Gordon James Russell (December 22, 1859 – September 14, 1919) was a

United States representative The United States House of Representatives is a chamber of the Bicameralism, bicameral United States Congress; it is the lower house, with the U.S. Senate being the upper house. Together, the House and Senate have the authority under Artic ...

from

Texas Texas ( , ; or ) is the most populous U.S. state, state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. It borders Louisiana to the east, Arkansas to the northeast, Oklahoma to the north, New Mexico to the we ...

and a

United States district judge The United States district courts are the trial courts of the U.S. federal judiciary. There is one district court for each federal judicial district. Each district covers one U.S. state or a portion of a state. There is at least one feder ...

of the

United States District Court for the Eastern District of Texas The United States District Court for the Eastern District of Texas (in case citations, E.D. Tex.) is a federal court in the United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit, Fifth Circuit (except for patent claims and claims against the U.S. ...

. Russell was nominated by President

William H. Taft William Howard Taft (September 15, 1857March 8, 1930) served as the 27th president of the United States from 1909 to 1913 and the tenth chief justice of the United States from 1921 to 1930. He is the only person to have held both offices. ...

on May 27, 1910, to a seat vacated by David E. Bryant. He was confirmed by the

United States Senate The United States Senate is a chamber of the Bicameralism, bicameral United States Congress; it is the upper house, with the United States House of Representatives, U.S. House of Representatives being the lower house. Together, the Senate and ...

on June 6, 1910, and received commission the same day. Russell's service was terminated on September 14, 1919, due to death.

Education and career

Born on December 22, 1859, in

Huntsville Huntsville is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Alabama. The population of the city is estimated to be 241,114 in 2024, making it the 100th-most populous city in the U.S. The Huntsville metropolitan area had an estimated 525,465 ...

, Madison County,

Alabama Alabama ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern and Deep South, Deep Southern regions of the United States. It borders Tennessee to the north, Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia to the east, Florida and the Gu ...

, Russell attended the common schools, the Sam Bailey Institute in

Griffin The griffin, griffon, or gryphon (; Classical Latin: ''gryps'' or ''grypus''; Late and Medieval Latin: ''gryphes'', ''grypho'' etc.; Old French: ''griffon'') is a -4; we might wonder whether there's a point at which it's appropriate to talk ...

Georgia Georgia most commonly refers to: * Georgia (country), a country in the South Caucasus * Georgia (U.S. state), a state in the southeastern United States Georgia may also refer to: People and fictional characters * Georgia (name), a list of pe ...

and Crawford High School in

Dalton Dalton may refer to: Science * Dalton (crater), a lunar crater * Dalton (program), chemistry software * Dalton (unit) (Da), a.k.a. unified atomic mass unit * John Dalton, chemist, physicist and meteorologist * 12292 Dalton, an asteroid Ent ...

, Georgia. He received an Artium Baccalaureus degree in 1877 from the

University of Georgia The University of Georgia (UGA or Georgia) is a Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university with its main campus in Athens, Georgia, United States. Chartered in 1785, it is the oldest public university in th ...

and

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the same year. He taught school in Dalton. He was admitted to the bar and entered private practice in Dalton from 1878 to 1879. He was in private practice in

from 1879 to 1884. He was in private practice in

Van Zandt County Van Zandt County is a County (United States), county located in the U.S. state of Texas, in the northeastern part of the state. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, its population was 59,541. Its county seat is Canton, Texas, Cant ...

, Texas from 1884 to 1895. He was a Judge of the Van Zandt County Court 1890 to 1892. He resumed private practice in Willsport, Texas starting in 1892. He was district attorney for the Seventh Judicial District of Texas from 1892 to 1896. He continued private practice in Tyler, Texas starting in 1895. He was a Judge of the Texas District Court for the Seventh Judicial District from 1896 to 1902.

Congressional service

Russell was elected as a

Democrat Democrat, Democrats, or Democratic may refer to: Politics *A proponent of democracy, or democratic government; a form of government involving rule by the people. *A member of a Democratic Party: **Democratic Party (Cyprus) (DCY) **Democratic Part ...

to the

United States House of Representatives The United States House of Representatives is a chamber of the Bicameralism, bicameral United States Congress; it is the lower house, with the U.S. Senate being the upper house. Together, the House and Senate have the authority under Artic ...

of the

57th United States Congress The 57th United States Congress was a meeting of the legislative branch of the United States federal government, composed of the United States Senate and the United States House of Representatives. It met in Washington, DC from March 4, 1901, to ...

to fill the vacancy caused by the death of

United States Representative The United States House of Representatives is a chamber of the Bicameralism, bicameral United States Congress; it is the lower house, with the U.S. Senate being the upper house. Together, the House and Senate have the authority under Artic ...

Reese C. De Graffenreid. He was reelected to the

58th United States Congress The 58th United States Congress was a meeting of the legislative branch of the United States federal government, composed of the United States Senate and the United States House of Representatives. It met in Washington, DC, from March 4, 1903, to ...

and to the three succeeding Congresses and served from November 4, 1902, to June 14, 1910, when he resigned to accept a federal judicial post.

Federal judicial service

Russell was nominated by President

William Howard Taft William Howard Taft (September 15, 1857March 8, 1930) served as the 27th president of the United States from 1909 to 1913 and the tenth chief justice of the United States from 1921 to 1930. He is the only person to have held both offices. ...

on May 27, 1910, to a seat on the

vacated by Judge

David Ezekiel Bryant David Ezekiel Bryant (October 19, 1849 – February 5, 1910) was a United States federal judge, United States district judge of the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Texas. Education and career Born in LaRue County, Kentuck ...

. He was confirmed by the

on June 6, 1910, and received his commission the same day. His service terminated on September 14, 1919, due to his death in Kerrville, Kerr County, Texas. He was interred in Oakwood Cemetery in Tyler, Smith County, Texas.

References

Sources

* *

External links

Gordon James Russell entry
at

The Political Graveyard The Political Graveyard is a website and database that catalogues information on more than 277,000 Politics of the United States, American political figures and List of United States political families, political families, along with other informa ...

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Russell, Gordon James 1859 births 1919 deaths Georgia (U.S. state) lawyers Judges of the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Texas Politicians from Huntsville, Alabama Texas lawyers United States district court judges appointed by William Howard Taft University of Georgia alumni Democratic Party members of the United States House of Representatives from Texas 19th-century American judges Lawyers from Huntsville, Alabama 20th-century members of the United States House of Representatives