James McPherson Russell
Encyclopedia
James McPherson Russell was a Whig
Whig Party (United States)
The Whig Party was a political party of the United States during the era of Jacksonian democracy. Considered integral to the Second Party System and operating from the early 1830s to the mid-1850s, the party was formed in opposition to the policies of President Andrew Jackson and his Democratic...

 member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Pennsylvania
Pennsylvania
The Commonwealth of Pennsylvania is a U.S. state that is located in the Northeastern and Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States. The state borders Delaware and Maryland to the south, West Virginia to the southwest, Ohio to the west, New York and Ontario, Canada, to the north, and New Jersey to...

.

James M. Russell (father of Samuel Lyon Russell
Samuel Lyon Russell
Samuel Lyon Russell was a Whig member of the United States of America House of Representatives from Pennsylvania....

) was born in York, Pennsylvania
York, Pennsylvania
York, known as the White Rose City , is a city located in York County, Pennsylvania, United States which is in the South Central region of the state. The population within the city limits was 43,718 at the 2010 census, which was a 7.0% increase from the 2000 count of 40,862...

. He moved with his parents to a farm near Gettysburg, Pennsylvania
Gettysburg, Pennsylvania
Gettysburg is a borough that is the county seat, part of the Gettysburg Battlefield, and the eponym for the 1863 Battle of Gettysburg. The town hosts visitors to the Gettysburg National Military Park and has 3 institutions of higher learning: Lutheran Theological Seminary, Gettysburg College, and...

. He attended the classical academy of James Ross in Chambersburg, Pennsylvania
Chambersburg, Pennsylvania
Chambersburg is a borough in the South Central region of Pennsylvania, United States. It is miles north of Maryland and the Mason-Dixon line and southwest of Harrisburg in the Cumberland Valley, which is part of the Great Appalachian Valley. Chambersburg is the county seat of Franklin County...

. He studied law, was admitted to the bar of Franklin County, Pennsylvania
Franklin County, Pennsylvania
As of the census of 2000, there were 129,313 people, 50,633 households, and 36,405 families residing in the county. The population density was 168 people per square mile . There were 53,803 housing units at an average density of 70 per square mile...

, in 1807 and to the Bedford County, Pennsylvania
Bedford County, Pennsylvania
Bedford County is a county located in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania. As of the 2010 census, the population was 49,762. The county seat is Bedford. It is part of the Altoona, Pennsylvania, Metropolitan Statistical Area.- History :...

, bar in 1808 and commenced practice in Bedford. He was the first burgess of Bedford Borough in the years 1818 and 1819 and a member of the State constitutional convention in 1837.

Russell was elected as a Whig to the Twenty-seventh
27th United States Congress
The Twenty-seventh United States Congress was a meeting of the legislative branch of the United States federal government, consisting of the United States Senate and the United States House of Representatives. It met in Washington, D.C. from March 4, 1841 to March 3, 1843, during the one-month...

 Congress to fill the vacancy caused by the death of Henry Black
Henry Black (Representative)
Henry Black was a Whig member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Pennsylvania.-Early life:Henry Black was born near the borough of Somerset, Pennsylvania. He engaged in agricultural pursuits....

. His opponent, according to the Daily Atlas, was "Mr. Philson of Somerset". He was not a candidate for renomination in 1842
United States House election, 1842
The U.S. House election, 1842 was an election for the United States House of Representatives in 1842.Just one election cycle after the Whig Party gained control of Congress, they lost their majority. Whig president William Henry Harrison died within a month of taking office and his successor, John...

. He resumed the practice of law, and served as trustee of the Bedford Academy and secretary of the Chambersburg & Bedford Turnpike Company. He died in Bedford in 1870. Interment in Bedford Cemetery.

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