Joseph on the Move

Joseph Russell and Emma Ackley were married in mid-1880. Their one child, Mabel, was born in September 1881.

(continuing an ongoing project)

     With Mabel born and the family a threesome, Joseph withdrew from business affairs in Pittsburgh and became a reasonably comfortable family man and retiree.

     Like others with sufficient income or capital, Joseph moved the family down to Florida by the mid-1880s. Pittsburgh had below-freezing winters, whereas Florida had winters when many would still eat outdoors. As a result, winter was the tourist season for Florida. Conversely, summers in Pittsburgh were pleasant, while summers in Florida were just too hot. If you had good sense and sufficient resources, you would have homes both north and south for different seasons of the year.

     This is what Joseph and Emma did.

     They first appear in the 1885 Florida census. Although there are some discrepancies in the recorded ages, the entry is a reasonable match for this family. The census was taken in Hillsborough County, Florida, with an official census date of 1 June 1885; however, enumerators conducted door-to-door visits th

     So we have Joseph L Russel (sic), who is the head and who admits to being 70 (actually just a few weeks short of 72).

     Then there is his wife, who, annoyingly for our purpose, is only recorded as Mrs J L Russel (sic) aged 24 (actually 29), and finally a daughter. The entry appears to read Mamie (?), which could be a pet name for Mabel, listed as aged 4 (technically still 3). Joseph gives his occupation as “Capitalist.”

     The Florida connections are on firmer ground in 1888 when a letter from Joseph was published in Zion’s Watch Tower for May 1888. It offered general encouragement and the offer of land near Pinellas as a donation to the Watch Tower Society. The letter was sent from Manatee County, Florida.

     Manatee and Hillsborough are adjoining counties, and the whole region is called Tampa Bay on the Gulf of Mexico coast.

     A further letter from Joseph, published in the magazine for March 1889 (sending love from himself and “joined by wife and Mabel”) was addressed simply from Florida.

     The idea of commuting north and south is supported by several news reports from Florida newspapers.

     The Manatee River Journal and Bradentown Herald for 26 September 1889 carried a letter to the editor from Joseph. It was dated 21 September 1889 and was sent from Allegheny, Pa. It was mainly about giving support to proposed civic improvements. But Joseph ended his letter:

The same newspaper on 24 October 1889 welcomed the family back:

     The family either moved around a bit in the area, or had a portfolio of several assets, because over 1889-1890, there were several properties offered for sale by Joseph.

     From the Semi-Weekly Times-Union of Jacksonville, Florida, for 17 January 1889:

     The reason given for the sale was that Joseph was now too old to attend to the orange groves.

     Several similar advertisements appeared in the local papers for either properties for sale, or house clearance of contents. Over a year later, The Tampa Journal for 13 February 1890 carried a similar advertisement:

FLORIDA HOME FOR SALE: — On Manatee Bay Gulf Coast, is high and dry; has been a lovely home for 30 years and is a most delightful healthy climate; plenty of fish, oysters, boating, fishing and hunting, orange groves, lemons, guavas, plums and grape fruit, all in full bearing; good transportation; excellent society, churches and schools, good stores, daily mail and the best climate on earth; County Court House is here. For terms address,  J. L. RUSSELL, Bradentown, Fla.

     Moving forward another nine months, Joseph appears to be handling several Florida properties. From the Semi-Weekly Times Union of Jacksonville, Florida, for 20 November 1890:

FLORIDA HOMES FOR SALE.—A gentleman who has lived several years in Florida, and who has traveled over most of the state, has selected some of the most desirable and healthy locations on the Gulf Coast, where there is plenty of fish and oysters, and excellent hunting and fishing all the year through, and the most delightful climate in the world, where the salt water breezes give health and strength to the delicate constitution. The owner of these beautiful properties, wishes (on account of old age) to sell any of these properties at a low price, and give long time to pay. For particulars and description of properties, address Joseph L. Russell, Marion, North Carolina.

     Several things to note: Joseph again cites his age as the reason for the sale, he seems to be after a quick sale with the “low price and long time to pay” mantra, and he is no longer in Florida at this time, but in North Carolina.

     Depending on where in Marion, North Carolina, the family was, this would be anything from 500 to 700 miles from the Gulf Coast, where they’d been previously.

     To pinpoint the next locations for Joseph and Emma, we can turn to two daughters of Laura Raynor, one of Emma’s older sisters, who still lived in Pittsburgh and whom we have met earlier.

     The first daughter was Selina G Raynor. The Pittsburgh Press for 8 August 1891 noted that:

Miss S G Raynor, of Euclid Avenue, has returned from a visit to her aunt, Mrs J L Russell, of North Carolina.

     Joseph and Emma had been in Marion, North Carolina, where he was trying to sell Florida properties (plural) in October 1890 (see above). In 1891, Joseph was also endeavouring to sell a property in Marion itself. From the Semi-Weekly Times-Union of Jacksonville, Florida, for 28 May 1891, we have Joseph’s small ad:

    If we go forward another two years, we have Selina’s sister, May Frances Raynor, who is now visiting her Aunt Emma. From The Pittsburgh Press for 5 September 1893:

Miss May F. Raynor, of Euclid Avenue, Allegheny, who has been spending the summer with her aunt, Mrs J. L. Russell, of Ashland, Va. Is now registered at Deer Park, Md., and is expected home September 12.

     The Russells (Emma and Joseph) are no longer at Marion, North Carolina; now they are at Ashland, Virginia, “as the crow flies” about 300 miles away.

     And what then happens to their home at Ashland? Two years later, the Richmond Dispatch for 3 March 1895 carries a familiar-looking advertisement:

 

     Two things we learn from this.

     First: Joseph was frequently selling (and one assumes purchasing) homes. His last will and testament is full of investments in land, and stocks, and shares, showing how he liked to speculate – not always successfully. At the end of his life, he still owned four houses, three in Pittsburgh and one in Florida.

     Second: Joseph and Emma (and Mabel) seemed to be forever moving from place to place, and never really settling down.

    Towards the end, they retreated to Allegheny and Pittsburgh and the home on Cedar Avenue where they’d begun married life, and Mabel went off to Miss Barclay’s School for Girls in North Avenue, Allegheny City, to complete an education. As noted in the previous chapter, CTR specifically blamed Emma for Maria’s transformation. Whatever Emma’s influence may have been, it would have depended upon continued personal contact between the two women — contact CTR attempted to restrict. Testimony from the 1906 Russell v. Russell hearing indicates that he forbade Emma from visiting Bible House and asked his father not to invite Maria to Cedar Avenue.

     Sadly, as Joseph reached the end of his life, his home was not a happy one. The family conflicts were to be exacerbated by his last will and testament, with Maria taking up the cudgels on behalf of her sister, as evidenced by her meeting with Page and Tuttle in the previous chapter.

 

     Go on to discuss the will, its background and provisions. To actually read the existing will in full, see: https://truthhistory.blogspot.com/2026/03/last-will-and-testament-of-joseph-lytle.html