Russell family (American political family)

The Russell family is an American family from Georgia that has held prominent positions both in the United States government and the Georgia government. The family was a wealthy land-owning family until the end of the American Civil War, when they lost a large amount of their assets, like many others in the southern plantation class. The family later entered politics and rebuilt their family's prominence through holding political office.

Family tree of notable members

• Richard B. Russell Sr. (1861–1938), Georgia state representative (1883–1889), state court of appeals chief judge (1907–1916), state supreme court chief justice (1922–1936); m. Ina Dillard
  • Richard B. Russell Jr. (1897–1971), Georgia state representative (1921–1931), state house speaker (1927–1931), governor (1931–1933), U.S. Senator (1933–1971)
  • Robert Lee Russell (1900–1955), U.S. district court judge (1940–1949), U.S. court of appeals judge (1949–1955); m. Sybil Millsaps
    • Sybil Elizabeth Russell (1927–2018); m. Ernest Vandiver (1918–2005), Georgia adjutant general (1948–1954), lieutenant governor (1955–1959), governor (1959–1963)
      • Jane Brevard Vandiver (b. 1953), Georgia state representative (2005–2007), Democratic Party of Georgia chair (2007–2011); m. David A. Kidd
  • Patience Elizabeth Russell (1902–2002); m. Hugh Peterson (1898–1961), Georgia state representative (1923–1931), state senator (1931–1933), U.S. Representative (1935–1947)
  • Walter Brown Russell (1903–1986); m. Dorothea Bealer
    • Walter B. Russell Jr. (1929–2016), U.S. Army officer, Georgia state representative (1971–1977), DeKalb county commission chair (1977–1981); m. Nancy Hinton
    • Cecil Bealer Russell (1934–2022); m. Joseph G. Clemons (1928–2018), U.S. Army officer

References