James Colon Russell: A Multifaceted Legacy in Texas Politics and Law (1875–1967)
By: William V. Scott
Published: February 27, 2024
Updated: February 28, 2024
James Colon Russell, lawyer, insurance agent, newspaperman, county judge, and state legislator, was born on April 5, 1875, on a farm in Smith County, Mississippi, to Frank and Mary Catharine (McLaurin) Russell. At twenty-two years of age, Russell graduated with a bachelor of science degree from Iuka Normal Institute. After graduation he taught in the public schools of his native county and was listed as a teacher, living with his family, on the 1900 federal census for Smith County. He then went to law school at Millsaps College in Jackson, Mississippi, where he graduated with a bachelor of laws degree. Russell practiced law and worked in the newspaper business in Mississippi.
James Colon Russell married Dora Adaline Wilkinson, daughter of Duncan Allen and Ava Jane (Floyd) Wilkinson, on May 28, 1902, in Magee, Mississippi. The couple had five children, two sons and three daughters: James Harland, Mary, Ava, Hazel, and Daniel Fred.
Russell and his family moved to Sinton, Texas, in San Patricio County in 1907. On the 1910 census he was listed as a publisher for the local newspaper, reportedly the Sinton Headlight, the forerunner to the San Patricio County News. J. C. Russell was elected to serve in the House of Representatives in the Thirty-fifth Texas Legislature for District 75 representing Aransas, Bee, Live Oak, Refugio, and San Patricio counties, from January 9, 1917, until he resigned on December 8, 1917, due to his appointment as San Patricio County attorney. While in the Texas legislature, he served on multiple committees, including Engrossed Bills (as vice chair); Insurance; Liquor Traffic; Privileges, Suffrage and Elections; Public Printing; and on the committee to investigate the cost and printing of the record of the impeachment trial of Governor James Edward “Pa” Ferguson, Jr. Russell was succeeded by Thomas M. Cox of Beeville, when he was elected in a special election on February 15, 1918. In July 1918 Russell ran for county attorney of San Patricio County and retained that office through November 29, 1920. He also served as attorney for the Bank of Commerce. Russell served as San Patricio County judge from 1926 to 1930. He actively practiced law until he was unable to due to illness.
C. Russell was involved in civic and community organizations. Active in the Masons, he was a charter member and life member of the Sinton Lodge No. 1012 and served as Worshipful Master in 1912–13 and 1952–53; he also served as lodge secretary for many years, along with holding a Certificate of Proficiency in Esoteric Work. He served the Grand Lodge of Texas as a District Deputy Grand Master for the 37th Masonic District for three terms—1913–14, 1914–15, and 1925–26. Russell was also a charter member of the First Baptist Church of Sinton. He was an active counsel of law, ran the San Patricio County News, and a fire insurance agency in Sinton. James Colon Russell died at age ninety-two at the Sinton Hospital on October 26, 1967, and was buried with Masonic rites in the Sinton Cemetery.
Bibliography:
Abilene Daily Reporter, December 7, 1917. Corpus Christi Times, October 27, 1967. Legislative Reference Library of Texas: J. C. Russell (https://lrl.texas.gov/legeLeaders/members/memberDisplay.cfm?memberID=2782&searchparams=chamber=~city=~countyID=0~RcountyID=~district=~first=~gender=~last=russell~leaderNote=~leg=~party=~roleDesc=~Committee=), accessed February 14, 2024. San Patricio County News, July 14, 1916.
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The following, adapted from the Chicago Manual of Style, 15th edition, is the preferred citation for this entry.
William V. Scott, “Russell, James Colon,” Handbook of Texas Online, accessed March 09, 2026, https://www.tshaonline.org/handbook/entries/russell-james-colon.
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- February 27, 2024
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