Archibald D. Russell

Archibald Douglas Russell
Born	Template:Birth date New York City, U.S.
Died	November 27, 1919(1919-11-27) (aged 66)
Occupation(s)	Financier, benefactor
Known for	Senior partner at Russell, Robinson & Roosevelt; president of Five Points House of Industry; trustee of Princeton University

Archibald Douglas Russell (May 28, 1853 – November 27, 1919) was a prominent American financier and benefactor.

Early life

Russell was born on May 28, 1853, in New York City, splitting his childhood between the city and the family’s summer residence in Princeton, New Jersey. He was the son of Archibald Russell, a lawyer originally from Scotland who immigrated to the United States in 1836, and Helen Rutherfurd (née Watts) Russell. Among his siblings was architect William Hamilton Russell, and his family connections extended to notable lineages such as the Morrises and Peabodys.

His father played a key role in establishing the American Geographical Society and founded the Ulster County Savings Institution near their estate in Ulster County, New York. On his father’s side, Russell descended from Dr. James Russell (surgeon), a former president of the Royal Society of Edinburgh. Through his mother’s ancestry, he was related to Dr. John Watts and Anna Rutherfurd Watts, tying him to U.S. Senator John Rutherfurd as well as the influential Watts and Alexander families.

Russell’s education was conducted privately in New York before he embarked on a career in finance and commerce.

Career

Russell commenced his professional journey at Brown Bros. & Co., a banking institution established in 1818 by George Brown. He eventually became senior partner at Russell, Robinson & Roosevelt, a banking and real estate firm formed with Douglas Robinson Jr. and Elliott Roosevelt, who were relatives of President Theodore Roosevelt.

He was the third president of the Five Points House of Industry, an entity co-founded by his father. His leadership roles extended to directorships at several organizations including the Farmers' Loan and Trust Company, Delaware and Hudson Railroad Company, Title Guarantee and Trust Company, Greenwich Savings Bank, United New Jersey Railroad and Canal Company, Princeton University Press, and University Power Company. Moreover, Russell served as a trustee for Princeton University, acted as domestic corresponding secretary for the American Geographic Society, and was a member of the board of governors at the New York Institute.

Personal life

In 1884, Russell married Albertina Taylor Pyne (1859–1918), daughter of Percy Rivington Pyne I, who presided over National City Bank. Her family boasted prominent banking figures such as Percy Rivington Pyne II and Moses Taylor Pyne. The couple had five children, with four reaching adulthood:

• Percy Rivington Pyne Russell (1885–1895), who died during childhood.
• Ethelberta Pyne Russell (1887–1952), who wed physical chemist Marion Eppley in 1909.
• Archibald Douglas Russell Jr. (1890–1968), married Mariette Andrews Doolittle, related to Judge Alfred Conkling Coxe Sr.
• Helen Rutherfurd Russell (born 1897), married R. Lawrence Benson in 1919; later married Joseph S. Clements.
• Constance Rivington Russell (1899–1983), married John Gilbert Winant—former Governor of New Hampshire and U.S. Ambassador to the United Kingdom—in 1919. Following Winant’s death in 1947 and subsequent marriages to Marion Eppley and attorney Walter K. Earle, she remained a distinguished social figure.

Russell held memberships in prestigious clubs such as the New York Yacht Club, Riding Club, Union Club, Metropolitan Club, Century Association, and Princeton Club of New York. His wife made significant contributions toward building the Cathedral Church of Saint Peter and Saint Paul (presently known as Washington National Cathedral) located in Washington, D.C.

Albertina passed away at their New York home on February 11, 1918. Archibald Douglas Russell died on November 27, 1919; his estate was valued at about $50 million and was bequeathed to his children. He was laid to rest at Green-Wood Cemetery in Brooklyn.

Residences

The Russell family made their home in New York at 34 East 36th Street. In 1903, Archibald Russell engaged his brother William Hamilton Russell, a partner at the architectural firm Clinton and Russell, to create Edgerstoune, a Tudor Revival-style mansion located on his Princeton property. This estate, named after the family's ancestral Scottish home, had construction costs estimated between $2 million and $3 million. Positioned opposite Drumthwacket, the residence of his brother-in-law Moses Taylor Pyne—which now serves as the official home of the governor of New Jersey—Edgerstoune was also near estates owned by notable individuals like Junius Spencer Morgan II.

After Archibald Russell passed away, his son-in-law, Governor John Gilbert Winant, sold the expansive 274-acre Edgerstoune property. Initially purchased by Albert Robertshaw with intentions for real estate development, it was soon acquired by Professor John G. Hun, headmaster of the Hun School of Princeton, for $350,000. Much of the mansion and its grounds were preserved for educational purposes under his ownership.

Descendants

Archibald Russell's lineage through his son Archibald includes grandchildren A. Douglas Russell III, Louise Russell—who married John Evelyn duPont Irving—and Isabel Russell, spouse of Robert S. Potter. Among his great-grandchildren is Linda Potter (born 1956), who became the wife of Timothy Shriver from the Kennedy family.

From his youngest daughter Constance came grandchildren Constance Winant, married to Peruvian scientist Carlos Valando; John Gilbert Winant Jr. (1922–1993), noted as a World War II bomber pilot and former prisoner who was subsequently freed; and Rivington Russell Winant (1925–2011), who served during World War II and later held the position of treasurer at the United Nations.

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