Researching Joseph Russell

The eldest son of John Russell, who was a brick maker and stone cutter, Joseph Russell was a brick manufacturer owning the brickworks at 1308 Queen Street East at Alton Avenue. He provided much of the supplies used in the original construction of the Toronto Railway Company's paintshop in 1913 and it is thought the Toronto Transit Commission's Russell Carhouse may be named after him.

Russell was a candidate for the Ontario legislature in 1908 but was unsuccessful. He was then nominated as an Independent candidate against incumbent Conservative MP Albert Edward Kemp in Toronto East. Kemp's opponents accused him of neglecting constituents as well as hiring foreign workers at poor pay at the expense of Canadian workers. Russell, by contrast, was a brick manufacturer and was praised for offering rates of pay that allowed workers to "live in houses of their own, and not herd a dozen into a room." Russell defeated Kemp by almost 800 votes in a two man contest in the 1908 federal election. Kemp poured his efforts into rebuilding the Conservative Party and defeated Russell three years later in the 1911 election.

He returned to provincial politics and won a seat in the 1914 provincial election. Russell served as the Conservative member for Riverdale from 1914 until 1918.

He was born in Clackmannan, Clackmannanshire, the son of Thomas Russell. He joined the Royal Navy at a young age. In 1819, he married Ann Agnes Hunter at Chatham, New Brunswick. Russell owned a number of buildings in Chatham, including a hotel. He helped establish the Chatham Fire Company in 1824. In 1827, he began building ships. In 1831, a fire destroyed several of his buildings and, in 1832, he purchased a shipyard in Chatham from Francis Peabody. In 1839, he sold that property to Joseph Cunard and moved his operation to Beaubears Island. Russell hired John Harley as his shipbuilder and George Burchill as general manager for his shipyard. In 1837, with other businessman, he made an unsuccessful attempt to establish the Bank of Miramichi. Russell served as overseer of the poor for Chatham and also later for Nelson parish.

Originally an Anglican, Russell and his family became Mormons around 1841. In 1846, he offered the use of one of his ships to British Mormons wishing to travel to the Salt Lake Valley but the plan fell through when the church in Britain decided against financing the trip. In 1850, he sold his business to Harley and Burchill and moved to the Utah Territory. He helped finance the Deseret Manufacturing Company, intended to produce beet sugar, but this company was not successful. Russell died in Salt Lake City, Utah at the age of 68.

On October 15, 2005, a historical panel was erected on Beaubears Island, giving an overview of Russell's life and his connections to Beaubears Island and the Mormon faith. The panel was commissioned jointly by Parks Canada, the Mormon Historic Sites Foundation, and Friends Of Beaubears Island Inc.