Samuel Wadsworth Russell, born in Middletown, Connecticut (August 25,1789 – 1862) was an American entrepreneur and trader, and founder of Russell & Company, the largest and most important American trading house in China from 1842 to its closing in 1891.
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Early Life
Orphaned at the age of 12, Russell did not receive any significant inheritance, and did not attend college. Instead, he began his career as apprentice clerk for a maritime trade merchant, Whittlesley & Alsop, in Middletown, Connecticut. It is there that Russell began learning his skills as a trader. In 1810, his apprenticeship having ended, he moved to New York where he hoped to prosper. In 1812, he joined Hull & Griswold, a merchant house, based in New York but established by investors with family ties in Connecticut. He began traveling on company ships as supercargo and soon began trading on a commission basis which enabled him to found his first company, Russell & Company, a commission trader for Hull & Griswold, in his hometown of Middletown, Connecticut.
China
Attracted by financial prospects, Russell set out for China, an assured profitable venture. He arrived in Canton, China, in 1819, engaging in trade on behalf of the Providence firm of Edward Carrington & Company in various goods and products including opium, an extremely profitable activity despite being outlawed-yet protected by foreign forces. The profits made by Russell enabled him to found Russell & Company in Canton, China, in 1824. Dealing mostly in silks, teas and opium, Russell & Company prospered, and by 1842, it had become the largest American trading house in China. It kept its dominance until its closing in 1891. Russell withdrew from the company in 1836. He returned to America, and lived in his mansion in his hometown of Middletown, Connecticut, until his death in 1862. The mansion, now bearing the name of Samuel Wadsworth Russell House, had an elaborately-decorated interior; Russell had brought back many souvenirs and antiques from China, as well as gifts from his Chinese trade partner, Howqua.
Family
Russell is cousin of William Huntington Russell (1833) who was Co-founder of the Skull and Bones Secret Society at Yale University.
Notables of Russell & Company
- Warren Delano, Jr., the grandfather of Franklin Roosevelt (32nd President of the United States) served as the Chief of Operations of Russell and Company in Canton.
- John Murray Forbes, the great-granduncle of 2004 presidential candidate John Forbes Kerry.
- Robert Bennet Forbes, his son, was the head of Russell and Company.
- Abiel Abbot Low, founder of trading company A. A. Low & Brothers, served as a partner.
- William Henry Low, Abiel Abbot Low's brother.
- Augustine Heard, who later founded Augustine Heard & Company, a large trading house in China.
- Russell Sturgis (1805-1887), who later became head of Baring Brothers in London.
Literature
Authors Webster G. Tarpley and Anton Chaitkin, in their book George Bush: The Unauthorized Biography, mention that Russell & Company's "business was to acquire opium from Turkey and smuggle it into China, where it was strictly prohibited, under the armed protection of the British Empire." The citation was distorted in numerous websites, Russell & Company being given the "purpose of acquiring opium in Turkey and smuggling it to China." Whereas it is indubitable that Russell & Company did indeed smuggle opium into China, there is no documentary evidence that the company's main purpose was to specifically smuggle opium.
Further Reading
- Alain Munkittrick, “Samuel Wadsworth Russell (1789-1862): A Study in Ordered Investment,” Honors Thesis, Wesleyan University, 1973
