Hope You Have a Wonderful Birthday, Lisa!

October 8th is our cousin, Lisa's birthday. This is a very special day because it is her birthday, but it is even more significant to me in that October 8th was also my mom's birthday!!

Lisa is the youngest daughter of my Aunt Mary and Uncle Tom, my mom's brother. Lisa is enough younger than me that I didn't really know her growing up because they lived back east in Washington D.C. Her two sisters were closer to my age. Lisa and her two sons, Jeremy and Ben, came to family reunions in Arizona. Lisa was here two years ago for Teresa's 85th. It wasn't until this summer when we went to Virginia that we really had a chance to just visit. And I can tell you that I truly enjoyed getting our visit. I just wish that we lived closer!!

Lisa lives in a small town in New Hampshire. She has a very old house that she is refinishing. Last summer, our cousin, Pat, and Kayla went back to New Hampshire with her from Virginia. I asked Kayla to tell me something about Lisa, and she said that Lisa loves to garden and has a wonderful one at her house. Kayla said that she had such a good time in New Hampshire.

Pat told me tonight that Lisa has done an incredible job with redoing her home. She said that Lisa has such an incredible work ethic, whether it has to do with her career or remodeling her home.

I love Lisa's sense of humor and her easygoing way! I am so glad that we had the opportunity to be at "The Farm" in July!! I hope that we will be able to get together in the very near future!! Happy Birthday, Lisa!! You share this day with a very special lady!!

Happy Birthday, Tommy!

Happy Birthday to my east coast cousin, Tommy! Tommy is the youngest child and only son of my Aunt Mary and Uncle Tom, who was my mom's brother. Tommy and his wonderful wife, Michele, have two great daughters, Teresa and Hannah. They live in Virginia where Tommy is an engineer for the federal government.

Tommy and has family have visited us in Arizona several times. This past summer, Tommy was the "mastermind" for the family reunion that we attended at The Farm in Virginia. Having been involved in several family reunions myself, I truly know how much work there is to put one on. And Tommy put on quite a party!!! We had a wonderful time and hope to attend more in the future. Cameron had such a great experience at The Farm and has talked about it a lot since we have returned.

I shared a story this past summer that Tommy and his sisters had not heard before. My mom and their dad were fairly close in age with Tom being about 2 1/2 years older. Their dad was one of the nicest gentlemen that you could ever want to meet. For those of you who knew my mom, she was a "spitfire" to say the least. Well one day when they were in grade school at Loretto in Douglas, my mom got word that there was a boy beating up her brother, Tom, on the boys' playground. In those days, there was a boys' side and a girls' side. (and when I went, too. Can you imagine?) So needless to say, Margaret went running over to the boys' side to take care of Tom. She proceeded to take down the boy who was beating up her brother!! The nuns had to call their dad as well as the parents of the other boy. The next day the family of the boy that Margaret had "beat up" showed up at school to find out what had happened to their son. Sister brought Margaret in to show them the small, short girl who had gone to the aid of her brother!! Come to find out, this happened because the other boy was jealous that the Scotts were having another baby--my Uncle Bill. So this probably happened around 1925 when my mom was eight and Tom was 10! I love this story!!!

So, Tommy, hope your birthday is wonderful! Hope that we can get together again in the near future for some fun!! Happy birthday, cuz!!! Thanks for the great time in July at the Farm!!!

Family Roots Run Deep

This past Labor Day weekend was an incredible, jam-packed few days with many memories made. The main event of the weekend was the beautiful wedding of Maggie and Mike. As with so many of our family events, cousins came from far and wide to gather together for the wedding. The family member who came the farthest was our new found cousin, Michele Kneafsey O'Sullivan!!!

Our family history from Ireland has been largely unknown. My Aunt Teresa and I went to Ireland in 1978 and tried to find information, but without much luck. On our last day there, we did find Patrick Rice, whose family name was Kneafsey. Kneafsey was the name of my great grandmother, Ellen.

I did not know my great grandmother as she died shortly after I was born in 1949. However, I felt as though I knew her because of all of the wonderful stories I heard about her over the years. I think that our Aunt Teresa must be very much like her--kind, caring, a deep faith, and seeing the good in so much. Ellen lived to be 96 years old, which was amazing 60 years ago.

Not much was known about her life in Ireland. We knew that she lived in County Mayo. We knew that her last name was Kneafsey, although it was not spelled this way. So many immigrants had their last names misspelled when the entered the United States and did not know how to read or write. I have asked Teresa why we didn't know much and she said she doesn't really know why. I think, and this is just my opinion, that when a young person left Ireland in those days, it had to be almost like a death. The poverty and conditions were so poor that the only choice they had was to start a new life in the U.S. Leaving in 1879 would mean no further communication with family as there were no phones. My great grandmother was also illiterate so writing letters would not be possible. Maybe the only way to get on with a new life was to try to forget the memories and the family left behind. I cannot even imagine this.

Ellen went to live with her sister, Catherine, in Pennsylvania. There she married Matthew Roughan, who came from County Cork. My great grandfather was a miner and they moved to Leadville, Colorado. From Leadville they moved to Bisbee in 1903. My grandparents, Edward and Katherine Scott, moved to Douglas in 1912 from Leadville. My grandfather worked for the railroad.

Ellen lived in Douglas after the death of her husband and her son. She worked as a midwife there. My mother and her brothers and sisters were so fortunate to have her in their lives and I know that they knew that. I know from the way that they talked about her that they loved her dearly.

A year ago last summer, there was a comment left on my blog from Michele Kneafsey O'Sullivan. It was on a post where I had retyped a letter that Teresa wrote to the family soon after our trip to Ireland in 1978. Michele and I connected and we have been in contact through email ever since. It was a post entitled "Thirty Year Old Memories."

I asked Maggie and her mom, Marion, if they would invite Michele to the wedding and they did. We had a wonderful visit and it was so exciting for all of us to actually have this connection that goes so far back. How we are related doesn't matter!! Kneafsey is not a common name and Michele's family is also from County Mayo. There is no doubt in my mind that she is our cousin!! I believe that there is even a family resemblance. One of Marion's granddaughters thought that Michele was her Aunt Teresa Ann!!

We had a wonderful visit and it was so great for everyone to meet her. Sunday, Michele went golfing with all of the young guys in the family. She was Jeremy's partner and had such nice things to say about him--I agree. I understand that she held her own with all the guys and did quite well.

On Monday, we took her down to see southeastern Arizona. We stopped in Tombstone and then Bisbee. We went to visit the graves of my great grandparents, Ellen Kneafsey Roughan and Matthew Roughan. We stayed the night at 858 in Douglas so that she could see the family home. We even took her over to Agua Prieta so that she could say she went to Mexico.

Tuesday night we took her to Rustlers' Rooste to eat rattlesnake. There was a storm all around the valley and the view from the restaurant was unbelievable. Michele went back to Ireland on Wednesday after a whirlwind week in Arizona.

There were so many connections--many members of her family in Ireland are educators. Her parents and brother were doctors, as is Michele. Even though Ellen wasn't educated, she was a midwife and delivered many babies in Douglas.

Michele said something that I think is so true. When parents sent their children to the U. S. from Ireland in those days, it was the ultimate gift of love....

I think my mom and in particular my Uncle Matt and cousin John Edward, would have been so thrilled to meet Michele and find out about our roots in Ireland. I know that I am. I am glad to have found our cousin, Michele. She is absolutely delightful!! I look forward to visiting her in Ireland and having her come back to Arizona.

None of this would have happened if I hadn't started blogging--WOW!!

The Wedding of Maggie & Mike and More.....

This past Labor Day weekend was so much fun and had so much to write about. It started last Thursday with the arrival of our cousin, Michele Kneafsey O'Sullivan, from Donegal, Ireland. That is an incredible story in itself which I plan to share in the next few weeks. Michele came from Ireland to meet our family at Maggie's and Mike's wedding.

Friday night, Michele, Teresa, and I attended the rehearsal dinner at Bill Johnson's Big Apple in northwest Phoenix--a fun night.

Saturday was the big day for Maggie and Mike. The wedding took place at St. Mary's Basilica in downtown Phoenix, the site of so many family events. It was a beautiful mass!!

The reception followed at Holy Spirit in Tempe. We had such a great time at the reception visiting with family. Maggie looked absolutely beautiful, as did all of the cousins in the wedding. Marion and Ron put on quite an event!!

As always so many of our cousins were there. What a tribute to the original seven Scott siblings, as well as our grandparents and great grandparents!!

Sunday brought fun in the sun at Wild Horse Pass with dinner at Rawhide. Monday, Kerri, Cameron and I took Michele on a quick trip down to southeastern Arizona and our roots there. More on that to come.

Maggie's incredible older brothers, Marty, Scott, and Nathan, did the most hilarious skit for the wedding. I have put it on You Tube and I am putting it on the the blog. In order to hear it, turn the music off on the music player on the side of this blog. It is priceless!!! I have laughed over and over again when I have viewed it. All of the videos can be found on You Tube under TequilaCheela.

All and all, it was such a memorable weekend and I have so much more to share!

Happy, Happy Birthday, Jean & Jan!!!

Today, September 7, is the birthday of my twin cousins, Jean and Jan. Jean and Jan are my Aunt Dot's daughters and two of six children which include two sets of twins!!

Some of my favorite memories of growing up are associated with Jean and Jan. They are just a "bit" older than I am and I absolutely loved to spend time with them. It seemed that we always went to Sacramento to visit them in the summers and they came to Douglas for Christmas and many other times.

I remember the summer of 1963 when Cecilia and I went to visit them in Sacramento. I was the youngest cousin and they included me in all of their activities. I loved the time spent with all of my cousins that summer!!

As adults, I value the relationship that we have. They are not just my cousins, but my friends. I love getting to visit with them and spend time with them, especially at their cabin in Truckee.

Jean and Mike have one daughter, Tracy. Tracy has two beautiful daughters, Sarah and Megan. Jan and Tim have one son, Jeremy, who is an attorney in San Diego. Both Jean and Jan are now retired after both working in school districts.

It was great to see them this weekend at Maggie's wedding. As always, I wish we had more time to visit. I hope this birthday is wonderful for both of you!! I love both of you very much!!! Happy, Happy Birthday!!!

The "Hearth" of the Family!

I have a lot to write about for this weekend, but that will have to come later as we have a lot going on over the next few days. Our cousin, Maggie, is getting married in a few hours and we are getting ready to go into Phoenix to St. Mary's Basilica. So many of our wonderful family members are here for this weekend.

For those of you who have followed my blog over the past year and a half, you might recall that because of my blog, I found a cousin in Ireland. Her name is the same as my great grandmother's, Kneafsey, and her family is from County Mayo where my great grandmother came from. Well, she is here for this weekend for Maggie's wedding and to meet our Aunt Teresa and all of the family.

Michele brought pictures from Ireland and a lot of information about our roots. I intend to write much more about this in the next few weeks, as well as write about the wedding. However, I wanted to post this with a picture until I have more time.

It has been wonderful getting to know Michele. She is delightful!!

This picture is from the old Kneafsey homestead in Foxford, County Mayo. It is a picture of the hearth, the heart of the family cottage. This is unbelievable to me for so many reasons.....

Cameron's 11 Today!!

Wow!! It is hard to believe that eleven years have gone by since that joyous day, September 1, 1998. Cameron turns 11 years old today. We are celebrating with his classmates today for lunch with pizza and drinks. He is in fifth grade this year and is doing very well! I am proud of him and so glad that he comes to Gilbert El. He is playing the tuba in the band, is the cameraman for our Tiger Town News each morning, and is his class representative for student council. He is growing up in so many ways because he has had so many people at school and our family care and nurture him. So happy birthday, Dear Cameron. I love you!!