RESEARCH
FAMILIES Q-U: RUSSELL ~ Arthur and Elinor Russell
Arthur Russell
The Russell family connection to Darrtown began with Arthur and Elinor Russell. As noted in the images at the right and below, the 1940 US Census report identified the Russell family members as Arthur and Elinor and their two sons Kenneth and Douglas.
In 1940, the Russells lived on Webster Street, in Hamilton, Ohio. They moved to Collinsville in 1944. The Arthur Russell family grew to include six children: Kenneth, Douglas, Gary, Marvin, Elaine, and David Russell
The Russell family moved from Collinsville to a home situated in the southwest corner of St. Rt. 177 and Harris Road. That dwelling has since been razed. The Russells then moved to Darrtown and lived in the house seen in following photo (contributed by Marvin Russell.
ABOVE: Carolyn Lemmons and Kenny Russell (circa mid-to-late 1950's)
ABOVE: Marvin Russell provided the image of this new, unoccupied house. He reported that the Rice family moved into this dwelling, which sits on the east side of West Street, south of Schollenbarger Road. The signs in the front yard (at left edge of photo) advertised the Bufler construction company, which built most of the 1950's-era homes that populate the southern areas of Darrtown (near West Street, Darrtown Road, East Street, and Scott Road).
ABOVE: This brick structure was the schoolhouse that preceded the Darrtown High School. It is located at the intersection of West Street and Schollenbarger Road.
Marvin Russell contributed this photo. In Marvin's words: "I said that was Jim Stevens' place; but that is where his Dad and Mom lived and owned and Jim lived there. His dad was nicknamed 'Shorty' Stevens. I used to carry the coal in about three or four days a week in 5 gallon buckets for Shorty and he would give me five dollars a week. I also would mow his grass, about an acre when needed for $3.00 with a gas, 22 inch, push mower. This was between 1961 and 1964."
While attending the April 18, 2009 "Darrtown Gathering," George Thome reported that Ed Fowler lived in this building during the 1930's. George added that Ed bought the property for $2000 and later sold it for $4000.
ABOVE: This image shows Darrtown's Main Street (State Route 177) - looking north from in front of Don's Carry-Out (note the Pepsi sign at the left).
The house at the right side of the photo was the Browning home during the early 50's. Persons attending the April 18, 2009 "Darrtown Gathering" reported that Mike Floyd and his sister, Sue, also lived there.
Marvin Russell, reported that this photo was taken in 1963.
Kenneth Leland Russell (1938-2019)
LEFT: This 2008 photo of Kenneth Russell appeared February 27, 2022, on a Facebook page maintained by Kenny's wife, Carolyn (Lemmons) Russell.
Carolyn and "Kenny," as he was known to his many friends, were married 57 years.
A description of Kenny's life appears in his obituary which is available at this link; see People/Individuals page.
A note from webmaster, Fred Lindley
I met Kenny Russell in the third grade, at Collinsville School, during the 1942-43 school year. The Russell family had moved into a house that stood in the southwest corner of the intersection of Darrtown Pike and Harris Road. Later, the Russells moved into a newly constructed home, built by Bufler Construction, on the west side of Darrtown.
Kenny, Ralph Yauger, Jerry Neal, and I attended school together - from the third grade through high school graduation. We were together daily during ten years of school experiences ... in classrooms, cafeterias, gymnasiums, playgrounds, and school buses - from Collinsville school (third through the sixth grade) and Seven Mile school (for grades seven through ten), and finally, Oxford Stewart High School, for our junior and senior years.
I have some very specific memories of Kenny that I offer below, in my attempt to keep alive the memory of a really, really good guy. Rest in peace, my friend.
Click the links beneath the images to access Fred's memories of Kenny.
It is hard to say how many school lunches we boys from Collinsville school ate together - from the third grade through senior year. But, I can say that, early on, I noticed something about how Kenny consumed his food. It was always DESSERT FIRST! When I asked him why, Kenny explained that if he ate the other food first, he might get filled to the point that he could not eat his dessert or maybe not enjoy it as much. Also, in the event of an emergency and the school lunch period was cut short, he would have, at least, eaten the best part of lunch. Therefore...Kenny believed that it was always best to EAT DESSERT FIRST.
Kenny introduced me to the game of "Dots and Boxes." If you don't know this paper and pencil game, it starts with someone placing a number of dots on a sheet of paper in a grid-like fashion. Then, two (or more) players take turns drawing a line horizontally or vertically between two dots. Gradually, boxes begin to form. When a player applies the final side to a box, that player places his/her initial inside the box. When all boxes are filled and claimed, the player with the most boxes bearing his or her initial is declared the winner. The point to this story is that Kenny loved to play Dots and Boxes and he often had a grid of dots prepared - ready for a game of wits. Kenny was very good at seeing the path to victory. It was always fun to compete with Kenny. Win or lose, he was a good sport.
I don't recall when Kenny acquired his Cushman scooter; but, I would guess it was during our junior-high school years. I do recall that Kenny's Cushman looked a lot like the scooter shown on this memory page. I also remember being a bit envious, because, of all us boys in the neighborhood who were too young to have our auto driver's license, ... Kenny was mobile; he had "wheels!"
Miss Virginia Strohm was a math teacher at Stewart High School and the four of us boys from Collinsville school were enrolled in a plane geometry class that she taught. My memory tells me that we four really enjoyed the class, as we liked the logic of the various hypotheses and theorems - and, I recall that we helped each other figure out the more difficult assignments. Along the way, Kenny and I discovered that MIss Strohm, who was a stern taskmaster of course content, would occasionally allow us to banter with her - just a bit. Long after our 1956 graduation from high school, Kenny and I reminesced during class reunions about how we could bring a flush to Miss Strohm's cheeks on a Monday morning, by (politely) asking her about her weekend and whether she had gone on a date. Kenny blamed me and I blamed him for our daring dialogue with our geometry teacher. Either way, I can attest that the two of us shared fond memories of being classmates in Miss Strohm's geometry class.
Kenny was a good athlete. He played varsity football and basketball at Stewart High School. I played on the basketball team with him and one time, Kenny "made a memory" - for me (and perhaps for others). I don't recall who we were playing; but, we had just returned to the floor from a time-out period. We inbounded the ball and either Lyman Wooten (who played a guard position) or I (at the other guard position) began dribbling the ball up the court. Unexpectedly, Kenny called "Time Out!" to one of the referees. So, the ref blew his whistle and stopped play. Both teams headed to their respective benches, which were positioned atop the edge of the stage in the Stewart gymnasium. Coach Bufler looked at Kenny with a stunned expression and Kenny asked, "Are we playing a zone or man-to-man?" I cannot recall anything else about that moment in time; but, the incident has stuck in my memory ever since. It is a one-of-a-kind memory; sorta like Kenny.
When we were in grade school, it became evident that, when Kenny found something that he liked, he stayed with it. I don't know exactly how many times he read the story about Black Hawk, the Indian chief, but, I would bet at least three times - maybe more.
Elinor Russell
Rufus Clyde Russell (1880-1954)
Russell family history at: Rufus Clyde Russell.
Rufus Clyde Russell was the father of Arthur Russell and the grandfather of Arthur's children: Kenneth, Douglas, Gary, Marvin, Elaine, and David Russell.
In March 2022, Marvin Russell contributed the photos at the right, which show his grandfather, Clyde Russell, as a member of five different amateur baseball teams.
The links beneath the photos provide a larger view of each image.
The family tree records for Rufus Clyde Russell that appear below were found after Marvin donated the baseball photos above.
Generations 1-2-3
(From Harrison to Clyde to Arthur)
Generations 3-4
(From Arthur to his six children)
Click these links for a larger view.
In 2024, Marvin Russell contributed a profile of the Arthur Russell family. Click the following link to see...
I looked up the records and our parents bought the home in Collinsville in 1946 and we moved from Millville, Ohio when I was about 3 months old to Collinsville. Our family lived on Webster Ave. before my birth. In 1952 Our parents sold the property to George Daniels which you knew Frank, Charlie and Bob Daniels maybe. In 1953 George sold the property to Richard Coombs family and they lived there every since. We moved to the house on Harris Rd. in 1952 until late summer of 1958 is when we bought the Bufler home on West St. My mother’s mother bought the home next door to us on West St. She moved from Losantville, Ind. which is close to Muncie Ind., after our Grandfather suddenly died in 1958. Forrest and Alda McWhirter once lived in Okeanna, Ohio where our Dad lived and went to Morgan Schools. Our mother, Elinor, had a twin brother named Donald. Our Grandfather McWhirter worked for the Railroad and he would change locations periodically as they had moved the Okeana. They had moved from Geneve, Indiana which is in Noble County Ind. to Okeana.
The following images were contributed by Marvin Russell.