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Francis Maria Russell

About

Francis Maria Russell was born Oct 18, 1846 in Omaha, Nebraska to Samuel Jr. and Abigail Thorn Russell. Francis is a Pioneer of Richmond.

History

The Russells joined the Abraham O. Smoot company on June 17, 1847 where her father was also appointed Captain of the company along with Abraham. The Smoot/Russell company arrived in the Salt Lake Valley on Sep 25.

Sometime between 1847-1848, Francis' father had a desire to find gold in California. Her mother objected by saying, "Samuel Russell, I came here for the sake of the gospel and not for gold." Her ignored her and left them on their own. On Feb 8, 1849, Abigail married Stillman Pond in Salt Lake City, Utah.

The Pond family lived in Salt Lake until they were forced south to Spanish Fork, Utah during the Utah War in 1857. In 1860, the Pond family moved to Richmond and lived in the Richmond Fort. Their three-room log home was located on the north side at today's 100 W. After about four years in the fort, the Pond family relocated to a city lot.

After some time, the Huff family moved into Richmond. Francis and Thaddeus Huff met and hit it off. They were married on Dec 17, 1864 in Richmond. Soon after their marriage, they built a nice sized home.

In 1899, the Huff family moved to Teton Valley, Idaho.

Epilogue

Francis Maria Russell died June 11, 1937 in Nampa, Idaho. At the time of her death, she was one of the last Pioneers of 1847 living. She was buried in the Richmond Cemetery.