Steve Buttress, Butch Knapp, Ronnie O'Brien
Chief Many Blankets O'Brien
eBook
(Olive Tree Press Sept. 5, 2009)
In 1842, Edmund O’Brien fled English persecution in his native Ireland and caught passage on a ship to Boston. His railroad building skills led him across the country to Nebraska, and in 1861 Edmund staked his claim and built his “soddy” on the banks of the Wood River in Central Nebraska. The home was but a few yards from the Mormon Trail, and only a bit further from the Oregon Trail.
Five generations later, Ronnie O’Brien, married to one of Edmund’s descendants, has collected and saved the stories of the O’Brien family. These stories, available nowhere else, are first-hand accounts of life alongside the trails that carried pioneers west. They are stories of the family’s friendship with the Pawnee tribe that passed through the area twice a year on their hunting trips; and of the critical assistance provided by the Pawnee that allowed the O’Brien family to survive. They are stories of the Mormon families and handcart pioneers that passed by the O’Brien’s door. And they are stories of the remarkable 21st century reunion between the O’Brien family and the descendants of the Pawnee.
Five generations later, Ronnie O’Brien, married to one of Edmund’s descendants, has collected and saved the stories of the O’Brien family. These stories, available nowhere else, are first-hand accounts of life alongside the trails that carried pioneers west. They are stories of the family’s friendship with the Pawnee tribe that passed through the area twice a year on their hunting trips; and of the critical assistance provided by the Pawnee that allowed the O’Brien family to survive. They are stories of the Mormon families and handcart pioneers that passed by the O’Brien’s door. And they are stories of the remarkable 21st century reunion between the O’Brien family and the descendants of the Pawnee.
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