The Concept
The Family Tree Project started out with the intention of being a resource for anyone related. In order to make it as user
friendly and comprehensive I had to design a method that was viewable and fairly intuitive. The problem was that I could
not find any software that would produce webpages laid out somewhat close to what I had decided on. The few I found that
did make webpages would only make them so that the pages would be housed on the software maker's websites.
I did not like that. So Tara (my wife) and I hashed out different ideas and methods to make what I envisioned. The initial
plan was to have frames for each person. In the main frame would be the graphics (which are on this site), a frame at the
bottom would be for the biographical information and a frame on the left side would list siblings and 1st cousins. This took
up far too much space to make it a feasible reality.
I ended up settling for what is online now. Each page was individually drawn in MS Word, a screen print was then captured
and placed into a document in Paint Shop Pro. These were then cropped to the exact size, optimized and saved as a .jpg.
Those pictures were then brought into Adobe PageMill where the hot spots over each name was drawn and the associated links
were added.
In all, my side of the family (about 300 names so far with a known 30 more to add still) has taken about 60 hours. Tara's
side (about 550 names) should not take much longer since I now have a system down and the kinks worked out.
What You Will See
Colors
There are five colors that are used on the family tree pages. Each color represents an entire generation. Fortunately there
are no 'Deep South' relations...you know the kind: Cross-breeding. The would have really thrown the color scheme off.
My generation is Blue. The next younger generation is Green. My parents are Pink, my grandparents are Orange and my great-grandparents
are Purple. The colors repeat above them...Green, Blue, Pink, Orange and Purple. There is noone at this point younger than
Green. There are a few lines of our families that have been traced older than the second Purple.
Orientation
Each person has a page. From one page to the next the "center person" should be in exactly the same position. Parents are
above that center person. The mother on the left, the father on the right. Each parent's natural parents are above the respective
parent; mother on the top, father on the bottom.
People that are married have their spouse next to them. Wives will be found to the left and husbands will be found to the
right. Children will be found beneath the parents spanning horizontally. The grandchildren will be found vertically beneath
the respective child.
In some cases there was a divorce or death to deal with. Divorces and adoption/step-relations are designated with a dashed
line. Widows and widowers are designated with a dotted line. In such cases the first spouse/parent will be on the left side,
the second spouse/parent will be on the right. I have not yet run across anyone married for a 3rd time and I will cross that
bridge when I get to it.
Links
If you see a name there should be a link to that person's page. A question mark means the person that should be in that spot
is unknown and so there is not a link. For people who specifically contact me and ask me to do so, I will make their
homepage linked from their name on their family tree name.
Names
You will notice that the names of each person show in the browser title bar. For those who specifically ask me I will remove
their name. Just keep in mind that in order for us to learn more about ourselves we must know where we came from and in order
for that to happen we must be able to be found.
Errors, Omissions and Additions
I am not perfect so there will be mistakes throughout these pages. If you find any errors please e-mail them to me at family@anthonyreel.com.
If I forgot someone entirely or forgot a part of their name please do not be offended. Just e-mail the items to be added
to family@anthonyreel.com.
If there is a new addition to the family, a new discovery of an ancestor or a new development that alters relations somehow,
please e-mail the changes to family@anthonyreel.com.
In case you have not figured it out yet e-mail any correction or change to
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