ANNA ROSE MEINEKE KINSER 1894 - 1977

January 17, 2022

Happy 128th birthday to my maternal great-grandmother, Anna Rose Meineke Kinser. I called her Grandma Ann.

I’m excited to write this blog since I actually knew my great-grandmother. I was 10 years old when she passed away so I have some memories of her that I would like to share.

17 JAN 1894 - Born in Houston, Harris, TX to Barnhard Meineke and Minna Hartman. She was the fourth of seven children. Johanna (Aunt Nellie), Henry and Dorothy (Aunt Dora) were born before Anna.

12 OCT 1896 - Birth of brother, Frederick William, [Houston, Harris County, TX].

10 JAN 1900 - Birth of brother, Theodore Barnhard, [TX].

1900 - Residence - Justice Precinct 2, Harris, TX. She went by Annie as a child.

3 JAN 1906 - Birth of sister, Margaret Willie, [Houston, Harris County, TX].

1910 - Residence - Justice Precinct 1, Harris, TX.

7 MAY 1914 - Married John Chester Kinser, Sr. in Harris, TX. I recently identified this picture of him. I’ve never known what he looked like. He was a carpenter.

2 AUG 1915 - Birth of daughter, Myrtle Lucile, [Houston, Harris, TX].

20 MAR 1917 - Birth of daughter, Ruth Evelyn, [Houston, Harris, TX].

5 APR 1919 - Death of mother, Minna [Houston, Harris, TX].

15 DEC 1919 - Birth of twin sons - John Chester Jr. and Gordon Wayne, [Houston, Harris, TX].

1920 - Residence - Can’t find her listed but her husband is listed at Houston Ward 4, Harris, TX. It says he is married but Anna and the kids are not listed.

21 MAY 1922 - Birth of daughter, Mary Emma, [Houston, Harris, TX]. My maternal grandmother.

1928 - My great-grandfather built the house they lived in. It is still standing and is worth over $600,000 today, which is crazy to me.





I remember that my great-grandmother had a flower garden by the driveway where the shrubs are now. She would let us pick flowers to take home after we visited her.

Here is a picture of me in front of the house. See the flowers in the background. Not long after I was born we lived down the street from her.



1930 - Residence Houston, Harris, TX.



08 AUG 1937 - Death of father, Barnhard Albert, [Houston, Harris, TX].

19 DEC 1940 - Death of brother, Henry Emanuel, [Houston, Harris, TX].

1940 - Residence - Houston, Harris, TX.



1950 - Residence - 

Insert census

2 MAY 1962 - Death of husband, John Chester Sr., [Houston, Harris, TX]. They had been married 47 years.

24 OCT 1966 - Death of sister, Dorothy, [Houston, Harris, TX].

20 JUL 1973 - Death of brother, Frederick William, [Houston, Harris, TX].

13 JUL 1977 - Passed away at the age of 83 from colon cancer in [Houston, Harris, TX].

Burial - Magnolia Cemetery [Houston, Harris, TX].

This cemetery is located in the shadows of downtown Houston and about two miles from her home.

I’m not sure who the little boy is but John Chester Kinser, Sr. is holding him, Grandma Ann is in the middle and John Chester Kinser, Jr. is next to her.

Here is Grandma Ann holding me as a baby.

Here is Grandma Ann with some of her great-grandchildren. I think I am the one she is holding. This is at the house next door to her home. Uncle Otis is the man in the background. He was her brother-in-law, married to Dora (Dorothy). That home is now worth over $400,000! I’m sure none of them would believe how much these homes are worth now.

The crying baby in red is me. I’m being held by Aunt Margaret, who was Anna’s youngest sister. Grandma Ann is sitting next to her holding my cousin, Adora. This was taken at our house in Houston on Fir St.

Here I am in red with Grandma Ann.

I think this was on my 2nd birthday.

This is Grandma Ann giving someone a Coke! This is at our house in Houston on Green Arbor around 1972. Her son, John Chester Kinser, Jr. is sitting next to her. I believe the toddler in the front of the picture is my sister, Melanie.

I’m not sure why I don’t have any photos with her when I was older. I guess they just didn’t take photos like we do now.