“My Place in Time”
Dedicated to My Children
Karen, Howard II & Lonnie
To Their Children
Briahnna, Jordan, Sadeyah, Mariyah, Trey, Trenton, Logan, Langston & Lola
To Their Children
My great-grandchildren and every great-grandchild to come,
I want this book to be a small part of me that you have in your heart.
Acknowledgments
My father, Edward Lee Vernon Sr, and my mother, Lucille Smith Vernon, gave me life.
My siblings have been with me my entire life.
Barbara, Christine, Esther Mae, Elnora, Lucille, Deborah, and my only brother Edward Jr.,
Howard E Harrell, my husband and Soulmate, the love of my life. Had you not found me, I do not believe I would have had the inspiration and insight to write this Autobiography. You always encouraged me to go as far as possible and not stop there. I am what I am today because you walked beside me. You are the most significant source of my being.
The Purpose
Ensure my grandchildren, their children, and their children know who their grandmother was. I need all future generations to know me, not just my name, but who I am, all I have accomplished, and what I love and don’t. I want them to know me as a person.
Since I lost my mother when I was very young, my children never had a Grammy to tell them about me. I had little knowledge of my mother and her people. When I was old enough to want to learn more about my family and my ancestors, most of my mother’s family had passed on.
Commit to the Lord whatever you do, and your plans will succeed. Proverbs. 16:3
Autobiography by Martha Jane Vernon Williams Harrell
