ENGL 1102
Essay 3 Draft 3
Anthony Spikes
4/7/06
The History of Me
What is the definition of family? Can family really be defined? I come from a
family that may seem complex to some people but it is kind of simple. According to my
maternal grandmother, Sarah Greene, her side of the family comes from the islands in the
Caribbean. According to my maternal grandfather, Toby Greene, his family is half lower
creek Indian and the other half are out of Africa.
My maternal great-great-grandfather's name was Jude Greene. He came to
Donalsonville as a worker for the richest man in town. Jude met my great-greatgrandmother whose name was Sarah Dillard. She was an Indian. Sarah’s parents were a
part of the lower creek division of the Seminole Indians. Sarah and Jude had nine kids.
After Jude raised enough money working, he bought his own farm. My great-grandfather
was one of Jude's kids. My great-grandfathers name was Eddie Greene, and my
grandfather always says that I favor him the most. Eddie Greene was born and raised at
Jude's farm in Lela, GA.
Eddie was a good guy. He would work all week on Jude’s farm and go out on
weekends. One of those weekends when he was out, he met Esther Airline. Esther was the
daughter of Johnny and Rita Airline. Rita was also an Indian. Esther and Eddie got
married in 1926 and had twelve kids. One of those twelve kids was my maternal
grandfather Toby Greene.
My maternal great-grandmothers name was Inez Bailey. She met and got married
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to Mr. Arthur Peterson. Her name became Mrs. Inez Peterson. They had seven kids; one
of those kids was my grandmother Mrs. Sarah Greene. Arthur died from kidney failure, in
1936. He had become an alcoholic after coming home from WWI. He only had one leg
after he returned from war.
Toby was born and raised on that same farm as his father in Lela. As Toby was
growing up, the family encountered some financial problems and had to sell the farm. My
grandfather quit school to work on another farm to help bring money home.
My
grandfather met my grandmother on his twentieth birthday. She was only fifteen, so she
could not go out much.
My grandmother Sarah was one of the first black girls to play high school
basketball in Seminole County. Back then they could only go in certain places because of
the skin color. They were at a black owned restaurant called Frank's Place one night after
one of her basketball games, when they met. When they met, they clicked. My
grandmother and grandfather have been married for forty years. Sarah was 16 when she
had my mother.
Together, my grandparents have three kids; my mother Debra, Aunt Laverne, and
Uncle Anthony. My grandfather has another child. My aunt Beverly lives in Miami. Sarah
was born and raised in Donalsonville, Georgia. She was the first person in my family’s
history to graduate from high school. She was pretty well off growing up, because her
father was a war veteran.
My mothers name is Debra Greene. She was born in Donalsonville, GA in 1956.
According to Debra, she went to Seminole County training school until the schools
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desegregated. She then transferred to Seminole County Middle school in the seventh
grade. She then went on to graduate from Seminole County High School. When she got
out of high school, it was hard to find work in the small town, so she moved to Rochester,
New York with my cousin Cassandra so that she could find a better job.
Soon, my mom met my father. He lived in Rochester his whole life. My fathers
name is Levi Spikes. He is the son of Pastor Lester Spikes and Regina Spikes. He was
born in Rochester and had been their for most of his life. She met my father at the local
basketball courts in New York. It was a tournament that day. My mom lived across the
street from the courts, so she went out to watch the games with my cousin. Sure enough,
my father had a team in the tournament. His team came in second place, but he got MVP
of the tournament. After the game, my father approached my mother and asked her name.
After that, the rest is history.
My mother already had a little boy. The little boy was my brother Andre Shannon.
Andre' lived in Georgia with our maternal grandparents. My mother and my father soon
were expecting another young guy who just might change the world one day. On
May 6, 1987, the most recent generation of my family was put into full effect with the
birth of me. We moved back to Georgia, when I was three.
My brother Andre' and I are my mother's only two kids. My father has four other
kids besides my brother and I. He has two twin girls that are older than I am. He also has
two more boys that are older than I am. My brother and I were the only grandkids my
grandparents had for a while until June 28, 1995.
My Uncle Anthony and Aunt Sharon had their first child. He named her Antoinette
Greene. I remember when she was born; my uncle was still scared to hold newborns.
He thought he was going to drop her. Of course, I was only seven at the time,
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so I could not hold the baby. The most recent addition to the family was their
second child Malaysia Greene. She was born on September 30, 2004.
I come from a long line of diverse people. From Indians to Bohemians to Africans,
I have a diverse descent. Two of my great-great grandparents were lower creek Seminole
Indians. I have family all over America at this very moment. My father’s side of the
family stretches from New York to Louisiana. My mother’s side runs up the east coast.
My mother’s side of the family consists of people from Miami, St. Petersburg,
Tallahassee, Atlanta, Philadelphia, and Rochester. My father’s side consists of people
from Louisiana, Kentucky, Arkansas, and New York. I even have family in the Bahamas.
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According to my father, Levi Spikes, his side all started with a Cherokee Indian.
His great-grandfather was half Cherokee. The rest of his great-grandparents were
African- American. They came from the south but moved north to find better jobs. Most
of my father’s family was very poor, until they packed up to make the move north, which
totally shifted their wealth. My family has the same religion on both sides. My father’s
side is Methodist Christians and my mother's side is Baptist Christian. When my parents
were together, my father went to the Baptist church, because he was away from his home
church. Overall, I have a diverse but tightly knit family. The people on the different sides
have different descents, but all are close.
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