John Russell and his descendents

jcvalade@gmail.com

Elizabeth² Russell (John¹) was born about 1793 in Washington County, Virginia. She is the daughter of John Russell and Barsheba (_____) Russell.

Early Years

Elizabeth Russell was born about 1793 in Washington County, Virginia. Probate records for her father, John, include a list of John's children in birth order. The estimates of birth years for Elizabeth and her siblings were based on the order of birth, a few census records, and property and land tax records showing the years in which John's older sons appear on the tax lists.¹ Her parents were:

• John Russell, b about 1756; d 1821 in Missouri.
• Barsheba.

Elizabeth is John's sixth child. Elizabeth's parentage is supported by the evidence. A daughter, Elizabeth, is listed in John's probate record.²

Marriage and Children

Elizabeth is listed as the wife of John Allen in her father's probate records. Since her older sister, Sally, is listed in the probate as married to William Allen, it seems likely that these two sisters married brothers, but no proof has been found that John and William were brothers.³

In Virginia

Elizabeth was born and raised in Washington County, Virginia, on the north fork of the Holston River.⁴ However, since females were not listed on the property tax records, she is not mentioned in any of the records. The 1810 census record for John Russell does not show her in the household, so she was undoubtedly married to John Allen before 1810.⁵

John Allen is first found when he purchased some land from John Russell in Washington County, Virginia. Exactly when he purchased the property is undocumented, but he solt the property before July 1805. These land transactions are described in a court case filed by James Foley against John Russell in 1816.⁶ Foley stated that John Russell sold some land to John Allen. John Allen later sold the land to George Goff. On July 3, 1805, George Goff sold the land to James Foley. Foley mentions that John Allen had left the state by the time the court case was filed.

Elizabeth Russell Allen did not move to St. Charles County, Missouri when her father and several siblings moved there. John Allen is not found on the tax lists and census records where Elizabeth's father and siblings are found. However, where John and Elizabeth did move is unknown.

Death

When John Russell died in 1821, Elizabeth's brother, Patterson, was the executor.⁷ The following abstract of a sworn affadavit by the executor, Patterson Y Russell, shows Elizabeth in the list of heirs:

Russel, John – No. 7 – Adm. Aug 20, 1821. Paterson Y. Russell Admr. Heirs – James Russell, John Russell, Henry Russell, Joseph Russell, Patterson Y. Russell, Sally Allen wife of Wm Allen, Elizabeth Allen wife of John Allen, Barsheba Foley wife of Abraham Foley, Barsheba Russell wid. of John Russell Sr. dec.

However, in 1826, the list of heirs who received a distribution from the estate did not include Elizabeth. One possible explanation is that they did not know whether Elizabeth was alive in 1821 and discovered she was dead during probate or were unable to locate her during probate.