| Biographical Note |
- Russel Willson was born early 1800 in the United States. Married Cordelia Catherin Schoonmacher. She was Holland Dutch and he was Welch. They lived at Jamestown, Chautauqua County, New York. To this union were born eight children: Louis, born July 10, 1845; Edward, born September11, 1847; and Walter, the youngest, May 18, 1860. Russell Willson in 1849 went from New York to California to the goldfields. There is a letter he wrote to his wife from Sacramento. He is said to have formed the New York Volunteers and joined the Union Army to fight in the Civil War. Louis, age 18, and Edward, age 16, joined the Union Army, Company C, 9th Regiment of New York Calvary on February 15, 1864 at Jamestown. They had been trying to join for two years but were turned away as too young. Later discharged July 17, 1865 in Virginia at the end of the war. They were under General Sheridan and General Sherman on the march 'from Atlanta to the Sea.' They entered the war at the Battle of the Wilderness, fighting in the thick timber caused many small fires to start. Smoke and fire made fighting more difficult. Ed told of being behind a stump for protection with another man, when this man didn’t answer, Ed looked around to see him with a bullet hole between the eyes. Decided it wasn't safe there, reached up to grasp a sapling, bullets almost cut the sapling in two, so he just settled back down. Living conditions on the march to the sea very often were very bad. Sometimes they had nothing. When night came they would wrap the reins around their hands and lay on the ground in front of their horses to sleep. They ate when they could find something. To prevent the enemy from using the railroad rails, the soldiers would pry loose the railroad rails, heat them in a fire and bend around a tree. Ed helped float log rafts, loose logs fastened together, down the Alleghenies River, Ohio and Mississippi to St. Louis. This account is found on page 222 in the book, 'Hulett Area Past And Present' Compiled, Published and Distributed by Hulett Area Senior Citizens, Inc. Printed by Sand Creek Printing, Belle Fourche, South Dakota. 1885-1985.
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Abt 1800 - 
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