- Joseph Russell (Nov. 8, 1896)
that took place near Bandon Oregon,
beginning in 1896.
"I have taken some
creative artistic liberties in the
writing and photography to tell this story."
A blanket of thick fog and the bone-chilling dampness of November hovered over the coastal farmlands of the Southern Oregon Coast. The aroma of a stagnant mud with a pungent hint of cow manure filled the air. Such a smell in the winter on the farm was the norm. |
The jingling sound of the approaching wagon and clattering horse hooves, alerted Andrew's children that their dad was coming home. They ran out to greet him in hopes he brought them all a special treat.
When he saw the children run out to him, he smiled proudly. Even though the children were just as excited to see him, Andrew knew they were more excited to see him for the candy.
Andrew laughed.
He went on with his duties and unloaded the wagon. He whistled a happy tune as he worked.
Everyone at the Russell house had daily chores, and they had to be done before dinner.
Andrew’s main job, one of the many, was to keep an ample supply of firewood stocked next to the fireplace. He carried an armful of wood into the house and stacked it nicely next to the wood burning stove, before he seated himself next to Edith at the dining room table. Edith is the youngest daughter. After devouring the candy treat, Edith came in to see her pa. Andrew noticed there was peppermint residue on her face, and he motioned her to wipe it off quickly before grandma noticed.
Four-year-old Edith smiled proudly while holding up a small cloth doll to his face. "I made it all by myself.”
Andrew knew Edith’s grandma helped with the making of the doll, however, he didn't let Edith know that he knew that. "Oh 'Pumpkin' she’s beautiful. He pronounced. "What did you name her?"
"Well 'Pumpkin', I think since you did such a beautiful job making her, you should give her a beautiful name to match," he said with a smile.
Edith intently looked at the doll's button-eyed face.
Edith's innocent big brown eyes sparkled in the light from the oil lamp that was illuminating the room.
"That's a perfect name!" Andrew agreed.
"Daddy, you want to hold her?" Edith asked.
Andrew reached out, smiled and said, “I'd love..." His words were interrupted by the sound of a gun shot which loudly rang out. Andrew fell forward as an explosion of blood splattered across Edith's face and throughout the room. |
Edith screamed in terror, dropping the doll, as it fell to the floor.
She left a sorrowing husband and five little children. The motherly love to cheer them on, was gone. Louisa was a loving wife and protective mother. She faithfully provided what was necessary to her husband Andrew and their children. However, she was gone and Andrew had to move on.
Andrew was a dairy farmer and didn't have much money, but he'd strive to give his children as much normalcy in their young ages, especially now without having a mother to coddle them. Since her death, Andrew made it a priority to save out enough earnings to buy the children a special treat from town as often as he could. A peppermint stick was Louisa's favorite, so that is what he'd always surprise his kids with. |
Mr. and Mrs. Russell were very conservative. Their religious beliefs were the cornerstone of their daily existence. The religious practices of the grandparents were not a way of living for both the children and Andrew. They were not a custom too such traditions. .
Saying prayers before every meal was an easy transition for the children to learn, considering what the alternative would be if they didn't pray. No prayer, no food.
Going to Sunday school was required of the children and Andrew was required to attend Sunday church services. Though scripture reading was expected every Wednesday evening, Andrew often skipped out on the candlelit ceremony to attend to the farm. Over time, this did not settle well with Mr. Russell.
Mr. Russell also harbored much resentment towards Andrew for the death of his daughter. He believed they should have stopped having babies after the fourth child was born. Louisa had complications during each of the four pregnancies, and the fifth one was just too much for her young body.
Mr. Russel believed, if Andrew had listened to his advice, his daughter would still be alive.
Mr. and Mrs. Russell were extreme devout Republicans for life and Andrew was moving towards the new liberal Populist or People's Party.
The Populist Party also wanted term limits for Presidents, secret ballots to stop intimidation of voters, and Immigration restrictions on how many people can come from other countries.
The Party wanted the Senators elected by the people of the State and not the State Legislators, and they wanted government ownership of utilities, railroad, telegraph and telephone companies. The Party also wanted a graduated income tax that would tax the wealthy at a higher rate, and they wanted an 8 hour work day for farmers instead of 10 hours.
You can just imagine the conflict of interest and stress both Mr. Russell and Andrew had with each other over their political differences alone. All you have to do is look at today's political climate to comprehend what Mr. Russell and Andrew likely argued over on a daily basis. However, they did their best to tolerate each other for the sake of the children.
Mrs. Russell ran into the house to find her son-in-law stretched out on the ground with his face downward with parts of his skull and brains splattered all over the floor.
In a panic, Mrs. Russell ran to Edith and grabbed her away from the table. “My God! Oh my God! Edith!”
“Papa,” Edith screamed.
Mrs. Russell saw that Edith had blood all over her. She also noticed a distinctive gash across Edith’s face, and it was bleeding heavily.
The bullet that killed Andrew also grazed the face of Edith.
Sophia and William, the two older children, also heard the gun shot and came running into the house. Sophia saw her father lying face down on the floor and Edith was covered in blood. She stood frozen in shock.
William ran to his father, “pa.” He shrieked.
The bullet took effect behind and above Andrew’s ear, passed through the head and came out below the right eye, producing instant death. William gasped.
“William.” Mrs. Russell yelled. “William, take your sisters out of here.” She demanded. William didn’t respond.
“William! She yelled. “Take your sisters out!” She screamed sternly.
William looked up at his scared grandmother. His eyes were wide and full of tears.
“Please take them out.” She spoke to him a little calmer.
Mrs. Russell looked at Sophia, who was still standing frozen and complete shock. “Sophia. Tend to Edith.” She said. “All of you go now. Go!”
Once the children were out of the house, Mrs. Russell looked around at the bloody scene around her. She covered her mouth with both her hands in disbelief.
She knew immediately.
Mrs. Russell looked across the room and into the bedroom where she could see Mr. Russell. She lifted her floor-length dress as she walked around Andrew to prevent the dress from dragging across the bloody floor and from touching Andrew.
She entered the bedroom. There she found her husband standing on the bed and holding a smoking rifle in his hands.
“What in God’s name did you do,” she spoke, not intending it to be a question.
Mr. Russell just stood there and was very stone faced.
“Joseph! She begged and began to cry. Why?” He didn’t answer.
He said nothing, but the look on his face indicated he was satisfied.
Mr. Russell turned his head towards his scared and grieving wife, who was still standing in the bedroom door frame holding the murder weapon. He looked her in the eye and said, "I'm glad I did the proper thing.”
Mrs. Russell said nothing.
He turned back to look at his dead son-in-law lying on the floor.
He gazed at the gruesome scene below him and said, “I did the proper thing.” He hesitated, then proudly said, “I did the proper thing by which thanks to me, I saved the country!"
Mr. Russell turned away and walked calmly to the back door. Before walking out, he grabbed his leather hide farm hat from the coat rack, firmly put it on his head, turned and looked at the dead body of Andrew one last time, took a deep satisfying breath, and then calmly walked out the back door.
Andrew Carlson was murdered on November 8th, 1896. He was 35 years old.
The county doctor, Dr. McCormick, had conducted an expert examination of Russell's mental condition, at the jail.
At one time Mr. Russell declared, "He remembered nothing of the occurrence." At another, he repeatedly, expressed the belief that he "had done the proper thing, by which he saved the country."
Russell's various conflicting statements about the murder and peculiar actions were the reasons why Dr. McCormick declared him to be insane.
Mr. Russell was later sentenced to life in prison.
Mr. Russell was now 64 years old. He was quite broken down mentally and physically and he still harbored hate towards his son-in-law Andrew. Even though Andrew was dead, the bitterness Mr. Russell harbored never left him.
He reached out and touched the stone, running his fingers through the carved out letters of her name and he spoke in a whisper, “My precious child, I am so sorry.” He wept uncontrollably and put his head against the stone.
Anger replaced his tearful eyes. He stood, and walked over to the stone. Mr. Russell stared quietly at the headstone.
Without warning he let out an emotional scream. He reached out and grabbed the granite stone and shook it violently to the point of it breaking off at the base and it fell flat.
"You don't deserve to be here!" Mr. Russell spoke out with anger in his voice.
He mustered the strength to lift the stone up over his head and threw it down with such a violent force that stone broke into several pieces. He yelled out again, "You don't belong here!" and he fell to the ground. It was silent.
The sound of the wind pushed through the forest. Mr. Russell sat up looked around. Once again the cool wind lifted the Spruce branches that surrounded the little cemetery. He looked around at the destroyed headstone. "What have I done?" He questioned. He seemed confused.
Mr. Russell stood, gathered his composure, then calmly picked up a couple pieces of the destroyed headstone. He took the pieces out of the cemetery and walked them deep into the dark forest. He returned and picked up a few more pieces, repeating the removal process until there was no more.
Mr. Russell left the cemetery and returned to the house. He went to bed and slept peacefully.
Two years after being placed in the insane asylum, Mr. Russell, (Joseph N. Russell), died in Salem Oregon at the age of 68 on December 23rd, 1901. He was buried in the Salem Asylum Cemetery.
Before the arrival of his body to the family cemetery, Mrs. Russell had a headstone prepared. In the process of choosing the right headstone, she strongly believed that her husband was a true "Lamb of God" and it was the devil’s evil that made him do what he did.
Therefore, she felt it more appropriate that the headstone for her late husband resemble the man she felt he was, and not what society knew about him.
She chose the headstone design that is more commonly reserved for the innocence of a little child. She chose the lamb.
Ironically, Louisa’s grave lies between the two men. Even in death, Louisa is caught in the middle of her husband and her father.
It is unclear as to why none of the Carlson children, at the time of their deaths, were buried along side their parents. However, it doesn't take much to speculate the reason.
In recent years, members of the Russell Family have worked on restoring the grounds. A new fence surrounding the cemetery’s perimeter was put up, and. deteriorated or missing headstones were replaced with gold lettered plagues, including the plague to replace Andrew’s missing headstone.
The Russell Family Cemetery is on private property. Please respect the cemetery and property owner and always obtain permission first before visiting any cemetery on private property.