Biography

Howard Walter Allen was born in Columbus Georgia to Howard Walton Key and Ozella Ann Biggars Key. He was named Howard Walton Key Jr and he was their third son and fourth child of seven children. On August 28, 1906, Howard (as he was called then) married Anna Celestia Dismukes. They have three children: Howard Walton Key III, William Dismukes Key and Joseph Staunton Key (1915-1922). During the mid-1920’s , Howard ran afoul of the law by engaging in the manufacture, sale and distribution of alcohol, as this was the time of Prohibition. He managed to escape arrest and went to Florida for a short time, and to Cuba according to family sources staying one step ahead of the law. In 1928, Howard and Celeste obtained a divorce in Volusia County, Florida. It was about that time that he changed his name and moved to Texas. Once in Texas, all documents reflect his name as being Howard Walter Allen and he was called Walter. By 1935, he had met and married Zona Revian Stidman Abbott. She was a divorcee with two children of her own and were adults at the time of the marriage. Sometime in the mid 1930’s, Walter’s oldest son joined him in Texas working in the oil fields. It was at that time that his son (Howard Walton Key III) also changed his name in order to keep his father from being detected as having a name change. His son became Howard Walter Allen, Jr. and all documents after that time including his marriage license to Mildred Maurine Reese reflected that name. Howard’s brother Bill Key (William Dismukes Key) stayed in the Columbus Georgia area where he was born and raised and where his mother lived. Bill Key and his mother Celeste Key were aware of the name change and has some contact with Howard Walter Allen Jr and his family from time to time. It is not known if there was any contact between Walter and Bill or Celeste. In the end, Walter died in Corpus Christie and Howard died in Wichita County which are on the opposite ends of the state.

Biography

Hud was born in Albuquerque, New Mexico. He was still a young child when his family moved to Utah. They lived in Brigham City where he attended the public schools and then Auburn University in Alabama. Through the years, Hud spent time with his Keating grandparents and his aunt's family in New Mexico and Texas. He gave of his affection freely and it was returned in kind. The love for his son knew no bounds. He was recovering from a badly broken ankle and died from a reaction to the pain medication. His ashes are in the mountains he loved. His mother died just eight months later. She requested that her son's name be included on a memorial plaque for her placed near the graves of her parents in this cemetery. This I have done.

- Blanche Keating Collie, Auntie

Spouse: Kathleen Rush Dennis Love (div)

Son: Taren Earl Dennis (only child)

Biography

In 1861, Texas went to war and called upon the citizenry to defend her. One of the early groups to answer that call was Terry's Texas Rangers. Organized and led by Benjamin Franklin Terry, a wealthy sugar planter from Brazoria, the regiment mustered in at Houston in September 1861 with just over a thousand men.

W. H. Snider, Austin, Texas—Born Dec. 18, 1834, near Newman, Ga. Enlistd the Confederate Army in September, 1861, at Houston, Texas, as private in Company I, Eighth Texas Cavalry, Harrison's Brigade, Wheeler's Corps, Army of Tennessee. Jones first Captain, and Terry, first Colonel. Was wounded in the battle of Chickamauga Sept. 19, 1863, in the knee, which rendered me a cripple for the remainder of life. Was in the battles of Shiloh, Perryville, Ky.; Chickamauga, and other skirmishes.

Yeary, Mamie. Reminiscences of the Boys in Gray McGregor, Texas, 1912.
W. H. Snyder, DeWitt County, wounded at Chickamauga and retired.

Biography

J. V. Starkey, as he was known, was born and grew up in Robertson County, Texas. One of his teachers in Franklin High School was an uncle who had a great influence on this nephew. He instilled in him a desire for knowledge, which resulted in always exploring and stretching his mind. As a young man, he ventured west to New Mexico and stopped by the farm of relatives of his brothers-in-law. It was almost dusk, no one was home and the cows hadn't been milked. J. V. milked the cows and the pails of milk were on the back porch when John and Ada Snider and their daughter, Lois, returned home. It was harvest time and extra hands were always welcome so J. V. stayed to help. By the time the crops had been put by, J. V. was like one of the family, in fact he soon was. He married the farmer' daughter, Lois. They lived on farm land nearby and three children were born. J. V. tilled the soil but the great depression had hit and times were hard. J. V. found his direction for life when a Junior College opened in Portales, New Mexico. He enrolled in classes, worked on the college farm and as a city patrolman at night. Lois was an excellent cook and took in boarders. The college soon became a four year university, Eastern New Mexico University, and J. V. was in an early graduating class. With his degree, he began a lifetime career as an educator. He taught in the Portales Public Schools for many years. Later, he and Lois lived in and operated a home for boys in New Mexico until Lois's health began to decline. During the long period before her death, J. V. cared for her even learning how to operated medical equipment necessary for her to remain at home. J. V. remarried and returned to his roots in Robertson County, Texas, where his second spouse died and he married the third time, The third spouse was in declining health when J. V. died. He was buried beside the second wife near the graves of his parents and siblings. The second and third marriages provided home comfort and companionship but 'the farmer's daughter' remained the love of his life. He is remembered with affection as 'Uncle Jay' by nieces and nephews.

- Blanche Ada Keating Collie, niece by marriage

Spouses:
1. Lois Adaline Snider Starkey 1910-1959
2. Thelma Mavis Starkey 1910-1987
3. Estelle Viola Crawford Bynum 1910-2001

Children by Lois Adaline Snider Starkey:
John Harrell Starkey, Dr.
Robert Earl Starkey
Lois June Starkey Gilbreath

Biography

John Gottlieb was the oldest child of John George Schneider and Anna Mary Barbara Schneider of Effingham County, Georgia. His parents had a home in the village of Ebenezer where John Gottlieb lived with his siblings. As a child, he saw his parents' barn burned with equipment and supplies laid by for the winter. The men and boys of the village walked back and forth to their fields at "the plantations" several miles away (now part of Fort Stewart Military Reservation). They often stayed over night in "huts" on their places. John Gottlieb may have gone a few times. He was eight years old when his father died on November 30, 1767. A year later, his mother and John Heinle, Jr. were married in the Jerusalem Lutheran Church. In the period of unrest leading up to the Revolutionary War, Pastor Boltzius, of their church supported the Patriot cause but a new pastor took over with strong support for the British. Members split on the issue and feelings ran high. In 1779, British soldiers marched into Ebenezer, ordered the men to report to Jerusalem Church and ordered them to sign an oath of loyalty to the British. Twenty year old John Gottlieb, brother, Christian, uncle, John Gottlieb Henrich, cousins and his stepfather were among those who refused to sign. Anger in the village exploded, homes of patriots were burned, including John Gottlieb's, and their families fled. British soldiers stabled horses in Jerusalem Church. John Gottlieb and Christian escaped to North Carolina, joined the Patriot forces and served under Gen. Wayne during the war. John Gottlieb was among the 8000 soldiers under Gen. George Washington, at Yorktown when the British surrendered. His name was spelled "Snider" on military records and he kept that spelling after the war. He was among the first descendants of his grandfather the patriarch, Hans Michael Schneider, to spell his name SNIDER. After the war, the village of Ebenezer was in ruins and never fully recovered. Relatives were scattered and in the 1790 NORTH CAROLINA CENSUS, Lincoln County, John Gottlieb was enumerated, married with two children (Jacob born 1782, and a female). Households of brother, Christian, and stepfather, John Heinle, were on either side. Though the Georgia Veteran Roll of Confiscation, created to replace property lost during the war, John Gottlieb was granted and sold land in Wilkes County, Georgia, Christian was a witness. He returned to Effingham County to sell other property and was there in the 1820 GEORGIA CENSUS, living in the Bethel community about four miles above Springfield. He was still there in the 1830 and 1840 GEORGIA CENSUS. Rev. P. A. Stroble, official in the Georgia Lutheran Church conversed with John Gottlieb Snider in 1845 and 1846 and wrote that "he was nearly ninety years old . . served under Gen. Wayne in the Revolutionary War . . had great compassion for widows and orphans . . and was a venerable Father in Isreal." John Gottlieb Snider was eighty-nine years old when he died and was laid to rest among family and friends in Bethel Lutheran Church Cemetery.
- Blanche Keating Collie, GGGG granddaughter

Children:
Jacob Snider 1782-
female Snider 1784-

Biography

John grew up in Texas and as a single young man, farmed with his younger brother, Nathan, in Robertson County. After he married Ada Robertson, Nathan lived with the couple. Nathan went to Floyd County, Texas, in about 1905 and found a place for them to farm. John rented a box car and traveled in it with their animals, wagon and belongings as far as Estelline, Texas. Ada and their two children, boarded a passenger train two days later and the two trains pulled into the station about the same time. Nathan was there to help unloaded the box car and continue the journey. After John and Nathan put in a crop near Lockney in Floyd County, Texas, they checked on Homestead Land in New Mexico Territory. They copied numbers on rocks at the corners of 160 acres plots and filed on them at the Government Office in Melrose. Back in Floyd County, they 'laid by' their crop and waited the birth of another child. This baby, was sbout a month old when the family arrived at their homestead on a cold day in January of 1907. They built a dwelling and put in a crop, the requirements for 'proving up' the land for ownership. Hearing about Homestead Land in Arizonia, they checked it out. Their last baby was born there in 1910, shortly before John and Ada returned to their New Mexico homestead. The family settled into a routine of hard work tempered with love. More land was acquired as they prospered and in time, a larger farm house was built. Ada taught in the McAlister School. They were organizing members of McAlister Baptist Church.
1920 NEW MEXICO U.S. CENSUS, Quay County, McAlister - SNIDER, John, head, age 42, born Tx, Farmer; Ada, wife, age 37, Teacher, Public School, born Tx; Travis, son, age 18, Farm labor, born Tx; Omie, dau, age 15, Farm labor, born Tx; Mackie, son, age 12, Farm labor, born Tx; Lois, dau, age 9, At home, born Az. The Snider farm became an enchanting world for the grandchildren and they brought great grandchildren to the farm as they arrived. Family and friends gathered at the farm to help celebrate their Golden Wedding Anniversary. This cycle of life continued until Ada's death. John did not live long without his lively, vivacious helpmate.
- Blanche Ada Keating Collie, granddaughter

NOTE - The name of John's father, was entered as Williamson H. Snider by his father, John G. Snider, (in his own handwriting) in the John G. Snider Family Bible. William H. Snider entered the middle initial "H." for his middle name in his own handwriting in his own William H. Snider Bible. (Both Bibles survive and are in the possession of descendants). The middle initial "H." is found in later records including military. The name of William H. Snider's youngest stepson begins with an H and appears to have been mistakenly assigned as the middle name for William H. Snider.

Biography

John P. Snider married Nancy Ann Bridges and they only had one known child, James R. who married Stacy Martin November 1, 1845 in Warren County, Georgia. John R. And Stacy had seven children by the time the Civil War began. He enlisted in CSA, was captured at the Battle of Gettysburg and died of measles as a prisoner of war on December 6, 1863.
He was buried in Finns National Cemetery in New Jersey. His daughter- in-law, John R.'s widow, was left with eight small children, the youngest, Nathan, born the year his father died. John P.'s first spouse, Nancy Ann Bridges Snider, died in 1867 and he married Nancy Ann Martin on February 2, 1868, in Glascock County, Georgia. (She may be a relative of his daughter-in-law, Stacy Martin Snider.)

Spouses:
Nancy Ann Bridges 1809-1867
Nancy Ann Martin

Biography

Kate's father was a Baptist Minister in, Alamogordo, Hobbs, and Albuquerque, New Mexico. She received a BA Degree from Hardin Simmons University and earned a Master's Degree in Utah. She and her sister, six years older, shared birthdays a day apart. It was a family tradition that they celebrate together. When her sister was away in college, Kate was sent there by bus so they could celebrate together. This tradition continued through the years either together or long distance. She moved to Utah with her husband and they raised their two children there. She taught school and was an elementary school principal. She was runner up for the National Teacher of the Year Award and was recognized as an outstanding educator. She requested that her ashes be left in the Rocky Mountains and a headstone placed for her by her parent's graves in Zephyr Cemetery. This I have done for my dear little sister.

-Blanche Keating Collie

Children:
Hudson Earl Dennis-1958-2009
Blanche Siddell Dennis Hinton-1959-

Biography

Louise grew up in the community of Forrest, Curry County, New Mexico, the third of four children and attended Forrest Public School and Eastern New Mexico University. She married Charles Cleveland and they lived in California and New Mexico. Four children were born to this union. Louise later married David Sturdevant and they lived in Dallas, Dallas County, Texas. She and David restored an older home in the Oak Cliff community and raised cockatoos. She died in Parkland Hospital, Dallas, Texas.
Spouses:
Charles Cleveland
David Sturdevant

Children:
Terry Cleveland
Jackie Cleveland
-Cleveland
-Cleveland

Biography

Mack was born on the farm in Floyd County, Texas, where his parents, John and Ada Snider, and a single uncle, Nathan Snider, were sharecropping. His father and the uncle each filed on 160 acres of Homestead Land in Quay County, New Mexico Territory in the Fall of 1906. They returned to the Texas farm to harvest their crop and wait for the birth of a another child in December. The new baby, Mack, was about a month old when his family reached their Homestead Land on a cold day in January 1907. They traveled by covered wagon with horses and possessions and a milk cow tied on back. A crate of chickens was attached under the bed of the wagon. The Sniders were among the first to homestead in that area and were on the trail days at a time without seeing any one else. Mack grew up on this homestead and attended McAlister School several miles away where his mother was a teacher. He courted and married Ruby Wright, daughter of nearby neighbors, and they settled in the farming community of House. Mack and Ruby prospered through the years, working side by side farming and raising livestock. Three children, Nina, Adlea and Creston, arrived and grew up on the farm. The family attended House Baptist Church where Mack was a deacon and in later years, he drove a school bus for the House Public School District. Their children married and brought grandchildren back for time on the farm. Mack and Rubye were still living on their farm at the time of his death.

Children:
Nina Faye Snider Kirchmeier 1929-
Ona Adlea Snider Wallace 1930-
Sim Creston Snider 1937-

Biography

Matthais was born the year after his parents, Hans Michael and Anna Schneider and two young brothers, John George and John Gottlieb Henrich, left their homeland in the Palatine region of the Holy Roman Empire (now Germany) and arrived in the American colony of Georgia. Pastor Boltzius of the Jersualem Luthern Church noted in his records that the mother died after "giving birth to a weakly child." The child was baptized and given the name, Matthais. Mrs Landfelder took the child to care for, but little Matthais only lived two days.

-Blanche Keating Collie

Biography

Melissa Ann Snider was born in Newnan, Coweta County, Georgia, the third child and oldest daughter of six children. Twin siblings were born, a boy and a girl, when she was almost four years old. The baby girl did not survive and six months later, Melissa Ann's mother died. Her father was left with five children under six years of age. Ten years later he married again, this time to a younger woman and they had eight children. The family moved south to Schley County, Georgia, where Melissa Ann grew up, married and lived with her husband and his widowed mother during the Civil War. After the death of her mother-in-law, they joined the migration to Texas where her brother, William H. Snider, and other Mauks had settled. Melissa Ann traveled to Texas with her mother's gold wedding ring (Susan Whitaker Snider) and other pieces of gold tied into a knot In the hem of her under skirt. When her brother married, she gave him their mother's wedding ring for his bride. The ring was in a little box in the dresser of the brother's son, John Travis Snider, when he died many years later in New Mexico. It passed to his daughter and then her daughter and is a treasured family heirloom.
Note: Many years after her death, descendants of the two sons of her brother, William Hardy Snider, placed the present headstone at her grave.

- Blanche Keating Collie, family researcher

Biography

Michael was a native of the Palatine area of the Holy Roman Empire (now Germany). He was married and had two small sons when he determined to join kinsmen in Philadelphia, American colonies. He, his wife, Anna, and sons, John George and John Gottlieb Henrich traveled by boat up the Rhine River to the harbor port of Rotterdam. Fees charged at river ports were excessive and Michael was short of funds for passage on the boat to Philadelphia. Michael signed indentures on all his family for passage on the "Two Brothers", bound for Savannah, Georgia. There was not room for his little trunk so he sent it with a friend on the boat to Philadelphia. On October 7, 1738, three months after setting sail, the Schneiders arrived in Savannah. Gen. James Olgethorpe met the boat, purchased their indentures and donated them to Pastor Boltzius of the Salzburger Lutheran settlement in Ebenezer. They continued by boat up the Savannah River and arrived during evening prayer service at Jerusalem Lutheran Church. Pastor Boltzius noted in his records, " Prayers were offered for the safe journey of the travelers. They were given rations of food from the community stores, some meat according to weight and some beans according to measure" and provided lodging with church members. Michael was assigned as cowherd for the community and provided a hut "in a lovely region an hour and a half walking distance from Ebenezer." By November, Pastor Boltzius noted that the parents and the twelve year old son were "showing good community service" and "in order to have no obstacles" the six year old was being accepted in the orphanage where he would also receive schooling. The next year, Anna died after "giving birth to a weakly child." The child was baptized and named Matthius. Mrs. Landfelder took him to care for but he only lived two days. In time, Michael married Elisabeth Sanftfeld, recently arrived from the Palatine with her brother. Pastor Boltzius wrote a letter for Michael to his close relative in Philadelphia inquiring about his little trunk. Two years later, he received a reply stating the boat he sent the trunk on had wrecked off the coast of Rhode Island. All passengers and everything aboard had perished including Michael's little trunk. Pastor Boltzius read the letter in church and preached a sermon on their deliverance. Michael and his sons completed their indentures in 1742 and he was given "a fine piece of land" on which he built a cabin, a separate kitchen and pens for his cattle. he raised corn, beans, pumpkins and melons. It was reported that one year "he raised 88 bushels of corn and 8 bushels of beans" His sons married and grandchildren were arriving when Michael died September 21, 1757. "Hans Michael Schneider died at age 66 years and was buried in Zion Cemetery." - THE EBENEZER RECORD BOOK, translated in 1929 by A. G. Voight, D.D. LL.D.
NOTE: Pastor Boltzius kept almost daily records, written in German, about people and events in the community. As they have been translated into English in recent years, more has been learned about the pioneer, Hans Michael Schneider. A goodly heritage.

Biography

Nathan Cleburne Snider, youngest of six Snider children born to William H. and Elizabeth Snider. His father was in several major battles of the Civil War and received a wound from which he limped the rest of his life. His mother's first husband was deceased and Nathan had four older half siblings from that union. The youngest half brother, William Hasten, was born after his father died and Nathan's father, William H. Snider, was the only father this stepson knew. Half siblings and one sister, Buelah, were married when his little sister, Texie, died. Nathan lived for several years near Big Foot, Frio County, Texas, after his parents marriage ended. A photo was made there of the mother and four children, Alta, Ophelia, John and Nathan that is displayed on several memorials. His sister, Alta, married and his mother had a stroke one day while walking with the other children to Alta's house. Nathan said, "Ma never talked much after that." He returned with his mother, John and Ophelia to Robertson County. Alta remained with her family in Frio County and Nathan never saw her again. His brother, John, married and Nathan was living with them in the 1900 census of Robertson County. In 1907, Nathan and John filed on homestead land in New Mexico Territory, built a small house and put in a crop. They each had a wagon and team and traveled to Arizona next to check on homestead land there. John returned to New Mexico to stay. Nathan headed west to see California and then returned to Texas. He was near middle age when he began writing his future wife, Virgie, in Tennessee. He made a trip to Tennessee to meet Virgie and her family but returned without a bride. After a time he wrote that they had corresponded long enough and should get married or stop writing. At first, Virgie threw his letter in the fireplace, then quickly rescued it and wrote back accepting his marriage proposal. Nathan went to Tennessee to claim his bride, brought her to Texas and cherished her the rest of his life. They had one child, Jo Ella, the age of his brother's grandchildren.
NOTE: Uncle Nathan was in a nursing home and in his nineties when this granddaughter of his brother, John, began recording his memories with a tape recorder. His mind and memory were sharp and clear until shortly before his death at the age of ninety-seven. The hours of Nathan Cleburne Snider we have on tape are a touchstone of our heritage.

-Blanche Keating Collie

Father: Williamson H. Snider 1834-1910
(exact entry in family Bible by his father and only initial H. found in records - confused by some researchers for name of a stepson)

Children: Jo Ella Snider Parker (only child)

Biography

Nellie Pender Smith grew up in Fayetteville, NC and went to a finishing or training school in SC. She was sent there by her brother Ernest Smith "when the family was breaking up." Her mother had died when she was 5 years old. Nellie's sister, Mabel, worked for the railroad as the Seaboard Railroad Station Agent in Estill, SC. It had been built from Carolina to GA in 1890. Nellie moved from Fayetteville to Estill with Mabel and taught school (somewhere in SC). Nellie apparently did not like teaching very much and helped Mabel in the summer at the railroad. She trained somewhere in SC for telegraphy. Mabel got Nellie a job with the railroad, and Nellie moved to Rincon, GA, to work as a depot agent and telegrapher for SeaBoard Air Line Railroad between 1900 and 1905. She was the first female station agent in Rincon. In Rincon, she boarded close to the depot with the Simmons and the Andrew Gnanns (one of the oldest houses in the area). She quit work when she married Elliott Bascom Hinely. Nellie loved to tell tales about the railroad people. Because she was a woman, the crews were especially nice to her--would do her favors and bring her gifts.

Biography

Ruby was born in Knox County, Texas, and her family were among early settlers in the McAlister community of Quay County, New Mexico Territory. She married Mack Snider, son of neighbors, and they settled on a farm in the nearby community of House. Ruby worked side by side with Mack in the field and caring for their livestock. She raised baby chickens as her own project. They prospered and in time built a large farmhouse where they raised their three children. She taught Sunday School at the House Baptist Church, was known for her organization both in her house and operation of the farm. She was an excellent cook and is remembered by her grandchildren for her special chocolate treats created just for them. After the death of Mack, Ruby moved to Alamogordo, New Mexico, where her daughters and families lived. She worked in a daughter's store, traveled with Senior Citizens (one trip to Europe) and was active in the First Baptist Church. Ruby was sitting by her door with her treats waiting for the Halloween Trick or Treaters when her heart stopped. She was found by her sons-in-law the next morning, there was a slight smile on her face. She had lived two rich, full lives, one as a farm wife with her Mack and one on her own with family and friends. She is remembered with great affection - this Aunt Ruby.
- Blanche Keating Collie

Children:
Nina Faye Snider Kirchmeier 1929-
Ona Adlea Snider Wallace 1930-
Sim Creston Snider 1937-

Biography

Seleta married Alexander Franklin Patrick on November 19, 1872, and had two children. A son, Mauk Patrick, and a daughter Elizabeth Irene Patrick. Her son Mauk died at the young age of ten, and her daughter "Lizzie" married Henry Clifford Parker. Seleta and Alexander Patrick were divorced before the 1900 Census was taken and she apparently remarried an (unknown) Williams some time around 1911. When the 1920 Census was recorded Seleta was recorded as a Widow. Her Texas Death Certificate gives her name as Mrs S L Williams. Anyone with more info on Seleta, please contact me so I can add it to the memorial.

Biography

Thomas H. Hinely was a landowner who was a principle founder of the city of Rincon, GA. He also donated land to the Lutheran Church. He was a descendent of Salzburger settlers to the area. He married twice.

CIVIL WAR (from various sources including the Confederate Pension Application filed by his 2nd wife, Harriet Hinely): Enlisted as a private in Company C, 1st Regiment, 1st Brigade, Georgia State Troops September 18, 1861. Mustered out March 18, 1862. Enlisted as a private in Company F, 54th Regiment Georgia Infantry May 16, 1862. Appointed 4th Corporal in 1863. Admitted to 1st Mississippi C.S.A. Hospital at Jackson, Mississippi, August 20, 1864. Complaint: Irritatus Spinalis. Returned to duty September 18, 1864. Admitted to Ocmulgee Hospital at Macon, Georgia October 23, 1864. Transferred, place not stated, October 26, 1864. Wounded in the Eye. Thomas H. Hinely appears on the Effingham County Wall of Veterans at Veteran's Park, Civil War List, Effingham County, GA.

Biography

William was the son of Richard Reece Rainey and Elizabeth Smith Rainey. He married Effie Susan Johnson June 23, 1895 in Ridgely, TN. When they married, Effie was age 15 and William was 50. (Effie is buried in Big Creek Cemetery, near Millington and Lucy, Shelby County, TN.)

The grave marker includes the inscription "Messenger" because he is reputed to have carried the surrender message from General Lee to General Grant at the end of the Civil War.

William came through the Civil War unscathed but lost his left hand in a cannon accident during a celebration for the election or inauguration of President Grover Cleveland. It is unknown whether it was Cleveland's 1st or 2nd term so the estimated date of this injury is either 1884-1885 or 1892-1893

Biography

Hudson Siddell Dennis was born in Montana the oldest of the two children of George Byron and Dora Dennis. He and his sister were raised in the town of Circle. He earned a degree at Auburn University in Alabama and was employed by an oil well service company in Albuquerque, New Mexico. He married Flora Kate Keating and they had two children born there before moving to Utah where he was employed by Thiokol, a contractor of the United States space program, NASSAU. His family lived in Brigham City where his children attended the public schools and then Auburn University in Alabama. Hudson owned and trained Morgan horses and the family spent weekends in the Rocky Mountains in their pickup camper. His wife was a teacher, elementary school principal and a runner-up for the National Teacher of the Year Award. Hudson was head of his company's quality control department when he died of an accidental gun shot. His ashes are buried on the Great Divide in the high mountains near the boundary of Montana and Idaho.

- Blanche Keating Collie, sister-in-law

Father: George Byron Dennis 1902-1960
Mother: Dora Dennis 1906-

Children:
Hudson Earl Dennis 1958-2009
Blanche Siddell Dennis 1959-

Biography

John G. Snider and his first wite, Susan Whitaker, grew up as neighbors in Washington County, Georgia. John G.'s father, Jacob Snider, won a lucky draw in the Georgia Land Lottery for land in the western county of Coweta. John G. was enumerated there in the 1820 Georgia Census with an older female, probably a sister keeping house for him. He may have returned to Washington County to marry Susan or she may have been visiting relatives in Coweta. They were living in Newman, Coweta County, Georgia, with four young children when twins, a boy and a girl, were born April 15, 1839. Susan died October 16, 1839 and the twin girl died after her mother. John G. was left a widower with five children under six years of age. Relatives living near obviously helped with the children for John G. did not remarry for ten years and then to a younger woman, Frances M. Bowles. He had eight children by the second spouse. John G. moved his family south to Chapman Branch near Ellaville, Schley County, Georgia, and in time built a large home for his growing family. The wife of a great grandson who later lived there for a time said the doors on the big house "swung better and fit tighter" than on any house she ever lived in. The family attended the Hopewell Medhodist Church, the men sat on one side and the women on the other during worship. The pioneer, John G. Snider, and a number of his descendants are buried in the churchyard. The original church is still active and later generation Snider descendants are members.
Note: This descendant and family from Texas, placed a headstone for John G. Snider in the churchyard several years ago and entered the church sanctuary with other Georgia kin. We saw the SNIDER stained glass window above the altar and the wall where a colony of bees have lived for many years. We sat in the pews, my daughter and I, on what had been the women's side (with the bees). My husband, a musician, moved to the piano, and we joined with Georgia kin in singing old hymns. As I glanced across the aisle to the men's side, I felt the presence of my ancestor, John G. Snider. A goodly heritage.

- Blanche Keating Collie, g g granddaughter

Biography

Travis was born in Robertson County, Texas, where he lived until he was about five years old and the family moved to Floyd County, Texas, to join his father's younger brother, Nathan Snider. His uncle had located a farm there that the brothers could farm as sharecroppers. Travis' father rented a box car and rode with the horses, wagon, livestock and belongings to Estelline, Texas, the closest to the rented farm by train. Travis, his mother and little sister, Omie, boarded a passenger train two days later and the two trains arrived at about the same time. Travis remembered his father running back along the train tracks to help them get off their train. His uncle was there to help unload the box car, assemble the wagon and continue their journey. The brothers put in a crop then rode by horseback to Quay County, New Mexico Territory, where each filed on 160 acres of Homestead Land. They returned to harvest their crop in Texas, and wait for the birth of another child in December. When the baby, Mack, was about a month old, they arrived at their homestead land on a cold January day in 1907. The men built a shelter and planted a crop, as required for ownership. Then they hitched up the wagon again and checked on homestead land in Arizona. Travis had memories of this time and the birth a a little sister, Lois, in 1910. They soon returned to the first homestead where Travis grew up with his siblings. He attended Montezuma Baptist College and taught school in Curry County where he met, courted and married another teacher, Vester McDonald. The couple lived many years in Forrest, New Mexico, where they raised their four children and Travis managed a store, operated a mechanic shop and farmed. After retirement, Travis and Vester lived in Hobbs, New Mexico, and he worked in his daughter's drapery shop until he suffered a fatal heart attack. In later years, Travis shared his memories and knowledge of family history, some of it recorded on tape, a great heritage for the descendants of John and Ada Snider.

-Blanche Ada Keating Collie, niece

Children:
Geroge Travis Snider, Jr. 1927-1996
Mary Evelyn Snider Roach 1929-
Dortha Louise Snider Cleveland Sturdevant 1931-1994
James Leon Snider 1933-

Biography

Vester was one of the four surviving children out of nine born to her parents. They were living in Indian Territory (now Oklahoma) when she arrived in 1904.
1910 CENSUS INDIAN TERRITORY, Stephens County, McPherson Township - McDONALD, James William, head, marr. 13 years, farmer, general farm; Mary K., wife, age 30, 8 child - 3 living; Marion W., son, age 10, farm labor; Thelma V. , dau age, 6; Leola, dau, age 1 1/2.
Another brother was born and about a year old when an epidemic of spinal meningitis struck the community. Vester remembered the day her mother couldn't get out of bed. Meal time was approaching and Vester, who was the oldest little girl, had never cooked a meal. She took the ingredients into the bedroom and learned to make biscuits at her mother's bedside. This was a lesson taught by a dying mother and well learned by her eight year old daughter. Vester would be known by her own family and relatives for her biscuits. After her mother's death, her father sent the four little children to his parents in New Mexico. He told Vester years later, that after he put them on the train and it pulled out, he ran down the tracks behind the train to try to get his children off again and keep them with him. He soon joined them in New Mexico. Vester was teaching school in Curry County, New Mexico, when she met and married another teacher, Travis Snider. They attended Montezuma Baptist College, near Las Vegas, New Mexico, after the birth of their first child. Both of Travis' sisters were attending and were handy babysitters. In time, the couple settled in Forrest, New Mexico, where they raised four children. Travis farmed and was a mechanic, Vester was an accomplished seamstress, and sewed for her own family and the public. She did substitute teaching and taught Sunday School. In later years, they moved to Hobbs, New Mexico, where they helped in their daughter's drapery shop. After Travis' death, Vester lived in an assisted living retirement center the last years of her long life. This devout and caring woman touched the lives of family and friends in a profound way - my Aunt Vester.

- Blanche Keating Collie

Children:
1. George Travis Snider 1927NM - 1996Ca
2. Mary Evelyn Snider Roach 1929NM -
3. Dortha Louise Snider Cleveland Sturdevant 1931NM - 1994Tx
4. James Leon Snider 1933NM -

Burial Place

Buried at Dallas-Fort Worth National Cemetery, as her husband Shelby Lloyd (Pete) was a WWII Veteran (Master Sergeant, USAF).  Cemetery address is 2000 Mountain Creek Pkwy., Dallas TX (Dallas County). Grave is located at Section 102, Site 632.  http://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=gr&GRid=139175238

Funeral

Occured at 10AM on November 25, 2015 in Biggers Funeral Chapel located at 6100 Azle Ave., Fort Worth, TX 76135 (Tarrant County).

Children of Carolyn and Jerome

None; Carolyn had a full hysterectomy at age 25 (Source: Martha Ann Coursey).

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