The data files for this website are held on a shareware program Brother's Keeper, which is available as a free download at www.bkwin.com. Payment of $45 gives you a registered copy, a CD-Rom and a small handbook - and, most usefully for me, a capability to convert the family data reports into the complete website in a matter of seconds.
The website, as currently configured, allows you to browse up and down any family tree - the Index Page allows you to start from Christian Karl Gottfried Russ and his children Paulina [for the Winkler link], Christian Charles Godfrey [and his children by Emily Callaway] and Frank Henry. Alternatively, you can go to the Names index and find the family member from where you wish to start - the usual conventions apply: clickable links are underlined and in blue; the small numbers - also clickable - will take you to footnotes, which contain supporting material I have added to the database, drawn from Dean King's book, the Findell Tree, Bernard Russ's autobiography 'Lady Day Prodigal' and other sources. I also recommend teh Notes hyperlink on most pages for additional information.
Who am I? Michael Harte, son of Harold Harte, who was the son of Percy Harte - who married Edith RUSS, daughter of Charles [Christian Carl Gottfried] RUSS.
Photos are slowly being added - as small .jpg images to save space. I am happy to take any others that are available - up to the limit of the free website capacity of 20Mb!
The web address www.russ.family is proving a slight problem - at least for me. To access it, you may need to download a small application from New Net; this has not worked for me - but you may be more fortunate. For the moment, I intend to rely on my own site www.greenman.demon.co.uk.
I am happy to maintain the Family Tree archive - but, if anyone wants a copy of the data files, I can e-mail them out. All I would ask then is that you let me know any additions or changes you are making, so that there is a single master file available! I have also added a Gedcom file of the database; click on the link and simply save the opened file - when saved, check that it has a .ged extension [or give it one - as necessary] - but note: it does not contain all the source details that are in the website [I know not why].
We should also give some thought to the physical archive of material. I would not for a moment suggest that it is all brought together in one person's hands - but it would be nice to have a complete catalogue of what is around. Again, I am happy to assemble a master database, listing what is available and where it is held - and whether the owner is prepared [or able] to make copies available. I should add that I have just been astonished at the new Kodak photo processing technology - a faded photo can be enlarged and crisped up in a couple of minutes: a print then costs £9 at my local shop - but a disk download is £1. The quality can be judged from the picture of my grandfather's wedding now on the site.
I have now added better internal links to my side [the HARTE and CULLEN/ROBERTS lines] for ease of navigation. In this process, it struck me that a word on the nature of the display pages might be useful! As I see it, each page consists of a family - as defined by the software. This usually consists of a father - as head [I apologise if people find this sexist - blame the software not me!], mother and all their children; also shown are the parents of father and mother. Links are provided automatically from all those children who have families of their own - and back up the chain to the generation above. I have added some additional links where I feel they may be helpful. I shopuld perhaps also add that the software insists that all couples are shown as married/spouse/husband/wife - the term partner is not recognised.