Samuel Russell

In 1812, he joined Hull & Griswold, a merchant house, based in New York but established by investors with family ties in Connecticut.

He arrived in Canton, China, in 1819, engaging in trade on behalf of the Providence firm of Edward Carrington & Company in various goods and products including opium, an extremely profitable activity despite being outlawed as it was protected by foreign forces.

Dealing mostly in silks, teas and opium, Russell & Company prospered, and by 1842, it had become the largest American trading house in China.

[5] Mary died on September 4, 1819, aged 23, while he was in China and the children were cared for by her sister Frances Ann Osborne (1789–1862).

[5] His widow founded the Russell Library, a Gothic Revival building near the Church of the Holy Trinity and Rectory in Middletown.