William Hepburn Russell
Encyclopedia
William Hepburn Russell (1812–1872) is often credited along with Alexander Majors
and William B. Waddell as the founders, owners, and operators of the Pony Express
. His public life is one of numerous business ventures, some successful and some failed. While Russell, described as a good-looking man, lived the majority of his life on the edge on the frontier, he was always more at home in the upper class settings of the East coast.
on January 31, 1812. In the early 1820s, he and his family moved to western Missouri. In 1826, at the age of 16 and with little formal education, he began work at the Ely & Curtis general store in Liberty, Missouri. Two years later, in 1830, he began working for the mercantile firm of James Aull and Samuel Ringo where he learned the wholesale business. He married Harriet Elliot Warder in 1835, a move that established his standing in society.
In 1850, in partnership with James Brown, and John S. Jones, Russell entered the military freighting business and sent 135 military goods. This partnership dissolved soon after the death of Brown in 1850. In 1852, he re-partnered with William B. Waddell to form a mercantile firm to again freight military supplied to Santa Fe in 1854.
on November 19, 1859, with the hope of receiving a mail contract. Under charter from the Kansas legislature, the Pony Express
(as the C.O.C. & P.P.E Company came to be know) began operations on April 3, 1860. This business venture would prove to be a failure, losing upwards of $1,000 a day. By October 1861, the Pony Express was out of business due to the completion of the telegraph lines and the unwillingness of the national government to provide further funding.
Russell became mixed up in a scandal involving Secretary of War John Buchanan Floyd and Godard Bailey, a clerk for the Department of Interior. After requesting and being denied funding for the Levenworth & Pike’s Peak Express Company (forerunner to the C.O.C. & P.P.E.C) from Floyd in 1858, Russell requested aid from Bailey. Through a series of illegal transactions, the money was obtained from the Indian Trust Fund. However, on December 1, 1860, Bailey confessed to Floyd and was arrested and brought to trial along with Russell. Although the verdict was largely covered up by the start of the American Civil War
, Russell and the Company had lost face.
Alexander Majors
thumb|right|240px|Alexander MajorsAlexander Majors got his start in overland freight on the Santa Fe Trail in 1848. On his first trip, he set a new time record of 92 days for the 1564 mile round trip....
and William B. Waddell as the founders, owners, and operators of the Pony Express
Pony Express
The Pony Express was a fast mail service crossing the Great Plains, the Rocky Mountains, and the High Sierra from St. Joseph, Missouri, to Sacramento, California, from April 3, 1860 to October 1861...
. His public life is one of numerous business ventures, some successful and some failed. While Russell, described as a good-looking man, lived the majority of his life on the edge on the frontier, he was always more at home in the upper class settings of the East coast.
Early life
Russell was born in Burlington, VermontBurlington, Vermont
Burlington is the largest city in the U.S. state of Vermont and the shire town of Chittenden County. Burlington lies south of the U.S.-Canadian border and some south of Montreal....
on January 31, 1812. In the early 1820s, he and his family moved to western Missouri. In 1826, at the age of 16 and with little formal education, he began work at the Ely & Curtis general store in Liberty, Missouri. Two years later, in 1830, he began working for the mercantile firm of James Aull and Samuel Ringo where he learned the wholesale business. He married Harriet Elliot Warder in 1835, a move that established his standing in society.
Early Business Ventures
In 1837, Russell left the Aull and Ringo firm strike out on his own. He helped to organize the Lexington First Addition Company in 1840 with his future partner, William B. Waddell. In 1844, using borrowed money, he created the partnership of Bullard & Russell with James H. Bullard to open a general store. This partnership soon welcomed an additional partner in E.C. McCarty and expanded to shipping goods to Santa Fe. He then went on to become a partner in the established firm of Waddell, Ramsey & Co. While some of these early business ventures did end in failure, by 1848, Russell was successful enough to build a twenty-room mansion in Lexington, Missouri.In 1850, in partnership with James Brown, and John S. Jones, Russell entered the military freighting business and sent 135 military goods. This partnership dissolved soon after the death of Brown in 1850. In 1852, he re-partnered with William B. Waddell to form a mercantile firm to again freight military supplied to Santa Fe in 1854.
The Pony Express
Russell teamed with Waddell and Alexander Majors on December 28, 1854 to form the cooperation of Russell, Majors, and Waddell. Acting as the firm's representative in Washington, D.C., Philadelphia, and New York, he lobbied for contracts with the War Department as well as financing from banks and other, less reputable sources. This partnership later formed the Central Overland California and Pikes Peak Express CompanyCentral Overland California and Pikes Peak Express Company
The Central Overland California and Pike's Peak Express Company was the parent company of the Pony Express.It was formed by William Russell, Alexander Majors and William Waddell, as a freighting company supplying goods to the western United States...
on November 19, 1859, with the hope of receiving a mail contract. Under charter from the Kansas legislature, the Pony Express
Pony Express
The Pony Express was a fast mail service crossing the Great Plains, the Rocky Mountains, and the High Sierra from St. Joseph, Missouri, to Sacramento, California, from April 3, 1860 to October 1861...
(as the C.O.C. & P.P.E Company came to be know) began operations on April 3, 1860. This business venture would prove to be a failure, losing upwards of $1,000 a day. By October 1861, the Pony Express was out of business due to the completion of the telegraph lines and the unwillingness of the national government to provide further funding.
Russell became mixed up in a scandal involving Secretary of War John Buchanan Floyd and Godard Bailey, a clerk for the Department of Interior. After requesting and being denied funding for the Levenworth & Pike’s Peak Express Company (forerunner to the C.O.C. & P.P.E.C) from Floyd in 1858, Russell requested aid from Bailey. Through a series of illegal transactions, the money was obtained from the Indian Trust Fund. However, on December 1, 1860, Bailey confessed to Floyd and was arrested and brought to trial along with Russell. Although the verdict was largely covered up by the start of the American Civil War
American Civil War
The American Civil War was a civil war fought in the United States of America. In response to the election of Abraham Lincoln as President of the United States, 11 southern slave states declared their secession from the United States and formed the Confederate States of America ; the other 25...
, Russell and the Company had lost face.
Later years
Deep in debt and without his previous social connections, Russell attempted to regain his fortunes in a Colorado gold mining venture that resulted in failure. His assets were sold in April 1865 to payoff creditors. He went to a brokerage partnership with Thomas P. Akers in New York, a venture that also failed. Due to failing health he returned to Missouri to live first with his daughter in St. Louis and then with his son in Palmyra where he died September 10, 1872, at age 60.See also
- Pony ExpressPony ExpressThe Pony Express was a fast mail service crossing the Great Plains, the Rocky Mountains, and the High Sierra from St. Joseph, Missouri, to Sacramento, California, from April 3, 1860 to October 1861...
- Central Overland California and Pikes Peak Express CompanyCentral Overland California and Pikes Peak Express CompanyThe Central Overland California and Pike's Peak Express Company was the parent company of the Pony Express.It was formed by William Russell, Alexander Majors and William Waddell, as a freighting company supplying goods to the western United States...
- Russell, Majors and WaddellRussell, Majors and WaddellRussell, Majors and Waddell was a business partnership, based in Lexington, Missouri, between William Hepburn Russell, Alexander Majors, and William B. Waddell. It operated various transportation and communications services in the American West in the 1850s and early 1860s, including stagecoach...
- William B. Waddell (Pony Express founder)William B. Waddell (Pony Express founder)William Bradford Waddell is often credited along with Alexander Majors and William Hepburn Russell as the founders, owners, and operators of the Pony Express...
- Postage stamps and postal history of the United States