Descendants of Matthew Russell and Related Families of Jackson County, Alabama, depicts the life of Matthew Russell and identifies his descendants and their related families; some of whom settled in Jackson County, Alabama. The book is divided into thirteen independent Parts with each part representing the earliest known progenitor and lineage of that particular family. Some of the families identified herein are Allen, Allison, Arnold, Cabe, Crawford, Davis, Doran, Harwell, Henry, Jenkins, Loyd, Lyda, McClatchey, McCrary, Millican, Owens, Phillips, Prince, Rorex, Rudder, Sanders, Smith, Stewart, Talley, Taylor, Thomas, Thornton, Walker, Wallace, Williams, Wimberly, and Wynne, plus many more. For continuity purposes spouses are shown in both families and children are initially identified with their parents; when appropriate children are further identified within the text. Connections between various families are shown by cross-references. Collecting and organizing this vast amount of information and materials occurred over a period of thirty-five years.
It represents the efforts of many family historians who shared their carefully preserved memorabilia with the author to assure that memories of their families would never fade. Many contributors are identified within the text while others are shown in endnotes. The combined efforts of everyone involved in this endeavor accumulated more than eight thousand individually indexed names. Expanded Foreword and Introduction inserts, hopefully, will enhance the readability of the work. The Foreword defines and describes the book's organization and presentation. The Introduction attempts to create an awareness in the reader of the conditions some immigrants faced in their country of origin that probably influenced their decisions to undertake the arduous ocean voyage to America; it also touches on various problems they immediately encountered upon arrival and subsequent settlement. Family units diminish with the passing of each generation. Genealogy provides a record and link of our forefathers to those families of the future. Through genealogy there will always be a record of a family's journey through time.
