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The Judson family was heavily involved in the agricultural and business life of lower Genesee County. In 1839 George Judson built a flour mill near what is today Fenton, Michigan. His son Ephraim, father of Russell V. Judson, later started several grain elevators in Michigan in partnership with his brothers; and in 1915, Russell Judson purchased an elevator from his father and began to experiment with new methods of handling grain and beans. Beginning in 1917, Judson developed several new machines for sorting beans. This machinery was later developed and marketed through the "Judson Michibean Company."

Russell Judson was also involved in an early motion picture equipment company, "Photometric Products Corporation" established in 1919 as a result of his investigation of the possible uses of photoelectric cells in bean sorting equipment. The Photometric Products Corporation made early efforts to perfect and commercially market selenium photoelectric cells. From this and related research came the technology that resulted in the first sound feature length motion picture in 1926. Besides P.P.C., several individuals and firms had also developed their own photoelectric development, and there was consequently a good deal of confusion over patent rights and royalties. In 1931, after lengthy investigation, Judson became convinced that the company's patent rights for motion picture sound development had been mishandled. He spent several years gathering evidence and, in 1939, he convinced the stockholders of the company to appoint him trustee in charge of advancing the company's claim to patent rights over the development of motion picture sound. A long legal battle began in 1940 and continued through the 1953 district court case.