Fuller History

My family made the journey from Tennessee to Texas in 1899.

Four generations later, I was born and named after my grandfather Robert Fuller.

As a fifth-generation Texan, I grew up spending my summers on the tractor baling hay and my winters in the woods hunting. In between, my mother made sure that I learned how to read and write with the best of them. Both of my parents instilled in me a deep, genuine concern for others.

As a young man, I started my career as a social worker before earning my Masters in History from the University of Texas-Arlington and becoming a high school teacher. Those years with my students will always be among the fondest of my life and convinced me that my life’s calling lay in the field of History.

In 2017, my wife Cynthia and I made the decision to leave Texas and began our adventure in the desert. Arriving at Arizona State University, we were greeted not only by sun devils twisting among the saguaros, but also by the news that our family was growing.

Our son Buck arrived a few months later and I spent the next several years earning my Ph.D. in History from ASU. Along the way, I refined the skills of research and interpretation to go along with those my mother had passed on to me. I developed and taught courses that would go on to be recognized by the university as among the very best it has to offer. I received opportunities to publish and to even host a web series produced by the university and the Complexly production team (creators of the popular “Crash Course” and “Sci-Show” series). This caught the attention of the producers at the History Channel and I have become a regular guest expert at their Hollywood studios for a variety of shows.

Storytelling has always come naturally to me, but my entry into the field of professional genealogical storytelling was purely a matter of serendipitous happenstance. As good fortune would have it, I was introduced to a gentleman by the name of James D. Kitchel who was looking for a professional historian and genealogical “hired gun” to transform his storage unit full of family papers into a coherent story—one that did impressive ancestors justice.

“All my life I’ve played tennis with some of the most well-respected people in Arizona,” he told me. “I would tell them the amazing stories of my family members and their accomplishments, but most would scoff and say, ‘If your family was so important, someone would have written a book about them by now.’ Well, Robert, I want you to write that book.”

A few months later, I had that written book.

And whether you play tennis or not, I can write that book for you as well.