Russell, Capt. Ezra M.

Captain Ezra M. Russell, born in Oswego County, New York, on January 16, 1841, was an honored pioneer settler who witnessed the early industrial development of Fresno County, California. He grew up in Illinois and Iowa before enlisting in Company B, Thirteenth Regiment, United States Volunteer Infantry in 1862 during the Civil War. Serving under General Sherman, he fought until the Battle of Vicksburg on May 19, 1863, where he received seven wounds that crippled him for life, leading to his honorable discharge in 1864 and his later service organizing a new company as captain. After returning to Iowa, he married Sarah Jane Jones on January 12, 1845, and worked as a brickmason despite his injuries.

Following a brief period in Oakland where he met Leland Stanford, Russell relocated to Fresno County in 1874 to establish a 160 acre soldier homestead near Kingsburg. At the time of his arrival, the region was largely undeveloped, featuring empty plains with sheep corrals and only a few railroad structures. Over more than forty years of continuous residence, he successfully managed his agricultural holdings, retaining sixty acres of his original ranch alongside a separate eighty acre property dedicated to vines and fruit. He raised seven surviving children named Alice, Rena, Nellie, Benjamin, Cassie, Clark, and Chester, while facing the loss of his son Adrian and his wife in 1917. As an active community member, he participated in the Atlanta Post Grand Army of the Republic, the Knights of Pythias, and served nine years as a local high school director.