His father was a bricklayer and builder. The family emigrated to Tasmania when he was still a child, and then moved again to New Zealand in 1864. Russell worked as an apprentice journalist, before trying to become a Wesleyan Methodist minister.
The patriarch of his household was a stoneworker and builder. When Russell was still young, the family moved from one place to another – first to Tasmania and then to New Zealand in 1864. He began his career as an apprentice journalist before trying to become a minister in the Wesleyan Methodist Church.