When Caswell Russell and his brother-in-law, William Pennington, came to
McDonough County, there were probably fewer than 20 families living here.
Only two settlements, Job and Carter, had been established. There were no
public roads, and Macomb would not be laid out for another three years.
Caswell Russell was born in Hardin County, Tennessee, in 1801. He was
orphaned by the age of 12. By the time he was 25, he was living in the newly
established McDonough County.
In June 1829, Caswell married Lydia Osborne. Lydia’s sister, Rebecca, had
married William Pennington in Indiana in 1820. Rebecca and William came to McDonough County before Caswell and Lydia.
Caswell and Lydia had 10 children, only nine lived to adulthood:
- Absalom “Abner” Russell (1831–1869)
- Mary Jane Russell, Mrs. H. O. Atkinson (1833–1883)
- William Russell (1836–1839), possibly named for his uncle William
- Pennington
- George Russell (1839–1909)
- John Milton Russell (1841–1916)
- Elizabeth Russell (1848–1851)
- Lewis Caswell “Lou” Russell (1849–1918)
- Robert F. “Rob” Russell (1851–1906)
- Louisa Russell, Mrs. Eli Bozard (1854–1914)
- Frank Russell (died 1870)
Caswell Russell’s name appears in the Quincy Tract Books, which recorded
the sale of federal lands in the Military Tract area. On page 33, for Township 6 North, Range 3 West of the Fourth Principal Meridian, Russell is listed as thepurchaser of the northeast quarter of Section 5. He paid $1.25 an acre on June 8, 1835.
Except for about seven years in Missouri during the early 1860s, Caswell
Russell spent his entire adult life in McDonough County. He returned to
Emmet Township and lived there until his death.
Lydia died in March 1872, followed by Caswell in November of the same year. After spending most of his life in McDonough County, Caswell was laid to rest beside Lydia at Spring Creek Cemetery near Sciota.
This Pioneers of the Past is furnished by Julie Terstriep of the McDonough
County Genealogical Society, facebook.com/mcdcgs. For more Pioneers of
the Past, go to https://www.mcdcgs.com/pioneers-of-the-past/
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