Thomas William and Gertrude Mae Russell were married in 1892.  The Russells held a prominent position in the American history for many decades. Thomas and Gerturde raised seven children with their first born son Thomas dying at the age of two. Gertrude died unexpectedly at the age of forty leaving Thomas to raise the family.  Thomas was a train conductor For the New York Central Railroad and traveled weekly. Charles being the oldest of the children was given the responsible for running family affairs and lessons learned would later prove to be of great value.Thomas found great comfort being with the family on weekends and spending time in his woodworking shop making furniture and turning bowls. This helped him deal with his great loss and the responsibility of raising a large family. Thomas would later provide support to Charles when his life followed a similar path.