"Uncle Hamp" served in France during World War I. He was a real estate agent and builder in Dallas. He and his wife were members of First Baptist Church in Dallas. Dr. W. A. Criswell conducted his funeral services.
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Hamp Russell in France
Former Young McKinney Real Estate Agent After the Kaiser
Mrs. R. L. Hight of McKinney, has received a card from her brother E. H (Hamp) Russell, who is a member of the 133rd Field Artillery, stating that he has arrived safely in France. Hamp is a Collin county born and reared young man, being a son of E. D. Russell, a prominent Farmersville business man. Hamp was associated for a year or two in the real estate business in McKinney with his brother-in-law, R. L. HIght. He volunteered his services in August 1917, and was trained at Camp Bowie, Ft. Worth, Texas. From there he was sent to Long Island and recently sailed from the port of New York, __the long voyage across the Atlantic, to join the gallant American army in France, that is gradually pushing the German invaders back toward their own borders. Hamp is a handsome big speciman of young manhood. He has many relatives living in different parts of Collin county, among them being his uncles, George and Charlie Russell and L Nelson Strode, all of McKinney.
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On 21 March 1919, Rijndam and Princess Matoika raced each other from Saint-Nazaire to Newport News in a friendly competition that received national press coverage in the United States. Rijndam, the slower ship, was just able to edge out the Matoika—and cut two days from her previous fastest crossing time—by appealing to the honor of the soldiers of the 133rd Field Artillery returning home aboard her and employing them as extra stokers for her boilers. (Wikipedia also in Trail of the 61st: A History of the 61st Field Artillery Brigade During the….)