"Portrait & Biographical Record of the Willamette Valley Oregon." Chapman Publishing Company, 1903. p. 660. WILLIAM M. RUSSELL Not always does it happen that the immigrant, passing from the associations and relations of his native country, finds in the one to which he goes those pleasing attributes that characterized his early recollections, for the dual reason that if the surroundings are similar one is inclined to contrast this similarity, with an unconscious disparagement toward the latter; if different, the old ways naturally seem the best. William M. Russell might almost be said to have escaped an inherited tendency along these lines, for it has been his fortune to be an emigrant as well as a pioneer, following in the steps of his paternal grandfather, who emigrated from England in the eighteenth century, settling in Virginia, and meeting with that unhappy fate of an immigrant, in that he never forgot the land of his birth. He did not continue to live in a country that grew more and more distasteful as the war of independence continued unabated and the ardent feelings of those about him made it impossible to remain neutral in the struggle and in 1777 he returned to England, leaving, however, a touch of American independence in the blood of his family, which responded to the call of the country in later years against the flag the early Russells served. Henry Russell, his son, born near Richmond, Va., served in the war of 1812, beginning as a private and later rising to the rank of a sergeant, bearing away with him a slight evidence of the marksmanship of his English brethren in the shape of a wound in the leg, which, however, did not incapacitate him for good work in the peaceful times that followed. While in Virginia he worked at his trade, which was that of a carpenter and joiner, but after his marriage he went to Ohio investing in land, where he carried on general farming in connection with his trade. Eight children were born to himself and wife, two daughters and six sons, the youngest of whom was William M., born near Chillicothe, July 2, 1832, his mother dying when he was but two weeks old. In 1836 the family removed to Indiana, locating in Tippecanoe county, where they remained on a purchase of sixty acres until Mr. Russell's death in 1848, in his sixty-fourth year. Through all his life Mr. Russell was strong in the faith of the principles of the Democratic party. After the death of his mother, William was reared by his elder brothers and sisters until his father's second marriage, when he found a mother's love and care in the good woman who filled the vacant place. He continued to make his home with his father until the latter's death, passing the years in the common schools of Indiana. Realizing the necessity for striking out in the world for himself, he commenced farming at the age of sixteen years, in which occupation he continued until 1852, leaving then for the far west. With six wagons drawn by ox-teams, the party made the trip, starting March 1, and arriving in North Yamhill, Ore., October 20, where the heart of the young traveler was gladdened by the sight of a boyhood friend, Sam Roberts, who had previously left his eastern home, settling in this location. The ensuing winter William worked for John Perkins in a flour mill, following in the summer with farm work for the same man. During the Indian troubles in 1855, this young emigrant, with no trace of the trait that distinguished his grandfather -- love for the land of his birth rather than solicitude for the country of his adoption -- enlisted with the troops that went into the tangled wilderness of the west, serving in eastern Oregon and Washington in Company E, First Oregon Regiment, under the command of Captain Hembree. At the close of the war he returned to Yamhill county, where, in September, 1858, he married Miss Elvira Perkins, born in Montgomery county, Ind., and whose parents crossed the plains in 1844. Four children were born to them, John H., Norris G., Lizzie Prine, all of North Yamhill, and Lucretia, deceased. In 1866 Mr. Russell bought the farm of two hundred and fifty acres in the Pike valley, where he now makes his home. He first bought nine hundred and fifty acres, the greater part of which he divided among his children, selling the remainder. Mr. Russell is engaged in general farming, hop cultivation and stock-raising, forty acres of the farm in cultivation, and fourteen devoted to hops. In the active life that Mr. Russell has led in the west, always lending himself to every movement that had for its end the welfare of his community, giving up personal ease and comfort to serve the public at its demand, he has proven himself a pioneer in nature as in name a patriot and one of the many men of sterling qualities, without whom Oregon would not be to-day the flourishing commonwealth that commands the admiration of her sister states. As a republican Mr. Russell has served his community as road supervisor, school director and school clerk. ******************* Submitted to the Oregon Bios. Project in June 2006 by Diana Smith. Submitter has no additional information about the person(s) or family mentioned above.