🍀Fanny’s Irish Beginning

🍀Samuel and the Two Joels

Old Samuel, a Parrish by trade,
With two Joels in the family braid.
A father and son,
Whose names carried on—
Till the riddle of lineage was made.

🍀The Foster Son, William Reed Smith

A boy from a friend Fanny knew,
Whose childhood was tender and true.
She welcomed him in,
As though born of her kin—
And the Smith line began to renew.

🍀Crossing to Nauvoo

From Montrose they crossed o’er the tide,
To the Temple that rose in its pride.
With hammer and prayer,
They labored with care—
And stood with the Saints side‑by‑side.

🍀Martyrdom and Exodus

When danger fell hard on the town,
And mobs tried to tear the Saints down,
They stood on the stair,
In covenant prayer—
And fled with their faith as their crown.

🍀Reed Smith and Mary Ricks

Young Reed wed a Ricks, Mary fair,
Whose father named Joel too was there.
Their daughter Mahala,
A poet and scholar—
Wove tales with a grandmother’s care.

🍀John Ford and Mahala

John Ford, Parrish son of the line,
Met Mahala, whose spirit was fine.
Their union would be,
The path down to me—
A heritage sacred, divine.

🍀Rubie and the Child in the Chair

Sweet grandmothers told tales soft and bright,
To a lad in their home’s gentle light.
And the stories they spun,
Of how all lines were one—
Became yours in the stillness of night.

🍀The Riddle’s Answer

So how did these families entwine,
Through Temple and Irish design?
With laughter and grace,
They shaped time and space—
And the answer, dear Joel… is your line.