone mason, dentist, coal dealer, machinist, carpenter, horseler, pedlar, and an 81 yr. old man who had no occupation, a 28 yr. old man whose occupation was not given, and an 18 yr. old girl who was probably married to one of the other boarders. The description of the building on the fire insurance policy listst he main building as 30 x 34 ft. with two additions, one 12 x 12 and the other 14 x 30. It was built in 1878 according to the policy - but this could refer to the time the additions were made. There were 3 brick chimneys and the building was warmed by stoves. It was valued at $1,200. About 1893 or 1894 the Russells stopped taking in boarders and Abraham started a general merchandise store. He later closed that out and was a wood and coal dealer the rest of his life. Abraham Russell was known in the community as a fiery Irishman who would passionately defend "causes"; on the other hand, he was so generous-hearted that the family table was forever "set" for all comers - - tramps, ne'er-do-wells, hungry friends, and relatives. At the time of his death a great deal was on the books for coal bills - few of which were ever paid. A week prior to his death, he crawled under a standing freight train - across the street from their home (which was located across the street from the Stuart Rock Island Depot) - to get to the pasture on the opposite side where he had a couple of milk cows grazing. The train began to move, and he laid down between the rails, but the low-hanging brakebeam caught his clothing and dragged him some distance. He died at age 74 a week later, as a result of his injuries. (see Page 8 - description of the accident) his wife, Mary Alice Russell, died at her home in Stuart, Iowa, Octobert 1, 1928, at age 82 yrs., 6 mos., 5 days. (See obituary - below) According to her death certificate, cause of death was "chronic cardiac decompression." Gangrene of the left foot was contributory. Obituary of Mrs. A. Russell Mrs. Mary Alice Russell, widow of the late Abraham Russell, passed quietly out of this life at her home in Stuart, Iowa, October 1, 1928 at eleven p.m., being eighty-two years, six months and five days old. The Three Children of Abraham & Anna (Fines) Russell
2. Anna Fines Russell (Sister Mary Melania) (taught music) 3. Mary Esther Russell The Two Children of John and Mary Alice (Kennefick) Kennan 1. Margaret (Maggie) Keenan 2. Julia Ann Keenan ** Some family members state that Abraham Russell's full name was Samuel Abraham Russell; This is not shown on any court records or papers. It could be he had the name Samuel, since his first son was so named) Re: Martha (Mattie) Melania Russell and Martha (Mattie) Melania Russell was a telephone operator in Stuart, Iowa where she was born June 2, 1879. There she met Mercer Finney Kennedy, where he was employed with the Rock Island Railroad as a telegrapher. He was born, April 13, 1881, in Iowa Center Iowa - the son of George Mercer Kennedy and Bertha Caroline Kennedy. He was of Irish Descent (parents history not known) and she was of German descent (Miller) and came from the Pennsylvania area, but parents history not known. From Iowa Center, Iowa they moved to Collins, Iowa. It is said they had a nice farm and home but George Abraham gave too generously to a cousin, a Mr. Finney, went deep in debt and lost the home and farm. (It was from this Mr. Finney that Mercer received his middle name). They then moved to Maxwell, Iowa where they rented a farm and two daughters and another son were born - Edna, Chelsea and Bernice. Mrs. Kennedy was a hard worker and seemed to be the family bread-winner from then on. It is said that Mercer, though young, being the eldest in the family, worked hard on the farm without compensation. When he was five years old Chelsea was kicked in the head by a horse and was an invalid the balance of his life. When Mercer was 12 years old the family moved into the town of Maxwell where Mrs. Kennedy worked in the local delicatessen while it is said Mr. Kennedy "tipped a few" with his local buddies with the same taste. They did purchase a house on the "main street" which was located next to a building that housed the telephone office and Bertha Kenendy worked there; was a midwife, did home baking whidh she sold to townspeople and to local bakeries. She was an excellent baker-ess, which is attested to by my own sampling and my friends and acquaintances. Her mid-wifery is also praised, and it is generally said that she was a hard-working woman, well thought of by the townspeople. Mercer worked on a farm inthe Maxwell area, managed to save up a little of the small amount he recieved after he gave his share of the household expenses to his mother, and took a train to Perry, Iowa to apply for work on the railroad. He later returned to Maxwell where he worked as a section-hand for the Rock Island. He would have been about 14 years old at the time. It was a few years later that he went to Stuart and worked as a telegrapher - the position he held the balance of his life. The brother Chelsea died at age 17. Edna married Ray Posten who was in the banking business in Maxwell. Ray Posten was a fine man but was driven to suicide by Edna wo was an unpleasant, complaining woman all of her life - which she took by her own hand some years after his death. Her death preceded that of her mother, Bertha Kennedy, who deceased in the 1940's. She had continued to be active though in old age she used crutches and had lost her sight. Bernice was married to Frank Pearson and they had two daughters - Elaine and Shirley. The Pearsons farmed in the Maxwell area but never did to well. Frank seemed to have a taste for the Bottle too. It is said the Postens - having more than most in those days - helped the Pearsons through hard times - educated the girls, etc. Shirley and Elaine went to California, Elaine having married a high school coach from Nevada, Iowa, and Shirley married later in California. Elaine lived for a time in Pamona. After Frank's death, Bernice Pearson joined Shirley in California where Shirley was a nurse. At this date, I seem to recall that Shirley has deceased - perhaps Bernice also. George Mercer Kennedy - Mercer's father - had deceased in the 1920's. He was a little man then, with a long white flowing beard. Seemed kindly, as I recall at about age 5 or 6; perhaps he was a little henpecked. After Bernice moved to California, Mrs. Kennedy was no longer able to maintain her home because of her failing sight and spent the balance ofher days in a County Home for the Aged in Nevada, Iowa. She was active mentally and entertained the others there with her great volume of memorized poetry and songs with her own piano accompaniment. The eight children of Abraham and Mary Alice (Kennefic-Keenan) Russell 1. Helena (Nellie) Agnes Russell 2. Elizabeth (Lizzie) Hannah (or Honorah?) Russell |
