The essays on this page have been provided by a wide cross-section of Bermuda's school children as their contribution to Education Month. Every Thursday in February, The Royal Gazette , in conjunction with the Department of Education, will present a page of students' work.

My ancestors were from Turks and Caicos Island, St. Kitt's, Nevis, China, Spain, and India. Most of my ancestors came to Bermuda to work as slaves and to find jobs here. They settled here in the early 1800s. My great-great-grandfather was one of the builders who helped build Whitney Institute.

My grandfather, Austin Sinclair Smith, was born on February 16, 1930, in Pembroke Parish, and my grandmother, Marian Elizabeth Lee Smith, was born on January 4, 1932, in Smith's Parish. My grandfather was brought up in Pembroke Parish and attended The Central School, which is now called Victor Scott. My grandmother was brought up in Devonshire Parish and attended Harrington Sound and Peet's Private School.

My grandparents got married at St. John's Church on July 20, 1951, and have been married for 45 years. Today, my grandfather is a mason-contractor and my grandmother runs a home bakery.

My great-grandfather was named Stoey Benjamin Wood Lee. He was born in July 1896. His family emigrated from China to Turks and Caicos Isles during the period of the salt trade. The trading business brought them to Bermuda to work as slaves.

My great-great-grandfather was a stone cutter and he taught my great-grandfather the trade. My great-grandfather owned a few major quarries in Bermuda. If you have seen advertisements on television during Heritage Month in May, there is a shot of a man in a quarry - that man is my great-grandfather. He also owned lots of property. When they first built the St. Brendan's hospital, they had to buy property from my great-grandfather to complete it because most of the land was lime stone quarry.

My great-grandfather used to operate a large farmland in Devonshire that used to belong to one of the few convents. Part of the agreement was that the land could only be used for farmland, not housing, and to this day it remains a very large garden. He worked that land for just sixty years, until his death at the age of 98.

I would often go over to pap's garden, and while I was there one day, he told me the most amazing story. The story took place during World War II, when he was a merchant marine for Bermuda. They would travel by boat to far away countries, like France and Spain to get supplies for the lands rations. One day on the ship a very dense fog arose and engulfed the ship. Their compasses started to spin around, so they had no sense of direction. Their watches stopped and it seemed that time stood still. There was no wind. After it seemed that seven hours had passed, the fog lifted and they continued their journey. Upon returning home, they learned they had been missing for three weeks. This, he said, was his encounter with the Bermuda Triangle.

My great-grandmother, Iona Washington, was born in Devonshire, Bermuda. Her mother was born in India. My great-great-grandmother came from Calcutta, India to Bermuda as a nanny for an English family. She met a merchant from Spain by the name of Hernando Ganzalas, my great-great-grandfather. He used to bring good to Bermuda to sell. He also owned the ship he brought the goods on. My great-grandmother, Iona, grew up and eventually married Samuel Smith, my great-great-grandfather. My grandfather is the sixth of their seven children.

He is still alive and well today.

My family mostly has the same personality and the same characteristics. We are musical, entertaining and soft spoken. My great-grandmother was very soft spoken. She had only raised her voice to call her children. My grandparents, aunts, uncles, cousins and my mother are all musical. My cousins and I have our own quartet at our church called "Cousins With Voices.'' Our personality traits are all about being generous, hardworking and athletic.

--Dawn Smith, age 14, Year 1 Whitney Institute, Ms Tyrrell EDUCATION MONTH ED