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RUSSELL, George Daniel,
Hotel Proprietor.
There are few residents of Norwalk
who would dispute the statement that
Colonel Russell is one of the best known
citizens of that place, and there are prob-
ably none who would fail to declare that
not one is better liked. Ever active in the
promotion of the most essential interests
of his home city, serving at one time as a
member of the Common Council, he has
also a record of honorable service in the
Spanish-American War.
The name Russell was originally de
Rosel, from Rosel, an ancient fief in the
neighborhood of Cherbourg, Normandy,
the family being a younger branch of the
barons of Briquebeck. Hugh de Rosel,
a benefactor of the abbey of Caen, accompanied
William the Conqueror to
England, and in reward for his services
received grants of land in Dorsetshire.
Early in the seventeenth century branches
of the Russell family were transplanted
to the American colonies, John and Wil-
liam Russell settling about the same time
in the province of Massachusetts.
Samuel Perry Russell, father of George
Daniel Russell, was born September 16,
1821, in Hubbardston, Massachusetts.
He learned the shoemaker's trade, which
he followed all his life, living for a time
in Worcester, Massachusetts, and then
removing to Syracuse, New York, and
later to Auburn, in the same State. On
his retirement from business he became
a resident of Brooklyn, New York. Politically
he was a Democrat, and in Auburn
served as a member of the Common
Council. He was a captain in the
Worcester Light Infantry, and a major
in the New York State Guard. During
the last two years of the Civil War he
served with the rank of captain in the
Third Regiment, New York Artillery.
ENCYCLOPEDIA OF BIOGRAPHY
374
After the war he returned to Auburn,
where he had enlisted and also recruited
a company. He affiliated with St. John's
Lodge, Ancient Free and Accepted Ma-
sons, and with the Independent Order of
Odd Fellows, both of Auburn. He mar-
ried, March 5, 1844, Mary Louise Stone,
whose ancestral record is appended to
this biography, and they became the parents
of the following children : George
Daniel, mentioned below ; Martha, de-
ceased ; James, also deceased; Minnie,
married George Sheldon, of Punxsutawney,
Pennsylvania ; Frederick P., of New
York City ; Nellie, married Dr. Walter
S. Blaisdell, of Punxsutawney, Pennsyl-
vania ; and one who died in childhood.
The family were members of the Univer-
salist church. Mr. Russell died March 15,
1900, in Brooklyn, and the death of Mrs.
Russell occurred December 25, 1910, in
Norwalk, Connecticut.
George Daniel Russell, son of Samuel
Perry and Mary Louise (Stone) Russell,
was born June 4, 1848, in Worcester,
Massachusetts. He received his education
in the public schools of Syracuse and
Auburn, New York. After serving as
clerk in several stores, he established
himself in Auburn in the grocery business,
but after some years sold out and
removed to Brooklyn, where he engaged
in the same line of business. In 1901 Mr.
Russell came to Norwalk, Connecticut,
and purchased the Norwalk Hotel, which
he has ever since conducted with marked
success, maintaining it as the first hotel
in the city. As a staunch Republican,
Colonel Russell has long been active in
the political life of his community, having
occupied a seat in the Common Coun-
cil of the city of Norwalk. He is a cor-
porator of the Norwalk Savings Society,
and never neglects an opportunity of assisting
with his influence and means any
institution or movement which he deems