There are two McKenna brothers who come to Dooley in the late 1800s. Before that, as divulged in the Prequels, there was a third brother, Jim, who has died before the move to Georgia. But, where did these three brothers come from?
Morgan, Jim, and Kevin McKenna are the three sons of Gerald McKenna. Gerald is born in New Orleans, one of two brothers. Gerald, to my knowledge, is a generous, amiable man, more like his youngest son, Kevin, than either of the other boys. He is not as tall as Morgan, of medium build and with the rough curl to his dark hair that Kevin inherits, as well as that confident way about him that people find appealing. It is his honesty, his optimism and his dependability, however, that make him a success with people. Gerald McKenna is a hard act to follow, even though he never asks for his sons to do so.
Gerald has an older brother, Robert, who is quite different from Gerald's hard working dependability. Robert is the trouble maker of the wealthy, influential family into which they are born; not in a despicable way, mind you, just the sort who would rather make mischief and go against the grain as not. The father of the McKenna boys has early on decided that Gerald will be the son to carry on the family business and reputation.
Who are Robert and Gerald's parents? From what I can gather so far, Gerald's father is a self-made man who, although not ashamed of his roots, has decided to leave them behind and move in higher social circles. He is a strict father, who washes his hands of his rebellious eldest son and sets his sights on his younger son making a fine match and doing his father proud.
While Robert joins the army and is involved in the Mexican-American War of the late 1840's, Gerald makes the fine match in the early 1850s that his father has envisioned. He marries Caroline Boone. Gerald had had an early infatuation with Anne Lavendeau, who, although from good family, has nevertheless the murky heritage of a strain of Blackfoot Native American which makes her unacceptable to Gerald's father. Annie, herself, had only thought of Gerald as a good friend and marries Tyrus Malone, an Irish/Cajun gambler, much to Gerald's father's relief.
Caroline Boone is of absolute impeccable family, and the stage is set for Gerald to fulfill his parents' plans. And then, Gerald does something completely unexpected, at least as far as his father is concerned. He defies his father's course for him, reveals that the South's economic dependence on slavery is completely abhorrent to him, and that he will not participate in a business that relies on it. With Caroline's support now staunchly behind him, Gerald pulls out of his father's business, bids his family goodbye, and moves up the Mississippi to settle in Missouri as a farmer.
It must have been a terrible blow to his ambitious father. I wonder what Gerald's mother thought of it, or if she knew his plans and supported them. I'm not sure about that; haven't found out much about Mrs. McKenna as yet.
At about the same time, Robert is killed in the Texas/Mexico war. The death of his older brother does soften the relationship between Gerald and his father. Gerald is able to reconnect with his parents, and he even is able to obtain the ornate Mexican saddle that his brother had used. This saddle was a fascination to Gerald's sons until it was lost in the tornado of 1873 in Duggansville, Missouri.
Gerald and Caroline move to Duggansville with little money. But, they are young, with that adventurous streak that they pass down to the rest of the clan. By the time the Civil War breaks out, Gerald has a sizable farm. By the time his sons are grown, Gerald has a prominent place in their small town, and his farm is one of the best in the Duggansville Valley.
But well before all that, Annie Lavendeau Malone writes to Gerald with a watershed favor to ask of him. Caroline McKenna, openhearted as her husband, is more than willing to grant it. When Caroline Boone McKenna dies a few years later, and then, a decade after that, the twister of 1873 comes through, the stage is set for the adventure of the McKennas to make a jump into the future.
And the rest, as they say, is history. Gerald McKenna. Morgan names his oldest son Gerald Boone. There is another Robert McKenna coming along down the line, and the generous nature of Gerald, as well as the rebelliousness of Robert, will clash with more stern natures from their father, as the generations roll on.
Don't you just love Family stories?? Happy New Year.