Nightglow Window

The Wide Track Of Time

The following is an excerpt from a letter written by Charles H. Speers (1872-1935) shortly before his death. It is the closest thing to an official oral history of our family during early America.

In Washington County, Tennessee, about the year 1770, a family named O’Brien lived. We don't know the given names, but think it was James.

The father was Irish and from Ireland, but the mother was German. Her maiden name was Catharine Barnhart. Their circumstances must have been very limited.

Tradition tells us they bound a son to an uncle to teach him the shoemaking trade and educate him, and do certain things for him until the age of 21. The boy's name was Pleasant O'Brien.

We don’t know how old he was when all this happened, but when we hear from him again he is a young man and working for Richard Walker in Bledsoe County, Tennessee.

In time he falls in love with Richard's daughter, Martha, and the love is returned. However, the father it seems does not like the idea of the young Irishman being in love with his daughter.

On a Sunday, Martha accompanies a friend from church, and sometime during the day Pleasant came and they were married. This was December 5, 1824. When Martha’s father heard of the marriage, he went with tears in his eyes and took them home where they lived until his second marriage.

I judge that it must have been sometime in the early [18]40's that Pleasant packed up his young family, bag and baggage, and moved to Southern Indiana where they settled near Bedford, and it was here that my mother was born.

The O'Brien farm was covered by a dense growth of timber, all of which had to be removed before crops could be raised. Great logs of oak, black walnut, baswood had to be or were rolled into huge piles and burned. The timber at that time was worthless; today it would be worth a fortune.

A pioneer family of that period supplied most of their own needs. Game was plentiful -- quail, partridges, and wild pigeons were especially plentiful. So great was that it now seems almost incredible. Great flocks of pigeons that at times almost obscured the sky.

I have mentioned the pioneer family was almost sufficient unto itself, but they did need some money, and in order to help out in this way, my mother's older brothers, John [John Washington O'Brien, aged 24] and Joe [Joseph Wain O'Brien, aged 21] conceived the idea of building a flat boat on a creek [White River, Greene County, Indiana] on their farm which was near a tributary to the Ohio River, and loading it with baswood and hickory saplings which could be made into hoop poles.

Now hoop poles were just what their name implied, poles from which barrel hoops were made. Down in New Orleans, the sugar and molasses industry was thriving and there was a great demand for hoops for the huge hogsheads or casks of molasses or crude sugar.

Well, the idea worked and for several winters they built great flat boat on their own creek, loaded them with hoop poles, built a cabin on the boat, and laid in ample supplies of food, and with the first spring freshet, floated out into the Ohio, thence down the Mississippi arriving finally in New Orleans, where they would dispose of boat and cargo and return by steamer.

This must have been in the time of Mark Twain, or perhaps a little before [Samuel Clemens was 16 years old in 1851. It isn't until July 15, 1855 that Clemens tries his hand as a riverboat captain].

What a road of romance that must have been for those husky young men. The boat was kept in the current by huge sweeps or paddles. Sometimes they would get caught in an eddy where they would be held for hours. But time meant nothing in those carefree, halcyon days. At night they tied up to some wharf for fear of being run down by pirates, or some passing steamer.

How the youthful hearts of myself and my younger brothers were wont to thrill at the stories told to us by that champion of all story-tellers, Uncle John, who had now grown old and grey. My mother had a number of brothers and sisters, but Uncle John was our favorite.

He should have been a writer -- his memory was wonderful and he had a faculty of carrying his listeners along with him in every minute detail of his story, peace to his ashes. He had a keen mind, a wonderful personality and he left a host of grieving friends and relatives. Who shall say that such a life was not a success in the larger sense?

It must have been in the early 40's [actually 1852] that grandfather O'Brien [Pleasant], responding to the typical impulse of the average pioneer, decided to leave Indiana and go further west.

What a migration that must have been: The large family, the great wagons, the toiling oxen, and at last they arrived at that land of promise, Iowa, where they settled at Newport which was located just north of what is now Iowa City.

Again they thought they could not exist on the prairies. It was not until later that newcomers braved the terrors of that open country. And there was reason for their timidity. Out of the woods the terrible blizzards had full sweep and they there was the question of food and water. So in those early days you would find the settlers grouped along streams in the woods.

End of letter excerpt



Where You Came From

Pleasant O'Brien was born April 18, 1802 in Washington County, Tennessee, and died April 04, 1866 in Johnson County, Iowa. He married Martha Hickman Walker December 05, 1824 in Bledsoe County, Tennessee, daughter of Richard Walker and Martha Smith. She was born July 20, 1803 in Grainger County, Tennessee, and died January 03, 1880.

They had 10 children, including:

John Washington O'Brien, who was born November 01, 1827 in Bledsoe County, Tennessee, and died February 17, 1905 in North English, Iowa. He married Mary Ann Sexson January 01, 1851, daughter of Joel Sexson and Abigail Davis. She was born July 07, 1831 in Greene County, Indiana, and died January 05, 1900 in North English, Iowa.

They had 7 children, including:

Richard Speed O'Brien, who was born December 17, 1856 in Johnson County, Iowa, and died October 24, 1933 in Gallatin, Missouri. He married Jessie Maria Hall September 03, 1879, daughter of Abel Hall and Louisa Sears. She died December 23, 1939 in Gallatin, Missouri.

They had 12 children, including:

Roscoe Willis O'Brien, who was born May 17, 1882 in North English, Iowa County, Iowa, and died March 23, 1964 in Jamesport, Missouri. He married Julia Ann Welty November 26, 1902 in Madison County, Iowa, daughter of John Welty and Ida Ellsbury. She was born April 09, 1885 in Maxberg, Iowa, and died December 17, 1963.

They had three children, including:

Harold Lamont O'Brien, who was born June 11, 1903 in Jameson, Missouri, and died April 24, 1961 in Farmington, New Mexico. He married Mary Thelma Warnes August 14, 1926, daughter of Isidoria Warnes and Fannie Nichols. She was born September 07, 1905, and died 1998.

They had three children, including:

Darrell Eugene O'Brien, who was born November 08, 1935 in Sedgwick, Colorado. He married Marian Esther Groth June 01, 1957 in Las Vegas, New Mexico, daughter of Edward Groth and Emma Lowe. She was born May 27, 1935 in Las Vegas, New Mexico, and died March 01, 1997 in Gainesville, Georgia.

They had three children, including:

Sean Patrick O'Brien, who was born January 05, 1967 in St. Luke's Hospital, Kansas City, Missouri. He married Christy Marie Peterson April 11, 1994 in San Clemente, CA, daughter of Johnny Peterson and Debbie Layman. She was born June 11, 1969 in Alhambra, Cailfornia.

They have two children, including:

Sydney Marie O'Brien, b. July 18, 1997, Scripp's Hospital, La Jolla, California.

Nine years ago tomorrow.

Nine years!

It seems like yesterday when I was sending out the following e-mail:

The E-mail Sean O'Brien sent announcing the birth of his daughter:

Dear friends and family,

Sean and Christy O'Brien are pleased to announce the birth of their daughter, Sydney Marie O'Brien on Friday, July 18, 1997 at 6:05 P.M. Pacific Time.

After receiving "The Phone Call" at work at 3:10 P.M., I played the 85-mph-man to get home. A short time later we were off to the Hospital, only to be stuck in traffic near the La Costa Avenue on-ramp to I-5.

After a highly illegal U-turn in the middle of La Costa Avenue we were back on track -- for a short time. The van's gas tank was on empty; we were driving on fumes. Struggling to remain calm, we stopped for three gallons of gas and made it to the Hospital with no more mishaps.

At 4:45 it was clear that Sydney was definitely on her way. Although comfortable, Christy was beginning to feel contractions. The nurse double-checked that Sydney was still in the breech position. I made a few phone calls to family members and donned my surgical scrubs.

After a short, routine C-section, the culmination of our nine-month wait was upon us. Let me tell you, words can't describe how I felt when I first heard and saw my daughter. A profound and life-altering moment.

Weight: 7 pounds, 3 ounces.
Length: 19 inches.
Head: 14 inches.
Chest: 13 1/2 inches.
Abdomen: 12 1/2 inches.

Christy came up with the name Sydney months ago, and it immediately stuck. Marie was the name of Christy's great-aunt and is a family tradition.

We are all finally home now, tired but extremely happy. Sydney is an angel, sleeping through most of the night and day. Attached is a photo of our little girl sleeping.

So long for now,

Sean


My beautiful baby girl is now nine years old, and I couldn't be more proud of her!

Happy Birthday Sydney!