Robert Edwin Russ
| Robert Edwin Russ | |
|---|---|
| Sheriff, Lincoln Parish, Louisiana | |
|
In office 1877–1880 |
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| Personal details | |
| Born |
August 27, 1830 Holmes Valley Washington County Florida, USA |
| Died | January 9, 1902 (aged 71) Ruston, Lincoln Parish Louisiana |
| Political party | Democratic |
| Spouse(s) | Mary Elizabeth Randle Russ (married 1855) |
| Children | 13 children |
| Parents | Robert and Sarah Gillam Hodges Russ |
| Residence | Ruston, Louisiana |
| Profession | Businessman |
| Religion | Baptist |
Robert Edwin Russ (August 27, 1830 – January 9, 1902) was a planter and civic leader who founded Ruston, the parish seat of Lincoln Parish in north Louisiana.
The son of Robert Russ and the former Sarah Gillam Hodges, Russ was born in Holmes Valley in Washington County, in the Florida Panhandle. He attended school in Maury County (Columbia), Tennessee. He migrated with his mother and stepfather, Sion D. Smith, to Henry County (Dothan), Alabama, Hinds County (Jackson), Mississippi, and in 1852 to Jackson Parish (Jonesboro) south of Ruston. In 1855, he married the former Mary Elizabeth Randle, and the couple had thirteen children.
In 1873, Russ purchased land in Lincoln Parish, which was established after the American Civil War. With the news that the Vicksburg, Shreveport & Pacific Railroad would be built in the vicinity, Russ was persuaded to donate more than 600 acres of his land for a town to be built around the depot. "Russ Town" opened in 1883, with lots selling for $375 each. So many people flocked to the new town that a year later, in 1884, it became the site for the Lincoln Parish seat of government.
Russ was active in the Democratic Party and served as sheriff of Lincoln Parish from 1877-1880. He was a trustee of Ruston College, which in 1894 became the future Louisiana Tech University. He was a lay organizer of First Baptist Church in downtown Ruston. He is interred at the historic Greenwood Cemetery in Ruston.
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