Robert Russ

Robert Edwin Russ

* * *

Sheriff of Lincoln Parish, Louisiana

In office
1877-1880

* * *

Born  |  August 27, 1830
Holmes Valley,
Washington County,
Florida, USA
Died  |  January 9, 1902
Ruston, Lincoln Parish,
Louisiana
Political party  |  Democrat
Spouse(s)  |  Mary Elizabeth Randle Russ (married 1855)
Children  |  Thirteen children

Parents:
Robert and Sarah Gillam Hodges Russ

Residence  |  Ruston, Louisiana
Occupation  |  Businessman
Religion  |  Southern Baptist

Robert Edwin Russ (August 27, 1830 - January 9, 1902) was a farmer and civic leader who founded Ruston in Lincoln Parish in north Louisiana.[1]

## Background[edit]

The son of Robert Russ and the former Sarah Gillam Hodges, Russ was born in Holmes Valley in Washington County in the Florida Panhandle. He attended school in Maury County, Tennessee. He migrated with his mother and stepfather, Sion D. Smith, to Henry County, near Dothan in southern Alabama, then Hinds County, Mississippi, which includes the state capital of Jackson, and in 1852 to Jackson Parish, south of Ruston. In 1855, he married the former Mary Elizabeth Randle, and the couple had thirteen children.[2]

## Landowner[edit]

In 1873, Russ purchased land in Lincoln Parish, which was established after the American Civil War. With the news that the Vicksburg, Shreveport & Pacific Railroad would be built in the vicinity, Russ was persuaded to donate more than six hundred acres of his land for a town to be built around the depot. "Russ Town" opened in 1883, with lots selling for $375 each. So many people flocked to the new town that a year later, in 1884, it became the Lincoln Parish seat of government.[3]

Russ was active in the Democratic Party and served as sheriff of Lincoln Parish from 1877 to 1880. He was a trustee of Ruston College, which in 1894 became the future Louisiana Tech University. He was a lay organizer of First Baptist Church in downtown Ruston. He is interred at Greenwood Cemetery in Ruston.[2][4]

The Robert E. Russ Award is given in Ruston to individuals cited for outstanding civic service. The 2009 winner was Les Guice, vice president for research and development at Louisiana Tech and later the 14th president of the institution.[5] Tommy Folk, a Ruston native, retired president of construction for T. L. James & Company, and chairman of the board of the Dixie Center for the Arts, won the award in 2008.[6] Other past winners were the late state Representative L. D. "Buddy" Napper and his law partner, Judge Otho Lloyd Waltman.[7]

## References[edit]

1. ↑ William Wayne Wilson, "The Influence of Robert Russ, N. Central LA Pioneer," North Louisiana History, Vol. 2, No. 3 (Spring 1971), pp. 85-94.
2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 Russ, Robert E.. Louisiana Historical Association A Dictionary of Louisiana Biography (2008). Retrieved on January 10, 2022.
3. ↑ Robert E. Russ. ruston.org. Retrieved on October 5, 2010; material no longer accessible on-line.
4. ↑ A Dictionary of Louisiana Biography (la.history.org) uses information for its article on Robert Russ from William Wayne "Bill" Wilson, "Robert E. Russ: A Study of His Influence on North-Central Louisiana as Reflected in His Writings" (Master of Arts thesis, Louisiana Tech University, 1969). There is also a Russ Collection in the Prescott Memorial Library at Louisiana Tech.
5. ↑ Dave Guerin (January 25, 2010). Guice Honored with 2009 Robert E. Russ Award. latech.edu. Retrieved on October 5, 2010; information no longer accessible on-line.
6. ↑ Tommy Folk presented Russ Award. thepineywoods.com. Retrieved on October 5, 2010; no longer accessible on-line.
7. ↑ Mary Margaret van Dies, "Russ Award nominations sought, Ruston Daily Leader, November 29, 2006.