the shamrocks that grow,

And may trouble avoid you

wherever you go.

May the Irish hills caress you.

May her lakes and rivers bless you.

May the luck of the Irish enfold you.

May the blessings of Saint Patrick behold you.

May there always be work for your hands to do,

May your purse always hold a coin or two.

May the sun always shine warm on your windowpane,

May a rainbow be certain to follow each rain.

May the hand of a friend always be near you,

And may God fill your heart with gladness to cheer you.

May your troubles be less,

And your blessings be more.

And nothing but happiness,

Come through your door.

May your thoughts be as glad as the shamrocks.

May your heart be as light as a song.

May each day bring you happy hours,

That stay with you all year long.

Something delicious for the good Irish Day

Irish Soda Bread

I used to make this bread all the time
when we were first married.  We'd butter
it and eat the entire loaf at night while
watching television ...

2-1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons sugar
1/2 cup butter
1/2 cup seedless raisins
2 teaspoons caraway seeds (optional)
3 tablespoons apple cider vinegar
3/4 cup milk
Milk for glazing top of bread
~
Heat oven to 400 degrees.
Sift flour with next 4 ingredients.
Cut in butter with 2 knives.
Stir in raisins and caraway seeds.
Mix together vinegar and milk.
Make a well in center of flour mixture and
add liquid all at once, stirring vigorously with 
fork until dry ingredients are moistened.
Turn out onto a lightly floured board and
knead gently 8-10 times.
Shape into round ball and place on a greased 8" pie plate.
Cut a large X across top of bread, from side to side.
Brush top with a little milk for a nice glaze.
Bake at 400 degrees for 15 minutes ... 
Then lower oven temperature to 375 degrees
for an additional 30 minutes, or until center of bread
tests clean, or loaf of bread tapped on bottom sounds hollow.

Remove from pan, cool about 1 hour before cutting
OR
while still warm, slather with butter and enjoy.

.

This brings a wish your way--

Good health, good luck, and `happiness

For today and every day.

My "6th great" grandparents,
Matthew Campbell "The Rebel" Raudh
Born about 1665 in Argyll, Scotland 
Died in County Donegal, Ireland 
("Raudh" later known as "Reagh" and then "Rhea")
and Janet Baxter 
(daughter of William Baxter and Bridget Mary O'Brillighan)
were married April 27, 1687 
in Derry Cathedral, Templemore Parish, Ireland

Their son, Matthew Campbell Reagh II, 
married
Elizabeth McClain

Matthew and Elizabeth's son
- Joseph Rhea -
later known as 
"the Reverend Joseph Rhea of Ireland"
married
Elizabeth McIlwaine
in 1752 in Ireland

Joseph, Elizabeth and six of their children sailed to America
on the ship 'George' ... leaving Ireland from Quigly Bay
on September 27, 1769 and landed at Reed Island at the mouth of the Delaware River on December 1, 1769.
They had eight children in all
and eventually settled in Sullivan County, Tennessee.

~Elizabeth McIlwain Rhea's wedding dress
is displayed in Rocky Mount, North Carolina Museum~

Their eldest, John Angus Rhea, never married
and became a Member of Congress
and a Member of Convention of 1790 that 
framed the Constitution of Tennessee.
John's portrait and sword is displayed
in the Tennessee State Museum in Nashville.
The 'Rhea Papers' are housed 
in the Tennessee State Library and Archives in Nashville.

Their second son, Matthew Rhea IV, 
is my 3rd great-grandfather and he married
Jannette 'Jane' Preston.
Matthew was born in Fahan Parish, Co. Donegal, Ireland
and died in Sullivan County, Tennessee.
He was a surveyor and a soldier in the Revolutionary War,
serving as Lieutenant under General Greene at
Battles of Camden, South Carolina and Guilford Courthouse.
He held rank of Major in the Fifth Virginia Regiment of the Continentals.

Matthew IV and Jane had four children,
one of whom was my great-great-grandfather,
Robert Preston Rhea
who married
Nancy Davidson

Robert Preston Rhea was  a school teacher, educated at Princeton who tutored 'Stonewall' Jackson for West Point, as recorded on his gravestone.
He served in the War of 1812 under General Winfield Scott.
He and his brother were captured by the British and held a prisoner of war in Quebec, Canada for one year.
After living in Virginia, he moved to Sullivan County, Tennessee and lived on the land entered and located by his father, on East Tennessee and Virginia Railroad, two miles East of Bluff City, Tennessee.

Robert and Nancy had eight children,
one of whom was my great-grandfather,
John Preston Rhea, Sr.

On August 10, 1857
John Preston Rhea, Sr. married Matilda Ann Longacre.
John was born in Clark County, West Virginia
and practiced medicine as a country doctor 
in Sullivan County,  Tennessee.
John was also a Sergeant in the Reserve Corps
during the Civil War.
John and Matilda had, by differing accounts,
ten, twelve or thirteen children.

My grandfather, Josiah Edward 'Ned' Rhea,
was one of those many children.
He was born in 1877 in Bristol, Tennessee
and married
Nancy Virginia Jackson in 1899
in Sullivan County, Tennessee.

(Nancy Virginia was the daughter of
the Reverend Courtland Columbus Jackson
and Sarah 'Sallie' Preston Rhea
of Lookout Mountain, Georgia)

Ned was a carpenter and Nanny was a school teacher.
They had two children, one of whom is my father,
Lysle Edward Rhea,
born in Bristol, Tennessee.

My grandparents moved to Florida in 1916,
where Nanny taught chemistry and science in the
same high school my father and I attended.
.

.
The Jackson-Rhea legacy is Covenant College,
located on Lookout Mountain
by land donated by my great-grandparents.
.

 

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More Rhea-Jackson History and Photos
can be viewed at:
https://www.angelfire.com/my/sallingerfamily/rheagenealogy/
 

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