Descripción
19 7/8" x 15 ¾". Hand colored photograph with "Stonewall" written in pencil in large script on verso as well as a pasted-on sheet adhered to verso with handwritten ink inscription, "For Ollie E. Russell/Richard D. Russell/taken in Santa Fe. N. M. in 1865." Very good: lightly bowed at edges; light to moderate edge wear and dust soiling; 2" x 1.5" patch of staining, along with several smaller stains, none of which affect the subject. This is a large portrait of a Colorado frontiersman who died leading a group of homesteaders against a giant land company that attempted to evict them from the town they spent nearly 20 years building. Richard D. Russell was born in Canada in 1839, raised in Illinois, and ran away from home to California at the age of 16 where he became a rancher. He joined the First California Volunteers early in the Civil War, ultimately ending up at Fort Union in New Mexico, serving with the New Mexico Volunteers. While at Fort Union, Russell assisted Colonel Andrew Alexander in his battles against Ute Chief Kaniache and befriended Kit Carson. This portrait was taken when Russell was stationed at Fort Union in 1865. In February that same year, he married Marion Sloan after a six month courtship. Soon after they were married, Russell assisted Kit Carson in setting up Camp Nichols (which was located in what is now Cimarron County, Oklahoma) to protect travelers on the most dangerous part of the Cimarron Cut-off of the Santa Fe Trail from raids by the Kiowa and Comanche Indians. Marion joined him there as the only officer's wife at the camp. In 1871 they moved to the area that was then known as St. John's Valley, Colorado and settled near the Dakota wall. The land was part of the Maxwell Land Grant-an 1841 Mexican grant that was one the largest contiguous private landholdings United States history. Over the next several years Russell and his family established successful businesses including cattle ranching, timber sales, and a general store. Several other families also contributed to area's growth and the locale was renamed "Stonewall," which is written in large script on the back of the photo. Its post office opened in 1878 with Russell as postmaster and according to one source he was also responsible for the name change. The town grew to include a school and churches, even a literary society, but in the late 1880s title disputes led to bloodshed. There are several accounts of "The Stonewall War" and portions of the stories conflict, but we find the most detailed in an article written by Nancy Christofferson for the World Journal (https://worldjournalnewspaper.com/the-stonewall-war/): "In 1887, [the Maxwell Land Grant and Railway Company ("MLGRC")], then owned by a Dutch syndicate, had apparently exaggerated its purchase agreement of the original Maxwell Grant, supposedly limited by law to 96,000 acres, by claiming no less than 1,714,764.94 acres, more than 250,000 of them in the Purgatory Valley of Colorado . . . The company began informing settlers they were not homesteaders, but squatters and transients. It offered to allow them to remain on their properties . . . if they agreed to sign over ownership to the company and pay rent. Some did, but many saw this as a fraudulent land grab. In March 1888, Richard Russell faced a jury in Trinidad defending himself against MLGRC claims of theft of cattle and timber. He was found not guilty. MLGRC reacted by informing the settlers they could keep their cattle but would have to pay pasture rent of 75 cents per head, per year. The situation worsened daily. In July 1888, the Dutch owners began sending eviction notices to all 'squatters' on its land. In response, the Stonewall Alliance No. 1 was formed. Russell was elected vice-president. The new group was based on the existing Colfax County alliance that was modeled after, but not identical to, alliances formed elsewhere to defy foreign ownership and huge landholdings . . . To compound difficulties was the formation of the. N° de ref. del artículo 4709
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