William Russell married Janet McDonald on February 24th, 1970, in Glasgow, Scotland. They had four children: Elizabeth was born January 9th, 1871, Hugh was born on August 10th, 1873, Jessie was born on June 20th, 1880, and William Jr. was born on April 8th, 1884. Just eight months later, William died on December 17th, 1884, at the age of 38.
Five months later, on May 7th, 1885, Janet and her children, along with her sister, Bella McDonald, sailed from Glasgow aboard the S.S. Norwegian, disembarking at Quebec City, Quebec, on the 19th of May and ultimately bound for Ailsa Craig, Ontario.
