Background
He was born in Clackmannan, Clackmannanshire, the son of Thomas Russell.
He was born in Clackmannan, Clackmannanshire, the son of Thomas Russell.
He joined the Royal Navy at a young age. Russell owned a number of buildings in Chatham, including a hotel. He helped establish the Chatham Fire Company in 1824.
In 1827, he began building ships.
In 1831, a fire destroyed several of his buildings and, in 1832, he purchased a shipyard in Chatham from Francis Peabody. In 1839, he sold that property to Joseph Cunard and moved his operation to Beaubears Island.
Russell hired John Harley as his shipbuilder and George Burchill as general manager for his shipyard. In 1837, with other businessman, he made an unsuccessful attempt to establish the Bank of Miramichi.
Russell served as overseer of the poor for Chatham and also later for Nelson parish.
In 1850, he sold his business to Harley and Burchill and moved to the Utah Territory. He helped finance the Deseret Manufacturing Company, intended to produce beet sugar, but this company was not successful. Russell died in Salt Lake City, Utah at the age of 68.