Uriah Wiley Russell
3rd great grandfather
Uriah Wiley Russell-1801
Sarah Louise Russell-1843
Elisha Kane Sanders-1861
Frona Elizabeth Sanders-1890
Elisha Kane Brown-1921
Kathleen Elizabeth Brown Hill-1947
From the Russell Register, page 589
Uriah lived in Georgia, South Carolina, Tennessee, Oklahoma and Missouri.
I, Glain E Martin , have done considerable research on several early settlers in the Missouri Ozarks, and few have proven more interesting or led a more colorful life than our subject, Uriah Wiley Russell.
When war came to the Missouri Ozarks in the early 1860's, every family was forced to take a stand. You either did, or did not, support the Union. There was no middle of the road or sitting on the sidelines. Wiley Russell and his family supported the Union in no uncertain terms and as a result paid a heavy price at the hands of bushwhackers.
Wiley was a corporal, and his youngest son, James Wiley, a private in Company H of the 46th Regiment of Missouri Volunteer Infantry. The captain of Company H was Moses Locke Alsup. Wiley Russell narrowly escaped death at the hands of the bushwhackers when he, along with Jesse James, Wiley Brown, and others, were captured and taken to the home of a known Union sympathizer who had fled to avoid capture. At least three ropes, and possibly more, were tied to limb of a large oak tree. James and Brown were hanged and the rope was being adjusted around Wiley's neck when word came that Union forces were near. The bushwhackers fled, saving Wiley from the same fate as James and Brown. The bushwhackers, numbering approximately 350, are believed to have come from Oregon County (from “History of Southern Missouri and Northern Arkansas” by William Monks.)
Wiley, a justice of the peace, was held in high esteem by the rural farming community in which he lived. Many stories have been told of his experiences, but one of the more interesting is the story of the lost silver mine. The story, the best I can remember, began when two men from Ozark County were arrested for counterfeiting silver coins. The counterfeit coins, interestingly enough, contained more silver than their legitimate counterparts. The counterfeiters explained to the court how the silver was mined and the coins were made but refused to disclose the location of their mine. The court appointed Wiley to accompany the two men and verify the existence of the mine. Wiley was blindfolded and after considerable time on horseback, they arrived at the entrance to the mine, what he saw inside the mine, and the minting operation. I don't remember what happened to the counterfeiters, but in later years Wiley attempted unsuccessfully to find the mine. Since then Wiley's descendants have also tried unsuccessfully to retrace the route from Wiley's directions.
Wiley died at his grandson's home in Red Oak, Oklahoma, September 20, 1895, at the age 94. He is buried at the Red Oak Cemetery in Latimer County, Oklahoma.
Lucinda died February 19, 1899, at Dora and is buried at the Ball Cemetery.
ARTICLE written by Glain E Martin for Ozark County, Missouri Historical Society Publication 1991
He was known as Wiley and we shall refer to him accordingly. Wiley, the son of David Russell, was born in Georgia, January 8, 1801. He married Lucinda Crow February 15, 1823, in Pendleton County, SC. Lucinda was born in South Carolina in 1807. Wiley and Lucinda were living in Alabama when their first son, David Matthew was born, and in Georgia in 1837 when their second son, Larkin, was born. Wiley and Lucinda moved their family to Tennessee in 1838 or 1839 and to the Missouri Ozarks between the years 1850 and 1853.
Wiley and Lucinda reared eleven children. They were David M.; Nancy J.; Larkin B.; Mary Ann; William W.; Sarah L.; Martha J.; James.; twins Lucinda and Malinda; and Matilda.
Although many of the bushwhackers that raided across southern Missouri were from Arkansas, there were many others that were from neighboring Missouri counties. Wiley and Lucinda had four sons and lost three of them - David, Larkin, and William - in the Civil War. David was killed by bushwhackers at his farm on Bryant Creek; Larkin died of the measles at Raleigh (information from Nancy Todd Weber); and Bill was killed by bushwhackers at his father's home when he slipped in to see his wife Sarah. Very few families paid a greater price.
Family Account
Uriah Wiley Russell and his wife. Lucinda Crow, came to Ozark County, Missouri, between 1850 and 1854 from Bledsoe County, Tennessee. They homesteaded the first place in the vicinity, 4 forties in a row, about 5 miles south of Dora in Richland Township.
Three of their four sons and two sons-in-law were killed during the Civil War.
David Matthew Russell was killed by rebels while home on furlough. His wife's ox yoke had worn out and he had gone to the woods for timber to make a new one, when he was discovered and shot by rebels or bushwhackers. He was cared for while he hid in a cave for 9 days before he died.
Larkin B. Russell died in camp at Rolla, Phelps County, Missouri from disease.
William Wesley Russell, while on furlough at home, during the night the house was surrounded by rebels or bushwhackers. They called for him to come out or they would burn the house down. He jumped out a window and tried to escape, but was shot. His mother made her way to him, but he died in a few hours.
James Sanders, the husband of Sarah Louisa Russell, was killed in 1862 during a skirmish at Rockbridge, Ozark County, Missouri. All of Rockbridge, including the mill, was burned. Louisa walked with her son, Elisha, to Rockbridge to bury him, but he had already been buried by the time she arrived. Louisa later died from complications of exposure caused by the trip.
Riley Brown, the husband of Mary Ann Russell, was also killed. On 11 September 1861, 350 Confederates, mostly from Oregon County, made a reconnaissance into Ozark County. Upon reaching the North Fork of White River, the group went into camp at the Jesse James Mill. They arrested James, “a man by the name of Brown,” both of whom were cutting saw logs in the pinery at the time, “an old man named Russell, and several others.” James, “a man about 55 or 60 years of age, as good a man as resided in Ozark County, was charged with grinding grain for Union men and their families.” Monks wrote: “They took Brown and James about 300 yards from the house, procured a rope, hunted a long limb of a tree, rolled a big rock up to the first rope where it was tied to the limb, placed the noose around James’ neck, stood him on the rock, rolled the rock from under him and left him swinging, rolled the rock to the next rope, stood Brown on it, placed the noose around his neck, rolled the rock out and left Brown swinging in the air, went to the third rope, placed Russell on the rock, and just as they amounted to adjust the noose, word came that the Home Guards and Federals were right upon them. They fled leaving Russell standing on the rock and both Brown and James dangling in the air. Their wives and two other women dug graves under them and cut them loose.” After his wife, Lucinda’s death, Uriah Wiley Russell moved to Oklahoma in 1892 and stayed with his grandson, Lark Russell, who was the son of David Matthew Russell.
After his wife, Lucinda’s death, Uriah Wiley Russell moved to Oklahoma in 1892 and stayed with his grandson, Lark Russell, who was the son of David Matthew Russell.