Alfred Francis Russell
President of Liberia
Died when: 66 years 223 days (799 months)Star Sign: Virgo
Alfred Francis Russell (25 August 1817 – 4 April 1884) was an Americo-Liberian missionary, planter, and politician who served as tenth president of Liberia from 1883 to 1884 after serving as vice-president under Anthony William Gardiner, whom he succeeded as president.
Born in Lexington, Kentucky, Russell was emancipated in 1833 (with his mother Amelie "Milly" Crawford) by their mistress Mary Owen Todd Russell Wickliffe (Russell's grandmother through his white father).
Wickliffe also emancipated his cousin, Lucretia Russell, and her four children.Both families emigrated together from the United States to Liberia that year.
Alfred F.Russell later married and had a daughter by the name of Julia Ann, who later married John Douglas Simpson one of the first black congressmen from Florida, United States.
They both had several children including Alpha Douglas Simpson, father of former Vice President of Liberia Clarence L.Simpson Sr.
Alfred Russell served as a Methodist missionary and later owned a large coffee and sugarcane farm.Russell continued to serve as a Methodist minister after entering politics; he was also elected to the Liberian Senate, and served as President Pro Tempore of the Senate of Liberia.
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