Edward "Ted" Russell (June 27, 1904 – October 16, 1977) was a

Newfoundlander Newfoundland and Labrador is the easternmost provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada, in the country's Atlantic Canada, Atlantic region. The province comprises the island of Newfoundland (island), Newfoundland and the continent ...

and

Canadian Canadians () are people identified with the country of Canada. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Canadians, many (or all) of these connections exist and are collectively the source of their being ''C ...

writer, teacher, and politician.

Biography

The son of Edward Russell and Sarah Jane Kelly, he was born in Coley's Point,

Conception Bay Conception Bay (CB) is a bay on the southeast coast of Newfoundland, Canada. The population (in 2011) of people living in municipalities (or unincorporated census subdivisions) located along the coast of Conception Bay was 90,490 making it ...

Colony of Newfoundland Newfoundland was an English overseas possessions, English, and later British, colony established in 1610 on the Newfoundland (island), island of Newfoundland. That followed decades of sporadic English settlement on the island, which was at first ...

. Russell was educated there and at

Bishop Feild College Bishop Feild College (originally Church of England Academy; formerly Church of England College and Bishop Feild School; currently Bishop Feild Elementary), founded in 1844, is a school in St. John's, Newfoundland. Founded as the Church of Engl ...

. He started work as a

teacher A teacher, also called a schoolteacher or formally an educator, is a person who helps students to acquire knowledge, competence, or virtue, via the practice of teaching. ''Informally'' the role of teacher may be taken on by anyone (e.g. w ...

immediately after completing

high school A secondary school, high school, or senior school, is an institution that provides secondary education. Some secondary schools provide both ''lower secondary education'' (ages 11 to 14) and ''upper secondary education'' (ages 14 to 18), i.e., ...

at the age of 16. After teaching in several small Newfoundland communities during the 1920s and 1930s, interspersed with stints at Memorial University College, he became a

magistrate The term magistrate is used in a variety of systems of governments and laws to refer to a civilian officer who administers the law. In ancient Rome, a '' magistratus'' was one of the highest ranking government officers, and possessed both judi ...

. In 1943 he became head of the government division responsible for promoting co-operatives throughout Newfoundland. After 1949, when

Newfoundland Newfoundland and Labrador is the easternmost province of Canada, in the country's Atlantic region. The province comprises the island of Newfoundland and the continental region of Labrador, having a total size of . As of 2025 the population ...

joined

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its Provinces and territories of Canada, ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, making it the world's List of coun ...

, Russell entered politics and served for two years in

Joey Smallwood Joseph Roberts Smallwood (December 24, 1900 – December 17, 1991) was a Newfoundlander and Canadian politician. He was the main force who brought the Dominion of Newfoundland into Canadian Confederation in 1949, becoming the first premier of ...

's cabinet as Minister of Natural Resources, but, opposing Smallwood's industrial policies, resigned from cabinet and left politics shortly thereafter. For several years he worked as an insurance salesman, later returning to teaching at the high school and then at

Memorial University of Newfoundland Memorial University of Newfoundland, or MUN (), is a Public university, public research university in the province of Newfoundland and Labrador, based in St. John's, Newfoundland and Labrador, St. John's, with satellite campuses in Corner Brook ...

. Despite having done little previous creative writing, from 1954 to 1961, Russell wrote and narrated (on

CBC CBC may refer to: Media * Cadena Baja California or Grupo Cadena, a radio and television broadcaster in Mexico * Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, Canada's radio and television public broadcaster ** CBC Television ** CBC Radio One ** CBC Music ** ...

Radio) stories set in a fictional Newfoundland outport, Pigeon Inlet, using the persona of "Uncle Mose". These stories featured a colourful cast of characters and were told from a generally positive and optimistic, yet realistic, point of view. Many featured tall tales, but some were based on Russell's own experiences in rural Newfoundland. In addition to providing entertainment, these stories commented on issues of the day and also provided practical information to a population just beginning to deal with a profound change in its system of government. Two volumes of these stories were published in the 1970s, and three more in the 1980s. Russell is also the author of several radio plays, the most successful of which was ''The Holdin' Ground'', which was adapted into a television play and continues to air irregularly on Newfoundland television station NTV as part of its "Captain Atlantis"

anthology series An anthology series is a written series, radio, television, film, or video game series that presents a different story and a different set of characters in each different episode, season, segment, or short. These usually have a different ca ...

. Two albums were released after his death. Both were made up of stories taken from his CBC Radio programs. In 2011, he was designated a "Person of Provincial Significance".

Personal life

Russell and his wife Dora (Oake), whom he married in 1935, had five children, among them Elizabeth Miller, a scholar and academic famous for her work on

Bram Stoker Abraham Stoker (8 November 1847 – 20 April 1912), better known by his pen name Bram Stoker, was an Irish novelist who wrote the 1897 Gothic horror novel ''Dracula''. The book is widely considered a milestone in Vampire fiction, and one of t ...

Dracula ''Dracula'' is an 1897 Gothic fiction, Gothic horror fiction, horror novel by Irish author Bram Stoker. The narrative is Epistolary novel, related through letters, diary entries, and newspaper articles. It has no single protagonist and opens ...

and

Vlad the Impaler Vlad III, commonly known as Vlad the Impaler ( ) or Vlad Dracula (; ; 1428/31 – 1476/77), was Voivode of Wallachia three times between 1448 and his death in 1476/77. He is often considered one of the most important rulers in Wallachian hi ...

, and Kelly Russell, a well-known Newfoundland musician.

Bibliography

* ''The Holdin' Ground: a radio play'' (McClelland & Stewart, 1972) * ''The Chronicles of Uncle Mose'', ed. Elizabeth Miller (Breakwater Books, 1975; Flanker Press, 2006) * ''Tales from Pigeon Inlet'', ed. Elizabeth Miller (Breakwater Books, 1977) * ''The Best of Ted Russell, Number 1'', ed. Elizabeth Miller (Harry Cuff Publications, 1982) * ''Stories from Uncle Mose'', ed. Elizabeth Miller (Harry Cuff Publications, 1983) * ''A Fresh Breeze from Pigeon Inlet'', ed. Elizabeth Miller (Harry Cuff Publications, 1988)

Discography

* ''The Chronicles of Uncle Mose'' (Pigeon Inlet Productions, 1979) * ''Uncle Mose from Pigeon Inlet'' (Pigeon Inlet Productions, 1981)

References

* Miller, Elizabeth, ''Uncle Mose: The Life of Ted Russell'', Flanker Press, 2005. * O'Flaherty, Patrick, ''The Rock Observed'', University of Toronto Press, 1979. {{DEFAULTSORT:Russell, Ted Writers from Newfoundland and Labrador Canadian male short story writers 1977 deaths 1904 births Bishop Feild School alumni 20th-century Canadian short story writers 20th-century Canadian male writers Dominion of Newfoundland people Liberal Party of Newfoundland and Labrador MHAs 20th-century members of the Newfoundland and Labrador House of Assembly