Subject: Your Irish Roots...who kissed the BlarneyStone
Content: Just thought since we that have a touch of the Irish see it proud...it would be fun to tell who you got it from...and any tale you might have connected to it.. I am 1/4 Irish; coupled with German and Greek(can you say stubborn and determined?) My Irish roots are from my paternal granny...she was a blonde haired,blue eyed lass of the Orange (Prodestent religion) She was a wee little thing...not...and her name was Bessie Cleo Wharton. As a young woman she broke horses for gentile ladies and could do anything necessary to survive. As a young lass she crossed the prairie in a covered wagon and carried water to their home across a stile in buckets much as they did in the old country. She lived in a soddy with my grandfather( Frank Horn) after crossing Oaklahoma's finish line in the great land rush. Me favorite tale of her early days is her fight with the serpent...she had no love of the snakes that crawled the earth; and it was the season when rain pelted the praire. My grandpa built their soddy into a hillside and its roof was covered in soil much like the hill it rested against, green grass was its St. Patty's hat. Bessie has a dirt floor..but it was hard and packed...and she swept it diligently to keep the little room spotless. She came in from chores outside one day ; her hands full and eyes down..and noticed a fine pile of dirt on her shining floor...ready to berate my grandpa for his negligence, she raised her head...and right in front of her eyes a snake was wiggling its way out of a hole it had burrowed from above..looking for solice from the rain. Well,Bessie screamed and probably beat the wee creature to a pulp with her broom before Frank got to the soddy...but she stood with hands on hips and told him it was time to build her a proper house..because she was done with soddy living! Later in their lives they had 5 living children..4 boys, 1 girl..and 2 wee ones (twins) that died in infancy. Granny was a big fine figure of a woman in her later years and could give a man a run for his money in accomplishing many tasks. They ran the first motor stage line in the state of Arizona and it wound across the sand dunes to Yuma. Passengers got no free ride for their fare ...it was a plank road and if the wind came up and shifted sand all passengers got out and were handed shovels to help clear the road in order to continue on. Bessie had a good life...she crossed the prairie in a covered wagon as a girl...and lived to see the first man walk on the moon on TV...what a rush!! I am going to add some pics to this article later...hope to hear about your Irish Roots...
VIEW FULL VERSION: Link