Over the years, I watched St. Patrick’s Day come and go, but never felt connected to it. I never saw myself as Irish, mostly because growing up I was told that I only had a drop of Irish in me. But on my dad’s side, I was told I had a little bit of everything in me, so in my head I was half French, half this white blob of all mixed up stuff.
Since growing older and wiser and taking an interest in my own genealogy, the realization finally hit me…I have more Irish in me than most people celebrating the day…for goodness’ sake, my great-grandmother was born in Ireland! When does that get translated into “a drop”? My grandmother was half Irish, half Scottish (and those folks were far easier to research, by the way. Her mom died when she was very young, and I just don’t have as much background on my great grandmother, Ellen Mackay. Of course, the 1910 census has her being from Scotland, but I know that’s not true. My friend Sioux confirms that in the 1900 census, an Ellie McKay was living in Clinton, and she was from Ireland. I can’t verify that’s her, but the dates and ages, etc. are right. Poor woman was 28 and single back then. Her family must have assumed she’d be that way forever!
Anyhoo, kiss me, my great grandmother was Irish!
