Leslie Wead Russell (April 15, 1840 – February 3, 1903) was an American lawyer, jurist, and Republican politician who served one term in the United States House of Representatives from New York during a significant period in American history. He was born in Canton, St. Lawrence County, New York, the son of Assemblyman John Leslie Russell (1805–1861) and Mary Sybil (Wead) Russell (c. 1812–1870). His family had deep New England and New York roots; State Senator Charles H. Russell (1845–1912) was his first cousin, and the prominent colonial clergyman Rev. Samuel Russell (1660–1731) was his great-great-great-grandfather. Raised in a community where public service and civic engagement were valued, Russell’s early environment helped shape his later career in law and politics.
Russell received his early education at Canton Academy in his hometown. At the age of sixteen he began teaching school, an experience that provided him with practical exposure to public life and responsibility at a young age. He subsequently turned to the study of law, pursuing legal training in Albany, New York, and in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, reflecting both his ambition and willingness to seek broader professional horizons beyond his native county. In 1861 he was admitted to the bar and commenced the practice of law in Canton, New York, establishing himself in the profession at the outset of the Civil War era.
On October 19, 1864, Russell married Harriet Jane Lawrence (1843–1931). The couple had six children, two of whom died in infancy, a not uncommon tragedy in nineteenth-century family life. Throughout his rising public career, Russell maintained his connections to Canton and to St. Lawrence County, where his legal practice and family life were centered in the years following his admission to the bar. His growing reputation as a capable lawyer and community figure soon led to opportunities in public office.
Russell’s formal political career began in state and local government. A member of the Republican Party, he was chosen as a delegate to the New York State Constitutional Convention of 1867, participating in efforts to revise and modernize the state’s fundamental law during the Reconstruction era. In 1869 he was elected District Attorney of St. Lawrence County, an office in which he served as the chief local prosecutor. His performance in that role contributed to his election as County Judge in 1877, further solidifying his standing in the legal and political life of northern New York. At the state level, he reached higher office when he was elected New York Attorney General at the state election of 1881, serving from 1882 to 1883. After completing his term as Attorney General, he resumed the practice of law, this time in New York City, where he joined the bar of the state’s principal commercial and legal center.
In addition to his state offices, Russell was active in national party politics. He served as a delegate to the Republican National Conventions of 1884 and 1900, participating in the selection of the party’s presidential nominees and contributing to the formation of national party platforms during a period marked by debates over tariffs, monetary policy, and civil service reform. His prominence within the Republican Party and his long record of public service led to his election to the United States House of Representatives, where, as a Republican representing New York, he contributed to the legislative process during one term in office. He served in the Fifty-second Congress and represented the Twenty-second Congressional District of New York, participating in the democratic process and representing the interests of his constituents during a time of economic and political transition in the early 1890s.
Russell’s service in Congress was relatively brief. He served from March 4, 1891, until September 11, 1891, when he resigned his seat to accept appointment as a justice of the New York State Supreme Court. His decision to leave the House for the bench reflected both his legal background and the high regard in which he was held as a jurist. As a justice of the Supreme Court in the Fourth Judicial District, he presided over a wide range of civil and criminal matters at a time when New York’s courts were grappling with issues arising from industrialization, urban growth, and evolving state law. Contemporary press accounts, including coverage in the New York Times, followed his transition from Congress to the judiciary and later developments in his judicial career.
Russell served on the Supreme Court until the early twentieth century. On October 1, 1902, he resigned from the bench, as reported in the New York Times under the headline “Justice Russell Resigns,” bringing to a close more than three decades of continuous public service in elective and judicial offices. In his later months he remained a respected figure in the legal community, and his career was later memorialized by the Association of the Bar of the City of New York, which recorded his contributions in its 1905 annual reports.
Leslie Wead Russell died on February 3, 1903. His death was noted in contemporary newspapers, including the New York Times article “Ex-Justice Russell Dead,” which reflected on his long record of service to New York State and the nation. He was buried at Evergreen Cemetery in Canton, New York, returning in death to the community where he had been born, educated, and first established himself as a lawyer. His life and career, documented in genealogical works and legal memorials, left a legacy of public service spanning local, state, and national institutions.
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