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Below is a family biography included in Biographical and Historical Memoirs of Lee County, Arkansas published by Goodspeed Publishing Company in 1890.  These biographies are valuable for genealogy research in discovering missing ancestors or filling in the details of a family tree. Family biographies often include far more information than can be found in a census record or obituary.  Details will vary with each biography but will often include the date and place of birth, parent names including mothers' maiden name, name of wife including maiden name, her parents' names, name of children (including spouses if married), former places of residence, occupation details, military service, church and social organization affiliations, and more.  There are often ancestry details included that cannot be found in any other type of genealogical record.

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John W. Russell, who stands foremost among the farmers of Lee County, Ark., is a native of Alabama and a son of Alexander Russell, also of that State, and who was born about 1809. He was of Scotch descent, and was a farmer, tanner and shoemaker. In 1828 Miss Rebecca Ann Cartwright became his wife, a daughter of John and Polly Cartwright, both originally from Alabama, and of Irish descent. She was born in Madison County, that State, in 1815, and died in 1882, three years after the death of her husband. They were the parents of nine children, five sons and four daughters; three of these are known to be living: Joseph, Eveline (now Mrs. Holly of Alabama), and John W. The subject of this sketch was born in Limestone County, Ala., December 10, 1831, and remained in that county until his marriage, having charge of his father’s farm. He has been married four times; first, in 1855, to Miss Louisa Breeding, a native of Morgan County, who died in 1877, leaving seven children, three still surviving: Samuel R., Otis P. and William W., all engaged in farming in this county. Mr. Russell was next married May 10, 1879, to Miss Susan Bickerstaff, also of Alabama, who died in 1883. His third marriage was in 1884 to Miss Dora Smith, also of the same State. She lived a year after her marriage, leaving one child, which died a short time after its mother. His fourth and present wife was Mrs. Mary A. Archy, widow of Rufus Archy, of Tennessee, to whom he was married in October, 1886. Mr. Russell enlisted in the Confederate service, in 1864, in Malone’s battalion, in Johnston’s army, and served until the close of the war. Coming to Arkansas in 1873, he located in this county and purchased the farm on which he still resides, now one of the finest in Lee County, consisting of 216 acres, with 150 acres under cultivation. He is also engaged in the milling business and cotton ginning. Mr. Russell is a Democrat in politics, and a member of the Methodist Episcopal Church. His wife belongs to the Cumberland Presbyterian Church.

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This family biography is one of 104 biographies included in Biographical and Historical Memoirs of Lee County, Arkansas published in 1890.  For the complete description, click here: Lee County, Arkansas History, Genealogy, and Maps

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