S is for Sweeny, Texas

What do I remember about Sweeny, Texas? The bugs on the front door screen were bigger than I was. I remember a spanking and a pillow fight with my 2nd cousins. David and Donna Ruth were the children of my cousin, Christine, one of Aunt Ruth's four children.

The pillow fight lead directly to the spanking.

I bet you can't imagine how anyone could be angry with these three adorable children but it happened. David and I are the same age and Donna Ruth is a year younger. I must have been almost four when we visited Aunt Ruth in Sweeny. This was taken at her house. Christine and Martin are standing behind us. 

Aunt Ruth had chickens. I remember them. They weren't much bigger than the bugs on the screen. She was very self-sufficient and collected feathers to make pillows. I don't know why the pillows were stored in the shed, maybe for use when family like us came to visit. Nevertheless, we found the pillows in the shed and did what all children do with pillows. We hit each other. It was even more fun when the feathers started flying and I bet we were giggling loudly when we were discovered by our parents and Aunt Ruth. Since it doesn't appear that we have feathers on us when this picture was taken, it must have been before the pillow incident. 

My aunt lived on a farm as a young parent and eventually moved to town as she got older but I loved going to the farm and my memories of Sweeny, Texas are colored by the fun we had there as kids. 

K is for Knott's Berry Farm

This is a stretch but I don't seem to have any "K" family members that are completely researched on the Yeakley/Jones side. So, while still keeping with the A to Z requirements, I am using Knott's Berry Farm to share some family photos. 

Scott is my oldest son and I think he will be the one to carry on the genealogy. He is now interested after learning we might be able to track our past back to the Mayflower. He is a history buff so it appeals to him. 

This is Scott at Knott's Berry Farm. 1973

Christopher is my youngest son and into history too. Along with my brother, niece and nephew, they are Civil War reenactors. It is a family affair. They are Confederate mounted cavalry but also do World War II. 

This is Chris at Knott's Berry Farm. 1973

We are a California family so our lives have been spent at Knott's Berry Farm. As a small child, we took family there. This is my Dad holding my brother and my grandma holding me, The picture was taken in 1953. 

Aunt Lola brought my cousins from Washington State to visit in 1954. This is Paul, Jerry, Marlin (my brother), and Me. 

Aunt Ruth also visited in 1954. This is my mom, Aunt Ruth, and my cousin Annette taken in front of the Jail. 

We took Granny in 1965. My dad and I are in the back. In the front, Granny and my annoying brother. 

As my kids have grown up, they have spent a lot of time there too. This is Chris and Scott. They are a little older. 1974

 

 They were not happy with this photo. They wanted to be outlaws, I wanted school boys. I won. 

 They finally got their wish as young men. This is their favorite Knott's picture. 

Knott's is a totally family affair. Gary and I were married in Las Vegas without photographs. We went to Knott's for our official wedding photo. 1983

We are raising our grandson and spend lots of time at Knott's still. This is Gary, Chris and Niles. Niles is an outlaw in training. 2011

As long as we can, we will continue with the tradition of the pictures. After all, it is part of our family history. 

BTW - Gary goes to Knott's for the chicken dinner. We make several trips a year just to eat there. It's like an obsession. 

A is Ann Eliese, that would be me

Hi, welcome to the A to Z Challenge. I am Ann Eliese. That's the name my mom gave me after her best friend, Anneliese Pulverman. Because she didn't want to add a middle name to it, she made it two words. That's a little tidbit of family history that might be lost if I don't write it down. It's those little tidbits that make family history interesting and compel those of us who track our ancestors to continue. (BTW, I am called Ann most of the time. No one can spell Ann Eliese.) 

Family history is a very small niche audience. My apologies to those who will not find my ancestors fascinating. I completely understand. However, for those whose passion is genealogy, other family histories may lead to discoveries and that's why so many blog about it. It's quite amazing what I've found on the family history blogs of others.

I am just starting to explore the Yeakley/Jones side of my family. The Rhea/McCollum side started out as dates and facts and after several years, turned into real people. I am hoping as I go through this, I gain a deeper understanding of who the Yeakley/Jones ancestors were as people.

Part of the A to Z will be devoted to my aunts and uncles. They are all gone now but live on in my memory. Everyone deserves to be more than just a page of birth, census, and death dates. That takes care of eight of the letters.

I started writing about the ancestors I'm researching but had a change of heart (mostly because my pesky ancestors aren't cooperating). Really, how hard can it be to live in the same place forever, use the same spelling each time, and participate in every census? So I've changed my focus and will turn this into a hodgepodge of miscellaneous family information but not necessarily my family. 

My  mom had pictures of family friends and coworkers from the 1940's. They're not my ancestors but they have family somewhere. I firmly believe that all information should be shared so there will be some days of photos of people I don't personally know. I don't normally self-promote my blog posts but in this case, I am going to tweet, post to facebook and google plus hoping that someone in their family will find it and ask for the original photos. 

And for those pesky ancestors who won't stay in the same place, I will get you...it just won't be in April.