John Russell (Ohio politician)
Encyclopedia
John Russell was a Republican
Republican Party (United States)
The Republican Party is one of the two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Democratic Party. Founded by anti-slavery expansion activists in 1854, it is often called the GOP . The party's platform generally reflects American conservatism in the U.S...

 politician who was appointed Ohio Secretary of State
Ohio Secretary of State
The Secretary of State is responsible for overseeing elections in the State of Ohio. The Secretary of State also is responsible for registering business entities and granting them the authority to do business within the state, registering secured transactions, and granting access to public...

 from 1868-1869.

John Russell was from Champaign County, Ohio
Champaign County, Ohio
As of the census of 2000, there were 38,890 people, 14,952 households, and 10,870 families residing in the county. The population density was 91 people per square mile . There were 15,890 housing units at an average density of 37 per square mile...

. He was chief clerk in the office of Ohio Secretary of State William Henry Smith
William Henry Smith (American politician)
William Henry Smith was a newspaper editor, Republican politician who was Ohio Secretary of State 1865-1868, consolidated and managed the Associated Press, and was a compiler and editor of several historic works....

. Smith resigned the office January 14, 1868. John Russell was appointed by Governor Rutherford B. Hayes
Rutherford B. Hayes
Rutherford Birchard Hayes was the 19th President of the United States . As president, he oversaw the end of Reconstruction and the United States' entry into the Second Industrial Revolution...

 to replace him. Later that year, at the State Republican Convention, Russell came in fourth of four candidates for the nomination on the first ballot, and withdrew.

Biography

John Russell was born September 22, 1827 in Concord Township, Champaign County, Ohio
Concord Township, Champaign County, Ohio
Concord Township is one of the twelve townships of Champaign County, Ohio, United States. The 2000 census found 1,408 people in the township.-Geography:Located in the western part of the county, it borders the following townships:*Harrison Township - north...

 to John and Mary Russell, farmers who were originally from Virginia
Virginia
The Commonwealth of Virginia , is a U.S. state on the Atlantic Coast of the Southern United States. Virginia is nicknamed the "Old Dominion" and sometimes the "Mother of Presidents" after the eight U.S. presidents born there...

. He taught school and saved his money to enroll in Ohio Wesleyan University
Ohio Wesleyan University
Ohio Wesleyan University is a private liberal arts college in Delaware, Ohio, United States. It was founded in 1842 by Methodist leaders and Central Ohio residents as a nonsectarian institution, and is a member of the Ohio Five — a consortium of Ohio liberal arts colleges...

 in 1849, from which he graduated. He returned home to marry Margaret M. Russell, (no relation).

In 1854, Russell was elected Clerk of Courts in his county. He served three terms for a total of nine years. He was then appointed to Smith
William Henry Smith (American politician)
William Henry Smith was a newspaper editor, Republican politician who was Ohio Secretary of State 1865-1868, consolidated and managed the Associated Press, and was a compiler and editor of several historic works....

's staff, and then appointed by Rutherford B. Hayes
Rutherford B. Hayes
Rutherford Birchard Hayes was the 19th President of the United States . As president, he oversaw the end of Reconstruction and the United States' entry into the Second Industrial Revolution...

 as Ohio Secretary of State
Ohio Secretary of State
The Secretary of State is responsible for overseeing elections in the State of Ohio. The Secretary of State also is responsible for registering business entities and granting them the authority to do business within the state, registering secured transactions, and granting access to public...

.

After his term expired, Russell returned to Urbana
Urbana, Ohio
Urbana is a city in and the county seat of Champaign County, Ohio, United States, west of Columbus. Urbana was laid out in 1805, and for a time in 1812 was the headquarters of the Northwestern army. Urbana was named after the town of Urbanna, Virginia. It is the burial-place of the Indian fighter...

 and worked in the office of the Collector of Internal Revenue. Russell was nominated and elected to the Ohio State Senate in the fall of 1869, but was struck down by stroke and died December 16, 1869, before he could take his seat. Governor Hayes spoke at his funeral in Urbana.

Russell joined the Methodist Episcopal Church
Methodist Episcopal Church
The Methodist Episcopal Church, sometimes referred to as the M.E. Church, was a development of the first expression of Methodism in the United States. It officially began at the Baltimore Christmas Conference in 1784, with Francis Asbury and Thomas Coke as the first bishops. Through a series of...

at a young age.
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