Please note that the content of this book primarily consists of articles
available from Wikipedia or other free sources online. Betty Smith, née
Elisabeth Wehner, was an American author. Born on December 15th, 1896 in
Brooklyn, New York to German immigrants, she grew up poor in
Williamsburg, Brooklyn and attended Girl's High School. These
experiences served as the framework to her first novel, A Tree Grows in
Brooklyn. After marrying George H. E. Smith, a fellow Brooklynite, she
moved with him to Ann Arbor, Michigan, where he pursued a law degree at
the University of Michigan. At this time, she gave birth to two girls
and waited until they were in school so she could complete her higher
education. Although Smith had not finished high school, the university
allowed her to enroll in classes. There she honed her skills in
journalism, literature, writing, and drama, winning a prestigious Avery
Hopwood Award. She was a student in the classes of Professor Kenneth
Thorpe Rowe
