Samuel Russell (August 25, 1789 – May 5, 1862), was an American entrepreneur and trader, and founder of
Russell & Company
Russell & Company () was the largest American trading house of the mid-19th century in China. The firm specialised in trading tea, silk and opium and was eventually involved in the shipping trade.
Foundation
In 1818, Samuel Russell was approach ...
, the largest and most important American trading house in
China from 1842 to its closing in 1891.
Early life
Russell was born on August 25, 1789, in
Middletown, Connecticut
Middletown is a city located in Middlesex County, Connecticut, United States, Located along the Connecticut River, in the central part of the state, it is south of Hartford. In 1650, it was incorporated by English settlers as a town under it ...
. He was a son of Capt. John Russell and Abigail (
née
A birth name is the name of a person given upon birth. The term may be applied to the surname, the given name, or the entire name. Where births are required to be officially registered, the entire name entered onto a birth certificate or birth ...
Warner) Russell.
He was a cousin of
William Huntington Russell, a co-founder of the
Skull and Bones
Skull and Bones, also known as The Order, Order 322 or The Brotherhood of Death, is an undergraduate senior secret student society at Yale University in New Haven, Connecticut. The oldest senior class society at the university, Skull and Bone ...
Secret Society at
Yale University
Yale University is a Private university, private research university in New Haven, Connecticut. Established in 1701 as the Collegiate School, it is the List of Colonial Colleges, third-oldest institution of higher education in the United Sta ...
.
At the age of 12, Russell was orphaned and did not receive any significant
inheritance
Inheritance is the practice of receiving private property, titles, debts, entitlements, privileges, rights, and obligations upon the death of an individual. The rules of inheritance differ among societies and have changed over time. Offici ...
, and did not attend college. Instead, he began his career as
apprentice
Apprenticeship is a system for training a new generation of practitioners of a trade or profession with on-the-job training and often some accompanying study (classroom work and reading). Apprenticeships can also enable practitioners to gain a ...
clerk for a maritime trade merchant, Whittlesley & Also