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I Got Here As Fast As I Could

Jean Huot Smoorenburg

I am Jean Huot Smoorenburg and moved to Houston, Texas  in 1973  from Massachusetts and to Conroe, Texas in 1977 when I married Anthony Smoorenburg. I've lived in Montgomery County ever since. Our two children were born in Montgomery County Texas and all of our grandchildren have been born in Texas - seven in Montgomery County. For more information about the Smoorenburg Family around the world, visit Them Smoorenburg's and The SMOoRENBURGS both private family sites on Facebook.

So over the past years, I've developed strong ties to Montgomery County and cannot imagine living anywhere else.


Jean & Anthony Smoorenburg

I research primarily in Ontario and Quebec, Canada, The Netherlands, and New England. A graduate of the University of Massachusetts and former teacher, I was the past genealogy HAL-PC SIG (Special Interest Group) Leader at Houston Area League of PC Users in Houston Texas and have been Deputy Editor of  HAL-PC Magazine from 1991– 2  2004. I am a former member of MCG&HS where I received their Hall of Fame Award in 2005. I am a member of the Heritage Museum of Montgomery County, Houston Genealogical forum and Margaret Montgomery Chapter NSDAR. In December 2019, Jane Keppler and I received the William Harley Gandy Distinguished Service Award for the preservation and advancement of the history of Montgomery County Texas from the Montgomery County Historical Commission. Unfortunately, Jane was unable to attend but I accepted the award on her behalf.

As of 2023, I am Second  Vice-President of Conroe Community Cemetery Restoration project. Visit CCCRP on Facebook for our progress in cleaning and restoration of  Conroe Community Cemetery. Two other members of CCCRP, Jon Edens, and John Meredith, received the William Harley Gandy Distinguished Service Award in 2020 for their work on Conroe Community Cemetery. For CCCRP, I wrote a narrative about Laura McNeese Henderson who is interred in Conroe Community Cemetery and the original narrative resides in the vertical files in the Genealogy and History Room and on the CCCRP website .


Hall of Fame Award 2005
L-R: Robin Montgomery, Barbara Franz, Jean Smoorenburg, & Gladys May.


Receiving the William Harley Gandy Distinguished Service in award 2019
L-R:
Larry L Foerster, Chairman of Montgomery County Historical  Commission,  Jean Smoorenburg, and County Judge Mark Keough


From Bluebonnet News November 10, 2020
Montgomery County Historical Commission Chair Larry Foerster, John Meredith, Jon Eden in the front. Behind them is the Commissioners Court; Precinct 4 Commissioner James Metts, Precinct 3 Commissioner James Noack, Montgomery County Judge Mark Keough, Precinct 1 Commissioner Mike Meador and Precinct 2 Commissioner Charlie Riley.
Jon Edens and John Meredith, who have devoted their time and energy into restoring the Conroe Community Cemetery, were presented with the William Harley Gandy Distinguished Service Award.

To learn more about Texas and Montgomery County History, I did the genealogy research for my stepdaughter to obtain an Early Settlers Certificate from MCG&HS and to become a member of the Daughters of the Republic of Texas (DRT) for her ancestor, Hugh Davlin. As you can see, I'm truly addicted...

I taught genealogy classes at Lone Star College - Montgomery for
ALL (Academy for Lifelong Learning): Beginning Genealogy, Genealogy in the 21st Century, Intro to Researching Across the Pond after 1850, and Genealogy Software along with Phyllis Stehm.  After ten years of volunteering as Instructors for the ALL program, Phyllis and I were named ALL Instructors for the year 2010 at their open house held August 20, 2010. After 15 years in the ALL Program, Phyllis and I decided to retire from teaching in the ALL Program at the end of 2015.


ALL Instructors of the Year - 2010

Because of the need we saw while teaching our ALL classes, in October 2007 Phyllis and I  began MCG-IRG (Montgomery County Genealogists'-Internet Research Group) to  help others learn to effectively search on the Internet.  "IRG", by the way, is the exclamation you make when you can't find something on the Internet! Although Phyllis Stehm retired from IRG in June 2022, MCG-IRG meets the first Friday of the month from 9:15 am - Noon  at the George & Cynthia Woods Mitchell Library in The Woodlands. On December 1. 2023, I decided it was time to retire too from MCG-IRG. Below Phyllis and I holding our cookie saying Goodbye.


Saying goodbye to MCG-IRG on December 1, 2023

On 2008 I became a volunteer for FindaGrave.

In 2013, I began teaching a class in DNA in the ALL Program and as an outgrowth have begun a DNA Discussion Group that meets at the Main Library in the Genealogy and History Room on the 3rd Thursday of the month (except July). Our first meeting was April 17, 2014.

I joined TXGenWeb on October 2, 2004. It's been a great pleasure to be Jane Keppler's Assistant Coordinator on the Montgomery County website since then and help others with their genealogy research. Jane has allowed me free reign to do the maintenance and updates on the Montgomery County site. So I've learned so much in the last twenty years about Montgomery County Texas forefathers and records along the way.

I am a current member and am on the Board of Conroe Community Cemetery Restoration project (CCCRP) in Conroe Texas. Follow our restoration efforts on our website https://cccrp.org/ or on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/cccrp.

If you have any records or articles of interest for the Montgomery County web site or wish to volunteer, please email us with the details. We're always looking for new information and volunteers to help!

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Montgomery County Texas Banner graphics were designed by and remain the property of Jean Huot Smoorenburg. You cannot use this banner without my written approval.

 

Copyright © 1997 - 2024 by Jane Keppler. This information may be used by individuals for their own personal use, libraries and genealogical societies. Commercial use of this information is strictly prohibited without prior written permission from Jane Keppler. If material is copied, this copyright notice must appear with the information and please email me and let me know. Neither the Site Coordinators nor the volunteers assume any responsibility for the information or material given by the contributors or for errors of fact or judgment in material that is published at this website. If you are being charged to view/use any of this information or have questions or comments, please contact Jane Keppler.

 

Page Modified: 07 January 2024