The Rt. Rev. Msgr. William Henry Russell was a priest, educator, and writer dedicated to making the Catholic message accessible to the average person.
Russell was born in Mitchell, South Dakota on August 3, 1895, to Michael Henry Russell and Nora Kerby. His mother's early death and his father's financial troubles lead to William, his brother Edmund Paul, and his two sisters being cared for by his extended family, particularly their uncle, William Joseph Kerby. Under Kerby's financial, emotional, and spiritual influence, Russell was educated in Lawler, Iowa, at Mt. Carmel Parochial School, and Dubuque, Iowa at Loras College, before entering the Grand Seminary in Montreal in 1916. In December of 1919, he was ordained as a priest, and celebrated his first mass in Lawler, Iowa alongside his uncle.
Immediately preceeding his ordination, Russell began his career as an educator. He was first sent back to his alma mater, Loras, first as a teacher, and then as a principal. A demanding and energetic teacher, he taught over twenty hours a week, coached varsity sports teams, and acted as the spiritual advisor for the school.
Russell was invited to teach and study for his Doctorate at the Catholic University of America in 1931. He taught Religion and Religious Education at the university for the next twenty two years, and served as the head of the Department of Religious Education from 1951 until 1953.
During his teaching career, Russell was actively engaged with his priestly duties, publishing efforts, and activism. He wrote and published six original titles, including the influential Chats With Jesus (1941, 1942, 1944), Jesus the Divine Teacher (1944), and Teaching the Christian Virtues (1952), along with a multitude of articles. He helped found and ran the Catholic Evidence Guild of DC for twenty years, an activist group that distributed literature and made weekly public speeches calling people towards the Catholic Church. He also helped found and acted as the first secretary for the William J. Kerby Foundation.
Russell died on July 2, 1953, after suffering through years of ill health and multiple surgeries. He was buried at Mt. Olivet Cemetery, in the Catholic University's plot, in Washington, D.C.
The William Henry Russell Papers collection contains 1.5 linear feet of records focused on the professional career of the Right Reverend Monsignor Russell from 1913-1953. The collection consist mainly of correspondence, notes, articles, newspaper clippings, and professional documents associated with his publication and teaching career, along with materials and correspondence associated with his more traditional priestly duties and personal life. The collection is divided into six series: Personal Papers, Professional Papers, CUA, Publications, Clippings Scrapbook, and Photographs.
Series 1 (1913-1953) focuses on Russell's personal papers. Consisting primarily of correspondence with close friends and family members, this series holds letters from Russell's uncle, William Kerby, that span Russell's school years and early priesthood. Other materials included in this series are a school book of Greek syntax used by Russell, and the eulogy from his funeral.
Series 2 (1917-1953) contains materials relating to Russell's multifaceted professional life. Consisting primarily of correspondence, brochures, and professional papers, this series spans from his earliest teaching days to his death. It includes original research into Catholic education programs, leadership paperwork for the Catholic Evidence Guild, professional marriage advisement, report cards and disciple letters from his early teaching career, certificates he earned, and literature from professional functions he attended.
Series 3 (1922-1953), consists of paperwork and correspondence from Russell's tenure at the Catholic University of America, both as a student and as a faculty member. Along with his dissertation, this collection includes the official paperwork for his various appointments within the school, inner-faculty memos and correspondence, meeting notes and information for various professional organizations and committees, and a student record book.
Series 4 (1926-1953) consists of notes, manuscripts, brochures, reference materials, correspondence with publishers, and royalty receipts from some of Russell's published works, including 'Chats with Jesus,' 'Christ the Leader,' and 'Jesus the Divine Teacher.'.
Series 5 (n.d.) consists of pages of a dissembled scrapbook that Russell kept of newspaper clippings on Religion, Education, and History that interested him. Several articles in this collection directly influenced his published works, and spurred his later research interests.
Series 6 (1936) consists of a single photograph of the Kerby-Russell extended family, taken in Elk Point, South Dakota, on August 2, 1936. The back of the portrait contains a list of the people pictured.
The William Henry Russell Papers consists of 6 Series:
None
Kerby, William Joseph Papers
William J. Kerby Foundation Records
This record series is indexed under the following controlled access subject terms.
This collection was acquired in deposits by Russell between 1938 and 1944, and posthumously by his department at the Catholic University of America in 1953. Additional materials pertinent to this collection were obtained from the William Joseph Kerby Papers and the William J. Kerby Foundation Records.
Processing completed in March 2011 by Lauren Kanne. EAD markup completed in March 2011 by Lauren Kanne.
This series consists primarily of correspondence with close friends and family members, this including letters from Russell's uncle, William Kerby, that give significant insight into Russell's school years and early priesthood.
This series consists primarily of correspondence, brochures, and professional papers. It includes original research into Catholic education programs, leadership paperwork for the Catholic Evidence Guild, professional marriage advisement, report cards and disciple letters from his early teaching career, certificates he earned, and literature from professional functions he attended.
This series consists of paperwork and correspondence from Russell's tenure at the Catholic University of America, both as a student and as a faculty member.
This series consists of notes, manuscripts, brochures, reference materials, correspondence with publishers, and royalty receipts from some of Russell's published works.
This series consists of pages of a dissembled scrapbook that Russell kept of newspaper clippings on Religion, Education, and History that interested him.
This series consists of a single photograph of the Kerby-Russell extended family, taken in Elk Point, South Dakota, on August 2, 1936.