Carrying on the Russell Family Name

While the Russell family name has been around for about 1000 years, and there are many people who have that name, there is no “Russell Family” association who maintains the rather massive family tree that might show how all of the people with that name are related. However, one of the results of my own research has been the creation of as complete a family tree as I have been able to construct that covers the last 200 years.

At one time I thought that I had very few relatives who shared the Russell name, but as I have discovered, my family tree is quite large and there are many relatives who I have discovered and with whom I am now in contact. So, here is a different perspective on the family tree, looking at how the family name is being passed on (generally from father to son).

My great-great-great-grandfather, Silas Russell, was born in 1803. He and his wife had nine children. Seven of them were either females or males who died young, so only two could pass on the family name. Theodore had eight children. Four of them were females, one died in childbirth, and of the three boys, two died before living long enough to get married and the last never married. So the Russell name was not carried on through Theodore. Only one of Silas’ children, my great-great-grandfather Walter, who was the youngest and was born when Silas was nearly 50, was able to pass on the family name.

Walter Russell was born in 1852. He had a six children with his first wife, and when she died he remarried and he had four more children with his second wife. Five of his children were boys, but one of them never married and one married but had no children. But there were three who could pass on the family name – and all three have done so. Here are the active Russell branches still passing on the family name (note that the WR… references all refer to their place in the Walter Russell family where children are numbered based on birth order).

Walter’s oldest son, Louis, had six children, but three were girls and one boy died young. Erskine, my grandfather, and his younger brother William have both passed on the name to their offspring.

Erskine -> Vernon -> Alan (myself, WR1121) -> Christopher -> Aryon (WR112111) [age 11]

Erskine -> Vernon -> Alan (WR1121) -> Christopher -> Tiernan (WR112112) [age 9]

William -> William -> Timothy (WR1413) -> Keith -> Logan (WR141321) [age 12]

William -> William -> Donald (WR1414) -> Douglas -> Joseph (WR141421) [age 9]

William -> William -> Donald (WR1414) -> Jeffrey (WR14143) [age 26]

Walter’s fifth child, George, had three children and two of them have passed on the family name, however, two of the current generation have only daughters thus far and may eventually not pass on the Russell name.

George -> Andrew -> Andrew -> Thomas (WR5112) -> Brian (WR51121) [only a daughter]

George -> Andrew -> Andrew -> Thomas (WR5112) -> Christopher (WR51122) [only a daughter]

George -> Andrew -> George (WR512) -> George -> Ian (WR51212) [age 13]

Finally, Walter’s youngest son, James, had three children, but only one of them has passed on the family name – and that through the unusual circumstance of a boy given the Russell family name when his mother gave birth out of wedlock. He and his wife have no children yet, so it is not certain if the Russell name will end in this branch of the family.

James -> Donald -> Laura (WR914) -> Christopher (WR9141) [age 31]

Finally, I want to note the interesting coincidence that three of the individuals in the above trees have the same name and were born in the same 10 year period – even though none of their parents were aware of the others during the time period when they were born.

Christopher Allen Russell – born 1975 to Thomas and Gail Russell in MD

Christopher Alan Russell – born 1979 to Alan and Donna Russell in PA

Christopher Alan Russell – born 1984 to Laura Russell in FL

There must be something about that combination of names that goes together well with the Russell surname!