Russell Austin was born around 1808 in New York to Silas Austin and Louisa Loomis. He married Martha Smith around 1828, and they had at least two children: Harvey, born around 1829; and Matthew, born in June 1830. Martha died around 1833, and he married Eliza S. Hayden in Trenton, New Jersey, on July 15, 1841. Their son John was born around 1842. By 1860, Austin and his son Matthew were living in Neosho Falls in the Kansas Territory. Austin was working as a farmer, and he owned $150 of personal property. His wife Eliza remained in Trenton with her family. By 1870, the family had reunited in Camden, New Jersey, and they owned $5,000 of real estate and $4,000 of personal property. That year’s federal census lists Austin as “infirm.” Eliza died in 1874, and he passed away in Camden on January 27, 1888.