Born on Winnabow Plantation in Brunswick County near Wilmington, North Carolina. He received his early education from private teachers and attended the Bingham School in Orange County, North Carolina. He attended the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, but left upon the outbreak of the American Civil War, when he served as a captain in the Confederate Army.

Russell was a member of the North Carolina House of Commons between 1864 and 1866. During that time, he studied law, and was admitted to the bar in 1866, setting up practice in Wilmington. In 1868, he became a Superior Court judge in the 4th judicial curicuit, a post he held until 1874. In 1871 he was a delegate to a state constitutional convention, and in 1876, was elected again to the North Carolina House of Representatives and was a delegate to the 1876 Republican National Convention;

In 1878, Russell was elected to the 46th United States Congress as a Greenbacker; he served one term (March 4, 1879 - March 3, 1881) and did not stand for renomination.

Russell was elected Governor of North Carolina in 1896 and served one-four year term. He was the first Republican governor of North Carolina since the end of Reconstruction and the last until 1973. He afterwards resumed the practice of law and also engaged in agricultural pursuits. Russell died on Belville plantation, near Wilmington, in 1908 and is interred in the family burying ground, in Onslow County, North Carolina.

This article incorporates facts obtained from the public domain Biographical Directory of the United States Congress.