Joseph Russell (August 17, 1786 – March 10, 1855) was a Scottish-born businessman and shipbuilder in

New Brunswick New Brunswick is a Provinces and Territories of Canada, province of Canada, bordering Quebec to the north, Nova Scotia to the east, the Gulf of Saint Lawrence to the northeast, the Bay of Fundy to the southeast, and the U.S. state of Maine to ...

, Canada. He was born in Clackmannan, Clackmannanshire, the son of Thomas Russell. He joined the

Royal Navy The Royal Navy (RN) is the naval warfare force of the United Kingdom. It is a component of His Majesty's Naval Service, and its officers hold their commissions from the King of the United Kingdom, King. Although warships were used by Kingdom ...

at a young age. In 1819, he married Ann Agnes Hunter at

Chatham, New Brunswick Chatham () is an urban neighbourhood in the city of Miramichi, New Brunswick, Miramichi, New Brunswick, Canada. Prior to municipal amalgamation in 1995, Chatham was an incorporated town in Northumberland County, New Brunswick, Northumberland Co ...

. 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 Joseph Cunard (1799 – January 16, 1865) was a merchant, shipbuilder and political figure in New Brunswick. He represented Northumberland County in the Legislative Assembly of New Brunswick from 1828 to 1833. Biography Cunard was born int ...

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 Nelson may refer to: Arts and entertainment * ''Nelson'' (1918 film), a historical film directed by Maurice Elvey * ''Nelson'' (1926 film), a historical film directed by Walter Summers * ''Nelson'' (opera), an opera by Lennox Berkeley to a lib ...

parish. Originally an

Anglican Anglicanism, also known as Episcopalianism in some countries, is a Western Christianity, Western Christian tradition which developed from the practices, liturgy, and identity of the Church of England following the English Reformation, in the ...

, Russell and his family became

Mormons Mormons are a Religious denomination, religious and ethnocultural group, cultural group related to Mormonism, the principal branch of the Latter Day Saint movement started by Joseph Smith in upstate New York during the 1820s. After Smith's d ...

around 1841. In 1846, he offered the use of one of his ships to British Mormons wishing to travel to the

Salt Lake Valley Salt Lake Valley is a valley in Salt Lake County, Utah, Salt Lake County in the north-central portion of the U.S. state of Utah. It contains Salt Lake City, Utah, Salt Lake City and many of its suburbs, notably Murray, Utah, Murray, Sandy, Uta ...

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 The Territory of Utah was an organized incorporated territory of the United States that existed from September 9, 1850, until January 4, 1896, when the final extent of the territory was admitted to the Union as the State of Utah, the 45th st ...

. He helped finance the Deseret Manufacturing Company, intended to produce

beet sugar Sucrose, a disaccharide, is a sugar composed of glucose and fructose subunits. It is produced naturally in plants and is the main constituent of white sugar. It has the molecular formula . For human consumption, sucrose is extracted and refined ...

, but this company was not successful. Russell died in

Salt Lake City, Utah Salt Lake City, often shortened to Salt Lake or SLC, is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of cities and towns in Utah, most populous city of the U.S. state of Utah. It is the county seat of Salt Lake County, Utah, Salt ...

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 Parks Canada ()Parks Canada is the applied title under the Federal Identity Program; the legal title is Parks Canada Agency (). is the agency of the Government of Canada which manages the country's 37 National Parks, three National Marine Co ...

, the

Mormon Historic Sites Foundation The Ensign Peak Foundation (formerly the Mormon Historic Sites Foundation) is an independent organization that seeks to contribute to the memorialization of sites important to the history of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. The o ...

, and Friends Of Beaubears Island Inc.

References

Biography at the ''Dictionary of Canadian Biography Online''
{{DEFAULTSORT:Russell, Joseph 1786 births 1855 deaths American Latter Day Saints Canadian Latter Day Saints Converts to Mormonism from Anglicanism 19th-century Canadian businesspeople Scottish emigrants to pre-Confederation New Brunswick Scottish Latter Day Saints Mormon pioneers Emigrants from pre-Confederation New Brunswick to the United States

See also

References