1193 Russells Mills Road
Russell-Ekstrom House
Colonial saltbox home built circa 1704. Its builder and first owner was most likely John Russell (1679-1767), grandson of John Russell (1608-1695), one of the early settlers of Dartmouth. The original structure was a one-room over one-room building with a lean-to at the rear. Timber framing in the earliest part of the house has First Period details. Visit the Shetland sheep, the pheasants, and a 5-hole privy tucked behind the 1860’s barn.
The following detail descriptions are from scripts for Docents during a 2018 house tour
Upstairs East Chamber
Architectural analysis of this house was done by Richard Candee (Boston University Preservation Studies Program) and two of his students, Linda DesRoche and Timothy Formby, as part of a 1997 Survey of First Period Massachusetts Architecture in Bristol County. They concluded that this earliest section of the house was probably built between 1695 and 1715. A dendrochronology study by Daniel Miles of the Oxford University Laboratory in 2006 did not find a match to any reference samples.
Show - The decoration of the timber frames in this room is consistent with First Period detailing. (First Period was approximately 1626 through 1725). The summer beam has a wide chamfer with a lamb’s tongue stop followed by a small check. The tie-beam also has a chamfer and a lamb’s tongue stop. The front and rear plates were decorated with a small chamfer. The posts in the room were very heavily carved. The chamfer on the posts runs from the floor to a lamb’s tongue stop with check that is near the top of the post. About a foot above the beginning of the gunstock, each post slightly flairs, and then continues straight to the top of the post.
Point out areas with – white wash paint, applied to give interior finish to the room, making it brighter and cleaner.
Point out area where - there might have been a casement window (show photograph).
Show the board and batten door, typical of First Period homes.
In the 1870s, an owner of this house, Mrs. Lucinda (Baker) Russell Kent, rented space in this room to students from the northern part of town who attended the high school, the 1871 Schoolhouse in Russells Mills. The room was partitioned from west to east. We think that the five-seated privy behind the barn was built at that time.
Now you can go downstairs to the Front Hall where you came in and take a left to go into the Parlor.
1st shift - Joseph Ingoldsby 2nd shift – Sally Aldrich
Downstairs Parlor
Saltbox and cape-style homes in New England commonly had a first floor plan that included two parlors toward the front of the house. One parlor was usually used on an everyday basis and the other one was kept as a best room for receiving guests. This is the best parlor in this house.
Interior features give us a sense that this was a substantial household in the 18th century. For instance, this room has paneled high-style Georgian doors, a style seen in various forms throughout the house.
Open door to closet - A parlor closet, also known as a beaufat, was a special closet where cups and saucers, glassware, wine, loaves of fruitcake or pound cake were kept so that instant hospitality could be provided to guests. People were proud of showing off their dishes when the door was opened!
We think that around 1740 when the house was expanded to the west, a completely new chimney replaced the first one. The fireplaces in the house are mid-18th century designs, a little lower and smaller than fireplaces in the First Period. The overmantel in this room is typical for the second quarter of the 18th century. It is a little more elaborate than the overmantel in the sitting room of the house. This indicates that this was the best room in the house.
Show - For an easy-to-see example of hand-planed wood, look up at the boxed summer beam in this room. The painted surface makes the planing very visible.
Next you can go completely through the Keeping Room and make a left into the Sitting Room.
This room will have a list of objects in the room with information about them. The information can be incorporated into the tour or used to answer questions.
1st shift - Barbara Pease 2nd shift - Jan Hall
Downstairs Sitting Room
Welcome to the Sitting Room. This room is where people would probably spend much time in old times. It was a place to read, play cards, or work on knitting or sewing. Sometimes guests would be received here too. Meals would be eaten here in the days before the house had a so-called dining room.
The fireplace would have been used mostly for warmth and light, not cooking. However, this fireplace has a hook that might have been used for drying eel caught in the local waters.
Show - The door hardware in this room is typical of most of the hardware throughout the house. H and HL hinges were in use until about 1790. The wrought iron door latches in this room are Norfolk latches, extensively used until about 1840. Those latches were partially factory-made in England (backplate) and partially handmade by local blacksmiths (thumb latch itself).
The sun porch on the west side of the house was added at about 1930. Porches like this were added to many houses in our area around that time.
Now you can return to the Keeping Room, or Dining Room, that you walked through when you came to this room.
This room will have a list of objects in the room with information about them. The information can be incorporated into the tour or used to answer questions.
1st shift – Brenda Dias 2nd shift - Charlotte Murphy
Downstairs Keeping Room
The fireplace and bake oven provide drama in this room. The height of the fireplace and the location of the bake oven, to the side of the main opening, help us date this fireplace’s construction in the mid-eighteenth century. Previously, bake ovens were placed inside the fireplaces, to the rear, or side. Bake ovens were later placed to the side of the main opening where the danger to the housewife tending the chores was reduced. This increased her life expectancy!
Show - Point out one, two or more cooking utensils in the fireplace – see list that is provided in room.
Show - Wall cabinet to upper right above the fireplace was a place to store black powder (gunpowder). A brick from the chimney protrudes into the cabinet, bringing warmth to the inside, to keep the powder from becoming damp … and unusable!
We think that shortly after the mid-1820s the transition from fireplace cooking to cook stove cooking was made. Around that time a hand pump was installed in a scullery that was created next to a pantry.
In the mid-1930s the cook stove was removed and the scullery became a kitchen with an electrified pump. The pantry became a bathroom. Most electric wiring was installed in the house at that time when electricity first arrived in Russells Mills.
Now you can leave the house through the back door to visit the barn, the privy, the Shetland sheep and the pheasants. You can look for a live example of the pheasant in that painting (point to watercolor painting near rear door). It is an Impeyan pheasant, the national bird of Nepal.
This room will have a list of objects in the room with information about them. The information can be incorporated into the tour or used to answer questions.
1st shift - Nathaniel Allen & Hope Millham 2nd shift - Russ Hensel & Julie Newton
Barn & Outbuildings
We do not have an accurate date for the building of the barn and workshop addition. When compared with other barns in the area, it is thought it might have been built in the 1850s or 1860s.
Hearsay has led us to believe that poultry was kept on the property. Bite marks in the barn indicate that horses were present and surely they would have been kept for transportation purposes.
Show - The workshop has a 1936 sign announcing a local auction.
On April 1, 1942, eighty-five blueberry plants were planted to the north of the barn. The varieties were ‘Cabot’, ‘Pioneer’, ‘Rubel’, ‘Stanley’ and ‘Wareham’. Today, thirty-six of the plants remain and they are very productive!
In the 1950s a room was built on the east upper floor to serve as a spare bedroom, and the floor was extended in the upper west part of the barn.
From photographs it seems that the garage door was added in the 1960s.
Today Shetland sheep and pheasants from the Far East live here. The sheep are kept for their fine wool (the finest in the British Isles), and the pheasants are kept for conservation purposes and their beauty.
This farm has recently been given the name of Beckside Farm.
Thank you for visiting the Russell-Ekstrom House at Beckside Farm.
RECORDS OF JOHN RUSSELL (1608-1694/95)-The First of the Name, Grandfather of the John Russell who built this house.
1633 Listed as freeman of Marshfield (Records of the Colony of New Plymouth in New England, Court Orders, Volume VIII; 1857. p. 177)
1642/3 In Marshfield Massachusetts. Chosen as Constable in 1642 and again in 1643, (The Descendants of John Russell of Dartmouth Massachusetts; Barrett Beard Russell; New England Historical and Genealogical Society; Boston; 1904)
12 Feb 1642/3Town granted to John Russell and his heirs forever all that marsh and meadow between the marsh of Joseph Worslow and Kenelem Winstow (ibid)
Unknown Bought lands at Marshfield from Thomas Chillingworth (New Bedford Whaling Museum; Old Dartmouth Sketch #69; "John Russell" by William Wing; given November 13, 1935
http://www.whalingmuseum.org/explore/library/publications/old-Dartmouth- historical-sketches/gdhs_no_69
27 Sept 1643 One of those appointed to keep watch at Thomas Bourne's house (ibid)
13 Nov 1644 30 acres next to the land formerly granted to John Thomas and Robert Chamlas (The Descendants of John Russell of Dartmouth, Mass., Barrett Bond Russell; New England Historical and Genealogical Society, Boston; 1904)
19 Aug 1645 Among those willing to support a school teacher (ibid)
14 Oct 1646 Chosen one out of a committee to the next court http://familytreemaker.genealogy.com/users/r/u/s/George-Lucius-Russell/ WEBSITE-0001/UHP-0001.html
1648 Chosen rater and surveyor of highways. (ibid)
21 Mar 1650 Fined for not being at the town meeting (ibid)
9 June 1653 On a jury in a case involving Thomas Hieland (Records of the Colony of New Plymouth in New England, Volume 7; W. White; New Plymouth Colony; 1857. p. 63)
3 June 1656 He and George Russell on a committee to divide lands. They met at the House of Arthur Howland at the South River in Marshfield (White)
4 June 1657 On a jury in a case involving Samuel House against Edward Jenkens (ibid; p. 83)
17 Mar 1659 On a jury in a case between William Randall against John Bryant (ibid; p. 93)
20 Mar 1661 Bought from Edward Gray, attorney of Myles Standish, his share of the town of Dartmouth for £42 (Russell)
10 Nov 1661 John Russell to Samuel Cutbert, a small parcel of land about 4 or 5 acres (The Mayflower Descendants Volume XV; George Ernest Bowman; Massachusetts Society of Mayflower Descendants; 1913. p. 183)
20 Mar 1661 Purchased from Captain Miles Standish a portion of the township of Old Dartmouth. Myles Standish originally purchased the share for$5-$10, held it 9 years and sold it for about $210. It comprised what is now Padanarem from Bush Street North to Russell Mills Road and taking in Bliss Corner. It was about 3200 acres. (The History of New Bradford, Bristol County; Daniel Ricketson 1858. p. 153) http://dartmouthma.virtualtownhall.net/Pages/DartmouthMA_Webdocs/darthistory
1664 Dartmouth established as a town including Ponangansett where John lived (White)
4 Oct 1664 John Barnes complained against John Russell in an action of damage of £4 for none payment of a debt of £4.19. Jury found for Barnes (White; 117)
1665 Represented Dartmouth of the General Court at Plymouth Represented again 1667-1672, 1674 and 1683 (ibid; p. 153)
http://familytreemaker.genealogy.com/users/r/u/s/George-Lucius- Russell/WEBSITE-0001/UHP-0001.html
8 Mar 1666/7 Edward Gray complained against John Russell for nonpayment of several debts. Jury found for Gray (White; p. 135)
2 Mar 1668/9 John Russell, John Smith and Samuel Hickes complained against John Cooke to the damage of £100 that the said Cooke unjustly molested them in causing them by summons twice to attend court as delinquents but proved nothing as just cause of complaint against them thus defaming them. Jury found for the plaintiffs. (White; p. 152)
5 June 1671 One of those appointed to view the damage done to Indian possession by "Englishmen Horses and Hoggs" (Plymouth Company Records; p. 62)
1 June 1669, Listed as one of the deputies to serve the courts (Records of the Colony of New
5 June 1669 Plymouth Volume V; Nathanial Shurtliff; W.M. White; 1856 pp 17, 55, 90)
5 June 1672
5 June 1672 Name one of three Constables of Dartmouth (Records of the Colony of New Plymouth in New England, Court Orders Vol. V; Nathaniel Shurtliff; William White; 1856. p. 92)
20 Oct 1673 With Josiah England, appraised estate of Thomas Cornwell of Portsmouth Rhode Island (Shurtliff; p. 132)
22 May 1674 Chosen as Selectman (Hurd; p. 198)
1 June 1675 Listed as selectman from Dartmouth (Shurtliff; p. 166)
29 July 1675 About 80 Indians surrendered at Russell's Garrison and set out on "Little Island" owned by Russell in the middle of the river. The Indians were sent to Plymouth, sold into slavery and sent from the colony against Russell's wishes.
http://familytreemaker.genealogy.com/users/r/u/s/George-Lucius- Russell/WEBSITE-0001/UHP-0001.html
Built a new house on a nearby hillside east of his house and garrison (ibid)
6 Mar 1676/7 One of those appointed to distribute the £22 fund donated by divers Christians for relief of poor (Russell)
28 Oct 1684 One of the many defendants sued by William Wood, George Soule and others over land ownership (White)
27 Oct 1685 One of many defendants in a complaint brought by William Wood, George Soule and others because of the defendants partnership in the holding of lands. Action was non-suited (White; p. 293)
24 May 1686 One of those who took an Oath of Fidelity on his Freeman' Oath (History of Bristol, Massachusetts; Duane Hamilton Hurd; J.W. Lewis and Co., 1883. p. 198)
SOURCES:
Descendants of John Russell of Dartmouth, Massachusetts; Barrett Beard Russell-New England Historical and Genealogical Society; Boston; 1904
History of Bristol, Massachusetts; Duane Hamilton Hurd; J.W. Lewis and Company; 1883
http://www.dartmouthma.virtualtownhall.net/Pages?DartmouthMa_Webdocs/darthistory
http://familytreemaker.genealogy.com/users/r/u/s/George-Lucius-Russell/WEBSITE-0001/UHP-0001.html
http://dartmouthma.virtualtownhall.net/Pages/DartmouthMA_Webdocs/darthistory
http://www.usgennet.org/usa/topic/newengland/philip/21-end/appendixpt1.htm;
"John Russell"; William Whig; New Bedford Whaling Museum, Old Dartmouth Sketches #69; November 13, 1935.
New England Historical and Genealogical Register; p. 62
Plymouth County Records; p. 62
Records of the Colony of New Plymouth in New England; Volume VIII; Edited by Nathanial Shurtleff; William White; 1857
Records of the Colony of New Plymouth in New England; Volume V; 1856
The Mayflower Descendants, Volume XV; George Ernest Bowman; Massachusetts Society of Mayflower Descendants; 1913
Records of the Colony of New Plymouth in New England, Volume 7; New Plymouth Colony; W. White; 1857
The History of New Bedford, Bristol County; Daniel Ricketson; pp. 163-164
Russell-Ekstrom House
Colonial saltbox home built circa 1704. Its builder and first owner was most likely John Russell (1679-1767), grandson of John Russell (1608-1695), one of the early settlers of Dartmouth. The original structure was a one-room over one-room building with a lean-to at the rear. Timber framing in the earliest part of the house has First Period details. Visit the Shetland sheep, the pheasants, and a 5-hole privy tucked behind the 1860’s barn.
The following detail descriptions are from scripts for Docents during a 2018 house tour
Upstairs East Chamber
Architectural analysis of this house was done by Richard Candee (Boston University Preservation Studies Program) and two of his students, Linda DesRoche and Timothy Formby, as part of a 1997 Survey of First Period Massachusetts Architecture in Bristol County. They concluded that this earliest section of the house was probably built between 1695 and 1715. A dendrochronology study by Daniel Miles of the Oxford University Laboratory in 2006 did not find a match to any reference samples.
Show - The decoration of the timber frames in this room is consistent with First Period detailing. (First Period was approximately 1626 through 1725). The summer beam has a wide chamfer with a lamb’s tongue stop followed by a small check. The tie-beam also has a chamfer and a lamb’s tongue stop. The front and rear plates were decorated with a small chamfer. The posts in the room were very heavily carved. The chamfer on the posts runs from the floor to a lamb’s tongue stop with check that is near the top of the post. About a foot above the beginning of the gunstock, each post slightly flairs, and then continues straight to the top of the post.
Point out areas with – white wash paint, applied to give interior finish to the room, making it brighter and cleaner.
Point out area where - there might have been a casement window (show photograph).
Show the board and batten door, typical of First Period homes.
In the 1870s, an owner of this house, Mrs. Lucinda (Baker) Russell Kent, rented space in this room to students from the northern part of town who attended the high school, the 1871 Schoolhouse in Russells Mills. The room was partitioned from west to east. We think that the five-seated privy behind the barn was built at that time.
Now you can go downstairs to the Front Hall where you came in and take a left to go into the Parlor.
1st shift - Joseph Ingoldsby 2nd shift – Sally Aldrich
Downstairs Parlor
Saltbox and cape-style homes in New England commonly had a first floor plan that included two parlors toward the front of the house. One parlor was usually used on an everyday basis and the other one was kept as a best room for receiving guests. This is the best parlor in this house.
Interior features give us a sense that this was a substantial household in the 18th century. For instance, this room has paneled high-style Georgian doors, a style seen in various forms throughout the house.
Open door to closet - A parlor closet, also known as a beaufat, was a special closet where cups and saucers, glassware, wine, loaves of fruitcake or pound cake were kept so that instant hospitality could be provided to guests. People were proud of showing off their dishes when the door was opened!
We think that around 1740 when the house was expanded to the west, a completely new chimney replaced the first one. The fireplaces in the house are mid-18th century designs, a little lower and smaller than fireplaces in the First Period. The overmantel in this room is typical for the second quarter of the 18th century. It is a little more elaborate than the overmantel in the sitting room of the house. This indicates that this was the best room in the house.
Show - For an easy-to-see example of hand-planed wood, look up at the boxed summer beam in this room. The painted surface makes the planing very visible.
Next you can go completely through the Keeping Room and make a left into the Sitting Room.
This room will have a list of objects in the room with information about them. The information can be incorporated into the tour or used to answer questions.
1st shift - Barbara Pease 2nd shift - Jan Hall
Downstairs Sitting Room
Welcome to the Sitting Room. This room is where people would probably spend much time in old times. It was a place to read, play cards, or work on knitting or sewing. Sometimes guests would be received here too. Meals would be eaten here in the days before the house had a so-called dining room.
The fireplace would have been used mostly for warmth and light, not cooking. However, this fireplace has a hook that might have been used for drying eel caught in the local waters.
Show - The door hardware in this room is typical of most of the hardware throughout the house. H and HL hinges were in use until about 1790. The wrought iron door latches in this room are Norfolk latches, extensively used until about 1840. Those latches were partially factory-made in England (backplate) and partially handmade by local blacksmiths (thumb latch itself).
The sun porch on the west side of the house was added at about 1930. Porches like this were added to many houses in our area around that time.
Now you can return to the Keeping Room, or Dining Room, that you walked through when you came to this room.
This room will have a list of objects in the room with information about them. The information can be incorporated into the tour or used to answer questions.
1st shift – Brenda Dias 2nd shift - Charlotte Murphy
Downstairs Keeping Room
The fireplace and bake oven provide drama in this room. The height of the fireplace and the location of the bake oven, to the side of the main opening, help us date this fireplace’s construction in the mid-eighteenth century. Previously, bake ovens were placed inside the fireplaces, to the rear, or side. Bake ovens were later placed to the side of the main opening where the danger to the housewife tending the chores was reduced. This increased her life expectancy!
Show - Point out one, two or more cooking utensils in the fireplace – see list that is provided in room.
Show - Wall cabinet to upper right above the fireplace was a place to store black powder (gunpowder). A brick from the chimney protrudes into the cabinet, bringing warmth to the inside, to keep the powder from becoming damp … and unusable!
We think that shortly after the mid-1820s the transition from fireplace cooking to cook stove cooking was made. Around that time a hand pump was installed in a scullery that was created next to a pantry.
In the mid-1930s the cook stove was removed and the scullery became a kitchen with an electrified pump. The pantry became a bathroom. Most electric wiring was installed in the house at that time when electricity first arrived in Russells Mills.
Now you can leave the house through the back door to visit the barn, the privy, the Shetland sheep and the pheasants. You can look for a live example of the pheasant in that painting (point to watercolor painting near rear door). It is an Impeyan pheasant, the national bird of Nepal.
This room will have a list of objects in the room with information about them. The information can be incorporated into the tour or used to answer questions.
1st shift - Nathaniel Allen & Hope Millham 2nd shift - Russ Hensel & Julie Newton
Barn & Outbuildings
We do not have an accurate date for the building of the barn and workshop addition. When compared with other barns in the area, it is thought it might have been built in the 1850s or 1860s.
Hearsay has led us to believe that poultry was kept on the property. Bite marks in the barn indicate that horses were present and surely they would have been kept for transportation purposes.
Show - The workshop has a 1936 sign announcing a local auction.
On April 1, 1942, eighty-five blueberry plants were planted to the north of the barn. The varieties were ‘Cabot’, ‘Pioneer’, ‘Rubel’, ‘Stanley’ and ‘Wareham’. Today, thirty-six of the plants remain and they are very productive!
In the 1950s a room was built on the east upper floor to serve as a spare bedroom, and the floor was extended in the upper west part of the barn.
From photographs it seems that the garage door was added in the 1960s.
Today Shetland sheep and pheasants from the Far East live here. The sheep are kept for their fine wool (the finest in the British Isles), and the pheasants are kept for conservation purposes and their beauty.
This farm has recently been given the name of Beckside Farm.
Thank you for visiting the Russell-Ekstrom House at Beckside Farm.
RECORDS OF JOHN RUSSELL (1608-1694/95)-The First of the Name, Grandfather of the John Russell who built this house.
1633 Listed as freeman of Marshfield (Records of the Colony of New Plymouth in New England, Court Orders, Volume VIII; 1857. p. 177)
1642/3 In Marshfield Massachusetts. Chosen as Constable in 1642 and again in 1643, (The Descendants of John Russell of Dartmouth Massachusetts; Barrett Beard Russell; New England Historical and Genealogical Society; Boston; 1904)
12 Feb 1642/3Town granted to John Russell and his heirs forever all that marsh and meadow between the marsh of Joseph Worslow and Kenelem Winstow (ibid)
Unknown Bought lands at Marshfield from Thomas Chillingworth (New Bedford Whaling Museum; Old Dartmouth Sketch #69; "John Russell" by William Wing; given November 13, 1935
http://www.whalingmuseum.org/explore/library/publications/old-Dartmouth- historical-sketches/gdhs_no_69
27 Sept 1643 One of those appointed to keep watch at Thomas Bourne's house (ibid)
13 Nov 1644 30 acres next to the land formerly granted to John Thomas and Robert Chamlas (The Descendants of John Russell of Dartmouth, Mass., Barrett Bond Russell; New England Historical and Genealogical Society, Boston; 1904)
19 Aug 1645 Among those willing to support a school teacher (ibid)
14 Oct 1646 Chosen one out of a committee to the next court http://familytreemaker.genealogy.com/users/r/u/s/George-Lucius-Russell/ WEBSITE-0001/UHP-0001.html
1648 Chosen rater and surveyor of highways. (ibid)
21 Mar 1650 Fined for not being at the town meeting (ibid)
9 June 1653 On a jury in a case involving Thomas Hieland (Records of the Colony of New Plymouth in New England, Volume 7; W. White; New Plymouth Colony; 1857. p. 63)
3 June 1656 He and George Russell on a committee to divide lands. They met at the House of Arthur Howland at the South River in Marshfield (White)
4 June 1657 On a jury in a case involving Samuel House against Edward Jenkens (ibid; p. 83)
17 Mar 1659 On a jury in a case between William Randall against John Bryant (ibid; p. 93)
20 Mar 1661 Bought from Edward Gray, attorney of Myles Standish, his share of the town of Dartmouth for £42 (Russell)
10 Nov 1661 John Russell to Samuel Cutbert, a small parcel of land about 4 or 5 acres (The Mayflower Descendants Volume XV; George Ernest Bowman; Massachusetts Society of Mayflower Descendants; 1913. p. 183)
20 Mar 1661 Purchased from Captain Miles Standish a portion of the township of Old Dartmouth. Myles Standish originally purchased the share for$5-$10, held it 9 years and sold it for about $210. It comprised what is now Padanarem from Bush Street North to Russell Mills Road and taking in Bliss Corner. It was about 3200 acres. (The History of New Bradford, Bristol County; Daniel Ricketson 1858. p. 153) http://dartmouthma.virtualtownhall.net/Pages/DartmouthMA_Webdocs/darthistory
1664 Dartmouth established as a town including Ponangansett where John lived (White)
4 Oct 1664 John Barnes complained against John Russell in an action of damage of £4 for none payment of a debt of £4.19. Jury found for Barnes (White; 117)
1665 Represented Dartmouth of the General Court at Plymouth Represented again 1667-1672, 1674 and 1683 (ibid; p. 153)
http://familytreemaker.genealogy.com/users/r/u/s/George-Lucius- Russell/WEBSITE-0001/UHP-0001.html
8 Mar 1666/7 Edward Gray complained against John Russell for nonpayment of several debts. Jury found for Gray (White; p. 135)
2 Mar 1668/9 John Russell, John Smith and Samuel Hickes complained against John Cooke to the damage of £100 that the said Cooke unjustly molested them in causing them by summons twice to attend court as delinquents but proved nothing as just cause of complaint against them thus defaming them. Jury found for the plaintiffs. (White; p. 152)
5 June 1671 One of those appointed to view the damage done to Indian possession by "Englishmen Horses and Hoggs" (Plymouth Company Records; p. 62)
1 June 1669, Listed as one of the deputies to serve the courts (Records of the Colony of New
5 June 1669 Plymouth Volume V; Nathanial Shurtliff; W.M. White; 1856 pp 17, 55, 90)
5 June 1672
5 June 1672 Name one of three Constables of Dartmouth (Records of the Colony of New Plymouth in New England, Court Orders Vol. V; Nathaniel Shurtliff; William White; 1856. p. 92)
20 Oct 1673 With Josiah England, appraised estate of Thomas Cornwell of Portsmouth Rhode Island (Shurtliff; p. 132)
22 May 1674 Chosen as Selectman (Hurd; p. 198)
1 June 1675 Listed as selectman from Dartmouth (Shurtliff; p. 166)
29 July 1675 About 80 Indians surrendered at Russell's Garrison and set out on "Little Island" owned by Russell in the middle of the river. The Indians were sent to Plymouth, sold into slavery and sent from the colony against Russell's wishes.
http://familytreemaker.genealogy.com/users/r/u/s/George-Lucius- Russell/WEBSITE-0001/UHP-0001.html
Built a new house on a nearby hillside east of his house and garrison (ibid)
6 Mar 1676/7 One of those appointed to distribute the £22 fund donated by divers Christians for relief of poor (Russell)
28 Oct 1684 One of the many defendants sued by William Wood, George Soule and others over land ownership (White)
27 Oct 1685 One of many defendants in a complaint brought by William Wood, George Soule and others because of the defendants partnership in the holding of lands. Action was non-suited (White; p. 293)
24 May 1686 One of those who took an Oath of Fidelity on his Freeman' Oath (History of Bristol, Massachusetts; Duane Hamilton Hurd; J.W. Lewis and Co., 1883. p. 198)
SOURCES:
Descendants of John Russell of Dartmouth, Massachusetts; Barrett Beard Russell-New England Historical and Genealogical Society; Boston; 1904
History of Bristol, Massachusetts; Duane Hamilton Hurd; J.W. Lewis and Company; 1883
http://www.dartmouthma.virtualtownhall.net/Pages?DartmouthMa_Webdocs/darthistory
http://familytreemaker.genealogy.com/users/r/u/s/George-Lucius-Russell/WEBSITE-0001/UHP-0001.html
http://dartmouthma.virtualtownhall.net/Pages/DartmouthMA_Webdocs/darthistory
http://www.usgennet.org/usa/topic/newengland/philip/21-end/appendixpt1.htm;
"John Russell"; William Whig; New Bedford Whaling Museum, Old Dartmouth Sketches #69; November 13, 1935.
New England Historical and Genealogical Register; p. 62
Plymouth County Records; p. 62
Records of the Colony of New Plymouth in New England; Volume VIII; Edited by Nathanial Shurtleff; William White; 1857
Records of the Colony of New Plymouth in New England; Volume V; 1856
The Mayflower Descendants, Volume XV; George Ernest Bowman; Massachusetts Society of Mayflower Descendants; 1913
Records of the Colony of New Plymouth in New England, Volume 7; New Plymouth Colony; W. White; 1857
The History of New Bedford, Bristol County; Daniel Ricketson; pp. 163-164
