Keys Reunion 2019

I thought I would send out a reminder/invitation to this year’s Keys Family Reunion. We had a reunion two years ago, and it was such a success that we decided to have another one. The first Keys Reunion happened in 1973 and our family went to that one. (I’m still hoping to see a video from the people I remember recording the event. I didn’t know who it was with the recorders, but remember seeing them being lugged around.) I have photos from that reunion and from subsequent ones throughout the years.

I don’t know if the reunions went on consistently through the years, but I remember some happening in the 90s and 2000s. We started them up again two years ago and there was a good turnout. But it would be nice to have all of the children of Martha Ann Cook Keys represented. She was that brave woman who brought her five children from England to southern Louisiana in June of 1887. She also happens to be my great great grandmother. Her five children were Henry Alfred “The Judge” Keys, Leonard James Keys, Daisy Henrietta Martha Keys Phenice, Rosetta “Ruth” Keys Bryan, and Mabel Olive Keys Miller.

I got this photo recently that shows three of those five siblings. Since I’m wanting all five of them to be represented, I should use a photo that has all five of them in it. But I don’t have one! This one has Mabel, Daisy with her husband H. C., and Leonard with his wife Edessa in 1938. It was taken at Leonard’s home in Elton. I posted a larger group photo from the same day about nine months ago.

When I first saw this photo I was really excited because I was thinking it might be the five siblings in the same photo. Then I realized that two of them were spouses. I can’t be too disappointed since it is such a great photo and my great grandparents are in it. If anyone has a photo that includes all five siblings, I would love to see it and scan it. Bring any interesting photo to the reunion. I’ll take photos of them or borrow them to scan if possible. I tried to take a photo of Daisy and H. C. with some kids on a horse, but it didn’t come out very well. I’d like to try again, but can’t remember who had that photo.

I thought I’d post this photo of The Judge’s family, since he didn’t show up in the first photo. I got this from a cousin on Facebook, but can’t remember who that was. I need to take better notes! I’d also like to have a few names for people in the photo and the approximate year.

I know that many of them lived in Kinder. Henry Alfred and his wife Eugenia LaFosse had twelve children together, so there should be lots of descendants from that line. I’d like to see some of them at the reunion.

I can’t ignore the Ruth Keys Bryan line of the family! This photo is from the 1973 Keys Family Reunion and it shows the descendants of Ruth at that time – at least the ones that showed up and were willing to pose for a picture.

I know the names of some of these, but would like to know more. And if I were to guess who it was that had a video recorder back at that reunion, I would say it was this guy in the red jumpsuit. Who is that man in red?

We can discuss who these people are online, or you can wait until the family reunion. Like I said, I’d like to see you there. “Where?” you ask. It is going to be at the Raymond Methodist Church annex, which is located at 5532 Pine Island Hwy. The festivities are on Saturday June 15th and they start at 10:00 a.m.