An Overview of My Family History

In this essay I am going to explain my family history. It is almost a tradition to go into the army, or into different areas related to that, like the Marines, in my family. My uncle, my mother’s father, my great grandfather, and the father before that were all in areas like this.

My great grandfather Robert William Smith Jr. was born in 1927 in Nebraska. He contributed to the second world war. The Second World War, or World War 2, was a time of great destruction. The Holocaust was going on at this time. Hitler was in power and was trying to wipe out an entire race of people, the Jews. My grandfather did not so much as battle during this time, but was an engineer for the army. He kept this job until he decided to change to a private consultant in the same field. He married my great grandmother, Mary Elda Dryer on June 19, 1953.

Mary Elda Dryer was born in Dallas, Texas in 1930, and later moved to Houston to retire with her husband. Their religion was Protestant. A Protestant is a Christian who belongs to the branch of the Christian church that separated from the Cathlic church in the sixteenth century. They were happily married and had three children Linda, Janette, and Donald Smith. Janette was the middle child, Donald being the oldest. Janette Smith, my grandmother, was born in Houston, Texas in 1957. Because these children grew up with a father was in the military, the family was always moving. The three siblings were very close because of this. They mostly grew up in Houston but they moved to New York, France, Holland, California, and then back to Texas. Janette’s religion was Assembly of God. The Assembly of God is a congregation belonging to a Pentecostal body founded in the U.S. in 1914. When she moved back to Texas she met Robby Brooks. Janette met Robby in South Houston at a pub. Robby was playing pool when Janette decided to try playing as well. They married August 9, 1979. They had three kids. Christine, Toby, and Guy Brooks.

Christine Brooks was born July 7, 1980 at The Woman’s Hospital of Texas in Houston. She spent a lot of time with her Grandmother and Great-Grandmother growing up. She was a very curious and helpful child who liked to learn When Cristine was four her mother had another baby girl. Christine was very happy to have someone to play with. Christine had a very close relationship with her sister. When she wasn’t studying she was playing Barbies with her sister, going to her grandmother’s house, or going to church every Sunday and Wednesday. When her baby brother Guy was born she was also very happy and would always stick up for him. She was very close with her brother as well, she would read him books every night. The family was a Christian family. They praised God and celebrated Christmas with their family. When Christine was a teenager she moved out of the house. By this time she met my father, John Fourmy. She had three kids with him. Sarah, Torin, and me.

Sarah was born in the late 1990’s. She grew up listening to popular artists like Demi Lovato, The Jonas Brothers, and Miley Cyrus. She now works at Dillards in Austin and lives with her boyfriend Colt and her dog Thomas. Six years after she was born, in 2003, Torin was born at the Texas Women’s Hospital in Houston. During 2003 the Space Shuttle Columbia Disaster happened. This took place on February 1st when NASA’s STS-107 mission carried seven crew members into space where they conducted scientific experiments for sixteen days. The Colunbia disintegrated while reentering the atmosphere, killing everyone on board. NASA’s space shuttle program was suspended for two years after this to investigate what happened.

I was born on June 8, 2005 at the Texas Woman’s Hospital in Houston, just like my siblings. During 2005 Hurricane Katrina was going on. Hurricane Katrina was a category 5 hurricane that on Florida and Louisiana in August 2005. It caused horrific damage, especially in the New Orleans area. Torin and I are growing up in a technologically advanced time period. In my opinion I am close with my siblings, but more so with my Torin than Sarah.

Works Cited

1. The Holocaust Encyclopedia. (2022). United States Holocaust Memorial Museum. Retrieved from https://encyclopedia.ushmm.org/
2. Protestantism. (2023). Encyclopedia Britannica. Retrieved from https://www.britannica.com/topic/Protestantism
3. Janette Smith's Life Story: A Journey of Faith and Family. (n.d.). Personal memoir.
4. Assembly of God. (n.d.). ReligionFacts. Retrieved from https://www.religionfacts.com/assembly-god
5. The Woman's Hospital of Texas. (n.d.). Retrieved from https://www.texaschildrens.org/locations/womans-hospital-texas
6. NASA's Space Shuttle Columbia Disaster: STS-107. (2023). NASA. Retrieved from https://www.nasa.gov/columbia/home/STS-107.html
7. Hurricane Katrina. (n.d.). National Geographic. Retrieved from https://www.nationalgeographic.org/article/hurricane-katrina/

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