I was born in Dallas in 1971 and have been a longtime resident of Duncanville and Cedar Hill, Texas. I come from a newspaper family; my father, Royce Pierce Brown, published the Duncanville Suburban from 1959 to 1986.

I spent more than two decades as an analyst with Vistra Energy / TXU, working in commercial pricing, data analysis, and related systems. I am the father of two children and for many years served as Scoutmaster of Troop 1 in Duncanville, Texas.

Outside of work and Scouting, I have maintained a strong interest in American and Texas history, family genealogy, classic vehicles, and the outdoors.

I have at least three ancestors who fought in the American Revolution, one who served in the Battle of New Orleans during the War of 1812 in Louisiana, and others who served in the Confederacy, World War II, Korea, Vietnam, and Iraq.

My direct paternal line traces back to the area outside Edinburgh, Scotland, near the town of Midlothian. From there the family eventually settled in Lone Camp and Palo Pinto, Texas.

My mother's ancestors came from Ireland and Germany. As far as I can determine, they settled in Asherton, Texas, when the Tolletts arrived for work and land.

My mother first married a local man and had three children with him. The family followed railroad work, and when that fell through they moved to Dallas so that her husband could become a Dallas police officer. They divorced shortly afterward.

My father graduated from North Texas State University in 1957 (As I graduated in 1999, now called The University of North Texas).

He moved around for a time, spending short periods teaching in Galveston and Arlington, Texas. In 1959 he relocated to Duncanville to start his newspaper.

Friends introduced him to my mother, and the two eventually married in 1969. They later lived in Sierra Blanca, where I was born in 1971.

Both of my parents have passed.