Long ago, and far away
A young man left Scotland, and travelled to the United States
He found work building ships, and in time met a girl
She was from Ireland 
they married and settled in Maine
in time they had many children, the youngest was my greatgrandfather
Louis Keith Thomson
Who left Maine for his own adventures
He, and his brother
Horace Thomson
travelled by clipper ship to  California
that is what I was told by my Grandmother
Caroline
who grew up as a ranchers daughter
Louis Keith married a girl from Sonora
her Daddy owned a great ranch
with his brother and forty cowboys 
they coaxed a desert to nurture the  cattle
and a river to raise sugar cane for the market
These are the stories I heard as child,
and the best part is
they are all true