In Search of William Henry

Russell, William H

At the time of enlistment on 07 September 1861, he gave his residence as Stanly Co., NC

In the Will of Temperance, aka "Tempy or Tempe" Russell, she mentions a grandson, William Henry Russell, son of William Henry Russell. It was the first I had heard of another son. As his mother lived in Stanly County and first shows up in the 1860 census, although she was probably also there in 1850 or at least in nearby Montgomery County, and as James R. "Jim" Melton, business and tradesman, was known to be there in the 1850's and before, and he is named as the father of her younger son, John Russell, the most likely scenario is just that Tempy and her boys were just  missed in the 1850 census. Perhaps she was in hiding, one of the women that Dr. Kron referred to in his notes within a 10 mile radius of him, in a negative way. 

William H Russell
Residence:	Stanly County, North Carolina, North Carolina
Age at Enlistment:	17
Enlistment Date:	7 Sep 1861
Rank at enlistment:	Private
Enlistment Place:	Stanly County, North Carolina
State Served:	North Carolina
Survived the War?:	Yes
Service Record:	Enlisted in Company K, North Carolina 28th Infantry Regiment on 07 Sep 1861.
Birth Date:	abt 1844
Sources:	North Carolina Troops 1861-65, A Roster

There were multiple William and Henry and even William H. Russell's who participated in the Civil War. One from Madison County, and another from Haywood County. But there was only one who was in the right place and the right age. William Henry Russell was a member of the Stanly Guards, Company K, North Carolina 28th infantry Regiment. 

He was out working as a hired hand in 1860, when the census takers came around and enumerated his mother, a seamstress living in the fledling town of Albemarle, and his 13 year old brother John A. Russell.

Teemperance Russel [Temperance Russell]
Age in 1860:	38
Birth Year:	abt 1822
Birthplace:	North Carolina
Home in 1860:	Stanly, North Carolina
Gender:	Female
Post Office:	Albemarle
Value of real estate:	View Image
Household Members:	Name Age Teemperance Russel 38 John A Russel Name: Wm Russell Age in 1860: 17 Birth Year: abt 1843 Home in 1860: Stanly, North Carolina Gender: Male Post Office: Albemarle Value of real estate: View Image Household Members: Name Age Thomas Rowland 58 Elizabeth Rowland 53 Jane Rowland 35 Lundy A Rowland 33 Nancy A Rowland 24 Elizabeth Rowland 23 Wm Russell 17 13

He was listed as an apprentice living in the home of farmer Thomas Rowland and next to another Rowland who was a miller in 1860. He more likely 16 than 17 at the time, and it is quite possible that he had been "bound" to Thomas Rowland as an apprentice. 

I've only just begun a thorough search for both Jr. and Sr. of William Henry Russell. This was not an uncommon name. One advantage though, to siphon out the William Henry's that could not have been was this, we know he was born in North Carolina, and we know he had a son named for himself. And in those criteria, in Richmond County, Georgia, in 1880, there was only one:

William Russell
Age:	38
Birth Year:	abt 1842
Birthplace:	North Carolina
Home in 1880:	District 1269, Richmond, Georgia
Race:	White
Gender:	Male
Relation to Head of House:	Self (Head)
Marital Status:	Married
Spouse's Name:	Eliza Russell
Father's Birthplace:	North Carolina
Mother's Birthplace:	North Carolina
Neighbors:	View others on page
Occupation:	Works In Cotton Mill
Cannot read/write: Blind: Deaf and dumb: Otherwise disabled: Idiotic or insane:	View Image
Household Members:	Name Age William Russell 38 Eliza Russell 36 William Russell 5 John Casen 8

By this time, William Henry Russell, born in North Carolina and in the right age range, had married a widow, Eliza Smith Cason, who was shown in the 1870 census with her young son, 5 month old John, who would have had to have been 10 in 1880, not 8. 

Eliza Cason
Age in 1870:	27
Birth Year:	abt 1843
Birthplace:	Georgia
Home in 1870:	Augusta Ward 1, Richmond, Georgia
Race:	White
Gender:	Female
Post Office:	Augusta
Value of real estate:	View Image
Household Members:	Name Age Eliza Cason 27 John Cason 5/12

By 1900. twenty years later, her son William Henry Russell JR. is still living with her, along with her nephews, Joseph and Thomas Smith. It is through them that I was able to discover who she was. 

In the 1900 census, it declares that she was the mother of 7 children with only one living. John Cason had obviously died and William Henry, Jr. was her only living child. 

Name:	Liza Russell
Age:	57
Birth Date:	Apr 1843
Birthplace:	Georgia
Home in 1900:	Augusta Ward 4, Richmond, Georgia
Race:	White
Gender:	Female
Relation to Head of House:	Head
Marital Status:	Widowed
Father's Birthplace:	Georgia
Mother's Birthplace:	Georgia
Mother: number of living children:	1
Mother: How many children:	7
Occupation:	View on Image
Neighbors:	View others on page
Household Members:	Name Age Liza Russell 57 Wm H Russell 24 Joseph Smith 24 Thomas M Smith 22

Sadly, in Magnolia Cemetery in Augusta, Georgia, where William Henry Russell, who died in 1896, is buried, there are at least four small children buried that were notated as his:

Catherine Russell, born August 25, 1869 and died Sept 4, 1874

F. M. Russell, born August 16, died August 23, 1875

UnNamed "Child of William Russell" born and died Dec 1, 1876

and lastly,

Temp T. Russell, born Feb 1878 and died Aug 6, 1878, 6 months old.

The trail of William Henry Russell stops after the 1900 census. There were men of his name, but which was him. There will something to nail him down as the right one, and I will find it. Genealogy is, after all a treasure hunt for a good detective.