Osborne Russell was a mountain man and politician who helped form the government of the US state of Oregon.
13 Facts About Osborne Russell
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Osborne Russell was born 19 June 1814, in the village of Bowdoinham, Maine.
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Osborne Russell was one of nine children in the farming family of George G and Eleanor Russell.
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At age 16, Russell ran away for a life at sea, but quickly gave up that career by deserting his ship at New York.
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Russell first came to the Oregon Country in 1834 as a member of Nathaniel J Wyeth's second expedition where Russell joined Nathaniel Wyeth's Columbia River Fishing and Trading Company expedition to the Rocky Mountains.
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Osborne Russell was contracted to deliver $3,000 worth of supplies and trade goods to Milton Sublette and Thomas Fitzpatrick of the Rocky Mountain Fur Company for the 1834 Rendezvous.
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In spite of his previous experience with the Northwest Fur Trapping and Trading Company, Osborne Russell was still inexperienced in the ways of the wilderness when he joined Wyeth's company.
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Osborne Russell continued with them even after the merger with the American Fur Company leaving it in complete control of the fur trade in the Rocky Mountains.
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Osborne Russell returned to the country in 1842 with the Elijah White party.
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Osborne Russell participated in the May 2,1843 Champoeg Meeting, voting in favor of forming a government.
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Osborne Russell was unsuccessful in his run for governor of the Provisional Government in 1845, giving his support to George Abernethy.
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Osborne Russell eventually went to California in 1848, after the discovery of gold there.
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Osborne Russell died in Placerville, California on 1 May 1884.