Joseph James RUSSELL, Congress, MO (1854-1922)

RUSSELL, Joseph James, a Representative from Missouri; born near Charleston, Mississippi County, Mo., August 23, 1854; attended the public schools and Charleston Academy; was admitted to the bar in 1876 and commenced practice in Charleston, Mo.; graduated from the law department of the University of Missouri at Columbia in 1880; school commissioner for Mississippi County in 1878 and 1879; prosecuting attorney 1880-1884; delegate to the Democratic National Convention in 1884; member of the State house of representatives 1886-1890 and served as speaker pro tempore of the house in 1886 and as speaker in 1888; elected as a Democrat to the Sixtieth Congress (March 4, 1907-March 3, 1909); unsuccessful candidate for reelection in 1908 to the Sixty-first Congress; elected to the Sixty-second and to the three succeeding Congresses (March 4, 1911-March 3, 1919); was not a candidate for renomination; died in Charleston, Mo., October 22, 1922; interment in the Odd Fellows Cemetery.

Source: Biographical Directory of the United States Congress, 1771-Present