ROBERT WILLIAM RUSSELL

1879-1932

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Rob worked where he could get a job. He was a young man when the family moved to Oregon and went with them when they moved to Albany. The father rented a large farm just on the outskirts of town from “Hub” Bryant, a large land holder.

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Rob became acquainted with Alma Sievers, a neighbor girl and a romance was begun.

 

He went to Washington and later to Pon de Orille, Idaho where he became the captain of the steamboat that carried passengers, mail and freight from Pon de Orille to Bayview.

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In the meantime, via correspondence, he and Alma became engaged. After they married, they lived at Bayview. Alma was postmistress and ran the country store. It took two days for Rob to make the round trip via steamboat. Their son, Elbert was three years old when they sold.

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They visited his parents that winter and went on down to Chico, California to visit Alma’s parents. They decided to stay in Chico, so bought property there.

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Rob found work in a local ice plant and later was a foreman for the Sunkist Company, when they set a huge land-holding to citrus fruits west of Chico. While working on that job, he became ill with cancer and died in 1932. Alma continued to live in the home and died at the age of seventy-seven.

 

There were more than one Almas in our Russell family, so Alma who was married to Robert was always called “Alma Rob”