The eldest
child of Tilford "Tiff" Denton and Cora Sydney "Syd" Farris Denton,
she was named Sydney Yetive Denton after her mother and the Princess Yetive, a fictional
character in books by George B. McCutcheon, Graustark and Prince of Graustrak.Born January 28, 1911 in the Crockett Hotel at Carrollton, Carroll County, Arkansas, she and her family moved to Texas in 1916. They settled in Winnie, Texas where her parents became Postmasters. They moved again in the 20's to Daisetta, Texas, an oil boom town where Yetive finished high school in 1928 at the age of 17. She attended Hull Daisetta High School and Sam Houston State Teachers College, Huntsville, Texas earning a Bachelor of Science degree. She was the first vocational homemaking teacher at Crosby High School, helping plan, build and furnish the Homemaking Department. She led that class of young women to state finals in Galveston. She later moved to Alice, Texas schools, organizing the homemaking department and furnishing its cottage there.
She married R.G. Ramsey at the beginning of World War II and a son Carl Allan was born. He has been the pride and joy of her life. After a divorce , Yetive attended the University of Houston to earn her Master of Education degree. She began to teach in La Porte and lived first in duplex on Kansas St. and then to her home on San Jacinto. She retired in 1971 due to hearing loss.
Yetive had many talents: sewing, crocheting, knitting, quilting and genealogy which became her main hobby. For many years she played the piano, then taught piano lessons to earn extra money to attend college and taught even after retirement. She sewed for other students while attending college on her faithful White sewing machine which she has sewn on until this day. She made every piece of clothing she wore using Vogue patterns from the 20's over and over again. She embroidered beautifully and made over 53 afghans. She had a 1971 Chevrolet Chevelle, a classic she meticulously card for. Young men would often approach her to buy it or just take a look at it. She once raced a young man on Fairmont Parkway just to show him she could do it. She loved the Rockets and the Comets basketball teams and would often sit up in bed, crocheting, knitting and decorating beaded Christmas balls while she watched; a real fete.
When she retired, Yetive began researching her family tree and genealogy became
the main focus of her life. Through her research, she found many kinfolks across the
United States, including her cousin Minnie Minor of Baytown who has become a dear friend.
She stayed in touch with all of them gathering material to write several books about her
family ancestors. She had over 100 ledgers on material she catalogued. After obtaining
pedigree charts verifying that she descended from a Magna Carta Surety, Roger Bigod, Earl
of Norfolk, she became eligible for membership in The National Society Magna Charta Dames and this led to many other
society memberships including: The National Society of the Colonial Dames of the XVII
Century ( George Eskridge Chapter ); the Jamestowne
Society; The National Society of the Daughters of the American Colonists; The National
Society of the Daughters of the American Revolution; Daughters of Union Veterans of the Civil War
1861-1865; United Daughters of the Confederacy, The
National Society of United States Daughters of the War of 1812; The Eskridge Family
Association; The Society of the Lees of Virginia. She was a Lifetime member of The
Sovereign Colonial Society, Americans of Royal Descent; The Jamestowne Society; The
Plantagenet Society; The Order of Washington; The Society of Descendants of Knights of the
Most Noble Order of the Garter and the Atascosito Society of Texas. She was also a Charter
Member of the La Porte Bay Area Heritage Society, the Retired Teachers of La Porte and the
Golden Oldies in Daisetta, Texas.Mrs. Ramsey passed away at her home on Tuesday, September 29, 1998 from cancer and is survived by one son, Carl Allan Ramsey of Houston, a brother, Gene Denton of El Campo, two sisters, numerous cousins, nieces, nephews and friends. In lieu of flowers, it is requested that donations be made to the First United Methodist Church of La Porte and the Daisetta Methodist Church.
Memorial Services are set for Monday, October 5th, 1998, 10 am at the First Methodist Church in La Porte, Texas. Visitation will be Sunday, October 4th , 2-8 pm, and Monday, 11-1 pm at Allison's Funeral Home in Liberty, Texas. Internment will be Monday, October 5th, 2 pm at Oakdale Cemetery, Daisetta, Texas with a grave side service.
Yetive often said: "One of God's greatest gifts to me is allowing me to live more than four score and ten years so I can reflect and remember His many gifts. If I live to be 105, I'll never accomplish all that I have planned. Blessings come much faster than I can count for which I am thankful.".