Better Than Precious Ointment

We were Magills by default I guess. Somewhere in these posts I've recounted how our great, great grandmother, Henri-Anna Ewert (Or Henrietta) her son Samuel, her mother, and at least one sister came to America from County Down Ireland. Her father, Henri Ewert died shortly before the trip in a boating accident.

Henri-Anna made her way from the east coast to Illinois just across the Mississippi River where she worked as a cook. Several years ago while doing some research on genealogy I came across someone else researching John Magill.

I did not have time to comment, but they were wondering how John Magill ended up with his oldest son, Samuel. They assumed he was from another marriage or whatnot.

John Magill was from Belfast, County Down, but he had come to America before Henri-Anna. For some reason it runs in my mind he and some of his relatives, perhaps a brother or brothers, worked at the steel mills in the east and became disenchanted there. So they were looking for something else (some land maybe?)

When he met and married Henri-Anna in Illinois, he adopted Samuel her son. Samuel was not a baby at the time, but when I asked my Grandfather about what happened, he said it was her (Henri-Anna's) secret (although story might be a better term, because those alive at the time knew the 'secret', but us'ns don't), and he would leave it at that.

All I have heard about Samuel's conception was Henri-Anna had gone to a local event and was late getting home from the event, which worried her parents. Whether the happening was consensual or not was not included, but...

Henri-Anna didn't seem to have an ongoing relationship with the male in the situation as Samuel was her only child until she met and married Mr. Magill. They had six children together besides Samuel.

Strangely enough Samuel's actual father was also on the ship that Henri-Anna and her family took to America. So, there are a number of gaps in what's in a name.

But we never found the name Magill to be a burden. It wasn't all fun and roses, and as many who suffered through those years there were ups and downs for all of us. From our childhood memories, it was real, some of it was fun, but not all of it was real fun...but man, what a ride.

"A good name is better than precious ointment; and the day of death than the day of one's birth. It is better to go to the house of mourning, than to go to the house of feasting: for that is the end of all men; and the living will lay it to his heart." (Ecclesiastes 7:1-2 KJV)