Annie Bell Houston-Beasley was my maternal great-grandmother.

I do not know much about her except that she was possibly born in Alabama, but was recently told that somehow she came to be an orphan. She met her husband, Martin Gann Beasley, and they were married when she was about 15. However, I am still searching for their date of marriage.

At some point, their family moved to Texas and lived on a farm in New Harmony, Texas, until Martin Gann's death in December of 1953.

Annie and Martin had 11/12 children; Chester Walter, Ozie Lee, Levi Erdeal, Gertrude Angelo, Robert Leon, Coy Aycock, Genie Myrl, Malon Ivy, Woodrow Wilson, Mattie Lou, and Fannie Bell. Annie had six beautiful daughters, with the second to the youngest being my precious grandmother, Mattie Lou, who later changed her name to Bettie, after she moved to Tyler, Texas.

Their family faithfully attended New Harmony Baptist Church and the school there. Bettie and Fannie would talk about walking to school, but riding a horse and buggy to church, until their daddy had enough money to buy a "Hooptie" to carry everyone to church. That was certainly a thrill for all of them. Bettie and Fannie also spoke of being baptized in the pond that was behind the New Harmony church. I am not sure of the other brothers and sisters.

Another sweet story was from Uncle Bill (Woodrow Wilson) who loved his mother, Annie, very much. He remembered an Easter with his mother where he was only about four years old and sitting on her lap. She had told him to go and look for his Easter egg. So, being an obedient four year old, he did what his mother told him to do, but all he wanted was to stay on his mother's lap. (Uncle Bill 2005)However, she was pregnant with baby Fannie that spring, so probably could not hold him for very long.

My precious great-grandmother, Annie Belle, at the very young age of 36, died six days after giving birth to her last child, a little daughter named Fannie Bell, who is still living today, as I write this on 2-22-2013. Annie is buried next to her loving husband, Martin Gann, in the beautiful New Harmony Cemetery, in New Harmony, Tx in Smith County.

In her loving memory always and forever.....

~Carla

2-26-2013 - updated four new children that I found! Chester, Erdeal, Genie and two Roberts, 1907 and 1908