Samuel Russell : Short Biography

Picture: Rosebank 

Samuel Russell, my Great-grandfather, was born at Fenagh in Ireland from his own admission, however his date of birth varies between 1841 and 1846, depending on which certificate you believe. In the Shipping Records of his arrival in November 1865 aboard the SAMARANG, he is shown being 22, and he was reputedly 28 years of age when he married Catherine (nee CUNNINGHAM) in March 1873.

Firstly, a little background on Samuel’s parents, who remained behind in Ireland when Samuel set out to make a fresh start in the land of opportunity, Australia.  Robert, his father, was a farmer and linen manufacturer from "Rose Bank", Fenagh, Co. Antrim in Ireland, and his wife was Jane (nee Wilson).  I am not aware of how many children they had, however Samuel is their only child to come to the Antipodes that I am aware of.  Further research by Caroline Russell who currently lives in Fenagh has revealed that William Russell, a son of her GGGrandfather who was also named Robert Russell and thought to be a brother of Samuel, came to Brisbane, Australia in 1887.

This William would have been a nephew of Samuel, and as he came as a Remittance passenger, it is most likely that Samuel paid that remittance fee.  William arrived aboard the ALMORA on the 8^th March 1889, aged 20 and listed as a Protestant Irish labourer from Antrim, Ireland.  He was to marry a Sarah McKeown, also of Irish descent, in Brisbane in 1894, and they went on to have at least seven children that I am aware of.

Fenagh is in Lower Toome, Parish of Ahoghill (near Ballymena), County Antrim in Northern Ireland.  The name “Rose Bank” appears as the address in Fenagh for Samuel’s father Robert in Samuel’s and Catherine’s Wedding Notice in the Brisbane Courier dated Monday 28^th April 1873.  In 2014, I was to visit Ireland, and managed with the assistance of the Russell family presently residing in one of the old Russell family residences in Fenagh, to locate the property “Rosebank”, which is the one referred to by Samuel.

It is assumed that Samuel came "un-assisted" to Australia, as recorded in the Immigrant Ship Passenger Lists - (RUSSELL Samuel  22  Samarang  13 Nov 1865  IMM/112275Z1957  M1696).  One can only imagine what it must have been like for a young 22-year-old man arriving in a new country, in a town established little more than 30 years prior.

Catherine Cunningham, a dressmaker, was but 18 when she ventured to Australia, quite a big adventure for a young lass in those days.  She left Plymouth on the 2^nd September 1869 aboard the ROYAL DANE, a Black Ball Line ship of 1616 tons, so named in compliment to Alexandra, Princess of Wales, under the command of her master, Captain Lewis Davies, who was a very popular skipper, and arrived in Brisbane on the 25^th September that year.

A little background on Catherine’s parents follows.  Another Irishman, this time from the southern part, her father John was probably born c1833, and he grew up to become a shoemaker by trade. He married Honora (nee LEARY) on the 21^st January 1850, and in 1853 a daughter, Catherine was born to them at Ennis, Co. Clare, Ireland.  Catherine’s Baptismal Records have the date as 15^th February 1853, so her birth would have been shortly before that time.

Samuel and Catherine were married at the Wickham Terrace Manse of the Presbyterian Church in Brisbane on the 3rd March 1873. Electoral Roll records show Samuel and Catherine lived at various addresses in the Spring Hill area of Brisbane, including John St. (1874), Henry St (1876), Gloucester St. (1890), and Cnr Park St and Gregory Terrace (1903). He gives his occupation as Storeman or Bookkeeper throughout his life, an occupation common to several members of the early Russell Family Tree. Some eight children resulted from this marriage, the only issue of immediate interest to me was Albert, also known as Albert Edward John, born at the Henry St. residence on 21st July 1875, the second child of the marriage, my grandfather, and three of their children did not survive longer than 12 months of age.

Samuel died of Cirrhosis of the kidney, Oedema of the lungs, and Heart failure at the Brisbane Hospital, on the 21st June 1904, some four years before his son Albert married. He was buried on the 23rd June 1904, in Portion 7 Section 64 Grave 8 at the Toowong Cemetery, Brisbane. 

Catherine died in Brisbane on July 6, 1892 and is also buried in the Toowong Cemetery.

John and Honora Cunningham, Catherine’s parents, are thought to have also arrived in Queensland in 1869, however to date I have not been able to find any shipping records to that effect.  In 1876, John lived in Julia Street (off St Pauls Terrace), Fortitude Valley, and he had a Shoemaker’s Shop in Adelaide Street, Brisbane.

It would seem neither John nor Honora were destined to survive for too many years in their new homeland, with John only surviving Honora by three years, dying in 1877.  Honora died on 26 December, 1874 of congestion of the brain (whatever that may mean!), at the premises in Adelaide Street where John had his shoemaking business.  She was 46 years old.

It is known that John survived a knife attack on Sunday 22^nd August 1875, when a Patrick McMahon happened to visit his estranged wife to see his children and found John asleep on a bed at his former home.  Patrick probably assumed that his wife and John were up to no-good, and took to him with a pen knife, stabbing John in the head, causing much blood to flow.  The details of this event can be read in a court report on Page 6 of the Brisbane Courier dated August 27, 1875.

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Submitted by:

Brian L. Russell