CFA Meeting in 1982

SAN ANTONIO EXPRESS .,	Friday, July 9, 1982		H Page 3A

ADMIRING THE name of their heroic ancestor Daniel William Cloud, chiseled into the white marble of the Alamo		Cenotaph, Bob, left, and Bill Cloud are among Cloud family members gathering at annual reunion.
STAFF PHOTO by STEVE KRAUSS
Historic Clouds cluster for San Antonio reunion
By Brenda Gambrel Express Staff Writer Daniel W. Cloud, a young Kentucky lawyer who died defending the Alamo 1836, would be proud. His memory is in sate hands. So is his mail. Members of the Cloud Family Assoclation, a far-reaching group of Americans who share the Cloud name, gather in San Antonio this weekend for their annual meeting. There will be a tour of the Alamo, of course, but also a chance to view an historic letter recently presented by the Clouds to the Daughters of the Republic of Texas, curators of the shrine. The letter was written in 1835 when Daniel Cloud was in Natchitoches, La., and sent to his brother, John, at the family home in Logan County, Ky. The letter recounts experiences of Daniel’s journey through Illinois, Missouri, Arkansas, and Louisiana as he searched for a place to set up his law practice. He then decided to join the future Republic of Texas in the fight for independence	Members of the Cloud family, 150 in all, are proud of his deeds, even though not all can claim kinship to the Texas hero. But the Clouds behind the organizatlon, Bill and Gayle Cloud of Little Rock, Ark., and Bob and Pat Cloud of Austin, are members of Cloud’s real family tree. The wives actually get the credit for starting the organization. "The wives are the ones really in terested in this thing," Gayle said, laughing "These turkeys haven’t done anything," she said, pointing to the two husbands who are first cousins. It was Gayle and Pat who, in 1978 discovered the famlly ties to Daniel Cloud. From there, the Cloud Family Association was formed and grew. "We had no Idea when we started that this would turn into an organization with 150 members, a newsletter, yearly reunions, and everything." Pat added. Gayle said the association has more than purely historical goals. "We don’t cal1 it genealogy. We're interested mainly in keeping		up with the nieces and nephews Daniel had, his brothers and sisters and their children, and all their descendents, not in seeing how far back in history we can go, she said. Membership is not limited to Cloud’s relatives. Any Cloud can join, though that has made the jqb bigger than Gayle and Pat expected. "We didn’t know any better," said Pat, noting the mailing list has now grown to 900 Clouds. But they don’t mind. "We consider this a sort of ministry, too," Gayle explained. Besides keeping in touch with the Clouds of America, "We’re hoping to Collect as much data as possible in one central location to preserve it for future researchers. We’re also headed toward publishing a book" she said. About 100 Clouds are expected at this weekend’s reunion. There isn’t a formal agenda, ("We aren’t that sophistocated," Gayle said), but the tour of the Alamo, a luncheon, and "lots of time to talk and visit" are planned for the gathering of Clouds."