An Ochre Moon publication

Confluence

A Russell-Cuffel Family History

William John and Bertha Russell with their eight children, posed in two rows in front of stacked firewood, about 1916.
“That Russell Gang about 1916.” William John and Bertha with their eight children. Family collection.

Andrew Crenshaw

Confluence follows the Russell and Cuffel families and the many streams that ran into them, from New England and the Rhine in the 1600s to the Wallowa valley of Oregon in 1950. It is built on original records, with family stories credited to the people who told them.

The book is free to read and download. Printed copies are sold at cost.

Before you download

Each file is over 100 MB. Use Wi-Fi if you can. On a slow connection a download can take 10 minutes or more.

How to open the book on your phone, tablet, computer or Kindle

This is the first edition, December 2026. Updates and corrections

Inside the book

The book opens in the Wallowa valley in 1943, where three of the Russell children made their homes. Then it goes back to the oldest records, in the 1630s, and follows each family stream forward until they meet.

See every part and chapter

  1. The valley1943–1950
  2. The headwaters1634–1805
  3. The Wagon Road and the war1764–1783
  4. The backcountry and the Old Northwest1772–1856
  5. Where the streams met1845–1890
  6. The Plains1889–1906
  7. Four Mound and the siblings1906–1946
  8. Full circle1950–2021

After the book is out

The printed book stays fixed until the next edition. This site keeps going.