I was really struggling letting go of the opportunity to see the real property since we came so far.
I decided to call Josie and she was so gracious and accommodating.
We meet Josie back at the Church on our way out of town.
The Sexton Farm
She led us to the Sexton farm about seven kilometers away which covers 32 acres in Aghamore Upper, County Longford Ireland
Josie was born in the old house and moved into the new house in 1975. It was only she and her parents in the new house then. She has never lived anywhere else and has always been single.
Josie seldom goes down to the old house these days. She said to me, “Ya gonna need ya boots in all the muck Michael Edward.”
The property has always had cattle, calves and sheep on it and some of the acreage is now rented by a cattle farmer. 
Who knows? There is a good chance that James and his father Patt were Cattle Farmers or Ranchers (or Cowboys as we call them in the States).
A Hard Life
Most of Patt’s life and all of James’ life were living on the farm as farmers or laborers. They worked for the landowner in exchange for a roof over their heads and food to feed their families.
Here is a sample of what a farmer or a Laborer’s house may have looked like in the 17 and early 18 hundreds.
Bothan Scóir, was a typical one-roomed house of a landless laborer who worked for a local landlord. Many of these houses, with their thatched roofs, disappeared along with their tenants during the Great Irish Famine.
Maybe that’s why Michael E made his way to America in 1891 at just 18 years old. He just didn’t see himself living the farmer’s life.
(Stayed tuned. There’s more to come.)
MikeSextonNC 