The Naturalization of Joseph

(Expanded from material previously published in the article: https://jeromehistory.blogspot.com/2020/04/1-three-weddings-but-no-funeral-this.html

Most books that mention the Russell family indicate that CTR’s father, Joseph Lytle Russell, came to the United States from Ireland in 1845. The source is his obituary in several Pittsburgh papers from 1897, which state that he reached America “about 1845.” From this, some have assumed that he and Ann Eliza came as a married couple and settled in Pittsburgh.

The main problem with obituaries is that the person who could verify the information is unavailable to do so. We now know that both of the above assumptions are incorrect. We have reasonable proof that Joseph was in Pittsburgh as early as 1843, and Ann Eliza was still single in Pittsburgh in early 1849.

A key document that led to a search for further evidence, as more material appeared online, was Joseph’s naturalization document. Around 40 years ago, when a member of the British Society of Genealogists, this writer spent some time in their library in London, trying to find when Joseph came to America. A reference there that I have not seen online since sent me to contact the Prothonotary’s Office in Pittsburgh. This is where Joseph would have renounced allegiance to the old country and sworn allegiance to the United States. They finally sent me a not very clear copy of the document. As received, it is reproduced below.

Due to the marvels of AI, and the opportunity to dig further, it has now been possible to reconstruct this document into a more readable form. Apart from the name of the official who handled the matter, which appears to be a wild guess from an illegible signature, we can be reasonably certain that the rest of the form is accurate. It will appear in a forthcoming book, but is reproduced here for anyone who wants to read and copy it.

Depending on your device, you may need to click on it to see it all, or even download and print it out on standard-sized paper.

The key point is that when Joseph said the oath on 26 October 1848, he was swearing that he had been living in America for at least five years. That would take us back to 1843. It is also noticed that his character witness was one W Glendining. William Glendining was a partner with Joseph’s brother, Charles Tays Russell, in a flour and produce business. The partnership was dissolved in 1860.

Armed with the date 1843 and the increasing number of newspapers scanned and searchable, it was possible to find Joseph L Russell in the Pittsburgh Daily Post. Letters were waiting for him at the post office. Also that year, his two brothers, James and Charles Tays, also had their names recorded in the same listings. So the three brothers were together in Pittsburgh in 1843.

The same listings from the same newspaper included A E Birney in 1848 and Miss A E Birney in early 1849. So she and Joseph met in Pittsburgh, maybe as a result of Presbyterian Church socials, and were married in 1849. Their first child, Thomas, was born in May 1850. CTR followed in 1852.

For more documentation and graphics, please see the earlier referenced article above.