RUSSELL, Charles P. (c. 1810-1879) and Eunice (c. 1810-after 1880)

Charles P. Russell is best known as one of the founders of the Messenger Party, the first offshoot movement from the Sabbatarian Adventists in the mid-1850s. Charles and Eunice Russell, originally from New York State, settled in Jackson County, Michigan, about 1835. After a stint as a hotelkeeper, Charles Russell became established for many years as a “glove maker” in Jackson.1EGWLM 885.5

In 1843 or 1844 the Russells joined the Millerite Adventists in Jackson, and they became Sabbathkeepers following Joseph Bates's first visit to Jackson in 1849. Although some later historians claim that Charles Russell was a preacher, J. N. Loughborough, who knew Russell personally, speaks of him only as a church “brother.” Russell later claimed that his break with the church in 1853 was a result of what he called “those vain visions” of Ellen White. Other accounts hold that the breaking point was not so much the visions themselves but the fact that Russell and Hiram S. Case became incensed when they were rebuked by a vision in the summer of 1853 for their severity in a church discipline case involving Abigail Palmer. They reacted with an open and concerted campaign against the Whites and joined others in organizing the Messenger Party, which survived till about 1857.1EGWLM 886.1

Three extant issues of The Messenger of Truth, house organ of the Messenger Party, indicate that Charles Russell was a member of the publishing committee. Little is known of Russell's religious endeavors after the breakup of the Messenger Party. According to his obituary in the Jackson Weekly Citizen, Russell “remained firm” “in the advent faith” to the end of his life. J. N. Loughborough adds that he gave up keeping the Sabbath three years before his death.1EGWLM 886.2

See: 1860 U.S. Federal Census, “Charles P. Russell,” Michigan, Jackson County, Jackson, Ward 1, p. 15; 1880 U.S. Federal Census, “Eunice Russell,” Michigan, Jackson County, Jackson, p. 15; U.S. Census Mortality Schedules, Michigan, Jackson, 1850-1885, Record for Charles P. Russell, Persons Who Died During the Year Ending May 31, 1880; Report of the Pioneer Society of the State of Michigan, Together With Reports of County, Town, and District Pioneer Societies, Pioneer Collections (Lansing, Mich.: W. S. George & Co., Printers and Binders, 1883), vol. 4, p. 272; J. N. Loughborough, “Sketches of the Past—82,” Pacific Union Recorder, Nov. 11, 1909, p. 2; C. P Russell, “A Confession,” Messenger of Truth, Oct. 19, 1854, p. [2]; “Death of a Pioneer,” Jackson Weekly Citizen, Dec. 5, 1879, p. 5.1EGWLM 886.3