William Russell (Virginia politician)
William Russell | |
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| Born | 1735 |
| Died | 1793 (aged 57–58) |
| Battles/wars | American Revolutionary War
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Elizabeth Henry | |
William Russell (1735 – January 14, 1793) was an army officer and a prominent settler of the southwestern region of the
Personal life
William Russell was educated at the
Counties in Virginia.Frontiersman
Russell led an early attempt to settle the area that would become Kentucky —then part of Fincastle County, Virginia —in September 1773. The party of frontiersmen was ambushed by Native Americans and Russell's eldest son, along with the eldest son of Daniel Boone, was killed. After the battle, the party became discouraged and turned back.
Civic and military life
Russell was elected a justice of Fincastle County, Virginia. As a Virginia representative to the Continental Congress, he aided in the drafting of the Declaration of Independence [citation needed]. Russell was serving in the Virginia House of Delegates at the time of his death.
In
Legacy
- Russell County, Virginia, and Russellville, Kentucky, are named for him.
- William Russell (III).
References
- William Russell and his Descendants by Anna Russell des Cognets, Lexington, KY, 1884.
- William Russell: a Revolutionary patriot of the Clinch Valley by Mary Katherine Thorp, Master's Thesis, University of Virginia, 1936.
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